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Earning Money with Open Source Software?

Posted by Soulskill on from the sweat-of-my-brow dept.

An anonymous reader writes "I've been working on a financial application which I've decided to release to the public. I want to make some money from the application, though I certainly don't expect to become a millionaire. The problem is that I'd like nothing better than to open-source it. There are many aspects of the application that I don't have time to refine, and other developers could definitely improve upon my work. However, I don't know how I earn money from something once I've made it open source. How have you dealt with trying to turn a reasonable profit on your work while remaining open-sourced?"

10 of 279 comments (clear)

  1. Are you new here? by jawtheshark · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FSF view on selling software

    Also: Software as a service

    Finally, there is also consultancy for your own project. You need help installing it? You want a feature? Hand over the cash!

    No, I haven't done it. Mainly because I'd rather not be my own boss. The payoff is high, but so are the risks. I'd rather be a wage-slave and let my boss bear the risks.

    --
    Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
    1. Re:Are you new here? by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Free software is by and for people who are scratching their own itch.

      Your question could be reduced to "I've invented a new hammer that works much better than old ones, but anyone can make a hammer just like it. How am I going to make money off my hammer?"

      The answer is simple. USE your new hammer to build things instead of calling a halt to your problem solving career and trying to open a hammer store.

      --
      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
    2. Re:Are you new here? by riseoftheindividual · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Some other possibilities to add to those:

      Produce a printed manual sell it from the main site.

      Produce a lightweight but useful book and go into the software from more of a practical application standpoint than your standard manual/documentation, and sell it either dead tree or ebook format on the main site.

      Ads on the main site.

      Get a nice catchy logo for your project and arrange to sell logo'd tees, coffee mugs, etc... on your site. There are sites out there that will let you do this with little to no capital up front.

      This one will be controversial here, but hey futz it... talk to some Indian support firms and see about possibly hiring them to offer support, which you then sell from the main site of the application, where you will serve as "level 2" tech support.

      Most important of all, if you decide to do any of this, just freaking do it. Don't second guess yourself once you've decided. Move forward in total confidence, daily feeling/envisioning your goals attained.

      --
      Patriot - A fan of expanding government power and spending while not wanting to pay higher taxes.
    3. Re:Are you new here? by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You get enticed to solve problems, not invent tools. Money is enticement.

      If you can't find a single person out there who has a problem that needs solving and involves your new tool, your new tool is useless.

      A tool is a means to achieve a goal, not a goal in itself. If there is no goal at the end of the train, then yes, your whole pyramid is built of meaningless crap.

      Being that this is finances he's talking about, all of it is meaningless. The value of financial software is in how close to zero you can bring the time you spend working on it, because it's all administrative overhead and no productivity whatsoever.

      Financial stuff gets stale fast as laws change, so I might suggest something along the lines of:

      1) Give it away, and sell its advantages strongly far and wide
      2) Make it update itself to the suit the latest legal/financial environment from central servers with new data, but only for paying customers
      3) Create a business model around being "The guys who watch the laws and make sure our software still suits them."

      In other words, don't trap them, empower them, and make money dealing with the ongoing bullshit that's closer to your skill set than their own.

      --
      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
    4. Re:Are you new here? by innerweb · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'd rather be a wage-slave and let my boss bear the risks.

      I have always loved that illusion. What do you think happens to the people who work for a company that tanks (think Enron, Xerox, Auto-Manufacturers)? Their jobs and financial futures are not guaranteed. The truth is that we all shoulder some of the risk. The people at the top do not necessarily have more risk (and in fact most often, they have less).

      InnerWeb

      --
      Freud might say that Intelligent Design is religion's ID.
  2. Learn from thes one who have succeeded by ccguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Learn from the ones that have succeeded, such as mysql or zend.

    I'd suggest you start a company, as you are more likely to be taken seriously by possible clients. And become 'the' company to go for support, customization, etc.
    There must be products who have succeeded as a one man show but honestly I can't think of any.

    Also, drop the 'I don't have time to refine' attitude. If you want to make money, you have time to do whatever your clients require, unless you just feel it's wrong for your product and refuse to do it altogether.

    In short, if you really want to make money, your priorities have to be the ones of your clients', unless you are confident that what you feel like doing today is what someone else will feel like buying tomorrow.

    By the way, is anyone using it already?

  3. You've said it yourself. by k.a.f. · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I want to make some money from the application, though I
    certainly don't expect to become a millionaire. The problem is that
    I'd like nothing better than to open-source it. There are many
    aspects of the application that I don't have time to refine    , and
    other developers could definitely improve upon my work.

    Wow, blatant self-contradiction within three sentences! If the application
    makes you money, then by definition, you can afford some time to work on it.

  4. Ensure there is a demand for your software! by Yahma · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm the author of LiarLiar, an open source Voice Stress detector. Over the years, I've had several offers from various individuals and companies to further develop or improve upon the software. If you develop software that has enough demand, you may be able to offer support services for your software. Don't expect to get rich, or even be able to make a living for that matter.

    The most important thing to keep in mind is, make sure you have a backup source of income. Either a job or something else, as it is unlikely that you will be able to make enough supporting an open source project, unless it becomes very popular.

  5. Sell Windows/Mac binaries, or Sell the Interface by steve_thatguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is actually exactly what I was going to suggest. People running Linux are often either programmers themselves or interested in free/open source software. People running Mac OS and Windows, however, are obviously willing to trade money for the convenience of a point-and-click installer.

    There's another option depending on how well you've defined a core/UI split--open-source the core engine, but charge for the GUI (or possibly for a web interface).

  6. Re:Sell the .EXE files by homer_s · · Score: 4, Insightful

    However, charge for the Windows binaries/installer. Most Windows users will pay $20 rather than have to figure out how to compile it. If they do compile it anyway then their time is worth less than $20 so they could not have afforded it anyway.

    But won't someone just compile it and then give the .EXE for free? Some people might still buy it from him since it is the 'official EXE', but many of them would just get the free EXE.