As a founder, you’ve put your heart and soul into creating your business. Nobody does it like you do. Yet all too often, we underestimate the value of custom software and instead find ourselves using off-the-shelf tools that just don’t map to our hard-earned ways of doing things.
Yes, using the project management or billing software you’ve always used is comfortable, but how many times do you find yourself feeling frustrated that it just doesn’t do what you need it to do?
Any time tracker will tell you how much you should bill your clients, but can it tell you which of your employees is the most efficient at a given task? Or if your budgets are accurate in the first place? Can it tell you which activities you undertake for your clients are profitable (or not)?
If any of this resonates with you, you’re probably ready to consider custom software development.
The “software could save me” shuffle
Business owners often find themselves in this loop:
- I need to get a handle on my business.
- I wish I could create this report / track this thing / get this statistic / import this data to another application.
- I don’t have time for this. This is what I’ve got, so I’ll just make it work.
- Wait a month or a week or day, then go back to step 1.
The cool thing about custom software is that it can help you solve any challenge you can come up with.
The best software starts with your frustrations
One of the best ways to start thinking about whether custom software is right for your business is to make a list of your frustrations.
- What are the sticking points in your business?
- Where do you get bogged down?
- What tasks do you have trouble delegating because no one can do it as well as you can?
- Are you working nights and weekends trying to complete administrative work?
- How often are your employees doing things that are below their pay grade just because some one has to do it?
It’s a good idea to ask your executive team about their frustrations as well. Remember, custom software can be employed in many areas of business. Here are some examples:
- CRM
- Project management
- Supply chain
- Reporting
- Sales tracking
- Inventory
- Learning
- Content management
- Financial reporting
- Operations management
- eCommerce
- Healthcare solutions
- and many more
Objections to adopting custom software
That dance you’re doing is a cruel mistress. Let’s take your brain’s objections one at a time:
My employees already know how to use the existing software
Yes, my way of doing things may be sub-optimal, but it’s taken a lot of trial and error to get to this point. And all that effort has left deep grooves. If we switch to a different system, we’ll have to retrain everybody. Who has time for that?
Custom software development presents a rare opportunity. It’s a free pass to revisit your methods of operation and look for opportunities to streamline and delegate.
You’ll be surprised how little training is needed when you’re giving people well-designed tools that enable them to do their jobs in the most efficient way possible.
I know how to use the existing software
Then there’s me. I’m the one who invented all these processes or picked the off-the-shelf software we’re using now. What if I reimagine the way we do things and all that historical data is lost? What if I can’t find the information I need in the new system? Even if that report isn’t perfect, I already know how to read it. What will my employees think if they see me floundering around in my own software?
Breathe. We get it. You’ve got a lot riding on this. And custom software development isn’t without some risk. That’s why you need a partner who can help you gain some perspective, identify the issues and frustrations you’ve been blind to, and help you figure out how to resolve them. (We would humbly suggest that partner is us!)
Custom software is expensive
This is going to cost an arm and a leg, and maybe my first born!
It’s true. Custom software isn’t cheap. But before you decide a custom solution is out of reach, take a hard look at what you’re spending now.
Many common business applications, like CRM systems, email marketing software, and project management platforms exist entirely in the cloud and charge monthly by the seat. You may be paying more than you realize for your existing solutions. Custom software may replace more than one existing system, which could save you money while introducing cross-functional efficiencies.
Custom software is also great for replacing paper-based processes. So if you’re collecting information using any kind of manual process, custom software will absolutely improve your bottom line.
I don’t have time for a software development project!
I just…can’t. I already have too many things on my plate. One more major project will break me.
I meet so many business owners who are struggling because they have a hard time delegating. They don’t think anyone can do that thing as well as they can.
But given the proper structure and systems, your people can take on more than you think they can. And implementing a custom software solution is likely to free up more of their time so they can take some of the load off.
Custom software is an investment that pays dividends for years in all sorts of ways.
What are your key frustrations? And what worries you about taking the leap? Tell us in the comments and we’ll help you figure out how custom software can help.
