[Post] programmer Entrepreneurship: How small software companies can grow bigger

By our side, you will find that there are many small software companies, with only a few people and dozens of others. They are struggling to operate, and some are growing and some are also weakening. However, as small and medium enterprises pay more attention to information technology, there will be more opportunities for small software companies. How can these small software companies find their way out?

[Product positioning cannot be ignored]

Some small software companies do not have a product positioning in the process of development. They always think that as long as they are software projects, they will be transferred to other companies if they cannot do so. In fact, such an idea is not very good for the company. Companies must determine their core products based on their own capabilities and familiar environment, that is, they must have a deep understanding of themselves. For example, I have previously worked on an office automation project and I am very familiar with the business in this area. I will try my best in this area, so I don't have to be fashionable and want to implement the ERP business. If most people are interested in web development, they will seek a way out in website construction and e-commerce.

Of course, in the early stages of the company, it is also possible to do some system integration, but the company's core business and secondary business should be clearly defined. As the company develops, it gradually forms its core competitiveness. The company must develop a strategic plan for technological development and enterprise development, and strive for this goal. It is good to make the company bigger and stronger, but it may be the most important for some small software companies to survive and develop well in the early stage. This kind of company's development plan is the result of a detailed and thoughtful analysis of the market and itself. If there is no major environmental change, we must stick to it and do not want to do software in this industry today, I will build software for that industry tomorrow.

[Strengthen management level]

When a small software company has only a few people, there are no management and communication problems. Let's just talk about some things. As the number of people increases, management issues become very important. When we have a deep understanding of their management status, we will find that they have many problems in the management process. For example, a general software company has less than 30 employees and generally has two major departments: the technical department and the Marketing Department. The technical department is mainly responsible for software design and development, and the marketing department is responsible for market development and service. However, it can be seen from a large number of project implementation that there are problems in communication between the two Departments, which may easily cause great obstacles to the implementation of project management; in addition, the performance appraisal of Technical Department personnel is generally a fixed salary. Once the market personnel's salary is higher than that of the development personnel, the technical department personnel may cause psychological imbalance. With the development of software companies, the expansion of the company's scale makes these problems more prominent.

Due to the small size of the company, the management system may be incomplete and the phenomenon of arbitrary management exists. The biggest headache for employees is that the company owner develops some systems at will and destroys some systems at will. Therefore, the company should discuss with its employees and formulate some feasible rules and regulations, so that everyone can abide by them together. In addition, sometimes emotional management is very important. We often discuss the future and current situation of the company with our employees, so that our employees can regard the future of the company as their own. Every company has its own development plan, so that employees will be informed of the company's long-term vision. If possible, they will help each employee design their careers, so that they can have confidence in the company and themselves. It is best for the company to have an overall management department-the office. The main work involves all work except technology and the market, to ensure the service is good for the technology and market departments, but also the performance of the company.

In order to better understand the work of various departments, it is recommended to establish an office automation system (OA) within the company. The content is not required much, but the focus is to strengthen internal communication and communication, this allows you to easily get in touch with each other and learn about the progress of your work. It is easy and effective to establish such a communication platform to solve management problems. Generally, office automation systems have e-mail systems that help you easily transmit information. They are also a good channel for communication between superiors and subordinates. Sometimes it is hard to say in person, it may be easily completed by email. It would be better to have a BBS in the system. In your spare time, you can express your own opinions on the company's management and problems in the software development process. Through the content, managers can improve management, you can learn and improve together, or gradually establish a corporate culture with your own company characteristics through BBS. It is also worth noting that it is best to add the management of work logs in OA to facilitate the assessment of employees and urge everyone to do their work.

[Improving personnel management]

Small-scale software is also facing the problem of brain drain. At present, the software industry has a high turnover rate, which often results in project-dependent projects. This includes two parts: one is the loss of market staff, and the other is the loss of technical staff, which will have a great impact on the company. To avoid the loss of customers due to the flow of market personnel, the company should strengthen customer management. Small software companies must also have a customer relationship management system, be familiar with the customer's situation, and control the customer's communication process and progress. Strengthen cooperation among market personnel and promote information sharing. In order to stabilize the technical core personnel, the primary means are compensation, development, and learning opportunities. For common programmers, record files, such as software design reports, test reports, and software customer requirement reports. Although this takes 1/2 of the time for software programming, it can ensure the continuity of the project. We should be considerate and considerate to software developers, and instill in them the bright future of the company, so that everyone can be optimistic about their future. More importantly, they should be able to develop in the company, improve their technology, and expand their business.

It may be difficult for small software to recruit high-level and high-level talents, so it takes more time to train employees. In addition, the company should create opportunities and channels for everyone to accumulate experience, give more suggestions, and share their knowledge to improve the overall level. For example, for market personnel, place some of their market survey reports on Oa, so that technicians can better understand the customer's needs. Market personnel can ask technical personnel to provide suggestions on solutions and put mature solutions online for reference. After a long time, the company may find that the work efficiency has been improved, the company's staff's work ability has been improved, and the staff's cooperation will also be improved. Through the management of knowledge sharing, it is more important for employees to develop a sense of team and enhance their autonomous management awareness.

[Regular operation]

Although small software companies are small, they are also companies, so they must be corporatized. When dealing with some things, I would like to solicit comments from everyone. If everyone regards the company's development as their own development, they will put forward their own reasonable suggestions to the company. Generally, employees can easily communicate with each other and provide their own suggestions on some things. The company should also consider the issues raised by its employees. Do not be careless. Otherwise, it will easily hurt one person and make everyone angry.

I have some discussions with you about the company's regular operation, which may be helpful to you. Due to the lack of communication between technicians and market personnel, the implementation of some projects has caused a lot of trouble. Technical Personnel focus on technology R & D and have little understanding of the market. Sometimes they may not be able to understand the needs of the market. Although market personnel understand the market requirements, they cannot grasp the possibility of technology implementation in the Process of contact with customers. In this way, it is recommended that you set up a project team and a project manager for some projects. The project manager is solely responsible for the entire project. The project team should have both technical R & D personnel and market experience. The project team's assessment is linked to the profit. This method may solve the problems of market and technical R & D communication.

Today, the principle of customer service first is especially important for small software companies, because most of the customers in small software companies are small enterprises, and such customers are not very clear about their real needs, the requirements for software functions are relatively general. First, the marketing department personnel should consciously guide customers to develop in a way conducive to technical implementation. At the same time, pay attention to the appropriate training of customers, so that they can better understand the company's technology and the way they can achieve, so as to truly retain customers and complete the technology. Although the customer scale is small, but the customer base is large, if the service is in place, the credibility of the customer will increase. So that customers can promote your products, so that the company can get more customers from the customer base. In addition, the current development trend of software companies is also a service, and now the service starts to charge everyone has accepted. Software is the service slogan, and software companies will gradually understand it.

Small software companies have to do a lot of work if they want to remain invincible in the competition. The problems mentioned above may not be too common for the company's development. However, there are still many software companies that do not learn from them. For some short-term benefits, some software companies will give up their original goals, some software may give up temporary benefits to pursue greater development of the company. As long as small software companies use their brains, follow the rules, and sum up more, they will stand out from many software companies and find their own way out.