Going IT Alone : A Detailed Guide to Self-Employment for Software and Web Developers―from Identifying Your Target Market, Through to Managing Your Time, Finances, and Client Behavior.

Cover -- Copyright -- Credits -- About the Author -- Acknowledgements -- About the Reviewer -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1: Introducing Freelancing -- The freelance lifestyle -- Is freelancing for you? -- Defining your motivations -- Boosting employability -- Learning new skills -- Taking a break -- Increasing financial security -- Generating a side income -- Case study: New Star Soccer -- Freedom -- Alternative to unemployment -- Fun -- Don't quit the day job -- Legal entities -- Sole trader -- Partnership -- Limited company -- Home or away? -- The home office -- Advantages -- Disadvantages -- The real office -- Advantages -- Disadvantages -- Renting desk space -- Co-working spaces -- Cafes -- Summary -- Chapter 2: Positioning Yourself in the Market -- Market segments -- Pricing yourself appropriately -- Market specific influences -- The equilibrium price - segments and prices -- Building quality for market segments -- Meeting customer needs -- Market research -- Failing to plan is planning to fail -- Cost to market -- Cost of delivery -- Calculate your profit margin -- Time value -- Summary -- Chapter 3: Defining Your Business Model -- Types of business model for software -- Software Development as a Service (SDaaS) -- Advantages -- Disadvantages -- Conclusion -- Software as a Product (SaaP) -- Advantages -- Disadvantages -- Conclusion -- Software as a Service (SaaS) -- Advantages -- Disadvantages -- Conclusion -- Software Supporting a Service -- Advantages -- Disadvantages -- Conclusion -- Business Model Canvas -- Components -- Value proposition -- Key partnerships -- Key resources -- Key activities -- Customer relationships -- Customer segments -- Distribution channels -- Cost structure -- Revenue streams -- Canvas -- Problem tools -- Product life cycle -- Development -- Introduction -- Growth -- Maturity and saturation.

Decline -- Five Forces Analysis -- Rivalry among existing suppliers -- Threat of substitute products or services -- Threat of new entrants -- Bargaining power of suppliers -- Bargaining power of buyers -- Seven Domains Assessment framework -- Market domain/macro level - market attractiveness -- Market domain/micro level - market sector benefits and attractiveness -- Industry domain/macro level - industry attractiveness -- Industry domain/micro level - sustainable advantage -- Team domain - mission, aspirations, and propensity for risk -- Team domain - ability to execute on the critical success factors -- Connectedness up and down the value chain -- The McKinsey 7S framework -- Goals and shared values -- Strategy -- Skills -- Structure -- Style -- Systems -- Staff -- Fitting everything together -- The business descriptions -- IXL Learning -- Nextpoint -- Comparison: McKinsey 7S framework -- Goals and shared values -- Strategy -- Skills -- Structure -- Style -- Systems -- Staff -- Comparison - Business Model Canvas -- IXL Learning -- Nextpoint -- Comparison: conclusion -- IXL Learning -- Nextpoint -- Summary -- Chapter 4: Creating a Brand -- A brief definition of what branding is and isn't -- Know your audience -- Identify perceptions required for objectives -- Specializing - becoming a domain expert -- Generalizing - targeting a wider audience -- Case study -- Kick starting perceptions -- Doing a good job -- Limited time offers -- Competitions -- Rewarding customer loyalty -- Strategic partnerships -- Certifications -- Influencers -- Reliability -- Personality -- Media exposure -- Content marketing -- Who do they think you are? -- Summary -- Chapter 5: Networking, Marketing, and Sales -- Understanding networking -- Defining a networking strategy -- Writing press releases -- Know your audience -- Be specific -- Integrating your agenda.

Make it easy to read -- Tips for writing news stories -- Enhancing the reach of your media coverage -- Open project sources -- Project sources -- Being selective -- Example 1 -- Example 2 -- The sales process -- Stage 1: Establish the relationship -- Stage 2: Recognizing the need -- Stage 3: Proposing the Solution -- Stage 4: Closing the sale -- Stage 5: Delivery and evaluation -- Summary -- Chapter 6: An Introduction to Client Types -- The ethical client -- Characteristics -- Progression options -- The difficult client -- Characteristics -- Progression options -- The trusting client -- Characteristics -- Progression suggestions -- The nasty client -- Characteristics -- Progression suggestions -- The price-conscious client -- Characteristics -- Progression suggestions -- Summary -- Chapter 7: Managing Clients -- Points of contact -- Performing risk assessment of the project -- Measuring complexity -- Key performance indicators -- Defining client expectations -- Analyzing implications -- Defining an exit strategy -- Analyzing the client -- Commitment -- Ethics and difficulty -- Financial -- Learning and execution -- Consistency -- Negotiation -- Cash flow issues -- Avoiding cash flow problems -- Summary -- Chapter 8: Negotiation -- The Winning Formula -- Timeframe -- Budget -- Depth -- Strategic Negotiation Phases -- Stage 1: Evaluate Priorities &amp -- Characteristics -- Stage 2: Depth Reduction -- Stage 3: Define Time scales -- Stage 4: Terms of Delivery and Engagement -- Stage 5: Price Identification -- Summary -- Chapter 9: Software Development Resources, Patterns and Strategies -- Software problems: A recap -- Portable code components -- Pure HTML5 applications -- Hybrid applications -- Code translation -- Rescued by object oriented programming -- Maximising reusability, minimising duplication -- Functional adaptability.

Clarity of solution implementation -- Strategic efficiency with MVC -- MVC: Models -- Adaptability strategy -- Advantages -- MVC: Views -- Views in action -- Advantages -- MVC: Controllers -- Controllers in action -- Advantages -- Strategic data management -- User interface consistency with data binding -- Database consistency -- API-oriented system architecture -- Why create an API? -- Delivering data -- Developing a HTTP based API -- API design -- API security -- Testing strategy -- Security considerations -- Version control -- Concept glossary -- Summary -- Chapter 10: Software Development Methodology -- Social factors of software development -- Features for preventing problems -- Formality -- Flexibility -- Working hours -- Code patterns -- Specification management -- Skills deployment -- Prototyping -- Planning and analysis -- Time requirements -- Knowledge requirements -- Budget -- Changing requirements -- Problem definition -- Culture analysis -- Technology evaluation -- Risk analysis -- Viability analysis -- Milestone identification -- Timescales -- Methodologies of interest -- Waterfall model -- Conclusion -- Incremental model -- Conclusion -- Spiral model -- Conclusion -- Agile development -- SSM: Soft Systems Methodology -- Conclusion -- Designing your methodology -- Formal structure -- Team communications policy -- Planning -- Testing -- Summary -- Chapter 11: Creating Quotes and Estimates -- Maths to the rescue: The basics -- Performance rating -- Client rating -- Example -- Estimation -- Example -- Quotes -- Example -- Risk management -- Counteracting risk -- Calculating risk -- Recovering unaccounted costs -- Examples -- Maintaining estimation accuracy -- Average client ratings -- Example -- Selective client ratings -- Example -- Proportionate client ratings -- Example -- Summary -- Chapter 12: Project Management -- Client perceptions.

Methods of communication -- Meetings -- Telephone -- Conference calls -- E-mail -- Social media -- Post -- Allocating the right people -- Who is capable of performing the task? -- Who is ideal for the task? -- Who is available? -- What are the limiting factors? -- Written agreements -- Feature creep -- Risk assessment -- Project nature -- Team politics -- Expectations -- Legalities -- Defining a specification -- Creating a specification document -- Definitions -- Summary -- Requirements -- System overview -- Design -- Timescales -- Cost plan -- Feedback -- Meetings -- Survey tools -- Prototyping -- Email -- Conference calls -- Release cycles -- How often? -- Feature order -- The parking list -- Summary -- Appendix -- Interview 1 -- Interview 2 -- Interview 3 -- Interview 4 -- Interview 5 -- Interview 6 -- Appendix.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.