If there is an owner chef in the restaurant,
IT companies have owner programmers.

Here's the story of an author who decided to spend his life as a programmer, and how he started and ran his own business.
After working for 12 years at a large corporation, I started my first company with the confidence that I could do anything, but it didn't last long and closed down.
After 24 years of running the second company he founded with great effort, he calls himself an 'owner programmer', doing both coding and serving as the CEO.
It's not a dazzling success story, but as a passionate programmer and a CEO struggling to manage a company, this realistic story will help brighten your future.

This article is based purely on my experience as a professional programmer with over 36 years of experience, having founded and run a software development company for 24 years.
And I'm not a great programmer, and I'm certainly not a highly successful businessman, so I'll make it clear up front that my perspective is narrow and it might be difficult to generalize this article.
However, I have a small hope that this might be helpful to those who dream of starting a business as a programmer.

--- p.20

In our country, it is difficult to make a living as a software developer in a relatively large and stable workplace even after the age of 40.
At some point, you'll move into a management or sales role, and there are few paths to higher-level software engineering positions.
Of course, there is nothing you can't do if you switch to a management or sales position.
The problem is that there is no guaranteed path to this either.
So I had no choice but to take the path of becoming an owner programmer again.
I think it's a matter of choice.

--- p.88

In the computer lab of my first job, there were acrylic nameplates with the word 'THINK' written on them on the desks of my seniors.
It was not a name tag to write down one's position or name, but rather to indicate one's destination when leaving the room.
As I sat working, there was a piece of paper with the word THINK printed on it.
When I first saw it, I had a lot of thoughts.
Why did they say "THINK"? What does it mean to think? Does it mean writing a program? Are programmers thinking people?
--- p.107

Code is the design drawing and material that is the foundation of a program.
All software development is oriented towards code, and all documentation is secondary and auxiliary documentation for the code.
Would Plato have said, "Code is the very essence of software?" So, I believe it's safe to call everyone involved in development, regardless of their role, a "programmer" or "developer (software engineer)."
And it's not at all strange for programmers to act as architects, it's something they should do.

--- p.179

If you can, it is obviously better to join a large company.
However, rather than trying to find a job for several years when it is uncertain whether you will be able to get into a large company, it is better to choose a small or medium-sized company that suits your personality.
Wouldn't the reckless dream of growing a company your own way be fun in its own way? If you don't think so, you can't do it.
Programmers have longer careers and can develop more polished programs at small and medium-sized companies than at large corporations.
If you don't believe, you can't do it.

--- p.305

Each company has its own standards for sharing bread.
Even the CEO, who shares the bread of a small company, will have his own standards.
No matter how quantitative the performance criteria are, the evaluator's feelings are bound to be reflected.
When I started my business, I decided to adopt the attitude of 'sharing bread with a mother's heart.'
Whether a mother gives more to her eldest son or more to her youngest, there is always a good reason for her to share that way.
If you say, “Isn’t that up to the candy seller?” then I have nothing to say.
How can a child know his mother's heart?

--- p.418