So your product has matured...now what?

If you work long enough on a product you will reach a point when there is nothing more to do...besides maintaining and fixing bugs.

You are done. The product is done...ready....clients are happy...problems are solved...time for the management to milk the cow....

...and while they pick the fruits of the product...you can focus on the next big thing.

...truth is that big things are not so easy to find...and make...you either have a clear view on what clients might need...and leverage that knowledge...or you need to keep trying...and trying...until you find something...worthwhile to build.

...and what if the product has matured but is not good enough...you know you could do better...maybe differently...and this new approach could open new opportunities...and happier customers...

Should you find new markets?...or please the current market...better...

From a budget point of view...building a new iteration of a similar product is a risky path to take....

will it pay off?...will it sell? ...what if the clients will not like it?....

...and how about doing both of the things?...search for something new and in the same time iterate on that established product...while the old version pays the bills...

...in the end we should solve problems...right?

Solving problems or building products

Most software products started from solving user problems....scratching an itch...or two

If you find a persisting itch that you can scratch than you are lucky...and thankfully there are so many itches....

The technology has come so far that nowdays building a pruduct is trivial...and commoditised....and everyone builds a product...writes a framework...and vlogs about it...brags about it on social media....they show off...

"...uh I'm so good...look at me...I made this"

...but people who know their craft can see through this facade....they know that creating something new is the smallest part of our business...

A car painter does not paint cars just for the fun of it....it paints the cars of people who need this service. This does not make him less skilled or less of a painter...

Or as a gardener does not plant seeds to every green spot it finds...does not grow plants everywhere...only where it knows that what it does is meaningfull....will create an impact.

Why can't we, software developers be like painters or gardeners.... don't build stuff for the purpose of showing off...we know you are skilled and companies hiring you will cherish you...if you deserve it.

Everyone can use a framework...can follow instructions... that's not creativity.... that's obedience... that's mediocre. 

Learn the craft of building software...and stand out creating meaningfull stuff...not by creating abundance of mediocre shit.

Solve the problems don't just build products..