Open source allows me to be more integrator than designer, and when I am working a fixed price contract where time is money, I want to maximize time dedicated to value added aspects of a project instead of dealing with fundamentals. Open source also means no licensing costs. This keeps my costs down as a small business that doesn’t deal in massive volume of product, like an Apple or Samsung that gets great deals by buying in massive quantities. It also allows me to freely share what I learned, my designs, and my process back to the community. This in turn helps build my reputation, which means more jobs keep hitting my inbox. Not worrying about patents also saves a lot in legal fees!