An Anthem for the Struggling Micro ISV?

My friend Jake was back in town for the summer, and he asked me if I could help him out with a simple website for his books, poetry and biography info.

It was around the same time as this anti-friends-and-family-freebie forum thread was buzzing, but I was glad to help. Obviously, I had that moment later when I wondered if this would turn into one of those horrible situations where you end up supporting the site and making minor changes for the rest of your life, but so far that hasn't happened. The key moment here was in realizing that it's very easy to use WordPress to build a simple content site, if you strip out all the blogging stuff, it makes a great simple CMS. Dreamhost do a one-click WordPress install, so all that was left was to pick a template from OSWD and tweak it. With very little effort from me, Jake has a site he's happy with, and he can maintain almost everything himself.

That's the background info, the reason for the post is one of the poems he posted to the site. I'm no literary expert, but there's definitely something in it that speaks about the way I've spent the last 5 or 6 years trying to get a business off the ground. I'm curious to know whether other Micro ISVer's feel the same way.

The Cheapjack

What do I have for as near as damn it?
What do I sell but I’m giving away?
Might I pick my own pockets
and slit my own throat
and dump myself dead in a shop doorway?

Daffodils, bird whistles, bobble hats
fickle fish, slinkies, your name spelled in wire;
caterpillars, mouse mats,
trick plastic dog-shit,
conniptions, predictions and God’s own fire.

Read the rest of "The Cheapjack"

Jake has another poem and links to his books on the site: Jacob Polley

Tags: micro isv poetry jacob polley