Now, creating a piece of software is going to be a little more challenging than creating an information product. The question is just how much of a challenge you are willing to take on. If you are going to create a mobile app, then assuming it’s something simple, this will require a relatively low investment and should be something most
readers can accomplish.
On the other hand though, if your intention is to create a SaaS business model, this will involve a lot more work.
That is because creating software that can be a service will normally mean creating something that runs in the browser and is cloud enabled. In other words, people need to be able to log in from anywhere, edit files, communicate with others, etc.
This then means that your program is going to need to run on a server, which immediately makes things more complicated as now you will need to understand how servers work and you will probably need multiple coding languages in order to handle what’s going on behind the scenes (called the ‘backend’). You will also need to deal with customer complaints and potential errors and generally provide a service.
This is not a passive model and it has a much larger barrier to entry. Of course on the other hand, creating a SaaS model means that you have much more guaranteed income and potentially earn much more from each customer. Once again then, the best advice is to start with something much more simple like a mobile app and then to build up to bigger challenges such as a web app.
Either way, you are going to either need to learn programming or you are going to need to find someone who can help you do that. Once again, you can outsource the creation of your software by going to Elance and UpWork. If you are building a SaaS business, then note that you are going to need a ‘full stack developer’ which means that you are hiring someone who understands everything from HTML and CSS (which are used in web design) to PHP and Linux.
In other words, they need to know every stage of the coding process and each element that contributes to a smoothly
running piece of cloud software. If you can’t find a true full stack developer, then you will more likely need a team.
For mobile apps, finding a developer will be a bit simpler. Do make sure you see a sample of their work first though and for preference, try to choose someone who is in your local area so that you can work together at the same computer. This will save you a LOT of time.
Doing It Yourself
If you want to create your own software though, then what options do you have? Unfortunately, this is a massive question and not one that can easily be answered here. Suffice to say that there are hundreds if not thousands of
programming languages out there and the right one to learn will depend entirely on your skill level and the nature of your project. To make an Android app for instance you will need to learn Java, as well as how to use the Android SDK.
Conversely, if you are making a computer game for the PC, then the easiest strategy is likely going to be learning to use Unity which will require a little coding in C#. As mentioned, creating a web app is a huge undertaking and will require you to learn HTML and CSS along with PHP, Python or Ruby, several frameworks and more. All this is not to say that learning to code can’t be done.
Just recognize that there is no single way to do it and it will take time. If you are coding yourself then you must start with a simple project. Buy yourself a book, do lots of Googling and work towards something very simple as a learning exercise to begin with. Another option is to use something like an ‘app builder’.
These are very limited in terms of what they can accomplish though and won’t be suitable for most online business models. So this option is a little harder than the last two. Still though, if you can create something truly useful and unique then you will have contributed greatly to the web and you can be very proud of that! And while unlikely, this has very real potential to make you very rich!
