I happened to give some thought to a business sector of which I've never before given thought: that of the app developer entrepreneur.
Here's how I define entrepreneur: someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it. You put up the capital and all the risk is yours; all the benefits are yours also. [This does not preclude the tiny start-up that uses funds from family and friends or a small bank loan.]
But wait - an entrepreneur is also a small business owner - a business that is independently owned and operated, with a small number of employees, if any [1-10], and relatively low volume of sales. [This is relative of course. Some small businesses do millions of dollars in gross sales; most do not reach that high.]
I think an entrepreneur is also a business leader - someone with the capacity to establish direction and to influence and align others toward a common goal AND an innovator: someone who introduces something new. This is certainly true of many developers of apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and possibly the iPad. So what's an app?
PCMag has a great definition - "...APPlication) The term has been used as shorthand for "application" in the IT community for decades but became newly popular for mobile applications, especially since the advent of Apple's App Store in 2008...."
For someone like me...the non-technical, non-computer talker...that wasn't enough of a definition. So I thought of an app as a tiny program, just like my email program. My new iPhone [finally I'm catching up on technology] came with some already-loaded apps like a calendar, weather, compass, calculator and maps. Handy little programs, or apps.
It seems that the attractive magic of the smart phone and specifically iPhone is:
- portable information access
- synchronization of that information
- touch screen technology - fingertip as opposed to using a stylus - no extra hardware needed
- multi-use - it's not just a phone, not just a voicemail or email system, it's also a way to access the internet, and download programs for business, education or entertainment
In the introduction to the book, "iPhone User Interface Design Projects" is the information that, "...the number applications on the App Store will have crossed the 100,000 mark..." and at the publisher's site for the book, "...and 125,000 registered iPhone developers...." Wow. That is a lot of tiny programs and quite a few entrepreneurs who design/invent them. This is a new and growing business sector and a viable one for a home-based business.
One example of an app developer/designer entrepreneur is David Barnard, creator of the suite of App Cubby apps. [Gas Cubby, Trip Cubby and Health Cubby] In the above mentioned book, David Barnard writes Chapter One and says, "...I came to the iPhone platform not as an experienced developer, seasoned entrepreneur, or even programming hobbyist but as a rabid fan...." As with many entrepreneurs, Barnard began his business because he was excited and passionate about the possibilities. On his website he writes of his role in his company, "...After many years as a recording engineer, David founded App Cubby as an alternative to the long hours and late nights at the recording studio. He now works even longer hours and even later nights as both Team Lead and Office Lackey...."
Barnard is basically a solo-preneur. He lists the contractors he works with on his website's company page. This shows that the entrepreneurs who make apps often don't work alone, rather they work with other entrepreneurs, contracting out the elements in which they don't have expertise. One formula:
- have a "light bulb" moment of a good idea for an app
- assign yourself the element for which you hold expertise such as coding
- contract out the other elements: digital designer, graphic design, marketing, and so forth
Comments