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Eric Sink's name is familiar to many as the proprietor of SourceGear, manufacturers of the Vault source code control system. He was also for quite some while the author of the "Business of Software" column on MSDN. Clearly he learned one of the basic truths about the business of writing: it's always best for the writer if you can sell the same words more than once. This book is a collection of the columns he wrote for MSDN, rearranged and slightly repolished. Even if you read them online, of course, it can be handy to have the whole batch in dead tree format; just don't expect a great deal of new material. The title is mildly misleading, but Eric clears up any confusion in the very first essay: he's writing specifically for the small ISV, a software firm that creates, markets, and sells software products, and with a staff of less than, say, 100 people (give or take). Some of the ISVs he's writing for are very small; Eric is the one who coined the term micro-ISV for one-man software shops (and ultimately leading to Web sites and even books devoted solely to micro-ISVs). There's a lot of software business done outside that field, of course. If you're running a consulting shop or going into middle management at a large company, there are other books that will speak more directly to your needs (though you may still find this one a fun read). If you are in the target market - that is, if you're running a small ISV, or thinking of taking the plunge - you'll find a lot of useful information and advice here. The book is divided into four parts, each focused on a different aspect of the business. "Entrepreneurship" discusses getting the business off the ground, teaches you a minimal amount about finances, and includes the original micro-ISV essays. Part two, "People", discusses the sort of people you are likely to need and how to hire them. Next comes "Marketing," which gets into a batch of topics that the average geek is either ignorant of or actively hostile to, from finding product ideas that can actually make you money to spending money on trade shows. Finally "Sales" talks about how to get out there and actually get your product to customers who will give you money. Eric's writing is informal and engaging, but it's clear that he's put a lot of work into running a software business and learned a few things along the way (and he's not afraid to tell us when he learned things by making boneheaded mistakes). Some of the highlights of the book include the explanation of why small software companies can't afford to hire truly great software hackers, why you need to enter a field where there is competition, and why it's important to take responsibility for continuous learning in your own career (though I still think PDC is a lousy value for most people in small ISVs). If you're intending to sell products, this book will almost certainly provoke you to think about some things that would not otherwise come to mind before they bit you in the ass. That alone is worth spending the twenty-five bucks. I do not end up agreeing with everything that Eric says here (of course, that's because I'm secretly jealous that he's famous enough that his publisher thinks that putting his name in the title will help sell books). But I do respect the fact that he's been vastly more successful selling a software product than I ever expect to be. If you're smart enough to run a small company, you should be smart enough to buy a copy of this book, sift through the essays it contains, and learn from them. It beats trying to learn everything by making your own mistakes instead of taking advantage of someone else's.
Mike Gunderloy is the lead developer for Larkware and author of numerous books and articles on programming topics. Published April 18, 2006 |
Eric Sink on the
Business of Software, $24.99