What do you consider the greatest reward for running your own software company?

[Scott Devereux]

What do you think is the most rewarding part of running your own micro ISV or Software Company?

Is it the freedom that it provides to follow your own dreams and reach your own goals? Seeing the growth of something you have worked so hard to achieve every day? Adoration from the community? Something else?


For me, I think the greatest reward is the ability to follow to the fullest my own enterprise.

As a one man shop, knowing that the fruits of my labour are completely dependent upon keeping the highest standards of ethics and working as hard as I possibly can makes each day a rewarding and fulfilling experience. It can also be a bit scary, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

How about you?

[Jason Cohen - blog.asmartbear.com]

For me it's being able to reap all the rewards of being successful.

Of course the offset is that you personally accept all the problems of failure, including seeing your ideas fail, seeing people reject your stuff, never feeling like things are as good as they could be, doubt, debt, seeing your savings deplete....

For me though, it's all worth it when I make a sale.

Now that my company is successful, I've found a new avenue of rewards through my blog. I've found that helping others be successful is extremely rewarding as well. Whether through specific advice or just general "you can do it!" encouragement, it's really fun to see other people succeed.

[Matt Richards]

Autonomy. I have worked for too many businesses that failed because of the leadership, but it was the rank and file that paid the price. My business might fail, but at least I have a significant role in the decision making process.

[Maksym Shostak]

It is the freedom and seeing the results of your work!

[Larry Miner]

I built and ran my own software business for 15 years. For me it was the satisfaction of having built something from the ground up that could run on without me. The business was self sustaining and had a life of its own. That's cool.