Now from home

If you are a software developer and you are planning to build a product or service, take a look at the Microsoft BizSpark program. If you qualify, the program will give you access to all the Microsoft software, professional support and visibility. It’s similar to an MSDN Premium subscription plus hosting solutions.

I personally think this is a great move from Microsoft. There’s no question that the future of Windows, and therefore Microsoft, depends on software developers betting on their platform.

This program is more convenient for startups than the Empower program. The reason is that you don’t have to commit to certify your application or become a Microsoft Partner at the end (I’ll talk about this in another post).

The sign up process is very easy, however you’ll need a Network Partner. I personally contacted Bob Walsh from 47 Hats, because I’ve been following him for a long time. He is by the way one of the most active BizSpark Network Partners.

This program is a no-brainer for any startup.

Expanding on my first post, I quit my job almost 12 months ago. Back then, the words crisis and recession were not in the news. Not even remotely. Sure people talked about the real state bubble but other than that, the (occidental) world economy was brilliant.

Once I took the decision of quitting my job, the world economy turning point started to kick in. In Spain, due the imminent general elections, this fact was neglected by our politicians. Especially by the govern. They knew that difficult times were ahead us but they said just the opposite. Oh! This could be another post.

Anyway, here we are. Barely a year later we’re surrounded by the worst crisis of our economy. I remember when people told me I was crazy when they knew that I was quitting my job. Now they would call me suicide.

Do I regret my decision? Not at all. It was a very carefully thought-out decision. But to tell the truth I don’t know if I would have had the guts to do it now.

Ok, here I am (again). This time from home.

Yeah! I finally drank the quit-your-day-job-and-give-your-dream-a-chance kool-aid last year. I should have started this blog then, but you know, I was frightened. I couldn’t waste any second thinking or doing things not related to generate income to sustain my new status. But you know what? I was wrong. Sure you have to think more carefully how do you spend your time, now I’m on my own and my monthly check is over. However, it’s easy to forget why I quit my safe day-job. If you don’t pay attention, soon you are building a new cage around you.

So, the very first post of a new blog must talk about who I am, what I plan to rant write about here and blah, blah, blah…

I pretend to remain anonymous for now and, therefore, enjoy total content freedom. Suffice it to say that I’m a Spanish software developer, living in Spain. I’ve been employed by “the man” for twelve years but recently I quit and started working as a one-man-band or MicroISV. What will I write about here? I really don’t know. We’ll see. As a software developer expect some technical posts, but this time I’d like to write about other things: politics, news, family and life in general.

By the way, Spanish is my mother language. I’m forcing myself to write in English and hopefully improve it in doing so. Hope my level will be enough for you to understand me.

I plan to write most posts in English and Spanish. Let’s see if I can maintain both versions… If you are interested you can find the Spanish version here: http://www.nowfromhome.com/es