What nuggets of wisdom can you pass along? Let's hear them. 🤘
12
Build an audience, community now. Eventually when you launch your first product you will have people to sell to rather than waiting till you have something and then trying to build an audience.
Start now.
2
This advice is pure gold! Thanks for sharing!
9
Stop "hustling" 24/7. Take care of yourself. Exercise every day. Listen to your body. Take naps. Eat healthy. Get the sleep your body needs.
2
Very much agree. 100 upvotes. When my needs aren't met, my productivity tumbles.
2
This was a very important transition for me in the last couple of months. Big difference.
1
I'm the same. It's easy to take for granted, and because your health degrades so slowly, it's hard to notice.
On the flip side, it's easy to experiment for a week and you'll start to see results in energy levels and overall well-being almost immediately.
1
So true. I have neglected this in 2018 and I'm really feeling it. I have a lot of lost ground to regain. :/ Prevention is much easier than the cure, especially as I get older.
1
If you don't have enough energy, it doesn't matter how much time you have.
6
Don't quit your job! Seriously. If you hate your job, find one that you can love. Then keep your job and and start building something on the side. This is the best replacement in the world for having to ever raise a round of money.
Think about it. You stay fed. You don't have to give any equity away, and it gives you an unlimited runway to build your side project into a flourishing business.
Frankly I'm shocked that this path doesn't get the credit it deserves. It's so very underrated and poo poo'd by popular startup culture but quite possibly the best path to success for many indie hackers.
1
This also keeps you out in the "real" world. For me it keeps me among my target market. Also, it feeds the kids.
5
Here's the advice I give my developer friends:
If you want to do this full time and you're starting from nothing (i.e., have skills but no product) then you need 1 years worth of savings. That should be enough to reliably get you to ramin profitability, if you're sensible about the idea you pick
Build a support network of people you trust and can be honest with. Indie Hacking is very lonely, and you need friends you can talk to when it's going horribly slowly. If they're people you feel you have to exaggerate your achievements around, they're the wrong people
1
Fantastic advice. The lonely bit and having people you can be straight up with especially ring true to me. Thanks for sharing!
3
Explore and exploit the domains you’re already involved in.
Look for compliments to existing products and services.
Look for unbundling opportunities.
Look for managed services opportunities.
You can, possibly, explore any potential opportunities to partner with your employer about compliments for their business, if you explain your motivation and be open about your planned pathway. YMMV depending on your employer.
1
Some really great additions. Thanks Shaun!
3
Stay frugal forever. Find opportunities to get perspective on how blessed your life is. Find 10 things to be thankful for every day. Be happy with what you have now, and stop caring about some silly made up future where you drive a lambo and live in a mansion.
3
Instead of working the midnight oil, experiment with waking up at 4am every day for an entire week. Even with a family and full-time job you can still reasonably squeeze in 2-3 hours before you go to work, and still end each work day by 5pm. But don't be rigid. If you want to sleep in one day, do it.
2
Whatever you think you can build......just start.
1
+1!
2
You have unlimited potential! I believe in you. 😘 You're loved. Be fearless. Be focused. You can do this!
2
If you can find a way to tell a compelling story—something people naturally want to be a part of—you'll have a much easier time with marketing & distribution.
2
Find a small group of friends who you can bounce ideas off of, and who will agree to help hold you accountable.
2
Have patience. Anything good takes time. Keep your job. Don't stress. Stay committed. Think long-term. Stick with it!
2
Take a fast from both your side projects and from work one day every week. Sunday is a great day for this. It's hard at first, but pays dividends down the road and will help you avoid burnout.
2
Being "passionate" about the thing you work on is not necessary, being excited about it is. A good litmus test here: if you're not excited to wake up at 4am to work on it, you should probably find something else to work on.
2
It goes against the grain in popular startup culture, but it's okay to want to stay intentionally tiny. Keep your job as long as you can. Stay a solo founder as long as you can. Stay under 5 employees as long as you can. You're not weird. There are others just like you! 🤟
2
I wish I could give you +10 upvotes! This is awesome. Thank you for taking time to share.
Use simple tech. Don't get fancy. Stop chasing the latest developer trends & tools. A simple understanding of functions and if/else statements in pretty much any language can build you just about any product.
1
Stay focused. Don't get distracted by shiny objects. They're a trap. Put on blinders. Try and recognize when you're being distracted by other ideas. Write them down to get them out of your head, then put your head down and get back to work.
1
Stay independent. Taking other peoples money is a slippery slope. It will change you. It will change your product. It will change your business. It starts subtly at first, but it's always palpable a couple years down the line.
This may seem subtle, but it's actually huge. This is the investment money taking the drivers seat, plain and simple.
1
Don't worry about revenue. To quote @timoreilly "Money is the fuel not the destination". Just talk to people, help them solve their problems, and find ways to make them smile. If you iterate and stick around long enough, the money will always follow.
1
Be very careful with this one though. It might give you a reason to be lazy and not charge people. It's much much easier to just not charge them yet or for now, but it could waste a good amount of time. I don't go into details about why, but I'm sure you can find why to charge from day 1. (It's the topic, not neccessary from day 1 though)
1
Yeah, very good point.
1
Reduce complexity. Get creative. Find ways to reduce or eliminate entire portions of your tiny business that can be automated or outsourced somehow.
1
Embrace constraints. They're often an advantage in disguise.
1
I started with one or two things, and then couldn't help myself. 🤗
I'd love to hear your reactions and any additional advice that you have.
Build an audience, community now. Eventually when you launch your first product you will have people to sell to rather than waiting till you have something and then trying to build an audience.
Start now.
This advice is pure gold! Thanks for sharing!
Very much agree. 100 upvotes. When my needs aren't met, my productivity tumbles.
This was a very important transition for me in the last couple of months. Big difference.
I'm the same. It's easy to take for granted, and because your health degrades so slowly, it's hard to notice.
On the flip side, it's easy to experiment for a week and you'll start to see results in energy levels and overall well-being almost immediately.
So true. I have neglected this in 2018 and I'm really feeling it. I have a lot of lost ground to regain. :/ Prevention is much easier than the cure, especially as I get older.
If you don't have enough energy, it doesn't matter how much time you have.
Think about it. You stay fed. You don't have to give any equity away, and it gives you an unlimited runway to build your side project into a flourishing business.
Frankly I'm shocked that this path doesn't get the credit it deserves. It's so very underrated and poo poo'd by popular startup culture but quite possibly the best path to success for many indie hackers.
This also keeps you out in the "real" world. For me it keeps me among my target market. Also, it feeds the kids.
Here's the advice I give my developer friends:
If you want to do this full time and you're starting from nothing (i.e., have skills but no product) then you need 1 years worth of savings. That should be enough to reliably get you to ramin profitability, if you're sensible about the idea you pick
Build a support network of people you trust and can be honest with. Indie Hacking is very lonely, and you need friends you can talk to when it's going horribly slowly. If they're people you feel you have to exaggerate your achievements around, they're the wrong people
Fantastic advice. The lonely bit and having people you can be straight up with especially ring true to me. Thanks for sharing!
Explore and exploit the domains you’re already involved in.
Look for compliments to existing products and services.
Look for unbundling opportunities.
Look for managed services opportunities.
You can, possibly, explore any potential opportunities to partner with your employer about compliments for their business, if you explain your motivation and be open about your planned pathway. YMMV depending on your employer.
Some really great additions. Thanks Shaun!
Whatever you think you can build......just start.
+1!
I wish I could give you +10 upvotes! This is awesome. Thank you for taking time to share.
Aww thank you! I probably should have just posted everything here vs. forcing people to link away to https://twitter.com/itsdavemartin/status/1037792154951868416. I'll make that update now.
Here's a perfect example:
Here's Intercom's about page from 1 year ago: https://cl.ly/82183ee89230
Compared to their about page today: https://cl.ly/917a219fea7b
This may seem subtle, but it's actually huge. This is the investment money taking the drivers seat, plain and simple.
Be very careful with this one though. It might give you a reason to be lazy and not charge people. It's much much easier to just not charge them yet or for now, but it could waste a good amount of time. I don't go into details about why, but I'm sure you can find why to charge from day 1. (It's the topic, not neccessary from day 1 though)
Yeah, very good point.
I started with one or two things, and then couldn't help myself. 🤗
I'd love to hear your reactions and any additional advice that you have.