Hi Ian,

Good job on the points… Here’s some thoughts from my view, 4 years into a SaaS, web based project management software company.

1. Customers are great…but tough
- They always are and always will be – and guess what! They’ll also contradict each other. So you have to make sure you don’t become a ‘Yes’ man, but at that same time make sure they know they are heard. You will never make them all happy, all you can do is to try to recognize the best ROI suggestions to add…

2. We need to sleep!
You’re in the wrong business then. I’m still answering calls and emails through the night, even though we have staff… SaaS + 24/7 = No sleep. The best time to relax is actually the middle of the day.

3. Innovation is not everything
Agreed, but ‘Implementation’ is everything. I’ve seen some great ideas come and go, and to be honest, it’s usually the implementation that kills them. Even the ugliest solutions will sell if implemented well. But a good idea poorly implemented equals declining credability.

4. Enjoy the ride
You don’t have to neccesarily ‘Enjoy the ride’, rather understand that it ‘is a ride’. Fast, slow, ups, downs etc… it is definately a ride, so you need to hang in and hold on.
Enjoyment helps, but there will be times when you don’t enjoy it, so you need to persevere through these times…
“Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”

Julian Stone, CEO
http://www.proworkflow.com