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Your App, Your Business
If you check in with your local psychologist of philosopher, they’d probably agree with the idea that just
about all people, across all professions, cultures, and capabilities, are driven by a small number of
fundamental motivations: fear, lust, power, love, service to others, and just plain ol’ joy. Indeed, the
wisest among them will even say that the last one—the quest for joy or happiness—is actually the root
of all the others.
Leaving all that aside, and assuming that you’re not programming under threat of death or working
on apps that are going to be rejected from the Windows Store as a matter of policy, let’s take a simpler
view and identify the few basic reasons why you might be interested in writing apps:
• Fortune You want to make money.
• Fame You want social recognition.
• Philanthropy You want to contribute to a cause.
• Fun You just want to enjoy yourself through coding—an activity that, alas, nonprogrammers
just don’t understand!
Wherever you land in this list—and with whatever combination—your motivations essentially define
your “business” as a developer. I use the term loosely here. In English, at least, there are about a dozen
different definitions of this word, only a third of which relate to commercial activities, organizations,
practices, and commerce. The other definitions have to do with concerns that are important to you, as
when we say “It’s none of your business” or “I make it my business to know about such things.” In short,
apps can reflect the nature of your “business,” whatever it is, and that nature is reflected in how you
share apps with others. Again, with the exception of side loading (see the next section), sharing your
app means distributing it through the Windows Store. For that reason, your app’s relationship to the
Store effectively defines your business with that app, and that relationship spans the entire app lifecycle:
• Planning Determining whether the app can actually be a Store app, meet Store certification
requirements, and be suitably monetized (if desired).
• Development Implementing Store-related features and using the APIs for trial versions,
in-app purchases, etc.
• Testing Using precertification tools prior to onboarding the app to the Store, and checking the
app against certification requirements.
• Availability Making the app available in various markets through the Store developer portal.
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