saas系saas系_如何从自由职业者过渡到SaaS创始人

saas系saas系

As a web developer, you probably have found that clients often share similar pains. For example, most small businesses which purchase eCommerce systems need simpler interfaces to make the products less intimidating. You might have a way to streamline website creation or a better way for customers to process payments. Regardless of the purpose, if you find that you are commonly reusing code across multiple projects, it's worth looking into rolling out your own software as a service (SaaS) platform.

作为Web开发人员，您可能已经发现客户经常会遇到类似的麻烦。 例如，大多数购买电子商务系统的小型企业都需要更简单的界面来减少产品的威胁性。 您可能有一种简化网站创建的方法，或者是一种更好的让客户处理付款的方法。 无论目的如何，如果您发现通常在多个项目中重复使用代码，则值得研究推出自己的软件即服务(SaaS)平台。

Making the transition from being a freelance web developer to a SaaS product owner doesn't have to be difficult. Once you've done your research to ensure there is a demand for your product, as discussed in Sitepoint there are plenty of resources you can use to determine the competitive landscape of your offering and whether the niche is profitable.

从自由的Web开发人员过渡到SaaS产品所有者不一定很困难。 一旦完成研究以确保对产品有需求，如Sitepoint所述 ，您将可以使用大量资源来确定产品的竞争格局以及利基市场是否有利可图。

不一定容易赚钱 (Not Necessarily Easy Money)

When done properly, offering a SaaS product can be a great way to build a steady stream of income. Unfortunately one of the biggest challenges a web developer faces when launching a new offering is sales. As discussed on the Andersen Horowitz blog, sales isn't just about showing value to a consumer. SaaS offerings need to provide new value to the consumer.

如果做得正确，提供SaaS产品可能是建立稳定收入来源的好方法。 不幸的是，Web开发人员在推出新产品时面临的最大挑战之一是销售。 正如在Andersen Horowitz博客上所讨论的那样，销售不仅仅是向消费者展示价值。 SaaS产品需要为消费者提供新的价值。

If your product isn't addressing a pain point other products ignore, what incentive is there for prospects to choose your offering? If you're thinking of creating a SaaS solution, a good way to enter the space while reducing your risk is to repurpose code you've already written for clients. For example, if you have a custom eCommerce configuration or content management system (CMS) you use for projects, offer to host the project on your servers as part of a subscription package.

如果您的产品不能解决其他产品忽略的痛点，那么潜在客户选择您的产品有什么诱因？ 如果您正在考虑创建SaaS解决方案，那么在降低风险的同时进入空间的一种好方法是重新利用已经为客户编写的代码。 例如，如果您具有用于项目的自定义电子商务配置或内容管理系统(CMS)，则可以将其作为订阅包的一部分在服务器上托管该项目。

从预算托管毕业 (Graduating from Budget Hosting)

Aside from sales, handling the technical side of SaaS management can be a challenge for many web developers. The dynamic nature of SaaS products means you'll be balancing the needs of all your customers rather than one specific client.

除了销售，对于许多Web开发人员来说，处理SaaS管理的技术方面可能也是一个挑战。 SaaS产品的动态特性意味着您将平衡所有客户而不是一个特定客户的需求。

Since many shared hosts have strict limitations on resource usage and the level of access you have to the operating system, these vendors are never an option for rolling out your own subscription service. Instead you'll need to use virtual private servers (VPS) or dedicated systems.

由于许多共享主机在资源使用和您对操作系统的访问级别上都有严格的限制，因此这些供应商绝不会推出自己的订阅服务。 相反，您将需要使用虚拟专用服务器(VPS)或专用系统。

While choosing a provider can be overwhelming due to the abundance of vendors, Sitepoint has a summary of an extensive study on the topic.

由于供应商众多，选择供应商可能会让人不知所措， Sitepoint总结了对该主题进行的广泛研究。

In most cases you'll want to choose managed servers for your offering as it enables you to focus on product development. Although unmanaged servers typically are cheaper, they don't provide support beyond hardware maintenance. If you have a system administrator you already use, you might save money depending on your billing arrangements. Ultimately the choice boils down to how much expertise you want to keep in-house and what you would prefer to outsource.

在大多数情况下，您需要为产品选择托管服务器，因为它使您可以专注于产品开发。 尽管非托管服务器通常更便宜，但它们不提供硬件维护以外的支持。 如果您已有系统管理员，则可以根据帐单安排省钱。 最终，选择取决于您想保留多少内部专业知识以及您希望外包的专业知识。

提供客户服务 (Providing Customer Service)

When running a subscription based business, providing quality customer service is vital to the success of your company as it's part of keeping users loyal to your brand. Although it's a area to address, Guy Kawasaki's book Enchantment is a must read for anyone looking to learn about providing quality service to their customers.

在运行基于订阅的业务时，提供优质的客户服务对于公司的成功至关重要，因为这是保持用户对您的品牌的忠诚度的一部分。 尽管这是一个需要解决的问题，但是对于希望学习向其客户提供优质服务的任何人来说，Guy Kawasaki的《 魅力》一书都是必读的。

Although not a SaaS company per se, Zappos is one of the best examples of a technology company embracing the customer first model. It's a similar model except for your offering, you're delivering intangible goods to the consumer rather than clothing.

尽管Zappos本身并不是一家SaaS公司，但它是一家采用客户至上模型的技术公司的最佳典范之一。 除了提供产品外，这是一个类似的模型，您是向消费者提供无形商品，而不是服装。

In general the key principles to keep in mind when considering customer service within your project is that you should treat it with the same level of care as your code. Remember, the customer is more important than the company. If you have staff handling customer service you need to empower them to do what is best (within reasonable limits) to help resolve customer issues.

通常，在项目中考虑客户服务时要牢记的关键原则是，您应将其与代码同等地对待。 请记住，客户比公司更重要。 如果您有处理客户服务的人员，则需要授权他们去做最好的事情(在合理范围内)以帮助解决客户问题。

For example, rather than just refunding a purchase, an employee might offer an additional credit for a future purchase. Maybe a customer is having financial problems and they need a discount for a couple of months to keep their subscription active. By embracing compassion within your business, you can stand out even in the most saturated markets.

例如，员工可能会为未来的购买提供额外的信贷，而不仅仅是退款。 也许客户遇到财务问题，他们需要打折几个月才能保持订阅状态。 通过在企业中怀抱同情心，即使在最饱和的市场中，您也可以脱颖而出。

略拓视野 (Slightly Expanding Your Horizons)

Owning a SaaS product isn't necessarily too different from being a freelance web development professional. In fact being a freelancer requires similar skills to running a SaaS company.

拥有SaaS产品与成为自由网络开发专业人员不一定有太大区别。 实际上，成为自由职业者需要与运营SaaS公司相似的技能。

Delivering quality customer service and providing reliable products are both duties you have as a freelancer.

作为一名自由职业者，提供优质的客户服务和提供可靠的产品都是您的职责。

The biggest adjustment you'll need to make when offering a SaaS product is knowing how to properly manage staff and contractors so you aren't spread too thin. Of course it's up to you how you scale your offering. It might be limited to a handful of customers or you might aspire to be the next billion dollar company. It all depends on your goals and objectives.

提供SaaS产品时，您需要做的最大调整就是知道如何正确地管理员工和承包商，以免您的工作范围太分散。 当然，这取决于您如何扩展产品。 它可能只限于少数客户，或者您可能渴望成为下一个十亿美元的公司。 这完全取决于您的目标。

翻译自: https://www.sitepoint.com/saas-founder/

saas系saas系