Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#71

Post by jackowayed » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 4:56 PM UTC

maxklein wrote: post #58

jackowayed wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At first that sounds crazy (run a get-rich-quick scheme, and that will get you rich quick!), but that's actually a pretty good idea. Assuming you can pinpoint some of the secrets to your success (or, more importantly, things that sound like they will help people succeed), you can write a book, start a subscription website, etc selling those tips. Saying "I'm making $24k from a wide variety of apps, and it's just me i…

That seems like an even quicker way to end the profit run. If everyone knows how to do this, the market will slow down and then soon my tips will be worthless since they no longer work. Then I killed the goose that lays the golden egg.

Well, it's not a zero-sum game necessarily. But that is true. I guess it depends partially on what your tips would be. If you have tips, say, for getting on the top-25 boards, obviously sharing those will hurt you. But sharing tips for how to get websites to link to you, and even those to make better apps, won't necessarily hurt you noticeably.

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#72

Post by mrtron » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 4:56 PM UTC

Be wary of trying to recreate the success using a similar but different model. Many people fall into that trap and fail.

For example, if you carefully built apps and they seem to be selling well hiring a bunch of people to build more apps may not work. The apps may not be of the same quality, you may not be able to communicate your vision adequately to them, and maybe just timing is incorrect now.

Personally I would continue doing everything you are now and completely ignore the money side of things. Pay your taxes and pretend that money doesn't exist. Keep progressing forward and see if you can continue increasing revenue.

Use some money to cut corners if you can, but throwing a bunch of money at a problem doesn't tend to have a good success rate.

edit: Also by looking at your uploaded image - it looks like you half your income this year is from the last month. Try to keep pushing growth forward, whatever you have been doing is working well.

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#73

Post by antidaily » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 4:58 PM UTC

Nassrat wrote: post #48

I think what you are looking for is to incubate startups

My thought too. Help others do what you've done and take some equity.

Or your could simply re-invest in yourself. Could you scale what you're doing with more resources?

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#74

Post by Psyonic » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 4:59 PM UTC

maxklein wrote: post #58

jackowayed wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At first that sounds crazy (run a get-rich-quick scheme, and that will get you rich quick!), but that's actually a pretty good idea. Assuming you can pinpoint some of the secrets to your success (or, more importantly, things that sound like they will help people succeed), you can write a book, start a subscription website, etc selling those tips. Saying "I'm making $24k from a wide variety of apps, and it's just me i…

That seems like an even quicker way to end the profit run. If everyone knows how to do this, the market will slow down and then soon my tips will be worthless since they no longer work. Then I killed the goose that lays the golden egg.

It kills the goose, but creates the elephant that drops the golden turds. Which would you rather have?

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#75

Post by Psyonic » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 5:01 PM UTC

andrewcooke wrote: post #56

i think that it's pretty clear that getting rich is largely luck. you were in the right place at the right time with the right skills. if it was more than that, then you'd be able to repeat it without advice, right? given that, two approaches make sense to me: 1 - treat it as a lucky break and consider how best to make it last over the long term, as a one-off. but you say you don't want to do this in your question. 2…

24k a month is near 300k a year... doing pretty damn well, if you can keep it up, but like you said, nowhere near very rich. The very rich get richer because, like Mark Cuban says, when they invest in a company, the CEO gives them a call and asks if they have any recommendations.

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#76

Post by stewiecat » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 5:02 PM UTC

1. Taxes 2. Retirement savings.

Max out your IRA, Roth, etc to take advantage of your (I'm assuming) youth and the magic of compound returns.

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#77

Post by rufugee » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 5:02 PM UTC

Rather than advice, I have questions....namely, is there a list of your published apps somewhere? I'd like to understand the types of simple applications you're developing.

Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#78

Post by Psyonic » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 5:03 PM UTC

Nassrat wrote: post #48

I think what you are looking for is to incubate startups

Really? With only 24k a month, and no real track record? YC works because you get Paul Graham and co, plus 5k a person... what's he going to get?

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#79

Post by hedgehog » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 5:05 PM UTC

Market yourself. Write a book & give talks about your process for making winners. Lots of people want to know how to make money in the App Store. There might be a higher-priced corporate training market for how to make popular apps for marketing purposes (think packaged food or sports apparel industry).

On reading your blog it looks like you're already going down this road?

Re: Ask HN: I made $24k over the last month. Now what?

#80

Post by mechanical_fish » Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 5:05 PM UTC

patio11 wrote: post #25

Hire people to do the things you do which have the worst tradeoff of hours expended per unit of value added. Alternately, hire people to automate those things. And I'd SERIOUSLY consider at the very least a) setting yourself up a SEP-IRA and b) socking away the maximum in an index fund. It is essentially monopoly money to you anyhow at the moment, right? Trust me, you won't regret having 30 years of appreciation on y…

Yes, listen to patio11.

I do NOT want to invest in the stock market, or invest in anything long term like bonds or property. I want to somehow use the money to make more money quickly (within a 2 year time span).

Excuse me if I'm too harsh, but you should spend some of the money on a membership in Gamblers' Anonymous. Because you talk like a bad gambler. The hallmark of bad gamblers is that, if ever they get ahead, they look desperately around for a way to lose so they can get back to their comfortable status quo: Grifting, in poverty.

If you have money that you don't know what to do with, put it in some diversified investments that will make money over 30 years -- not two -- and forget about it.

The exception I'd make is the one patio11 cites: If investing a portion of your current profits in your current business will pay off, do some of that. But don't invest all your profits in this one basket: One of the most important forms of diversification is to invest in things other than your current project. You don't need another get-rich-quick scheme: You have that, and it even seems to be working. Good for you. Now hedge your bets with a get-rich-slowly-but-safely scheme.