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Building a Small IT Consulting Business Based on Linux (Video)
When you call your business Penguin Computer & Telephone Solutions, it's obvious that Linux is your favorite operating system. Company owner Frank Sflanga, Jr. happily works on Windows, Mac and whatever else you want or have around, but he is a Linux person at heart; in fact, he's a founder and leading member of The Southwest Florida GNU/Linux Users Group. But the point of this interview, which some will want to label an ad (although it's not), is to show how Frank started his one-man consulting business and made it successful so that other Slashdot readers can follow in his footsteps and become self-employed -- if they are so inclined. You might want to note that most of Frank's clients were not familiar with Linux when he first started working with them, and most are not particularly interested in software licensing matters as long as Frank keeps their stuff working. You might also want to note that Ft. Myers, FL, where Frank is located, is not exactly famous as a hotbed of leading-edge technology, which means that even if you live someplace similar, where business owners ask "What's a Linux?" you might be able to make a decent living running a Linux-based IT consulting business.
Forget it, back to work.
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
Why does he not call it GNU/Linux? Stallman would be cross . . .
"no one calls to say they misplaced their printer icon"; No adobe update notifications, don't need to defrag or update, etc..... Why not? Linux doesn't do away with any of this. Package updates break things on Linux as often as they do on any other platform. Adobe needs updates on Linux too. The difference is that the users are scared to touch anything, so they don't. Instead of users buying software and doing their own work, they hire him to administer free software - I am OK with that, but I hate the myth that Linux "just works". There is a reason, that even with all the free software that exists, the software companies are still in business.
Unless that business is in hosting, supercomputing, science, robotics, software development, or some other little cottage industry.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
I run a very profitable company that started out as a Linux consulting shop.
I started my company back in 1999 when Linux really wasn't on business's radar. The keys to success were:
For me, it has been a terrific 14 year ride with a great future ahead. Not a losing proposition by a long shot.
you must be new to computers...
Phones: Android, iOS, win 7/8
Games: all 3 have uniques, Linux can use wine, i'm sure there's an osx solution
Servers: RedHat, win server 2000-2012, OSX server
They fired him, and we refuse to support a linux environment
Ah, incompetent, I see.
-- Linux user #369862
$50k for "just some files and a website" - WTF?
Where and how do you spend $50,000 on a file server and web server?
Lets me guess, Windows + SharePoint + SQL Server....
What's On Your Network ??? http://www.open-audit.org/
I'm fairly sure you are entirely fucking insane.
The whole Linux/OSX vs windows on gaming thing has become less and less of a gap. you apparently don't know that?
I own Greenwire Technology Solutions (https://greenwireit.com), here in Fort Myers, FL. I'm from the area, and I've owned my company for five years now. We have 12 employees and do pretty well. That said, I've been a linux user for over 10 years now, and have a lot of professional competence with *nix based systems. We support equipment on a range of platforms. I think it's important to be careful to not try and make a square peg fit into a round hole. There are business use cases where Linux does a great job. But I think it's important to take into consideration that those Virtual Machines, the added complexity of maintaining a cross platform environment, not having native access to specialised line of business applications, and lost productivity due to retraining; all add to the total TCO of changing to a FOSS platform. I personally know what managing these types of issues looks like, because we have environments where they are present for whatever reason. I've found in my professional experience that it's important to not try and 'convert' users. But rather to act as a good trusted adviser and find a solution that is minimally disruptive to their business.
One more thing.. if you have the skills, a great way to become known is to write and give away Free Software. I wrote three GPL'd software packages: RP-PPPoE, Remind and MIMEDefang which got me far more business leads than $100,000 worth of ads.
Who is this senile old man interviewing him? This is horribly awkward.
Linux is for tiny shops and giant shops. That is the conclusion that I have come to. I work for large large businesses (you have heard of every single one of my clients). Windows 7 is the client, Linux is the server. With the advent of REST and web architectures, you can completely decouple the server from the client. Decoupling is not even a feature anymore, but a requirement.
This, You can do whatever the hell niche you want as long as there is some demand, the market is not entirely saturated, and you turn down work that does not fit your niche. #1 rule to business: part ways when you are out of your sweet spot. Surprisingly difficult piece of advice to follow in the real world, but respect for anyone who can pull it off.