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Side projects are like children

ryanwaggoner.com

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Re: Side projects are like children

#11

Post by krschultz »

Has anyone ever considered selling their side project?

There is a market here. It is easy to see it from the point of view of someone working on small side projects around their full time job. The profit of the side project is not worth the time invested in it, and killing it is the best course of action. But you have all that sunk cost (time more than money) and no way to recoup it. Wouldn't you take a few thousand dollars to sell it off?

And on the other hand, if I were to buy up 5 or 10 promising side projects and run them concurrently full time, I might be able to lower costs (economy of scale) and extract some greater value from each one and the profit will be greater than the sum of its parts.

Re: Side projects are like children

#12

Post by raganwald »

The core assumption here is that the projects are a means to an end, where the end is likely one of the "Three Ps:" Power, Prestige, or Pecuniarum.

Side projects are also like plants in your garden. Some people enjoy the gardening for its own sake, and yes that means they are going to make a lot less money than someone who ruthlessly weeds out anything that isn't going to grow into a massive oak.

p.s. FWIW, I think of side projects as attempt to answer questions. I stop work on them when I think they've gone on long enough to find the answer.

Re: Side projects are like children

#15

Post by thibaut_barrere »

I wouldn't kill or sell my children, but I definitely did so for side-projects. As well, children don't bring me money (at least currently), whereas the projects do.

That said I really like considering both as organic: you plant seeds, take care of them and they hopefully grow.

Re: Side projects are like children

#16

Post by TamDenholm »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #4
TamDenholm wrote: post #3

If side projects are like kids then i'd be dragged away by social services by now for total neglect of my 30-40 kids.

I feel like I did a bad job of explaining the core of my analogy, which is that creating a child or a side project is easy and fun, but they're potentially with you for a long time, and thus deserve careful thought before starting.

Nah it was a good article, like Kliment said, tattoos are probably better, but i got what you meant.

Re: Side projects are like children

#17

Post by steveklabnik »

Kliment wrote: post #8
ryanwaggoner wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like I did a bad job of explaining the core of my analogy, which is that creating a child or a side project is easy and fun, but they're potentially with you for a long time, and thus deserve careful thought before starting.

Maybe use tattoos as an analogy instead.

There's an inverse correlation between the numbers of tattoos you have and the amount that you care about getting another, though...

On second thought, maybe they are a good analogy.

Re: Side projects are like children

#19

Post by antidaily »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #7
antidaily wrote: post #5

I like the fish analogy better. Feed a little bit everyday. Don't be afraid to flush 'em and get new ones.

Does this come from something you read? I really like this analogy, though I still think focus is really important.

Came from a startup discussion I had a long time ago. We were talking about Google's 20% idea.

Re: Side projects are like children

#20

Post by dstein »

twymer wrote: post #14

I find comparing side projects (something of which we grow bored with a large percentage of then abandon) to children moderately disturbing.

You mean children aren't something that you can selectively nurture or neglect, at a whim, until one of them becomes a rock star and pays your bills for you?
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