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Today we’re joined by Jonathan Rhyne, a lawyer who specializes in representing independent mobile software developers. We talk to Jonathan about all things related to law, but especially about a lawyer’s role in helping an indie build his software business. Jonathan shares with us when we should seek legal advice, and what attributes to look for when choosing a lawyer. He shares some of the common mistakes that developers make when starting a business, and explains a lawyer’s role in helping us plan for the future. Finally, we close with a brief discussion of avoiding intellectual property disputes, and the best defense against patent trolls.
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Today we’re talking about Joe’s new app, Fin, and the challenges he faced as a fairly new developer. Joe shares his experience implementing VoiceOver for the first time, as well as some of the difficulties he had to overcome in making the gesture-based interface of Fin work well with VoiceOver gestures. We discuss the importance of getting early feedback on a new app and how that feedback can provide the motivation to do what you knew you should be doing all along, then we talk about the deceptive complexity of polishing a “simple” app until it’s shippable, and the challenges of marketing a new app.
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In today’s episode, we discuss how the location we live affects our businesses. We compare our experiences on the coasts with those in the Midwest of the U.S. and consider the different cultures and resources that those locations can offer an indie business or a startup. We consider the importance of a local tech scene in developing a community and share some hints for building your own Meetups and developing your local community. Finally, we talk about the relative merits of living in a metropolis versus a smaller city for networking and making connections that can benefit you and you business.
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Today we’re joined by Jiva DeVoe of Random Ideas Software, who shares his thoughts on running and building an App Store business. Jiva shares his thoughts on returning to business fundamentals and why today’s indies could learn a thing or two from Mac indies of the pre-App Store era. He also explains why there’s never been a better time than now to be run a software business. We discuss the importance of a business plan, building reputation, and the dangers of blindly copying the examples of others – no matter how successful they are. Finally we consider the difference between running a business and running a company, and how that difference can affect those of us in the App Store.
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Today we conclude our discussion on app pricing that began in the last episode. We discuss charging for app updates, and try to learn from the experience of companies like Realmac Software (maker of Clear) and The Omni Group (maker of OmniFocus) who have tried to charge customers for their iOS 7 updates. Then we turn our attention to price stability in the App Store, advertising sale prices for your app, and optimizing your app price through experimentation. Finally, we consider charging desktop prices for iPad apps, testing our assumptions, and the importance of building an app business, instead of just building an app.
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