Ask HN: How did 2018 go for you? What went well? What didn't? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How did 2018 go for you? What went well? What didn't?

22 pointsacconrad5 comments

For me, what went well:

* I started a consulting business and made nearly $300k in revenue

* I shipped my first real SaaS project

* I read over 40 books

* I started a growing blog and a newsletter

* I landed on my first major podcast (>25k subscribers)

What didn't go well (what I want to improve in 2019):

* Consulting isn't for me (at a full-time capacity). A product-based business scales better than a service-based business and if I continued down my consulting path I would work myself to the bone. I'm back working for an employer full time until my SaaS projects can pay the bills.

* Lots of injuries (multiple tendinopathies and impingements from lifting). Working with a PT to lift smarter and diagnose problems sooner.

* Didn't ship my 20+ part algorithms tutorial series/book. Plan to have that completed (first draft) by end of January 2019.

* Reduce the number of concurrent commitments. Especially towards Q4 2018 I was overwhelmed with too much concurrency in my life and I need to learn to focus on fewer, higher-value things.

* Failed to really take hold of daily gratitude and meditation practices. I can no longer avoid the fact that I need to integrate this in my life and so what better time than now to start daily gratitude and meditation to improve my mental health, clarity, and performance.

Happy New Year Hacker News!

All in just one year? Bloody hell. Every single one of those "went well" bullet points is a major achievement, especially starting a consulting business and already making $300k in revenue.

I wouldn't give up on the consulting part of your business so quickly. The business model is easy to understand and business is more consistent and reliable than a SaaS business that still has to get traction.

Unless you manage to charge according to value rather than time, a consulting business model will always be constrained by the time you're able put in. Still, at that revenue, you could do a third of your current workload and still be well-off and have time on your hands to pursue other goals.

Then there's always increasing your rates ( https://training.kalzumeus.com/newsletters/archive/consultin... ). I assume that at that revenue low rates weren't your problem but if you managed to work at full capacity at your last rates chances are that at least some of your clients would've paid higher rates, which would equal the same revenue but less time you have to put into that part of your business.

Value-based pricing is another - in my opinion the preferable - option for growing a consulting business but it's more difficult to achieve. There are resources such as Jonathan Stark's courses that could help you in that regard: https://jonathanstark.com/vpb that

Speaking from first and third-hand experience, I've found that people who are super motivated and hustle hard for their own goals think meditation and gratitude exercises are the key to alleviating the stress in their lives.

The key to relieving those stressors is working less and reducing the number of goals you have.

There is something bad that happens when you stack up so many lofty goals at the start of the year and slowly start to not meet them.

>I'm back working for an employer full time until my SaaS projects can pay the bills.

I remember a time in my life when I had launched my saas and had good consulting gigs but had to back burner them and take a full-time job.

The weight of "failing" with my saas and consulting and taking a job was a lot more devastating than I thought. I was not a happy person despite having an above average life in all regards (friends, family, income, health, etc).

>Especially towards Q4 2018 I was overwhelmed with too much concurrency in my life and I need to learn to focus on fewer, higher-value things.

Just focus on one.

I'm just trying to help.

Your post sounds like what I was thinking back in 2015 and I've been a lot happier and fulfilled with fewer goals.

I just had a nice vacation.

Have spent some quality time with family and friends.

One child started Uni and has a good part time job.

Other child is doing well in school and has some quality friends.

Lost 10 pounds of weight.

I am happy.

Things that did not go so well: bah, life is good, complaining would just sound like whining.

Congrats on the weight loss! Happiness with friends and family is vastly undervalued.

Is this Tim Ferriss?

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