Eric Sink on the Business of Software

By Eric Sink and  

Book Overview

Eric Sink on the Business of Software is a selection of the best and most popular essays from the author's website. The essays cover business concerns that programmers face during the course of their careers, particularly if the programmers are small Independent Software Vendors. Sink covers issues like starting your own business, then performing the hiring, finances, and other matters.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590596234
• ISBN13: 9781590596234
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Apress
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.2" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

An excellent book to read, before to start any project

I have to be honest, if I had read this book before I started the adventure where I am involved I probably never was jumping in this boat and start to row. Anyway here I am and I will use the knowledge in a wise way. This book is excellent to understand how to start on your own, and not die during the effort. I will say this book brings really good advice to any developer that wants to be more than a Coder. The concept goes for Developers that wants to go in the ISV world, but i will say this is a handbook to Developers that want to understand how to create successful projects, it doesn't matter if its for your own clients, your own product, or working for someone else. I have to say Thank You to the Author.

Excellent book!

This is an excellent book for anyone starting, or contemplating starting, a software business (aka ISV). Eric's writing is clear, insightful and witty, and although his writing style is engaging, his advice and wisdom are invaluable; his knowledge of running a software business comes from hands-on experience. About three years ago I was lucky enough to discover Eric Sink's writings via his blog site. He was one of the few sources that I could find that provided the "how to" for starting a bootstrapped software business. At the time, my dream was to start a software business, and today, I can honestly say that he played a major role in the realization of that dream. Buy the book!

Recommended reading for *any* software professional...

My contact at Apress recently sent me a copy of Eric Sink on the Business of Software by, of course, Eric Sink. He's the person responsible for coining the phrase "micro-ISV", and he's the chief bottle-washer at SourceGear. This book is a compilation (and commentary and/or expansion) of some of his postings from his blog, and they all relate to the subject of running a small software company where you are responsible for everything. There is very good material in here, even if you don't think you'll ever sell anything you code on your own... Contents: Part 1 - Entrepreneurship: What Is a Small ISV?; Whining by a Barrel of Rocks; Starting Your Own Company; Finance for Geeks; Exploring Micro-ISVs; First Report from My Micro-ISV; Make More Mistakes Part 2 - People: Small ISVs - You Need Developers, Not Programmers; Geeks Rule and MBAs Drool; Hazards of Hiring; Great Hacker != Great Hire; My Comments on "Hitting the High Notes"; Career Calculus Part 3 - Marketing: Finding a Product Idea for Your Micro-ISV; Marketing Is Not a Post-processing Step; Choose Your Competition; Act Your Age; Geek Gauntlets; Be Careful Where You Build; The Game Is Afoot; Going to a Trade Show; Magazine Advertising Guide for Small ISVs Part 4 - Sales: Tenets of Transparency; Product Pricing Primer; Closing the Gap, Part 1; Closing the Gap, Part 2; Just Do It Index I think every decent developer/programmer has at some point imagined writing some piece of software that they could sell and make a fortune on. It's true that a very, very small minority ever act on that, but it's not as far-fetched as you might think in the Internet Age. Eric Sink has made many of the mistakes common to geeks trying to run a business, and he's come out of it with hard-earned wisdom and a company that actually thrives in their niche. If you take the time to read and learn from his examples, you'll go into the world of software product sales with much better odds of not blowing yourself up before you even begin. The book is written in a humorous, conversational tone, and it's a fun read that goes by quickly. Even if you're not planning on creating the next "killer app", you can still learn quite a bit. The section on people applies to anyone who has a career in software development, and the "Career Calculus" chapter should be required reading. Since I tend to think of myself as a single-person company who just happens to have a regular position at a large company, the insights in this section will make me more valuable to both my current employer and to myself. The *only* fault I find in this book is one that's common to compilations. Certain examples and sayings tend to be repeated over time, and there's many months between sightings. When they appear in back to back chapters of a compilation, you start to wonder if you misplaced your bookmark. I've downgraded reviews based on this phenomenon in the past, but I can't do it here. I just found so much value in the essays that the rep

Entertaining and Insightful

A few people know how to build software. A few know how to write well. You find precious little overlap between those two groups, so when you find people that can both develop software AND write about it in an entertaining way, you read all their stuff and beg for more. Eric Sink has deservedly built such a following with his writings on software, marketing, sales, and building a small ISV. This book aims squarely at owners of small ISVs, with additional focus on one-person software companies. If you're a member of this group, or planning to become one, or even thinking of becoming one, read this book. Learn the lessons in it. I can't imagine that you won't be more successful. Even if you don't own a small ISV, you'll both enjoy and find value in this book. This book contains important messages, lessons learned, and practical advice for anyone involved in the software industry. Yes, Eric Sink addresses a particular small-niche market--small ISVs--but what he writes spills over into the much larger group of people who design and build software, and must interact with people from other groups like sales, finance, marketing, and customer service. Understanding your role in the larger context of actually getting people to use the software you build is invaluable. He also writes on topics such as how to hire, who to hire, and how to choose technology--topics that appeal universally to developers and their management. I don't want to enclose any spoilers, but when I read Clues That You Might Be a Geek (p. 175-76), and got to #3, I laughed out loud. Guilty as charged!

Insightful and Entertaining, what more can you ask for? :-)

I've known Eric Sink for 7 years now, having met him at a Linux trade show in 1999. He has always been an excellent communicator, and this book exemplifies that. In addition to clarity, he is incredibly insightful and able to impart that insight to the rest of us. This book should appeal to anyone in the technology industry (at all ends of the spectrum), even though it is "aimed" at people who want to start or are running a small-sized software company. If you want to learn, at the same time as having some extremely hearty laughs, then I highly recommend this book!