CapeCoder has been in existence since November of 98, and incorporated since March 2000, and it’s looking more and more like it’s time to say “goodbye”.
The market for custom software consulting has changed radically in the last 5-7 years.
There’s dozens if not hundreds of good off-the-shelf products that didn’t exist before.
Companies are either off-shoring their projects (I lost one recently to a firm in Canada) or bringing the work in-house, finding that it’s more cost-effective to train an employee to be a programmer than to get an outsider up to speed on requirements.
There’s tremendous competitive pressure from brick and mortar, US-based consulting firms, which can offer hosting, graphics and search engine optimization services in addition to coding.
It’s difficult for a small firm to be all things to all people, especially since technology is becoming so complex, it’s more than a full-time job just to keep up with changes in the programming and database space, never mind master new areas of expertise.
There are indicators that other firms are finding it a tough slog as well.
Finding affiliates is becoming very difficult – people are leaving the profession in droves and young people are shying away.
Both rates and opportunities are way, way down, so many of the small shops in my acquaintance are being run on a part-time basis by people who either have working spouses, are moonlighters or are receiving a retirement income.
As recently as two years ago, you’d find a web developer in just about every BNI chapter in this area. Now, it’s unusual to find a chapter with even one.
So, it looks like it’s time to close the doors at CapeCoder.
Goodbye to paperwork, proposals, contract negotiations, and beating the bushes.
Goodbye also to a flexible schedule, avoiding a commute and not having to work in a traditional office.
More to say about this, stay tuned…..