Why I Quit My $10K Job to Build My Own Thing (And Joined Indie Hackers)
By Sam | 6 min read
I used to wake up at 7 AM every day to an alarm that felt like a punishment.
Not because I was lazy. I worked hard. Really hard. My boss loved me. My team relied on me. I was making around $10k a month. Good money. Comfortable money. Money that paid for a nice apartment and nice dinners and nice vacations twice a year.
But every single morning, I sat in my car outside the office for five extra minutes. Just staring at the building. Just breathing. Just trying to convince myself that this was fine.
It wasn't fine.
I wasn't depressed. I was just... empty.
The day I stopped lying to myself
One Tuesday. Nothing special about it. No big fight. No dramatic meeting. Just another Tuesday.
I was sitting in my car. Same parking spot. Same building. Same feeling in my chest like something was stuck.
And I thought: "I can't do this for 30 more years."
Not because the work was hard. It wasn't. Not because my boss was bad. He wasn't. Not because the money was low. It wasn't.
Because I wasn't built for a cage.
Some people love the 9 to 5. The routine. The stability. The knowing exactly what Monday looks like. I respect that. I really do. My dad worked the same job for 35 years. He's happy. He's proud. He retired with a gold watch and no regrets.
I'm not him.
I need to wake up and decide what I want to build today. I need to travel and work from a coffee shop in a city I've never been to. I need to fail at my own things, not succeed at someone else's.
So that Tuesday, I decided. Not to quit immediately. But to quit eventually.
The leap
I didn't have a safety net. No rich parents. No savings account that could cover me for a year. Just a laptop and a stupid amount of confidence that I could figure it out.
I quit my job in September 2025.
My boss was shocked. "You're making a mistake," he said. Maybe he was right. But I did it anyway.
The first two months were brutal.
I moved out of my one-bedroom apartment – the nice one with the good view – and into a tiny studio where the kitchen was basically a microwave. I sold my car. I stopped eating out. I told myself it was temporary.
I was freelancing to survive. Upwork. Fiverr. Whatever paid. Some months I made $5k. Some months I made $15k. It was unstable. But I was free.
And at night, after client work, I built my own thing. CatchingCheating. A site that helps people find out if someone is hiding dating profiles or OnlyFans accounts.
Small. Niche. Mine.
The loneliness nobody talks about
Here's what they don't tell you about leaving your job to build your own thing.
It's lonely.
No team meetings. No coffee breaks with coworkers. No one to high-five when something works. No one to vent to when something breaks.
Just you. Your laptop. And the voice in your head that says "maybe you made a huge mistake."
I didn't know any other solo founders. I didn't know anyone who had quit a good job to build a website about catching cheaters. I felt like an idiot some days.
That's when I found Indie Hackers.
Why Indie Hackers changed everything
I had heard about Indie Hackers before. But I thought it was for "real" founders. People who raised money. People with teams. People who knew what they were doing.
I was wrong.
Indie Hackers is for people like me. Solo founders. Bootstrappers. People who don't want to raise funds or answer to investors. People who just want to build something honest and make a living from it.
The first post I read was someone who made $47 on their first month. Forty-seven dollars. And the comments weren't laughing. They were cheering. "Great start!" "Keep going!" "My first month was $12."
I cried a little. Not gonna lie.
Because for the first time, I didn't feel alone.
What I learned from reading every day
I started reading Indie Hackers every morning. Not instead of working. Before working. Like coffee for my brain.
I learned that slow growth is still growth. My first month on CatchingCheating: $300. I almost gave up. But then I read a post from someone who took two years to hit $1k a month. Two years. And they kept going.
I learned that revenue posts aren't bragging. They're proof. Proof that it's possible. Proof that normal people can do this. Proof that you don't need a fancy degree or a rich uncle or a viral TikTok.
I learned that failure is normal. Every successful person on Indie Hackers has a graveyard of dead projects. They launched things that went nowhere. They spent months on ideas that didn't work. They got rejected, ignored, and laughed at.
And then they tried again.
The post that changed my life
Six months ago, I read a post from a guy who was making $8k a month from a tiny SaaS tool. He worked from Thailand. He traveled every few weeks. He had no boss. No investors. No stress.
He wasn't a genius. He wasn't lucky. He just built something small that solved a real problem, and he kept improving it every day.
I messaged him. He replied. We talked for an hour on a call.
That's the thing about Indie Hackers. People actually help each other. No gatekeeping. No "I'm too busy." Just founders helping founders.
That call changed my mindset. I stopped waiting for a "big break" and started focusing on small improvements every single day.
Where I am now
It's been six months since I launched CatchingCheating.
I make around $3k a month from it. That's not a lot. I know. Some months it's $2,500. Some months it's $3,500. It's not the $10k I used to make at my job.
But here's the difference.
I wake up without an alarm. I work from wherever I want. I traveled to three cities last month and didn't have to ask anyone for permission. I spent a Tuesday afternoon at a museum because I felt like it. I took a Thursday off because my brain needed rest.
No one cared. No one tracked my hours. No one asked for a doctor's note.
That freedom is worth more than the $7k pay cut. I mean it.
And I know I can grow this. My traffic is up 40% this quarter. My conversion rate is 18% – which is insane, according to people who know more than me. I'm adding new features. I'm writing more articles. I'm learning every day.
I'm not rich. But I'm not sleeping on a friend's couch either. I moved back into a decent apartment last month. Not the fancy one. But one with a real kitchen. And a window that isn't bricked up.
Why you should join Indie Hackers
If you're reading this and you're stuck in a job that makes you feel empty – join Indie Hackers.
Not because it will magically make you rich. It won't.
But because you'll realize you're not crazy. You're not alone. There are thousands of people just like you who left the 9 to 5 to build their own thing. Some succeeded. Some failed. Most are somewhere in between.
You'll learn what actually works. Not the guru nonsense. Not the "make $10k in 10 days" garbage. Real tactics from real people who are doing it right now.
You'll find accountability. Post your progress. Share your failures. Celebrate your wins. People will cheer for you. I promise.
And maybe, like me, you'll find a post that changes your life.
What I'd tell my past self
If I could go back to that Tuesday morning in my car, staring at that office building, here's what I'd say:
"You're not lazy. You're not broken. You're just not meant for a cage. And that's okay."
"Start building something on the side. Anything. Don't quit yet. But start. Tonight. One hour. That's enough."
"Find Indie Hackers. Read every day. Post when you're scared. Someone will answer."
"Trust the slow growth. $300 is not failure. $300 is proof that someone wants what you're building."
"And when you finally quit – and you will – don't look back."
The honest truth
I'm not writing this because I've made it. I haven't. $3k a month is not retirement money. It's not "buy a house" money. It's not even "stop freelancing" money.
But it's mine. Every dollar. Every visitor. Every sale.
No boss. No investors. No one telling me what to build.
Just me, my laptop, and the strange, terrifying, wonderful freedom of doing my own thing.
If you want that too – join Indie Hackers.
Read. Post. Ask questions. Share your failures.
And when you make your first $10? Post about it. I'll be there in the comments cheering.
– Sam
P.S. I still read Indie Hackers every morning. Still learn something new every time. Still get scared. Still post when I'm stuck. Still reply to every comment.
P.P.S. If you're sitting in your car right now, staring at your office building – start something tonight. One hour. That's enough.
The decision itself is hard, but what comes after is usually even harder.
Staying consistent when results take time is what really tests people.
That car moment is something a lot of people recognize but don’t say out loud. After leaving, all the structure that used to exist disappears. No set schedule, no one pushing you, no clear signal that you’re doing well. You have to build that yourself or things drift fast.
I see a similar pattern with Alora Home Health Software. People don’t rethink it every time something goes wrong. Billing issues, compliance problems, Medicare adjustments, they go straight back to the same system because it worked before. You ended up doing that for yourself. The $3k matters less than the fact that it repeats, because that’s what turns something small into something that can actually grow.
The "five extra minutes in the car" detail is the part that almost everyone who has done this leap recognizes — and it's also the part that's easy to romanticize after the fact. One thing I'd push back on gently: the version of this story that helped me most as a solo founder wasn't "follow your passion," it was "know exactly how many months of runway you have and what your minimum viable monetization looks like before day one." When I started building my own indie productivity app, the thing that kept the empty feeling from coming back was having a concrete number — what does the app need to make per month to justify another quarter of focus? Without that, the freedom can quietly turn into a different kind of cage. Curious — when you quit, did you set yourself a financial milestone or a time box, or are you running it more open-ended? Both are valid, but they tend to require pretty different psychological setups.
This is an awesome post. I am in those exact early stages and hate my 9-5. Thanks for posting!!
This is a great post. thanks for sharing. Keeps my nose in the books and my eyes on the road ahead. Focused!!
My god 18% conversion rate is insane man. Keep doing it. you will reach your target in no time.
The parking lot thing hit. That "sitting in the car for five extra minutes" detail is weirdly universal. A lot of people on here have their own version of that moment.
Freelancing to survive at night while building your own thing is the honest version of this path that most people skip over. CatchingCheating is a gutsy niche — high intent, emotionally charged users, and that usually means they actually convert if you can reach them.
What's acquisition looking like right now? SEO play, or something else?
Thanks for being so honest about the emotional side of going indie. A lot of people talk about the tactics and the revenue numbers, but almost nobody talks about sitting in the car outside the office just trying to convince yourself it's fine. That part is real and a lot of people on here will relate to it.
The thing you said about the IH community cheering someone on for making $47 their first month — that's exactly the kind of environment that makes this path sustainable. When you're building solo, having a community that normalizes the slow start instead of making you feel behind is huge.
I'm early in my own journey — just shipped a free chess puzzle trainer as my first vibe coded project. No revenue yet, but the process of actually building and shipping something on my own terms has been more fulfilling than anything I did in my day job. Your post is a good reminder that the path isn't linear and the early months are supposed to be uncomfortable. Rooting for you.
The five minutes in the car before going in — that detail is more honest than most founder stories I've read. It's not dramatic enough to be a good story but it's real enough to be the actual reason. The part about loneliness is what people skip over. Everyone talks about the freedom, nobody talks about the Tuesday afternoon when something breaks and there's genuinely nobody to tell. One thing I'd push back on slightly: $3k/month with 18% conversion and 40% traffic growth quarter over quarter isn't "not made it yet" — that's a working business with real momentum. Most people with $10k salaries don't have those metrics on anything they own. The reframe that helped me most early on was separating "enough to live" from "proof it works." You already have proof it works. The rest is time and iteration.
This is truly inspiring, and many people share your sentiments... I really needed to read something like this.
Me too, I feel like I've had enough. Because of the limitations imposed by my Syrian identity, I've experienced almost the same thing, but with the highest salary I've ever earned being $800 USD. That's insane!
I even considered changing careers to become a sports coach instead of this nonsense (I haven't been able to decide yet because I'm a Syrian expat in Malaysia, and my family depends on me to send me small monthly remittances: $100 from my salary, which I can hardly believe I'm living on here in Malaysia as an expat).
As an attempt to escape this situation, I created a Chrome extension that saves your last five copied texts.
I also started a fundraising campaign to help my family open a shop in Syria so they can support themselves.
Thank you for sharing your experience
The parking lot moment is real. Not dramatic, not a crisis — just a quiet Tuesday where the feeling of "this isn't it" gets too loud to ignore anymore.
What strikes me about your story is the sequencing. You didn't wait until you had a plan. You didn't wait until the side project was making money. You made the leap on the feeling, then figured out the rest. Most people do it the other way — they wait for certainty that never comes.
The freelancing-to-survive-while-building-at-night model is brutal, but it forces a kind of clarity that's hard to get otherwise. When client work is paying rent, you stop building things that sound interesting and start building things that might actually matter to someone.
Still keeping my day job while building on the side — different risk tolerance, same itch. Curious how long the "temporary" framing lasted before it started feeling permanent.
I am new to Indiehackers, this post is very inspiring.
Respect for taking the leap.
One thing I’ve realized building my own thing is how different it feels when there’s no external pressure, no deadlines, no spec, just you deciding what matters. Freedom is great, but it also forces you to figure out what to work on when nothing is urgent. That part surprised me the most.
Man, this hit hard. That “sitting in the car staring at the office” feeling is way too real.
Respect for actually quitting and going all in. $3k/month with 18% conversion in a niche like this after just 6 months is solid. Slow growth really is still growth.
Keep going, Sam. Rooting for you.
this was my first ever post read on here and i can relate exactly to this right now except i have no users yet but that aside this post was very insperational so thank you and the best of luck for the future
Sam, 'Slow growth is still growth' should be the motto of this community. I love how honest you were about the pay cut—it’s not always about the $10k in 10 days guru talk; it’s about the freedom to decide what to build today.
I’m working on an AI desktop agent called Flex, and I often feel the pressure to scale fast. Your story reminded me to focus on the 'small improvements' instead of the 'big break.' What’s the next 'small' feature you’re adding to CatchingCheating that you’re most excited about?
interesting path. I went the other direction - kept the Director of PM job, build tools nights and weekends. the constraints are brutal but they force real decisions fast. neither path is wrong, just different pressure
there’s a telegram where people share real workflows for this: @OpenSerp
The 18% conversion rate is the detail that stands out most here - that's not luck, that's a sign you picked a niche where people arrive with a very specific, urgent problem. Nobody lands on CatchingCheating to browse. They're there because something is already wrong and they need an answer. That kind of intent-driven traffic converts because the pain is real and immediate.
Most people try to build broad products and then wonder why conversion is 1-2%. You accidentally did the opposite - found the most specific, uncomfortable niche possible -and the numbers show it.
One question: how did you find the niche? Was it keyword research, personal experience, or just a random idea that you tested?
This was real, the freedom vs stability tradeoff hits hard. respect for choosing your own path and sticking through the messy middle
This post hit differently because you didn't sanitize it. The $300 month thing is so important. People quit before they see that number because they're measuring against what they left, not where they started. $300 is not zero. And zero is where every successful product begins.
One thing I'm curious about - do you think the real shift was the Tuesday in the parking lot, or the moment that founder from Thailand actually picked up the phone?
Also, 18% conversion on a niche product is not luck. That's message-market fit. Would love to hear how you found the right words.
This really hit me. Especially the part about sitting in the car before work… I think a lot of people have been there but don’t talk about it.
Respect for making the leap without a safety net that takes real courage. And also for being honest about the hard parts. Most posts only show the wins, but the loneliness and doubt are very real.
$3k/month after 6 months is actually impressive, especially for a niche product. The 18% conversion rate is insane too.
Curious what was the biggest thing that helped you get your first paying users?
Thanks for sharing this. Posts like this are exactly why Indie Hackers is so valuable.
Wow, Sam — this really hit me. I can totally relate to that feeling of “empty but not depressed,” where everything seems fine on paper but somehow your chest feels stuck every morning.
I’ve been there too, staring at the office or just pacing around, thinking “Am I doing this for me, or for someone else?” The hardest part isn’t even quitting—it’s trusting yourself enough to take the leap, knowing the path will be messy, lonely, and unpredictable.
What really resonated with me was the part about reading posts from founders making just $12 or $47 and realizing that slow growth is still progress. That mindset shift is huge—it turns frustration into motivation instead of self-doubt.
Thanks for sharing this in such an honest way. It reminds me why communities like Indie Hackers are so valuable: real people, real struggles, and real support without the BS.
Out of curiosity—what was the moment when you first realized $300/month from CatchingCheating wasn’t a failure, but proof you were on the right path?