Can you recall any specific thing you did that brought you success?
In general I believe the idea of "work on what you love" to be awful advice; I have found that I get deep satisfaction out of working on something that someone is willing to pay for, even if that means that sometimes it is a headache and I hate doing some of the things that need to be done. Once you accept that those things will continue to exist and continue to need to be done, and it's not going to be bliss, those things seem to matter less.
The other person literally said they tried like 50 things and you two haven't launched any yet.
You have no idea and irregardless of evidence that you have gathered if something will work or not. Based on this, it would be very bad to work on something for a year without knowing or getting frequent feedback (cash sent to your bank account by customers).
So the only way is to treat this like poker. You place several bets over a period of time (max 1 month). This way you launch 12 projects in a year and have a better success chance of hitting something that actually works. You have to place bets until the card is right, then you can go all-in.
Choosing good idea worthy of implementation and finding enough inspiration to finish it is another matter.
Unfortunately, from what I've experienced, this doesn't align with the typical US lifestyle minimum?
Incredible comment overall but this line was particularly Woah!
What advice would have for solo founders of a side project (that later becomes a full time day job) in terms of evolving to a large team?
First hire(s), things to look out for, etc.
I’d find this insight incredible! Hope I’m not asking too much. But such an incredible story you have.
A little over a year ago I submitted this Ask HN, which helps shed light on my situation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27039701
It is now a year later and I'm still wondering the same thing as I was back then (as in, I haven't changed up my work setup at all / haven't hired people). I do rely on contractors here and there, but it's rare.
I quite enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with no employees. These days I just do a bit of focused work each day, prioritise spending time with my family, and enjoy sticking to my daily training regiment (the latter has been a key aspect of my life ever since I started my entrepreneurial journey).
Every time I consider hiring people for the sake of more growth, I find myself asking if it'll be worth it, and whether I'll regret it.
I doubt I'd be able to enjoy the work/life balance I currently have if I were responsible for managing people at scale.
Perhaps I'm being narrow-minded here, but it's good to receive affirmation from someone whose done it all before.
Cheers mate.
Some of them are very driven by the stress of management, and seek it out. Their mentality is that a work situation isn't worthwhile if it isn't pushing you to your limit.
But they're the minority. I feel like you either know that you're this kind of person or you're not.
The rest feel burdened by their situation, and would happily trade for yours 300 days out of the year. They not-irregularly make comments, in private to friends, along the lines of "sometimes I wonder if I'm living life wrong? maybe I should be in the park with my kids instead of on the nth investor call or one-on-one with a direct report".
Like most questions, I think you can answer this with a mixture of experiments and introspection. You say you've manage contractors, for example.
Do you ever feel like you wish you had more responsibility for their lives? The urge to give mentorship is real, do you wish you could do that in a professional setting?
You can probably find ways to scratch those itches that are outside your company, too, for what it's worth.
You're in a good position where you get to "choose your own adventure", so you should experiment with it! Document your feelings, find somebody to talk it through with, iterate towards a happier spot. There's always ways to test your curiosities without sacrificing everything, if you get clever with it. :)
I've been through a number of startups and there are jobs that I really really dislike down to my core.
My 2nd startup I did the CEO role and i hated every day of it -- I really respect those who can spend day after day in investor meetings, sales calls, marketing catch-ups; that person isn't me.
My 3rd startup I decided to stick to technology - with a heavy dose of management - and partner with someone who could do the above.
Startups are already barely tolerable as it is, you can at least help yourself a little by being able to focus on the areas that bring a little joy into your life.
I feel like I often hang up on if something should be done or if it is something that will be "successful". So it's cool to hear stories where the goal isn't the financial success of X project -- the goal is the journey and it's a bonus if it's financially beneficial.
Thanks again, know that it helped me to read this comment!
My amateurish approach is to jot down every idea in a single line of a text file, then walk away. If the same idea or topic strikes me again, I give it a separate text file and write some copy that might go on the product page, together with links to related stuff, screenshots, etc. Then, after another few weeks and only if I still believe in the idea I come up with more details, perhaps do some light coding, brand ideas, register domains, etc. Then (You guessed it), I wait another few weeks or even months and if it passes my still-relevant check I start working on it on the side of my existing, well, side project. The challenge these days is when to pull the plug or go all-in since the market, interests and attention shifts so quickly that it's tough to adapt without losing temper. Doesn't get easier as you get I older.
Thanks!
* https://bgr.com/general/tweetup-acquires-twidroid-renaming-a...
https://joeldare.com/how-to-lose-money-with-25-years-of-fail...
I build a lot of tiny projects and Ben (original blog post) is inspiring me to get them better organized.
That's waaay more than your avg office worker though.