There are many ways to make a career in IT, but perhaps the one most often dreamed of is starting your own business. Lots of programmers get side-jobs that they hope will eventually lead to starting their own IT consulting business (this rarely works out, by the way). Others wait for that great idea to come along, like a brilliant new Internet search algorithm, or a better way to do business reporting, or maybe even designing an original programming language.
I have heard that the thing that always kept Bill Gates up at night was the thought that some brilliant geeks would come up with the next great idea in their garage and put him out of business.
A colleague of mine has started his own somewhat atypical business building guitar stands in his own garage, and selling them on ebay. While not the sort of stuff likely to unsettle either Steve Jobs or Bill Gates from his slumbers, my friend has done well enough with his home business that he has launched a web storefront, and is now selling his guitar stands at http://www.measuretwiceproducts.com.
He made a two-way stand for me with blazing pink and orange flames flying up the sides. I love it, and it keeps me from stumbling over my Rock Band guitar after my kids have played a few riffs. It ain’t the next great operating system, I know, and it isn’t even The Clapper, but if you find yourself wondering where to put your Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar, I would highly recommend it.
Glancing at the pics, my first thought was "crossbow", which would imply to a somewhat different business model. IT workers, driven from their jobs and homes into the woods, turn to brigandage….
Not a bad business model. It would be appropriate for either a recession shrinking the IT footprint, or else IT being so successful that Skynet finally goes online. In either case, crossbow bolts and a year’s supply of dry goods would come in handy.