I remember attending “business” talks at conferences in the early days of the App Store. Internet famous, recently made millionaire spends 45 minutes talking about his Ferrari and how you too can be just as successful with your app. Just make sure you hire a designer for your icon.
It was inspiring, and you always went home thinking you were just months away from wealth and fame. As soon as you find that designer…
Fast forward seven years, and that sort of talk doesn’t really fly anymore.
The wealth is consolidating; every year, fewer apps take a bigger percentage of the overall pie, and more small players drop out entirely or at least stop trying. Sound familiar? It’s called capitalism. It’s exactly what’s supposed to happen in a maturing market.
But as I walk up and down the island of Manhattan most days, I notice small local hardware stores, restaurants, even computer repair shops. There’s still room for indies in the post Home Depot, Olive Garden, and Apple Store world. Just as there is still room for indie developers in the post King, EA Sports, and Facebook world. There aren’t riches and fame awaiting every developer with a half-decent grasp of Xcode. But there is definitely an opportunity for some of us to make a living as independent entrepreneurs on the world’s largest software platform.
Maybe you are one of the people who has already given up. Maybe you feel like you missed your shot, and the gold rush is over. But if not, if you’re actually willing to develop your business skills and want to make a real go at sustainability — even if that takes years — then you are actually better off now that so many are starting to take their balls and go home.
The playing field for independent software development is about to get less crowded. But the remaining players will all be pros. So you’d better be ready to play like a pro.
More Recent business talks at indie iOS and Mac conferences are different from the talks of old. You may or may not have heard of the speaker or their app. But if the talk is any good, you can be sure that person knows exactly how they succeeded and has advice that goes way beyond “build a great product, and they will come.” You listen to the struggles, the failures, the strategies, and you take it all in and say to yourself “I can make it work, too.” You still go home inspired, but now you are also armed with some knowledge you can actually apply.
We can’t expect Apple or any other multi-billion dollar corporation to support us or make our success easier. All we have is each other. This community of independent entrepreneurs that is constantly experimenting, adapting, learning, and sharing.
Isn’t it great that we do have each other, at least?
This is why Release Notes exists. Charles and I know we’re not alone in wanting to succeed at this thing. We also know that there are some who are actually succeeding at this thing, though we don’t hear much about them. For 120+ episodes, we’ve attempted to present our views and those of our guests about what seems to work and what doesn’t. And now with our conference, we’re inviting this community into a room for three days to network, learn from each other, establish relationships, and compare data.
If we’re not willing to struggle together, then we are missing an incredible opportunity. This is how we survive as a small fish in an ocean of corporations.
There will be no Ferrari drivers who don’t know why they are successful on our stage. Instead, what we will have is plenty of honest, practical advice you can apply to your business. Some of our speakers are succeeding on the App Store. Others are coming from other parts of the tech world, where the market matured years ago. Some are kicking it solo, while others have built companies from one or two employees into something much larger.
Most importantly, the room will be filled with people from all over the world who belong to this community. Meals will be shared. Conversations will be had. Emails will be exchanged. And relationships will be formed.
I’ve been going to conferences a long time. I know exactly how valuable they have been to my business. But never before in the iOS and Mac development community has there been a conference focused solely on improving our business skills. And the time has never been more right, as we transition into this mature market.
Release Notes will take place on October 21–23 in Indianapolis, IN, USA. Tickets are still available, but time and availability are running out. Get yours today and join us.
