New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

Question

Would you recommend someone start a business that is "custom" i.e., offering programming or software, for each customer, and not as scalable?  And, if so, does this mean a consulting company would not be as profitable a business model?

Answer

In terms of the business model, starting out as a custom software developer is actually an excellent way to begin as a software company and once you find a niche and a need where most customers need basically the same type of software, then you can start to package it up and end up with a licensed software package that is now standardized and much more scalable and repeatable.  Think of the initial custom phase as a time when you are offering a necessary service while getting paid for valuable research and the development of potentially reusable code.  Consulting is similar.  I have often started ventures by first consulting and learning more about the market needs (while getting paid) and then trying to uncover a universal need across a market where I can develop a standardized “productized” service.