I'm burning out on a side project and haven't even launched. When is time to move on?
I have this side project. I've made progress on it, but I'm tempted to move onto something else (I have many potential apps in mind).
Pitch: You have so many tasks. Some are important, some are urgent. You want to be strategic in how you spend your time. You need a tool that can help you put them all in perspective. That's why I built "I Win". All your tasks (or "wins") are awarded points. And there are charts documenting where most of your points are being scored - so you have a simple and clear reminder of where your time and effort is going.
Here's the link as it stands, haven't even bought a domain yet though: http://iwin-react-front.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com
There are lots of bugs and unfinished features you'll have to maneuver around, but the basic concept is there.
A part of me feels like I'm building a cool tool that I might find helpful. The other side of me feels like I could live with out it, I could never make any real money off of it (maybe some freemium features?), and there are other projects I'm more excited about.
Anyone else think "I Win" is worth finishing, refining and sharing with the world? When do you need to commit and see it through to launch? When do you know it's time to move on?
It might sound a bit harsh, but if you are not convinced by your own vision, don't bother.
There are many entrepreneurs and employees working on similar products. How do you expect to get people to join you if you are not excited about it yourself.
Move on, it's not the end of the world.
Don't quit though ! Find something you are excited about.
This might take some introspection and planning, but you will eventually make it.
You say you have lots of ideas : go through them and quickly write some execution steps. How hard making a MVP would be ? How excited are you about this idea ? Prioritize.
Then, HACK IT, and STICK.
Best of luck !
@eddieg I'd like to add on to this. Along with moving along gracefully. Realize it wasn't a complete failure. Surely you've written some code that can be recycled into future apps.
Add it to your 'parts bin' and move along.
Launch it now, and I mean today not this week or this month. Try product hunt, try Betalist, reach out to people you think may be interested. Do whatever you think you need to, but get it out in front of as many people as possible.
You'll never think it's finished because you know all the things missing, others don't know that and if it really solves a problem they'll use it. Having other people use it and give feedback will also help you understand what you really need to be working on next.
In the end you'll find out quickly if it's not worth putting more effort into and you can use what you learned from launching this one to do it better next time.
Yep, I am building my own SaaS (topciseed.com) and also feeling like constantly adding new/missing features. Yet, it is totally usable as is. Might launch ASAP and avoid the everlasting private beta.
If you are not even sure you'd be your first customer, just stop. You have the complete, perfect vision of what this product can be in your head -- if you are not fully on-board, I think it is unlikely you could sustain the effort needed to actually launch and maintain the product.
There's some irony involved in losing the motivation to finish building your motivational task planner.
Bin it or set it free.
Very nice pitch, should be on that website, not in this forum.
how far progressed is the app? If it's functional, I'd recommend two things: Add a decent landing page and add a demo account with data inside because it sounds like the app is getting more useful and fancy as you progress.
The third thing, start using it for your own life.
I have suffered this problem many times over. If you are not invested in your vision, it means that in the future you will not make smart decisions for the future of your product. Continuing to work on something you are not motivated to work on is a mistake as your time is valuable and you could be using it to make a difference.
Despite the fact that statement is pretty harsh, this happens to most entrepreneurs, and it most commonly derives from the fact that you have launched too late, or chosen an idea you are not really interested in, just so you can say you have launched something.
Keep going though - and find an idea you are truly interested in! Take some time to write down a few ideas you have, and brainstorm what you could work on next! It's makers like you that make a difference in the world.
On your next product, make your development phase as short as possible, and launch ASAP. If you are not embarrassed by what you have launched then you haven't launched early enough (from YC Startup School lecture).
Eddie -- A couple of thoughts.
I just launched after 18 long months. (18 months, omg, you are doing it all wrong!!" ;) -- dad life ) It was a long 18 months. I burned out frequently. But I finally did a soft launch last week.
Launching feels great. Launching is a muscle, is a habit, it's a lot of things. If I don't launch this project, it makes it that much easier to not launch next time. The last six month was chop wood, carry water. All the fun stuff had been done last year. But fixing, specs, documentation (I mean, documentation.... makes me wanna suck start a shotgun), this has been my life for some time.
Burn out is real. I always forget this. I think I am special and "this time will be different." What is more important than getting it in front of customers is that I get it launched before the "final" burn-out ensues. At least for me. Once it's launched, I have no choice but to support it or shelve it ;) But at least it sees the light of day.
Pare down features, button up everything, and ship. What can I ship in 2 weeks? Get it done. If you want to mothball the project afterwards, fine, but at least "You Won" by shipping ;)
I joke, but I say that I radicalized myself on Indie Hacker Podcasts, YC videos, Paul Graham essays (translated to audio). No one ever ships a product people want out of the gate -- except WhatsApp, supposedly. It's all about paring down scope and getting it our there. My app https://www.stacksimple.io may be completely different in 3-6 months, if I ever find product market fit. I am prepared for that. So I guess the point is, if the launchers are to be believed, no one knows what will work.
Getting the project out there is the starting blocks, not the finish line. Join us at the starting blocks!
I do not have the metrics, but I would bet that something like "less than 20% of lurkers ever ship a project" ... ship something! Show the next indiehacker that it can be done!
This is my experience. Hope it helps or at least provides some of that food for your noodle.
@pricees stacksimple seems interesting, could you please expand quickstart? https://www.stacksimple.io/quick-start too much small right now
If you can't convince yourself to use it, trash it. Winning by finishing your own side project should be a perfect test case for your concept, right?
The pitch doesn't win me over.
What are the top four or five projects you're excited about?
Hey Eddie!
I think the answer depends on why you're doing this project. From your description, it sounds like you should move on.
Whether they're finished / turn a profit / are beautiful or ugly, think of all projects as practice for the future projects. It sounds like this one has run its course and you're excited about other ideas you have; while there is some stigma associated with moving on ("giving up") I think there is a necessity in this; surely all of the greats have started 10x more projects than they've finished.
Ultimately you are the one who knows what's best for you. Good luck with this and future ventures!
It sounds like a nice idea, but to-do apps are ten-a-penny so it's going to be very hard to make it successful and you're unlikely to make any money from it.
Maybe do some market validation around it now, and see if you can acquire customers before doing any more work on it?
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