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Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"learn business" was mentioned but there seems to be a lot discussion here around accounting and finance - those aren't "business", at least not the core of it anyway. Accounting for one is recording what has already happened in a business - its merely reporting, nothing more. Its a reporting function of business. There is far too much focus I feel on accounting and finance in MBA courses. Its not business. An MBA de…

Completely disagree with this. To use an analogy the purpose of an artist is to communicate emotions from the artist to the public through works of art. But training to be an artist is learning brushstroke, chiseling technique and what not. Sure the purpose of business is selling products and making profit and that’s the big picture but a huge part of the daily practical reality of doing business will involve account…

Accounting and finance are the result of doing business. Accounting and finance are usually not the business though.

Without doing business and creating value, there is no accounting, or finance. Often Accounting and Finance exist to keep risk manageable and if you let it too long, avoid it entirely.

Creating Value is almost certainly working through some amount of risk.

In a business, Accounting and Finance on it's own may not always create value, unless it's an accounting/finance business.

Conversely, creating value without accounting and finance will make it harder to retain the value created.

Accounting and finance functions are mostly about retaining what is working and making it more efficient.

Innovation Accounting, is another thing that is not always measured on the P&L.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#82
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/programs/investment-foundati...

Course is free, cert takes about 60-90 hours and cost $350 dollars.

Huh, when did they change that?

When I took it, it was still $250. The course was free and you paid to take a cert test at a testing center. The following year they made the whole thing online and free.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#83
post #16
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read it a long time ago, and while it doesn't contain anything that will change your mind, it's a concise coverage of all the important topics in a single and easy to digest package. I feel that it gives solid foundations to start learning and build upon. I've read it and recommended it to a lot of people

Agreed. There are a lot of "popular business" books which are basically a blog post stretched out over 200 pages. They're full of wonkish ideas that might, at best, only work in a specific context. Kaufman's book is a thorough grounding in the different aspects of running a business, without the faff.

> without the faff

interesting choice of words! "Established in 1972, the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) is the independent, private-sector, not-for-profit organization responsible for the oversight, administration, financing, and appointment of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)"

in the US, FASB is everything when it comes to setting the rules of accounting.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#84

Start a Shopify dropshipping website, or learn SEO/PPC/Organic TikTook/Facebook ads, hire a VA, and pitch local businesses on marketing services.

What terrible advice to start a small time side hustle with low margins, for someone accomplished enough th have become CFO of an actual company.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#85
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wanted to say the same thing. Start a small business on the side. Something you enjoy; there's a million ideas. A friend of mine buys and sells classic motorcycles. Someone builds new replacement parts for unsupported industrial equipment. Car accessories, anything. It should not have the potential of losing a lot of money, because you don't want to worry about it and you have a full-time job already. So that rules…

What the heck. Your advice to a new CTO is to start a small business on the side? I would immediately fire them if I were on the board and they did that.

Why? As long as it is not competition to your employer, your off time is your time. How would it be different from a hobby? And as mentioned, the intent is not to make enough money that you leave your current job. You're still a loyal employee doing an honest full-time job there.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn business being a software engineer?

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What resources did you use to learn digital marketing?

For that, I learned on the job-- I had a skillset of: A. Promoting products at events as a Brand Ambassador B. html, css, and basic frontend javascript self-taught skills (from ebooks, youtube, udemy). With skills A & B, I successfully justified that I should be hired into an entry level digital marketing role, where I used Marketo to email-spam B2B and set up web landing pages. Once I had that initial job using Mark…

Thank you so much
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