Starting a new business in Canada. And away we go!

“In my end is my beginning” – T.S. Eliot

What might you ask is the end and what is the beginning? The end for me is being a salaried employee and the stability (falsely perhaps) it provides. The beginning is a new software company named Red Tempo Software Inc. that I’m starting up.

Today is the first day of my new company, and by no planning of my own it’s also Thanksgiving Day here in Canada. I couldn’t have picked a more appropriate day as I have much to be thankful for. This year has been great so far and is getting better day by day. I got married to the love of my life on May 31st and now I’m getting set to realize my dream of owning/running my own software company.

My name is Richard Edwards. I’ve been working as a software developer for various companies since I graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario back in 1989. First as a PICK programmer for 7 years, and the remaining years as a VB, .NET, MSSQL developer with 3 other companies. I have always had a dream of one day starting my own company and being in control of the entire process. Not only the software development process, but the customer experience, marketing, support and all of the intangibles that come with running it your way. But It’s more than that. It’s the ability to shape your day, week, life to what you want that is so appealing to me. I’ve been reading blogs and listening to podcasts of other Micro ISV’s over the past few years and formulating the plan in my head and I’ve always wondered what I could accomplish if I took the plunge and quit my full time job and focused on my dream. How stable is a full time job anyway? On any given day you can be called into the office, given a corrugated box to put your things in and shown the door. At least doing it this way gives you some control over the situation.

This blog will be a place to talk about my experiences in starting Red Tempo, its products and other random thoughts I might want to express. The posts will cover both business and technological issues that I’m addressing from startup through to maturity.

I invite you to be as interactive as you wish. Leave comments, kudos, jeers or just follow along. Maybe we’ll all learn just a little more along the way.