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How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

sizefivegames.com

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Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#91

Post by karmajunkie »

This would be more accurately titled, "I survived 10 years as a solo developer and here are the choices I made". Here's my version:

1) Craftsmen pay good money for their tools. Invest in your office space, whether its a dedicated space in your home or a coworking membership. But be honest about what tools you need. You probably don't need a $1000 aeron chair. But you do need one that's comfortable. You probably don't need that super-cool triple-panel 17" laptop Razer pumped at CES for web development. You probably do need something with enough RAM to run a few VMs sometimes.

2) Outsource everything that doesn't make you money or that you aren't good at. Taxes and bookkeeping, for example. But know enough about it so you can tell if you've hired good help there.

3) Invest in yourself. Learn some new technology at least once a year—whether thats a framework, a language, or a skill like design. Go to at least one regional conference, and at least one national conference if you can afford it.

4) Work the shit out of your network. Set a limit on how many unpaid lunch meetings you'll take to hear about other people's problems, and always try to find a way to help them even if you don't wind up taking the job. And then try to hit your limit most of the time. Farm favors like they're a cash crop.

5) Find a way to keep yourself accountable, whether that's a mentor, a coach, or an accountability partner. We all need someone to keep us honest about our motivations and rationalizations from time to time.

6) Try to exercise some self control over how many self-indulgent HN comments you make in a given period of time. :)

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#92

Post by fapjacks »

Isamu wrote: post #4
fapjacks wrote: post #2

"Sit down and do some fucking work." The other stuff is just optional.

Indeed. "don’t be a fucking idiot, be sensible."

My comment is about being a solo dev. You can check all the other blocks, but if you aren't actually working, you're not going anywhere.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#93

Post by badloginagain »

p0nce wrote: post #44
throw9966 wrote: post #17

The best advice that I got was don't quit your full time job. My desktop sharewares dont sell that often nowadays, but its enough to pay my rent and monthly expenses. The salary that I get from my full time job goes direct to my bank untouched. > "Working from a cafe" 100% agree. For me, no work gets done from a cafe. I wonder what work people do by sitting at Starbucks. I cant write one line of code if I am being co…

Doing this very often. Abstracting the background noise and conversation is a skill that can be trained. It's even better in public libraries, because the noise is 10x lower than the typical open-space environment. You also make random encounters which usually turns out great. The only things that could be a blocker is music with vocals, for that I use earbuds. I tend to think of different places like psychological a…

+1 for libraries. Support your local library!

More importantly, if you can relegate the hustle and noise from a cafe into white noise, you'll be doing yourself a favour if you end up working in a crowded office. A loud office is the worst kind of problem, because it's rarely a dealbreaker- meaning you have to endure it.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#94

Post by ice109 »

hire_charts wrote: post #21
raamdev wrote: post #8

> I find it astonishing that startup indie devs pay out for an office, with all the extra bills that entails. Work from home, keep your overheads as close to zero as possible. I've been a solo dev for nearly a decade (8 years) and I found that sometimes it makes complete sense to pay for an office. Before my daughter was born, I was able to work from almost anywhere: noisy cafes, at home, the library, etc. But after…

$350/mo seems _extremely_ reasonable for a quiet studio. I don't think that's the kind of office expense the poster was talking about. For instance, in NYC, $350/month would barely get you a "hot desk" (i.e. chair at a table) in a coworking space.

there are artist studios in east williamsburg that are about ~500. my buddy's even has fios.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#95

Post by Arizhel »

ryandrake wrote: post #34
raamdev wrote: post #8

> I find it astonishing that startup indie devs pay out for an office, with all the extra bills that entails. Work from home, keep your overheads as close to zero as possible. I've been a solo dev for nearly a decade (8 years) and I found that sometimes it makes complete sense to pay for an office. Before my daughter was born, I was able to work from almost anywhere: noisy cafes, at home, the library, etc. But after…

I remember when I was looking to move houses a while back and we saw one WAY out in the boonies that was otherwise unremarkable but had a small, but physically separate "in-law house" in the back, that had a bedroom, a tiny kitchen (enough room for a fridge and microwave) and a tiny bathroom. We didn't move there but I couldn't stop thinking about how well something like that would fit as a work-from-home office. Cur…

>Currently, with a wife, a kid, and all her kid-friends, carrying on loudly and ransacking the house at all hours, I couldn't imagine making a "bedroom converted to office" work for actual productive remote work.

I can't imagine making a setup like this work for even maintaining basic sanity. Every time I read a post like this, I realize I did the right thing by not having kids. I'm constantly stressed out as it is because of the open-plan office; if I had to come home to people "carrying on loudly and ransacking the house at all hours", I think I'd shoot myself. How people can live without a good amount of peace and quiet, I have no idea.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#96

Post by Arizhel »

gwbas1c wrote: post #49
pjc50 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but if you're self-funded every dollar is taken out of your "runway".

Or out of your profit, assuming you're making money. :)

Partially. It's a business expense, so at least you get to deduct it from your taxes.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#97

Post by return0 »

enraged_camel wrote: post #27
_eht wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have also been working out of my garage for the last eight years and I'm just now in the process of finding an office. I don't have any kids, but I still feel like I'm going stir crazy. Sometimes you just need to put some distance between where you sleep and where you work.

I work from home. Here's how I get around this: after waking up and having breakfast, I go for a short (~10 minute) walk or bike ride around the block. When I get back, I start working. That kind of "fake commute" is sufficient to trick my brain into separating work from everything else I do in the same space.

This actually does the trick. I go to a nearby coffee shop to get my coffee. It's like, changing context allows you to switch to "work mode".

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#99

Post by prmph »

p0nce wrote: post #44
throw9966 wrote: post #17

The best advice that I got was don't quit your full time job. My desktop sharewares dont sell that often nowadays, but its enough to pay my rent and monthly expenses. The salary that I get from my full time job goes direct to my bank untouched. > "Working from a cafe" 100% agree. For me, no work gets done from a cafe. I wonder what work people do by sitting at Starbucks. I cant write one line of code if I am being co…

Doing this very often. Abstracting the background noise and conversation is a skill that can be trained. It's even better in public libraries, because the noise is 10x lower than the typical open-space environment. You also make random encounters which usually turns out great. The only things that could be a blocker is music with vocals, for that I use earbuds. I tend to think of different places like psychological a…

I really dislike working in libraries; I've tried several times, but the "quietness" is very distracting to me. Add to this the fact that many unsavory characters like to hang out in the library, the difficulty of finding a desk with a good view of the sunny outside, and it is no wonder I just can't do it. I suspect there are many like me.

I much prefer cafes, and I don't have any problem concentrating there at all.

There is something different about a loud office, though, and I don't like those either

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#100

Post by ferentchak »

return0 wrote: post #97
enraged_camel wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work from home. Here's how I get around this: after waking up and having breakfast, I go for a short (~10 minute) walk or bike ride around the block. When I get back, I start working. That kind of "fake commute" is sufficient to trick my brain into separating work from everything else I do in the same space.

This actually does the trick. I go to a nearby coffee shop to get my coffee. It's like, changing context allows you to switch to "work mode".

This is my trick too. It works out nicely if you have a dog, then you can walk them at the same time.
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