Why I Prefer B2B Over B2C Projects as a Freelance Software Developer
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I’m a freelance software developer. My specialty is developing MVPs for B2B SaaS startups.
I’ve asked myself why do I prefer B2B over B2C clients.
Here are a couple of reasons why I consider B2B to be better than B2C projects when it comes to freelancing.
What is the difference between B2B and B2C?
First things first, we need to define what exactly B2B and B2C mean.
B2B is a business model where its customers are other businesses. Examples of such products are Salesforce, Ahrefs, and Slack.
The purchase of such products is pretty pricey, custom-tailored to a customer, and a bit slower or at least incremental to roll out.
B2C is a business model where its customers are regular people like you and me. Examples of such products are GitHub, Netflix, and Hey.
People buy these products because they like the brand, the product is pretty cheap or at least customer gets more than what he’s paid for or because they like to spoil themselves.
If you’re a freelance developer like me, the B2B project would something like developing a Saas app or automating some tasks.
B2C project would be something like coding a mobile app for someone, creating landing pages for an affiliate marketing campaign, or developing a Discord bot.
Now, let’s take a deep dive into why I prefer working with B2B over B2C projects.
You’re Tool Maker
I’ve started writing this article when I’ve realized that I’m just a glorified tool maker. It sounds a bit underwhelming but in layman’s terms, it’s true.
Businesses buy products from other businesses because they think that the thing they’re buying will make them more money, make their employees more productive, or cut down costs. That’s it.
Here are examples what some of the products that I’ve worked on do:
- create enjoyable compliance training
- manage your escape room business with one software
- easily manage your meeting room displays
- simplify your salary and equity process
These products tick at least one of the previously mentioned characteristics.
Simpler Business Model
When I start working for a business, I like to find out as much as I can about it.
B2C is very hard for me to understand. It’s unpredictable, you need a lot of customers to be profitable and it’s harder to find the right price for it since customers can’t negotiate.
But, B2B is much simpler.
You create a tool that solves a problem. You find companies with that problem. And you negotiate with them on how much they’re willing to spend to have that problem removed.
You need a couple of customers to make a profit.
And you have a contract in place that guarantees your customer will stick with you for a while.
Bigger Budgets
I’ve had a couple of B2C projects when I started freelancing. The one thing they all have in common is that they are running on a tight budget.
This is expected. B2C businesses have a bigger churn rate and need more customers to make a profit and in most cases.
B2B businesses on the other hand usually don’t have these kinds of problems. Yes, B2B products are harder to sell and have bigger roll out time but once they’re in, they’re in for good.
Besides, B2B products get a lot of feedback from their customers since those customers are paying a lot of money for it.
This means that B2B products, more often than not, know exactly what features to build next.
And since B2B products are targeting one niche, the feature they’ve built is usable by the most of other customers. It’s quite different for B2C products.
With this in mind, B2B products don’t mind paying more money to someone like me to create something for them if the cost of the project is lower than the ROI of it.
Also, B2B products are way more expensive than B2C products.
In the B2C world, 1000$ a month for a product is crazy expensive.
In the B2B world, 1000$ a month for a product is affordable.
Solving Very Specific Problem
The best B2B products solve one problem and they solve it very well. Over time they might expand to solving more problems but the core of their business is solving one specific problem very well.
Why? Because it’s easier to find an audience, easier to convince the audience to buy and it’s easier to keep the focus of the team.
I really like this because it helps me to build authority in a niche long-term.
Long-term Work
From my personal experience, B2B projects take longer and usually end up in some kind of long-term relationship.
Not all freelancers like that. Some like to work on a different project every month.
But I like long-term work. It’s just a personal thing.
Conclusion
To recap, here are the reasons I prefer to work on B2B over B2C projects:
- Simpler products
- Simpler business model
- Bigger budgets
- Solving a very specific problem
- Long-term work