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Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#91

Post by driven20 »

ecesena wrote: post #54

You left your job because you were burnt out. I think you should also ask yourself what happens if you start your own project and get burnt out again before making any decision, and/or what can you do next time (either with another job or your own project) to avoid burn out. In your shoes, I'd first get a job, possibly more sustainable than your previous one. Then I'd start working on my side project trying to make a…

I feel the reason for burn out was because I was working on something I don't care about. I don't necessarily think the work was extremely demanding or anything. The problem was forcing myself to work on something I don't find meaning in.

Yeah, for my next job. I'm definitely gonna search for a company that has a mission I believe in.

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#92

Post by driven20 »

jameslk wrote: post #49

Start with contracting instead of getting a job. A contract will give you more flexibility to work on side projects since you have control over where and when you work while also providing cash flow. It will also teach you important skills on creating and running a business. If you can't sell yourself as a contractor, you will have a hard time selling your product. Once you have cash flow, start with trying to sell y…

Any tips on contracting? I have only got contracts through recruiters. Can you get them directly with the company?

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#93

Post by driven20 »

achingtooth wrote: post #60

If you're serious about it, there is another option. You can move to Europe or Asia and live cheap while working on your business. I make ~$1,000 a month doing freelance work 30 hours a month. The rest of the time I spend working on my project ideas. My living expenses are ~$400 and I spend another $100-200 on project ideas.

That sounds fun, but my gf probably wouldn't like this. haha Luckily, I'm in a very low cost of living area already.

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#94

Post by driven20 »

zachh wrote: post #35
driven20 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have recommendations on where I can find part-time work?

If you post your email / contact info on your profile, I can reach out with some ideas. I work in NYC and happy to connect you with people depending on your interest areas / skillset.

Updated my profile to contain my email. Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#95

Post by detaro »

driven20 wrote: post #94
zachh wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you post your email / contact info on your profile, I can reach out with some ideas. I work in NYC and happy to connect you with people depending on your interest areas / skillset.

Updated my profile to contain my email. Thanks!

you need to put it in the "about" field, the "email" field is just for password reset emails etc and not public.

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#96

Post by anotheryou »

gere wrote: post #72
rubicon33 wrote: post #33

Similar boat to you. Had the exact same question in my life. I decided for a totally different option, lets call it option #4: #4 Take an "easy" programming job and use your spare time on nights/weekends to build a software business. I chose this option because I wasn't willing to risk my savings. Plain and simple. I want to retire some day, and blowing 60k for a ~5% chance at making a profitable business wasn't wort…

This is a sensible advice, but how do you recognize an easy programming job?

less then 5 days/week helps

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#97

Post by driven20 »

longnguyen wrote: post #83
rubicon33 wrote: post #33

Similar boat to you. Had the exact same question in my life. I decided for a totally different option, lets call it option #4: #4 Take an "easy" programming job and use your spare time on nights/weekends to build a software business. I chose this option because I wasn't willing to risk my savings. Plain and simple. I want to retire some day, and blowing 60k for a ~5% chance at making a profitable business wasn't wort…

While I am on the same boat, there is definitely a caveat that you should aware. Those "easy" job you think might actually be hard, because of politics/bad managements/weird policies etc. And even if you're lucky enough to get a relaxing job, the differences between those 2 jobs might damage your mindset/thinking/focus.

This is what I'm afraid of...My previous job wasn't hard. What was tiring was forcing myself to work on stuff I don't care about.

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#98

Post by rubicon33 »

gere wrote: post #72
rubicon33 wrote: post #33

Similar boat to you. Had the exact same question in my life. I decided for a totally different option, lets call it option #4: #4 Take an "easy" programming job and use your spare time on nights/weekends to build a software business. I chose this option because I wasn't willing to risk my savings. Plain and simple. I want to retire some day, and blowing 60k for a ~5% chance at making a profitable business wasn't wort…

This is a sensible advice, but how do you recognize an easy programming job?

There are (at least) two ways in which a job can be "hard":

1) Technically. Having to constantly learn new things, new technologies, etc. Unable to rest on your laurels. Learning new things can be very rewarding from a career growth standpoint, but it can also leave you drained at the end of the day.

- Avoid a technically challenging job by choosing one which is in your skillset, and unlikely to change. For instance, if Java is your thing, find a back-end Java job at a big company (startups will often ask you to change roles and learn new things).

2) People. Dealing with shitty bosses / managers / coworkers can suck the "easy" out of a job and make it very challenging to get anything done.

- Try to get a feel for the leadership in your interview process. The interview should come off as warm, and inclusive, even you aren't doing well. Overly complex questions, riddles, or hide-the-ball interview tactics generally come from insecure interviewers.

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#99

Post by davidjnelson »

driven20 wrote: post #11
jf22 wrote: post #4

With your runway, #2 sounds great, but try and find a different idea. Productivity apps and yelp like services are a dime a dozen. You'll probably waste 1-2 years, and expect to waste 3-5 more before you can replace your main source of income. Entrepreneurship is risky and developing software is the easy part.

Yea, I'm not sure they are great ideas. My reasoning for the productivity app is because I want to build something I personally need and I haven't found a good solution. The yelp-like app is because I know I want to work with small businesses. I just don't know exactly how yet. So, you're right. I need to spend more time on my ideas. Thanks!

A lesson I learned is look for hacks to do something without writing code. It’s hard when your idea really needs it though. Then it’s more about removing features from the mvp as much as you can.

Another one is an idea journal. Then over time you have a collection of things and can choose which one is exciting.

It can be hard, but if you can get potential customers to have a conversation with you and give you money ahead of time you’ve proven you are on to something.

I’ve been wanting a framework that makes mvps easier to ship. Planning on working on one that leverages server rendered react for ui with Airbnb Hypernova, rails for data and security, aws fargate for auto scaling compute, and aurora serverless for an auto scaling sql db. Would also be nice to auto generate react/redux crud like rails does. Or just use standard rails for stuff that doesn’t need polish.

Re: Ask HN: Should I find a job or try to build a profitable project?

#100

Post by davidjnelson »

fouc wrote: post #47

You could try doing something similar to Pieter Levels' "12 startups in 12 months". He only managed to get to 5-6 startups, but from that arose nomadlist.com and remoteok.com where he's making $83k/mo now after 4 years ($10k from user subscriptions and the rest from paid ads/postings). Forcing yourself to launch/ship a few products each within a month could be good training to not get stuck in idea phase or coding ph…

I like this a lot. Tools, tricks and shortcuts to reduce experiment cycle time are invaluable. Not aware of existing tools that do a great job of this though, especially for novel, non-trivial use cases.
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