Can I design, develop, and market an iOS app all by myself or should I hire staff?
I'm a UX/UI Designer with some knowledge in computer science, I know how code works, how database works, etc. I just need to learn more in deep to being able to do the things my app needs to accomplish.
With that being said, do you think it is a crazy idea to do it all by myself?
- Design -> I definitely can do it
- Development -> I'll figure out with trials and errors
- Marketing -> I know how to create landing pages, Facebook ads, and Google Adwords, how to create email campaigns.
Or do you advice that I must hire staff? Problem is, I don't have the financial capacity to hire staff. What approach you think I should take, the same if I want to move to web apps?
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Sep 19, 2014
Hi Javier,
There's a number of sites where you can get the help of developers with a minimal fee. I myself is a developer and am handling projects.
In pursuing this, there's one thing you want to do first: Identify what role you want to fit in first.
1. Project Manager - you set the direction and the general outcome of the project
2. Designer - you conceptualize and apply a design that will make your ideas produce the results you want
3. Developer - you turn those designs into working buttons! (simple as that, hehe)
I have done every role I mentioned above and this I tell you, each of them takes commitment.
Thanks,
Rodney
Sep 19, 2014
If you have both the skills and time to handle all those tasks then you're starting ultra lean and agile. More power to you and bring on help via elance or other low cost independent contractor scenario.
But: you must protect your intellectual property and have simple but fully protective agreements with any collaborators. You don't want to design, code and market a great app only to have fairly simple legal documentation
problems undermine your licensing or acquisition.
Sep 19, 2014
You can do it yourself but you have to be realistic. I recommend using the lean methodology and build your MVP (minimum viable product) first. Look at your list of features and divide them into two columns, what you need now and what can wait until version 1.2.
It seems like you have a well-balanced skill set and you should be able to implement design and marketing easily. Your problem at the moment is development. I can tell you that the new Xcode and iOS8 has thrown me a few curve balls. Hack it out, but maybe reach out to someone who has a bit of Objective-C and C# background so you can have faster iterations. With Xcode, you have so many possible issues that having someone to talk to would help a lot. Also, get on GitHub!
In short, yes you can, but keep the project light and get it to market as soon as possible.
Sep 19, 2014
You do not need to hire staff. If you can do it yourself you should just start and build it and experiment. Don't hire staff UNLESS it's for a specific task only, or if you have an investor. In development things will take 3x as long as you estimated and having people on payroll funded out of pocket is a stupid idea. Unless of course someone is backing you. It sounds like you don't have an investor so don't bother with the staff. You need to be in control of your code since your value proposition relies on it. Don't put it in someone else's hands unless it's a vested co-founder.
Sep 19, 2014
You do what you're good at and hire staff for everything else. If you have the finance for long run, hire an specialized agency or a freelancer on a fixed cost basis for the project. For example you can outsource the development part to an agency like ours or you can find a lot of agencies from elance or moisaichubs hirerequest section like Kimberly suggested.
Sep 19, 2014
Hi Javier,
If you do want to take the route of breaking it up into small projects to hire developers for, you can also find really skilled mobile developers right here on mosaicHUB! This is the link to our project board if you're interested: http://www.mosaichub.com/user/hirerequest
Best,
Kim Lombard
Community Manager
Sep 19, 2014
Funny thing I have been in the same boat. I think it's important that you know where your skills are like you outlined above.
You will need to team up with or get educated on these things. Those are your only options. I do not believe in hiring full-time. You break each piece up into a smaller project and use places like fivver, elance and odesk to do each part individually.
For marketing you again can get people or get trained. There are many great marketing coaches out there who can guide and help you.
In the end I do not believe in hiring staff unless you have an established company with constant money coming in. There are a lot of virtual assistants and freelancers out there that can help you.
Sep 19, 2014
Javier ...Do you have to hire staff? Absolutely not. Not in the beginning. Not ever. Or, if you so choose over time as the business grows then you can hire staff if you so choose to.
In the meantime, there are a variety of methods. You can hire coders, marketing people and alike on a contractual basis using Freelancer, Elance, ODesk, Sologig and a host of other platforms. You could develop strategic alliances with professionals or companies with the experience you need.
This is where having a well thought out business plan is essential. You need to do a SWOT analysis which it looks like you started to do. You need people around you that compensate for your weaknesses while enhancing your strengths.
Sep 19, 2014
check out eLance -- i've used it in the past to hire freelancers to write code for me (and I know how to design software...it was just really cheap to get them to do it).
If the project is well-defined you can get stuff done for pretty cheap. I had a guy do probably 3 days of work on a fixed price project, and it cost $50. This may be a great option if you already know how to do the design. You will probably find issues in the stuff they produce, but you can always send it back and get it done again. The way elance works, the money is held in escrow until you're happy with the result, so you dont pay if the work sucks. Plus you can see reviews, so if someone has 4-5 stars you should get a pretty good product.
NOTE: I don't make any money, nor am I affiliated with eLance in any way.
Thanks Ryan,
Definitely this is a solid option to consider, you may also learn how to delegate tasks, review work produced, and learn a lot during the process of working with remote professionals which is great too.
I'm also would like to hear stories of people how achieve all that alone, I guess they are just a few crazy ones, I've found it fascinating doing all alone it could be a great adventure or a total waste of time.