Annual Developer Income Report
kreci.net
kreci.net
1. It would be great if you could organize your revenue/expenses a bit more. Something like BCC Stats [1] would be great. Perhaps just take the metrics you are tracking now, put them in a Google Spreadsheet, and create some simple Google Charts that are automatically updated and published. It would take a few hours to set up, but your stats would be much easier to gather and publish going forward.
2. Have you thought about ways to make website flipping more passive? What are the sticking points on this income stream and how can they be removed? I have given this a lot of thought and was able to go from a website idea to gathering sign-ups on a website in less than 6 hours. My idea was not successful, but I wasted very little time/energy by using ThemeForest, AdWords coupons, and a simple email script to validate it. If the site became popular, I would have developed it more fully and perhaps sold it or just collected income passively.
3. On a more personal note, how does your wife/family view this "work" situation? I assume that they are happy, but I have found that sometimes family and friends do not understand how this type of stuff works. I'm married with kids, too. In my experience, most people equate hard work with high pay -- but we have found a way to work smarter not necessarily harder.
Thanks for sharing this information!
[1] http://www.bingocardcreator.com/expenses/profitability-pie-c...
1. I meant to ask how you might be able to streamline/automate your monthly reports like BCC has done.
2. What is your idea generation process? If that really is the sticking point, then consider reducing the friction or cost of going from idea to MVP. My example of going from idea to MVP in 6 hours is very streamlined. If I had enough money to spend on AdWords, I could potentially test 1 idea per week and dump the low performers. My point of friction here is traffic. The only honest, reliable way to get traffic (and potential interested customers) is with AdWords, which is not free.
3. Very good to get your personal experience on this subject.
Thanks as always...
Also - thanks for sharing the data!
While I certainly don't live frugally I don't own a car and the money is merely for things like rent, food and such. I have a baby girl though and my wife is currently at home. When she starts working again the picture would certainly change.
TL/DR Not so easy to replicate if your cost of living is higher.
I could probably blackmail the grandparents into paying a kind of ransom so I don't leave the country for an extended period :)
My apologies if this is unsolicited and unwelcome advice, but have you considered supplementing your income by replicating Chris' efforts on a much more relaxed schedule and in your spare time? Blogging handsomely supplements my income, without much effort (or time) required on my part.
I see you don't post too often. Do you submit your articles to many sites like HN or do they mostly get picked up by your existing readership.
High-Quality Content + Good, Ethical Promotion + Proven Monetization strategies = $x,xxx per month.
I describe in detail the steps I take in my upcoming book on technical blogging. (Shameless plug: http://technicalblogging.com)
When I'm too busy to promote an article myself, my regular readers will usually do it for me organically. They are generally not as thorough as me, but they get the job done. :)
Right now I'm entirely focused on putting the best of my advice into the book.
I used to get variants of this comment all the time. "Pfft you people living in low-cost countries like Japan have things so easy..."
People always ask how I can manage to travel so much and live independently when my take-home pay is so low compared to a salaried developer. The answer is that just like everything in life, it's about priorities. One person might prioritize cable TV and an iPhone for $200/month, whereas I'd put that money to a plane ticket. Granted sometimes things like babies or health problems don't give you a choice, but for many people, it is a choice to be chained to desks job they hate.
In those countries, it was more than enough to live well above average. Taxes are naturally also much, much lower which have a large effect.
At the moment I'm back in Europe for a contract. 2000 USD while living here? After 50% tax, that's only enough to cover half my rent! Techies in low-cost countries really do have it easier, as they can price their products / services to an international level, while still having low local prices.
Also, it's always the same woman in his photos--I'm betting it's his wife. :)
Thanks for all your hard work documenting these findings! You're an inspiration to all of us waiting to get started for ourselves.
I'm trying to parse this, and I'm sure what you mean. "I'd be glad if you could point out any other language mistakes"
Are they pass-through to foreign entities?
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Makes me wonder if this is an arena where we can all make some extra money?
do these ideas resonate at all with you personally? have you experienced anything like this in Poland? did you have any second-thoughts or misgivings regarding sharing your pay?
So the question is, what happens to those of us whose pay is already public (state employees, professional athletes, C-executives at publicly traded companies, movie stars), and for those of us who freely divulge the information?
Is there backlash from this behavior? Is the taboo justified?
I never really took the taboo against talking about income seriously either, until I realized that answering these kinds of questions honestly was seriously poisoning my interactions with people. Some people would just get jealous and resentful, others would make silent, unwarranted assumptions about me, still others just became more prone to "hey, can you cover me and I'll pay you back?" me with no intention of doing so and for higher and higher amounts.
So, I now discuss my income only with people who I know have a high one as well. Everyone else gets a very frank "I'm sorry, but that's none of your business." What's interesting is that I get more pleasant reactions now than when I answered honestly.
So yeah, based on my experience, it is in your interest to obey the taboo and keep your mouth shut.
From his website:
X-Ray Scanner for Android (joke)
Cracked Screen (joke)
Detector Pro (joke)
WP Stats for Android (blog stats)
Virtual Drums Don’t push it! (joke)
Daily Beauty Tip (RSS Reader)
I thought that's for the entire household? And that for individual earners it was closer to $25-$30k? I only ask as $50k seems really high for an average salary - might have to investigate moving over, even ;)