The resources that helped me build the confidence to go after the entrepreneur/indie hacker lifestyle
by Lawrence MenyahShark Tank
My first taste into entrepreneurship. I've always watched this show since it's inception when I was younger, and always enjoyed and appreciated watching the entrepreneurs pitch and seeing the products that they created. I also unconsciously picked up a lot of knowledge from the sharks.
Indie Hackers
Maybe like others on IH, I started on the my indie hacker journey watching a lot of videos of entrepreneurs talking about their product(s) and how they got to where they were at that point in time and what it took to get there. That then led me to discover Courtland on MicroConf which in turn led me to the great community that is Indie Hackers.
MyFirstMillion
A podcast by Shaan Puri and Sam Parr where each video/podcast they dive into different business ideas and how you could go about turning it into a successful startup while adding their own spice to it by going off on great tangents, being honest/genuine (saying things how it is), bringing other successful founders on, and just giving away insane gems and insights for free, all through great and candid delivery.
Paul Graham's blog
I haven't read all of them but my favorites are
- Ramen Profitability
- Boss
- Lessson
YouTube
And of course YouTube where it all started. It was, is and will always be a source for consuming content relating to entrepreneurship. Great channels I consume content from are CNBC Make It, Entrepreneurship Opportunities, MicroConf, and Indie Worldwide.
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Thanks to these resources that helped me realize a passion/world I wouldn't have known existed, I am now working on getting ready to release my first side-project looknforgroup and can't wait for when I'm able to go at it full-time.
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If you are just getting started with your project or looking for some trends, niches around Micro SaaS, you can check Micro SaaS HQ
Also, checkout The Mom's Test book. It's a nice one.
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Thanks Upen, I've been following you and your products on IH for a while now! Will definitely be investing in Zero To Founder soon, and will also check out the Mom's Test book, thanks 👊🏿!
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Thanks for sharing, these are great resources! One I'd recommend as well is The Apprentice. It's usually quite comical but shows the motions a group of folks from all professions go through and attempt to secure funding for their own business. Very insightful!
What made you take the leap in the end and start working on your own project?
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Thanks for sharing also Mo, I'll be sure to check out The Apprentice!
What made you take the leap in the end and start working on your own project?
I started working on my own project because I love programming and I'm always coming up with ideas, so I decided to build a solution to a problem that I have.
With regards in taking the leap on going the full-time indie hacker/entrepreneur route, I have been trying the work on your side-project while working a full-time job bit (for the past 7 months or so) but it just wasn't doing it for me, for a couple of reasons:
- When you care alot about the stuff you do at work, you invest a lot of effort and time which leads to less time spent on working on your projects. In addition to that I also love doing other things outside of work like running, working out, etc, but there's only so many hours in a day, which would leave me with around 1-2 hours if I get the chance during a weekday, and then Saturday and Sunday full-time on the weekends to work on the side-project.- If I take that time I'm giving to a full-time job and instead bet on myself and put that time into the side-project ad go full-time on it, I know that I can make something happen and build things that I couldn't even dream of doing while having a full-time job.
Another thing, with a full-time job I really cannot control how much I get rewarded based on the amount of effort I put in. I have to wait a whole year just to see a bonus that's taxed almost 50%, a whole year for a small bump to my salary, and stay 4 years for the stock to vest etc. In my opinion, I don't think it's worth it to trade my time for these things when I know I can do so much more with that time if I invest it into myself and my projects and have revenue that will reflect that effort (not right away of course but one day).
- I loved working on the things I did during my full-time job, but those hours I got during the weekday and the weekends to work on my side-project brought me so much more joy and euphoria that it made the choice to take the leap that much more easier.
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So all in all, it's a culmination of personal motivation and external motivation/inspiration over the last couple of years, and I really just want to give myself that chance to make it my way and make working on side projects a full-time thing, not an after thought that only gets worked on for 1-2 hours during the week and full-time on the weekends.
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Thanks for sharing, Lawrence.
SharkTank is currently my go-to option because it mixes entertainment and business (I used to watch it in my 'free time' when I wanted to keep me learning in a distressed way).
I didn't know Paul Graham's blog, but it looks interesting. Let's give him a try!
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You got it my man 👊🏿thanks for reading!
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