(1) Get a client to pay you to solve one of their problems, but keep the rights to the software. Then, make it your product and sell it to others. This way, you

(1) Get a client to pay you to solve one of their problems, but keep the rights to the software. Then, make it your product and sell it to others. This way, your product is funded, you know someone really needs it, and you can continue to profit. (2) Rather than billing by your time, bill by solution. Many companies are willing to pay a lot more to solve a problem than to pay someone hourly to write software.