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My Second Year as a Solo Developer

mtlynch.io

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Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#361

Post by throwawaypa123 »

mtlynch wrote: post #219
aosaigh wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just a friendly passing comment, but I'm not sure you have the correct take-aways from speaking with business owners. With the quarry example, you couldn't get them on the phone. How about conferences, meetups, trade shows etc? Furthermore you probably need to search for companies that might _want_ to speak to you: younger owners, companies with less to lose etc. In the sheet metal example, it sounds like you had alr…

Thanks for the suggestions! I think that's sound advice. The strategy I had in mind was courting industries that were physically close to me. I wasn't just calling the businesses, I was showing up at their offices to ask for meetings. My hypothesis was that there are probably plenty of profitable businesses nearby that are disconnected from the tech world, so other software companies aren't approaching them. To clari…

read never split the difference.

measure how often you're talking vs. they are if the split isn't 80% in their favor you're doing it wrong.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#362

Post by throwawaypa123 »

criley2 wrote: post #173
cambalache wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots and lots of self employed people are not "working" 24h/day.Where does this myth come from? Is it corporate propaganda?

It's coming from inside the house! https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1067175527180513280 "No one ever changed the world at 40 hours a week" "80 hours minimum, with peaks at 100 hours" A 100 hour week would be 16.6 hours for 6 days and 1 day off, or 14.25 hour days with no days off The idea that entrepreneurs need to work more than 40 hours a week to be successful is as old as our industry, and I'd go so far as to s…

making cash for "the good" life not same as changing the world.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#363

Post by tempsy »

JacKTrocinskI wrote: post #350
tempsy wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

good for you? for most of history everyone worked for themselves. one could argue the modern day corporate structure is completely unnatural and doesn't fit (most) everyone.

Everything we do as humans is "unnatural" and what really doesn't fit for "most" everyone is earning near nothing for 2 straight years.

This person is F.I.R.E’d. These are fun projects. He didn’t suggest this was appropriate for anyone but himself

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#364

Post by crystaldev »

tempsy wrote: post #229
gwbas1c wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like this guy is trying to run a lifestyle business, and his investments pay enough interest that he can coast for a long, long time. To be quite honest: He's spending all day playing . That's a position I envy quite a bit.

Make $300K a year for 10 years while keeping expenses low and investing most of that in a bull market makes it pretty easy to do.

> investing most of that in a bull market makes it pretty easy to do.

Bag-holding 101, folks.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#365

Post by [deleted] »

mtlynch wrote: post #187
cdiddy2 wrote: post #172

Are health insurance costs included in your current $2k monthly expenses? Did you buy the house outright?

Yep and yep. Health insurance in MA is $250/month for a high deductible plan (I was paying $500 in NY). This year, my insurance is only $40/month because I qualified for a subsidized plan based on my 2019 income (or lack thereof).

[deleted]

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#366

Post by jitschlit »

qmmmur wrote: post #296
rickitan wrote: post #224

I see a lot of comments criticizing your path and progress. Making remarks like "why didn't you stay at Google". I applaud your decision, effort, and perseverance. I admire your risk taking and having skin in the game. Trying to make it out on your own. People forget the journey is not just about the money. It's about learning, growing and bringing your ideas to life. Being an artist, and expressing yourself through…

I don't think I've cringed more than 'expressing yourself through products'.

That says a lot about you, but is, in itself, not a very useful contribution to the discussion.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#367

Post by sanderjd »

scarface74 wrote: post #292
disiplus wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but how many of those are interesting to work on, i too have been freelancimg and know some of problems, but when i think about them i dont reality want to work on them more them i have to.

This is the problem I see with a lot of developers - not just those looking to be entrepreneurs. They want “interesting problems” instead of just trying to create products that someone is willing to pay for.

This is the realization that has led me to prefer working for a big software company over entrepreneurship in the past few years. Unless you find the problem of entrepreneurship interesting in and of itself, it is very unlikely the projects you will be working on as an entrepreneur will be nearly as technically interesting as the kinds of work you'll be doing at a company working on a large scale product. It's unfortunate, entrepreneurship sounds more interesting than being a cog in a big machine, but in practice I think it usually isn't for technically minded people.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#369

Post by earth_walker »

avl999 wrote: post #44
nautilus12 wrote: post #25

Bye bye any hopes of raising a family.

Nice of you to impose your outdated values on how to live on others. The OP might perfectly be happy to not raise a family or just be interested in being with a partner without having kids. If you don't have kids, this kind of lifestyle is perfectly sustainable and you can live happily on it. Kids are not a pre-requisite for happiness and it annoys me how so many discussions here start to equate standard of living an…

Not just outdated values, but skewed. The idea that having kids is something that requires you to be a wage slave lacks imagination and perspective.

You can absolutely raise children without a high salaried position, big house and tons of plastic junk. People do it all the time.

In this case the author is in an even better position - he has savings, a house, a growing business, and has managed to get his expenses down to the point where he's breaking even. That's great! Why would anyone think this lifestyle would make him ineligible for parenthood?

Some would say kids would benefit more from a parent with this lifestyle (happy, living with purpose, knows how to budget, flexible work situation that lets them be around more often) than the big house and toys that the average American developer's job gets you.

Re: My Second Year as a Solo Developer

#370

Post by aguyfromnb »

tempsy wrote: post #133
aguyfromnb wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the S&P is looking flat then you could rollover some of it to a high dividend REIT that pays 10-15% too. You know the business cycle is peaking when people think you can easily throw their money into some investment paying 15%...no problem! Can you explain how a public investment - any public investment - can continuously generate those kinds of returns without taking on massive amounts of risk?

It’s called a REIT. The dividend is rental income for real estate developers. Let me guess...you thought 2013 was the top?

I know what a REIT is. Maybe you could explain how rental income is spinning off 15% cash a year? Do you think real estate is a magic industry that returns 15% annually, unabated? Why are these friendly real-estate developers sharing that money with you?
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