Going "commercial"...

[George-Bowyer]

Hi,

I am a hobby Access-ist, if that's a word, who learned from a book or two for fun and have used what I learned to build a database for my club, which, after being used and improved for several years, now does pretty much what I want and of which I am relatively proud.

Being realistic though, it's probably full of schoolboy errors and things that are not done as efficiently as they could be if I knew more.

However, several people from similar clubs have expressed an interest in acquiring a copy of it to use for their clubs and a willingness to part with sheckles for the privilege. (Enough to make me interested, but still relatively small-beer in the grand scheme of things).

What I am curious about is how to go about offering upgrades?

If, after a period, I have added new features and improvements to my db (possibly with feedback from other users) and I would like to offer my customers the option to upgrade, how does one go about doing so?

Obviously they will have filled their dbs with data, so I can't just send them a new empty copy, because they would lose all the relationships that they had built up in their current copy.

The long-winded version would I assume be to go to them (either physically or online) and manually change forms, reports and modules to the new versions and add any necessary new fields or tables required, etc.

But it occurs to me that there might be a more automated version of doing it - but if there is, it's something that has not yet hit my radar and I would appreciate some advice on where to look to learn about it?


Likewise, I probably ought to think about some sort of insurance (although I don't honestly think that it'll ever involve much value of "liability") and was wondering if anyone had any advice in that regard.

Many thanks,

George

 

[isladogs]

Before giving you some answers, can you please tell me
a) is your database split? If so, is the BE ACCESS or SQL Server?
b) do you have a website which could be used to distribute updates/upgrades?
c) what is your specific concern re liability insurance

 

[June7]

Exactly what does this db do - membership tracking with accounting for fees? Probably already plenty of commercial products out there.

Spilt the database. Tables in backend and user interface in frontend. Of course, this design has its own challenges. Frontend links to backend have to be re-established with updates. Also, if tables are modified the users backend must be modified without destroying data.

Unless you distribute the frontend as an executable and/or password protect with shift key bypass disabled (and password protect backend) they can make any changes they want - which could cause conflicts with your updates.

Do you think you will make enough money off this to make all the hassle worthwhile?

Other approach is to just give them the db to use at their own risk and any future mods are their problem.

 

[George-Bowyer]

Before giving you some answers, can you please tell me
a) is your database split? If so, is the BE ACCESS or SQL Server?
b) do you have a website which could be used to distribute updates/upgrades?
c) what is your specific concern re liability insurance

Hello.

Thanks for your reply.

a) Yes, the db is split. My version is Access FE with the BE in sharepoint tables, because I share it with one or two other people in the club. If I give it to other people to use, I was thinking access FE and BE,

b) Yes, I have a website.

c) Nothing major. A couple of the people who might be interested run their clubs on a semi-commercial basis, so if something I did lost them all their business data, say, I suppose I could be sued.

Exactly what does this db do - membership tracking with accounting for fees? Probably already plenty of commercial products out there.

It is much more specific than that. It implements an arcane set of rules and scoring systems, manages a complicated set of relationships between members and produces scoresheets and league results and various other things and works out who needs to be sent what.

There's nothing magical about the design. I imagine most people on here could replicate the data relationships perfectly easily if they wanted to - but for people who don't understand databases and work the whole thing out on bits of paper, it does seem like magic.

There might be a maximum of 200 people in the country who might want it, of which 10% might buy it , so it's not really going to be worth the while of a commercial company to bother. However, as I happen to already have it in my pocket...

Do you think you will make enough money off this to make all the hassle worthwhile?

I'm not imagining many holidays to the Bahamas, but it might feed my habit for more Access books.

Spilt the database. Tables in backend and user interface in frontend. Of course, this design has its own challenges. Frontend links to backend have to be re-established with updates. Also, if tables are modified the users backend must be modified without destroying data.

Unless you distribute the frontend as an executable and/or password protect with shift key bypass disabled (and password protect backend) they can make any changes they want - which could cause conflicts with your updates.

Other approach is to just give them the db to use at their own risk and any future mods are their problem.

The latter approach was my initial idea - but then I got greedy...

 

[isladogs]

a) Yes, the db is split. My version is Access FE with the BE in sharepoint tables, because I share it with one or two other people in the club. If I give it to other people to use, I was thinking access FE and BE,

b) Yes, I have a website.

c) Nothing major. A couple of the people who might be interested run their clubs on a semi-commercial basis, so if something I did lost them all their business data, say, I suppose I could be sued.

a) Good. Trying to update unsplit databases without overwriting data is a nightmare.
I have no experience of Sharepoint but several years experience distributing both Access & SQL BE files. Both work well with Access FEs

b) Again good. This can be used to distribute updates to FEs and where appropriate manage changes to BEs. I include script as part of my updates to manage the relinking process & to make any required changes to BE tables (new or changed fields / tables)

Suggest you look at this thread:
How to create a web version checker. It includes an example database & links to update pages on my website so you can see how I manage the process

NOTE: most of the updates on my website require a license key so no point in downloading (except for the free apps)

c) you should supply a EULA with your apps which includes statements that clients are responsible for managing their own data including making regular backups. Having said that, you need to thoroughly test your apps in a variety of situations to ensure all risk of data loss is close to zero

d) you are wise to manage your expectations of income. I have been distributing apps for several years (on a part-time basis) but that acts as top-up earnings rather than as a sole source of income

 

[Mike375]

d) you are wise to manage your expectations of income. I have been distributing apps for several years (on a part-time basis) but that acts as top-up earnings rather than as a sole source of income

I was able to do it as full time source of income and a very good income.

However, a couple of advantages I probably has was I had been in the insurance business so could cold call and sell and of course was already self employed and had been that way since I was 21.

The money is not in making full data bases. Probably the most common thing I did is knocking off Excel stuff that the small business is using.

I was also fortunate that I had made a very large and complex data base for use by insurance blokes and as a result had just about every coding/queries and so on made in some format.

An "upgrade" for me is something paid for as it invariably means adding other functions that can be performed.

To make good money from making full data bases you need to employ people who can do what I call the hack work. To use a car analogy someone could design and make a car where the performance, fuel economy etc. is spot on but at this stage the car only has one seat, no windscreen wipers, headlights etc. The hack worker does what is required to get it ready for sale in a showroom.

There are several other things but I am sure you get the idea.

One thing you must do is align yourself with some other blokes who do what you don't/won't do so you can them the prospect and of course they send prospects to you.

 

[George-Bowyer]

One thing you must do is align yourself with some other blokes who do what you don't/won't do so you can them the prospect and of course they send prospects to you.

My current plan is to tap into the clubs and societies market, producing quite small, simple apps that are disproportionately useful to people who are usually volunteers trying to run a club in their spare time. I've already done a few that I can expand on.

It's the sort of thing that the bigger companies won't find commercially viable, but that I do for fun (I work mostly out-of-doors, so whereas other people work 9-5 on their computers and then go into the countryside for R&R, I do the reverse...) - so if I can earn some extra revenue, all the better.

Finding a bigger company to tit-for-tat with would be a great idea. Now, how to go about it...?

 

[Mike375]

My current plan is to tap into the clubs and societies market, producing quite small, simple apps that are disproportionately useful to people who are usually volunteers trying to run a club in their spare time. I've already done a few that I can expand on.

It's the sort of thing that the bigger companies won't find commercially viable, but that I do for fun (I work mostly out-of-doors, so whereas other people work 9-5 on their computers and then go into the countryside for R&R, I do the reverse...) - so if I can earn some extra revenue, all the better.

Finding a bigger company to tit-for-tat with would be a great idea. Now, how to go about it...?

Just wait until you come across a case and then get the phone book out.

You get better results approaching companies if you actually have a real live prospect for them.

Probably the big thing is to decide if you want fiddle around on the side for a few extra dollars or go full time at it.

 

[George-Bowyer]

Probably the big thing is to decide if you want fiddle around on the side for a few extra dollars or go full time at it.

Both. My plan is to fiddle around on the side for a while, get a few extra bucks and, more importantly, more experience.

Then one of my club clients is going to say "Hey, this thing you did for my club is really great, can you make one for my business?"

Boom.

(Yes, of course it's going to be as easy as that. I require it to be so...)

 

[Lightwave]

I think with patience and a following wind that strategy might work.

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

There might be a maximum of 200 people in the country who might want it, of which 10% might buy it , so it's not really going to be worth the while of a commercial company to bother.

I think you might be surprised how many people would buy it, and and how much they pay for it!

My brother-in-law runs a bridge club as a business. He recently bought a card sorting machine for £3,000!

I couldn't believe he paid so much for this little tiny machine, with this one obscure task.

A marketing guy once told me that you should sell your product for what it is worth to the customer in other words how much money time whatever does it save the customer.

The card sorting machine is a good example, it saves hours of tedious work making up Bridge hands it does it automatically from a computer program.

It might be worth finding someone that is good at selling to think about the problem of selling it for you...

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