I usually wake up around 4.00. On weekdays, I have a couple of hours to spend on my own project before I have to start my day job (I work remotely). Over the weekend, I have a few hours more time to spend with the project before the family wakes up. There is not much else in it.
Here's my details from September 2020 (starting) until February 2021.
Hours at work : ~30 hrs/week as a corporate techie
Hours being Indie : ~50-60 hrs/week
Family/Married/Kids/Single : Single
I ultimately decided to leave in February though and go full-time. Was building something that was meant to be an indie project/side hustle but co-founder/friend and I decided to just go YOLO with it.
I was lucky and found a 6 figure corporate job that provides great benefits + retirement, but yet doesn’t require much of me other than a meeting every other day or so. I usually get my design work done during said meetings to maximize my time. 😎 Really the only reason I haven’t quit. It’s a nice cushion and allows me to take everything I make from my side hustle and apply it towards my financial goals, like building and paying cash for a vacation home I’m currently building.
Obviously it’s not all “good” though. The long hours don’t lend themselves to a good work/life balance. Often feel like I’m failing as a dad even though I’m home and within 15 feet of my kids at all times. My head just isn’t there, and I constantly have a bajillion work-related tasks taking up my brain. So yeah, major work needed there.
Early stage bootstrapped; about $15K+ MRR (mostly profit)
Previously exited founder
Both my wife and I are developers. We both earn 6-figure salaries each with equity/benefits from our respective jobs. With the relatively low stress work we both have and the high salary compensation as ICs, it doesn’t make sense to quit. And having benefits matters with kids.
At this point in my career, I’m able to get a lot done and work less than full-time hours to hit my goals, and we’re both happy with our careers. I don’t see the need to drop everything to dive into my side-hustle. Unlike most who may dream of quitting to run their own business, this isn’t a deal breaker for us. I’ve been down that road before. In fact, being a two income household and living frugally but comfortably, while earning a decent living allows us to continue to save and invest a lot (which is ideal).
I also previously exited my last startup so we’re generally very comfortable. The fact that we now have a side-hustle that is taking off and doing relatively well early on is just an added bonus. As of right now, I don’t have aspirations to need to force growth and dump more time towards this. We are able to grow well enough. After having built a startup once, I’m not rushing in trying to scale another one anytime soon.
Having the freedom and time to work on a career I am happy with and spend time with my family, particularly my kids, takes priority at this point.
I found it hard to balance a job and side projects. The stress from the job always made me lose focus regarding my side projects. Now I'm going the indie route full-time and I'm so much more productive. So much better than splitting my time between two activities.
Usually I feel much more productive with my indie project. I'm planning to go part time and focus more on my own project.
Wow, Inspiring indeed! Any tips on how you manage your time with family and kids?
I usually wake up around 4.00. On weekdays, I have a couple of hours to spend on my own project before I have to start my day job (I work remotely). Over the weekend, I have a few hours more time to spend with the project before the family wakes up. There is not much else in it.
I'm a data scientist working in tech
Also, I think people working 80hr weeks should reconsider what life is all about if I'm honest (!)
haha, what do you mean they should reconsider? In terms of reducing the amount of time, they spend working or?
by the way, just checked out fourdayweek.io. Nice!
Also, would you mind sharing why your only customer went burst and how you've been dealing with that?
Hours at work: 37
Hours being Indie: 10-20
Family/Married/Kids/Single: girlfriend
Early stage
40h workweek + 30h building Adflow.ai as an IndieHacker 😎 (still early stage).
Here's my details from September 2020 (starting) until February 2021.
Hours at work : ~30 hrs/week as a corporate techie
Hours being Indie : ~50-60 hrs/week
Family/Married/Kids/Single : Single
I ultimately decided to leave in February though and go full-time. Was building something that was meant to be an indie project/side hustle but co-founder/friend and I decided to just go YOLO with it.
I was lucky and found a 6 figure corporate job that provides great benefits + retirement, but yet doesn’t require much of me other than a meeting every other day or so. I usually get my design work done during said meetings to maximize my time. 😎 Really the only reason I haven’t quit. It’s a nice cushion and allows me to take everything I make from my side hustle and apply it towards my financial goals, like building and paying cash for a vacation home I’m currently building.
Obviously it’s not all “good” though. The long hours don’t lend themselves to a good work/life balance. Often feel like I’m failing as a dad even though I’m home and within 15 feet of my kids at all times. My head just isn’t there, and I constantly have a bajillion work-related tasks taking up my brain. So yeah, major work needed there.
Pretty impressive! Nice to have that cushion. I hope you figure out how to optimize your time
Posting on throwaway account to stay anon...
Both my wife and I are developers. We both earn 6-figure salaries each with equity/benefits from our respective jobs. With the relatively low stress work we both have and the high salary compensation as ICs, it doesn’t make sense to quit. And having benefits matters with kids.
At this point in my career, I’m able to get a lot done and work less than full-time hours to hit my goals, and we’re both happy with our careers. I don’t see the need to drop everything to dive into my side-hustle. Unlike most who may dream of quitting to run their own business, this isn’t a deal breaker for us. I’ve been down that road before. In fact, being a two income household and living frugally but comfortably, while earning a decent living allows us to continue to save and invest a lot (which is ideal).
I also previously exited my last startup so we’re generally very comfortable. The fact that we now have a side-hustle that is taking off and doing relatively well early on is just an added bonus. As of right now, I don’t have aspirations to need to force growth and dump more time towards this. We are able to grow well enough. After having built a startup once, I’m not rushing in trying to scale another one anytime soon.
Having the freedom and time to work on a career I am happy with and spend time with my family, particularly my kids, takes priority at this point.
Sounds like a great balance!
I found it hard to balance a job and side projects. The stress from the job always made me lose focus regarding my side projects. Now I'm going the indie route full-time and I'm so much more productive. So much better than splitting my time between two activities.