Hi Carl, Good to hear from you.
I'm very glad to hear your story and that things are going well for you, especially the romantic part. I've given up on finding a woman willing to put up with a workaholic. Had a great day today! Installed and setup my app for a new customer, and it's working fine. I'm exhausted but exhilarated. Converting data has always been a major pain, but with the tools I've developed over time it was easier then ever before. That part took about 6 hours. Not bad considering. > I have a vertical market application. Version 1.0 was out in 1989. > > Historically, clients pay a monthly lease fee which covers > support and updates. I also allow clients to go to a > permanent lease where they pay a monthly multiple (up front > or spread over a few months) and annual maintenance and support The reason I don't care for monthly (versus annual) billing is the invoicing and collections process, which I see as a time-waster. And the collecting part, when it has to done, just sucks altogether. Annual billing, by definition, cuts it all to 1/12th the work. But, if that's what the customer really wants, I'll just have to do it. I've picked up a new motto that I couldn't shake after hearing it: "He profits Most Who Services Best". Google says it's from the Rotary Club. Common sense, but good wording. > The model has provided a reasonable income for almost 20 > years. A number of my clients have been around for 15 - 19 > years. One is on a permanent lease which began in 1994 or so. I do have one rock-solid customer, two (now elderly) ladies who have been running an FPD app I wrote in the mid 90's, and it's been a great relationship, albeit not very profitable for me. I find it amazing to visit and see the app still running after all these years without any of my involvement. Now with VFP, of course, things are much more involved and the possibilities much greater, so I don't expect too many "sell once and that's the end of it" customers. > I decided this model - back then when I had 3 children less > than high school age. I could not afford the feast or famine > routine. The three are through college. Around 2000 - which > would have been 30 years of marriage - my wife decided we > needed a divorce. It was out of nowhere (we had just bought > land and were planning an upscale home.) Anyway, it hit me > hard and for almost 5 years I felt sorry for myself and > chased every attractive woman within 25 miles. > > The business was put on auto pilot. For the most part, I did > maintenance only - maybe 5 hours a week of hands on effort. > As good as the model is - it wound down. Understood. But it was a success story that's nice to hear. > Bill - the attributes you enumerated for a sales assistant > are on the money. Thanks. It's just very hard to find the right person. I've combed through family and friends, and even this week had another heart-to-heart talk with one of my daughters (I've got 3 that I raised as a single parent) on the subject, and it just isn't the right match for her at this time. She wants to be outside working, not stuck at home. Understandable, but my argument is that there is a lot of money to be made if we do it right. I suspect she thinks that I've been building this for so long that I'll never be done. Only part right :) > Oh yea - I am cranking it back up and the opportunity is > tremendous. Along the way I became involved with a very > attractive and personable woman. She loves new environments > - she loves to meet new people. There are potential clients > who are not ready to jump and she calls them every week - at > a prearranged time. They love to talk to her - especially > the women. Kids, school, husbands, no topic is out of > bounds. On occasion she cannot call as arranged - and they > wonder if there is a problem! I have to laugh - it took over > a year to develop an understanding of the software - but when > there is a technical question - she determines if "Mr. > Lindner" is available! Geee! Excellent story! Best wishes. Bill > Gil - the model does become a relationship where you and the > client participate for common benefit. I have found > everything you mention correct. If I may add - my clients > know their business I do not. So we encourage them to > recommend changes and improvements. Works very well. > > Just my 2 cents. > > Carl Lindner > _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
