Ask HN: How do you control consulting work and concentrate on startup work?

I'm doing consulting to bootstrap my startup. Business has been great these past years. My problem is it's taking me so long to release my product. I also have a couple of other ideas that I can't find time to work on. The immediate income gained from consulting is very tempting for someone with a wife, a kid, monthly expenses, and mortgages. Consulting became the priority and startup work moved back. For those who experienced something like this, how did you handle it? How did you break free from consulting?

Have you tried prioritizing your startup like you do your consulting? I'm sure you meet all your consulting deadlines and requirements. I'm addicted to consulting right now and I've been using it to help bootstrap my startup ideas as well. I don't think I'll be backing off consulting until my startup ventures actually make as much money as my consulting and even then the consulting dollars will give me more options in promoting my startups!

I love the variety of consulting so much that even after my ventures bring success I will still want to do consulting because it gives me that instant achievement satisfaction.

Don't focus on breaking free from consulting and before working on any other ideas get that first product released. Set milestones and treat it like your other work.

I'm still consulting until I get my own projects off the ground, my first launch took 1.5 years to finish, my next launch will be in a fraction of the time.

Paul was right when he said not to do side consulting work.

For me it was simple; a 3-month consulting gig will give me a financial runway for the next year. So I am doing it, and nothing else. Come December 1st I will have enough to live comfortably for the next year, probably 2 years if I move to somewhere cheaper and bring my fiancee over.

1. Can you contract out any elements of consulting work to others to free up time? Perhaps some of the lower-value work? You'll make the spread b/w the rate you get and what you pay them. You'll profit less but gain incremental hours for your venture.

2. Pick or find consulting work that "scales well" meaning it allows you to leverage (sorry for jargon) knowledge/things you've already done or built. This type of work will be more efficient for you, more profitable and you can reinvest saved time into your startup.

3. Regarding multiple startup ideas, I'd pick one to focus on. Diversifying amongst startup ideas esp if unrelated doesn't work in my experience. It leads to doing them all half-baked which ultimately won't get you further from consulting which is where you want to be.

4. As mentioned below, we treated our own company as a client which meant we acted with same sense of urgency as we would with other clients. It is a good way to make your own venture a priority else it always gets back burnered.

5. This one is a bit drastic but exit the mortgage if you can by selling your home and renting. Fixed costs like mortgages can be like anchors for an entrepreneur. Take the money you may make and put some away for a rainy day fund for the wife/kids/you and a portion can be used to give your own venture some additional fuel or runway.

In same boat as you my friend so "feel your pain" although sounds like you have too much consulting biz which is a high class problem IMO.

Good luck. And if you figure out a "solution", pls let me know.

Charge more.