For you, what’s the hardest part about indie hacking?
It’s 9AM, and I’m at my desk sipping herbal tea.
Started wondering how everyone experiences indie hacking in different ways. So, I’m curious as to how folks might answer this question.
It’s 9AM, and I’m at my desk sipping herbal tea.
Started wondering how everyone experiences indie hacking in different ways. So, I’m curious as to how folks might answer this question.
The hardest part of being an Indie Hacker is that I'm still easing into the idea that I don't have a 9-5 job, which is something that I spent 16 years preparing for.
I enjoy the freedom, the personal growth, and the financial rewards of being an Indie Hacker, but wow, my life looks so different from how I planned it when I was 22!
Yeah that’s so true - we’re taught that work only exists in the time box of 9-5
Unprogramming ourselves from that way of thinking is the first big step. Glad to hear you’re easing your way into it :) - It was a gamechanger for me
Uncertainty.
I have 1000 things to do. Which will have the greatest impact?
Is my idea even good?
What's the best growth strategy for my product?
Am I picking the right features and executing them well?
Should I listen to this customer feedback or ignore it?
Many choices, no clear cut answers.
Yeah uncertainty like that makes me anxious
I may be wrong but I imagine that some of these questions you asked can be solved by keeping a strong connection with the people you’re helping (your users).
How often do you talk to your users? And when was the last time?
In my last two businesses, I spoke with customers weekly. Definitely helps, but still struggled with many of these questions.
Currently building a new app. No customers yet, but planning on launching private alpha soon.
Ah I see, so what do you usually do to try and solve the uncertainty?
Also, I’m curious, what were your first 2 businesses? (And what’s the new one? If you don’t mind me asking)
I try to see what other successful businesses have done, learn from others who have come before me. Experience helps; I've done a lot of things that seemed reasonable at the time, but in retrospect were obvious mistakes. And last, I just think really hard and try to use my best judgment.
My first business was writing business book summaries. Had to shut it down because it turns out that summaries fall under copyright law. I was selling them on Amazon and when they got very popular, the publishers issued takedown notices. Also, I figured out much later that I don't enjoy writing summaries 🙄
Second I joined a couple of friends who had a small iOS/Android app business that made business apps around things like invoicing, documents scanning, and faxing. I eventually left because I learned that trying to grow a mobile app in a highly competitive space is a nightmare, and also I didn't have any passion for the product, market, or customer problems.
Now I'm working on a personal productivity app that combines task management and time tracking. Eventually, I want to add notes and calendar. It's a classic "solve your own pain" approach but I've spoken to a number of people who have the same pain, and I've seen complaints on forums that aren't addressed by other apps on the market. I think I have insights and differentiation that will make it stand out in this competitive space. Also, I'm passionate about productivity (not making that mistake again). So I'm hoping that the third time's a charm 🤞
I just signed up for your newsletter – articles look good 👍
I love that you dug deep and learned from past mistakes, that’s always good - always trying to do that myself.
Glad to hear that you found a space that you’re interested and a product that you’ll enjoy building :)
And thanks for signing up - really appreciate it :)
Not knowing if you are working on the right thing. It's a lot worse as an indie-hacker as you can create anything and usually it is hard to go against the shiny object syndrome.
Even if you create something successful, you still start wondering if the world actually needs this or it was better if you spent your time and energy on something else.
Yeah, staying focused can be really tough — how do you currently decide what to work on next?
It's usually based on instinct, what feels right. If I can't decide, I wait a few more days and sleep on it.
Not being invisible.
That’s hard. Have you tried sharing what you’re building with people?
I’ve found that people are quite supportive and encouraging when you talk about what you’re building
Yes, I tried something like that but plan to do more.
Nice, yeah put as much effort in sharing your work as you did creating your work
I believe, Stability, is one of the many things which I think is something. While I definitely feel that by building projects, doing marketing and generating revenue is like a dream job, the graph of growth is not linear.
Thus, it still feels to me that I should rather do this while having a job rather than no job at all because life.
Yeah stability in indie hacking is pretty much non-existent.
I’ve found that you have to build that stability outside of indie hacking. Like, getting a full-time job (that you might not love) and doing indie hacking on the side.
Then stay at your full time job until your indie hacking can pay for your food & bills.
It’s easier said than done. But indie hacking without a savings account is dangerous. You need something in the bank.
Good to see that the ideology resonates. As I graduate from my college, I think getting a job would still remain a priority or maybe freelancing which is also a good way to support yourself and your projects.