So nearly 4 months to the day since my last update, I can now finally say that HelloRemote.co is ready for Alpha/Beta testing.
I won't lie, it's been an incredibly challenging few months, for a variety of reasons, which I'll cover below.
But...
Today I'm inviting 10-20 users from my early sign up list to go through Alpha testing, to identify any issues I'm unaware of. I'd rather a maximum of 20 people tell me about an issue, rather than 100 people.
This should be completed in the next week, and then I'll open up the site to the remaining ~100 people on my early sign up list, which will help me validate my processes and get the site ready for launch.
Then I can focus on launching on Product Hunt for the first time!
So why has the last 4 months been challenging? And why has it taken 4 months to ship the MVP, when the mantra is to build something fast?
Well, I started with good intentions, but unfortunately a member of my family fell ill, and then passed away in July.
Obviously this was upsetting for everyone, and everything took a back seat to this as you would expect.
Additionally, my day job ramped up in intensity, tackling some exciting challenges, but also very draining in terms of hours worked and mental concentration.
After having such an emotionally and physically draining summer, I found myself in a slump with HelloRemote, where I'll be honest, it was easier to watch the Sopranos at the weekend, than work on the side project.
I'm highlighting this, because I've been through this before, where real life gets in the way and all enthusiasm for the side project fades away and I eventually give up.
It's really common, and is a very real challenge for Indie Hackers to overcome. So if you're reading this now and this resonates with you, I know what you're going through.
So in September, I did the only sensible thing I could think of.
I took a vacation with my wife.
It was 100% the right thing to do. We were both burned out after a rough few months, and we needed some down time to relax and reset.
We booked an AirBnb in the south west of England, by the coast and took long walks on the beach, pub lunches and visited a few art galleries.
On the back of this, I was able to reset my focus and ascertain the state of HelloRemote, where I needed to be, and how I was going to get there.
Since that vacation, I've been working extremely hard in my spare time to do everything I need to get to this point.
I'm really happy with what I've built, and think it's going to help a lot of people.
Onward... to testing & launch.