A Beginners Guide to a FOSS/Linux Business and How to Boil Water.

So, you have all this wonderful FOSS/Linux know how and a passion for it. Your passion is so great that you want to make a living doing it. That is sooo cool. But before you do, you need to learn how to boil to water and develop a solid business model around it so you can actually make money. When I first started a Linux Migration biz, I started off as a Linspire reseller, consultant, and builder. I was doing a little of everything and charging LOW fees to do it. I had few clients and when I did have a client, I operated at a loss. I did not give up, however, I kept at it.

I started talking to other Linspire users trying to make a go of this professionally and found it was most of us in the same boat. I then began to wonder...is it possible that being a geek and a businessman are two different things? When the answer to that was yes...I then asked the question: Is it possible for a geek to learn how to be a competent businessman? I found out the answer was yes...but I had to unlearn some bad habits.

I thought a good canned business plan and a swift website with this new toy that everyone either wanted, or should want, would be a license to print money. But first, like learning to cook, I realized you had to start with the very basic elements. Like boiling water. Boiling water is one of the most basic and essential thing to do in many recipes...but there is a proper way to boil water and after you boil the water you have to decide what to do with said water.

So let's put logos and biz plans and marketing arcs and all that to the side and break down the essentials of a business.

First, the whole point of starting a business is to make a profit. You can best do this by providing a good or service that people want and doing this in an ethical manner. But the point is to make a profit.

Now, to start a business, it is best done when you are doing something you are good at and enjoy doing. You likely spend 40-60 hours a week doing something you do not enjoy as much as this dream business.

Now you have a starting point. You want to do something you enjoy and are good at and you want people to pay you for this. You have a starting point and a destination. Now you have to ask who will want or need what you can do? I mean, someone has to buy it for you to make money.

Okay we now have the basics.

I am providing ________ to _______and I want to be able to make $_______ per ____ providing this.

When you fill in the blanks you have the beginnings of a mission statement, a marketing plan, a financial forecast, and a business plan. For right now I am going to stop here. I know there are some of you who are consulting or building and others who want to. If you can fill in the blanks of the above sentence, we can build on that this upcoming Wednesday.

So, this is the baby step called boiling water. I am going to add some salt to this boiling water on Wednesday, but I would first like to see some comments on how you would fill in the blanks. Bear with me, I know I started at a very redundant level here and I may have said stuff you already know, but this first step is important.

Now, to boil water it is important to have a pot large enough to accommodate the water and any other ingredients to be added later and a cover that fits snugly over the top is good. Always use cold water from the tap as it is is fresher than the lukewarm water laying about your pipes. Never fill the water to the top of the pot because the water will expand as the heat increases and any items you add will also increase the volume within the pot. Those bubbles need room to do their thing. If you wish the process to go faster, place the top on the pot but watch for steam as you place the heat on high. When you see steam, remove the top and see how things are going.

Small bubbles clinging to the bottom are air bubbles already part of the water but larger bubbles coming from the bottom indicate that you, my friend, are boiling water.

Cheers