How much money will this product save me?

I'm a regular reader of Joel on Software forum about Business of Software. It's interesting to see people trying to do what I am trying to do, read about their problems on the way, read about their experiences and ideas. It's a source of inspiration. It keeps me motivated to go on.

Today I was reading the forum and someone asked if there was a product doing exactly what my product is trying to do. I read through the replies, but no one actually pointed out to a software application that does exactly that. It's a motivation to continue. Maybe this product will sell after all.

And this is one major problem that all small business entrepreneurs encountered. Doubt. Will it sell? Is it really a good idea? Or am I trying to kid myself? Ultimately the customers decide. But the road to getting your product to the customers is generally a long one. If the product solves a real problem, then it will sell. There will be people out there buying.

My rule of thumb is asking myself ... Would I buy this product? Generally I'm a very selective. I'm a software engineer and I always think I can do things myself, reinventing the wheel instead of paying for it. That's generally how software engineers think.

Business people on the other hand, they think "How much money will this product save me"? "How much time will it save me?"

If it saves money and time, then there's no reason why a product wouldn't sell. Except if your customers don't know about it. But that's a different story altogether.