I have some generic reply and I am not doing business using open source. Just I have added my thoughts in the hope that it may help.
Almost everyone in India knows how to prepare dosa / roti but still almost every shop selling them is making profit. Similarly even if anyone can have source code of an open source software money can be made from that. Explaining that you are not selling software but service may not give an answer to their question. It is difficult for common people to understand what is the real difference between writing a software and services related to it. You have to put things in a way that makes them understand, and it all depends on the context and the person who you are dealing with. Please keep in mind that people don't want software but solution - this can be used as a differentiating factor for the service you provide. One option is adding features to open source software (similar to consulting) for a fee. Hope this helps, PrasannaKumar _______________________________________________ ILUGC Mailing List: http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc ILUGC Mailing List Guidelines: http://ilugc.in/mailinglist-guidelines
