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Six Months of Tiny Projects

tinyprojects.dev

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Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#2
Build to learn. I love it. One thing I think many engineers and founders discover is they like creating more than they like running a business. A lot of places will look down on that mentality, but you don’t have to be a CEO. You can just be a person who likes to tinker and makes some money on the side.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#3
I remember the origin of this idea. Glad to see him plodding along. I wish I had the stamina. Although I've done 3 things in 6 months that are finished and shipped, I really dislike the "putting myself out there" part. I just quietly move onto the next idea.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#4
I would be just to afraid for certain ideas like the shop thing.

One credit card fraud going through my system and i might in a big dept if i did this under a company format which doesn't protect me from personal liability.

While i like the idea very much of getting exercise in this way, i'm wondering what the main motivation is?

I would like to earn money through my own company but only with my product i like and find 'worthy'. Trying out small concepts over and over again, might not bring any fruit in finding the thing you are passionate about and then the question arrives if it wouldn't be much more beneficial to optimize your own career instead.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#5
> I believe there's a big advantage to this "micro-bet" approach of launching many tiny businesses

These aren’t businesses. These are websites. Most people on HN can build a website. It takes some coding and some tech knowledge. Not everyone can build a business. That involves marketing, advertising, customer acquisition, cash flow management, legal, on and on.

While what the author did was neat and fun for him, let’s not pretend this is the path to a successful web business. I’d bet there’s few “micro-bets” that are generating any meaningful amount of money.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#6
post #4

I would be just to afraid for certain ideas like the shop thing. One credit card fraud going through my system and i might in a big dept if i did this under a company format which doesn't protect me from personal liability. While i like the idea very much of getting exercise in this way, i'm wondering what the main motivation is? I would like to earn money through my own company but only with my product i like and fi…

I find that passion is much more about investment than inherent joy. When I invest in a project, I become passionate.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#7

> I believe there's a big advantage to this "micro-bet" approach of launching many tiny businesses These aren’t businesses. These are websites. Most people on HN can build a website. It takes some coding and some tech knowledge. Not everyone can build a business. That involves marketing, advertising, customer acquisition, cash flow management, legal, on and on. While what the author did was neat and fun for him, let’…

I took this same approach and from about ~50 things, 5 made enough money to make it time well spent overall.

They were tiny like the projects listed here, so it's possible it could work out for the author, and I'm still sticking to the same approach now.

Launch something quick with little self-criticism, then double down on anything that seems to have traction.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#8

> I believe there's a big advantage to this "micro-bet" approach of launching many tiny businesses These aren’t businesses. These are websites. Most people on HN can build a website. It takes some coding and some tech knowledge. Not everyone can build a business. That involves marketing, advertising, customer acquisition, cash flow management, legal, on and on. While what the author did was neat and fun for him, let’…

Reminds me of the book "The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work".

Just because you are a good engineer, does not mean you are a good entrepreneur. Most engineers think it's just about building a good product. This is not true.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#9

> I believe there's a big advantage to this "micro-bet" approach of launching many tiny businesses These aren’t businesses. These are websites. Most people on HN can build a website. It takes some coding and some tech knowledge. Not everyone can build a business. That involves marketing, advertising, customer acquisition, cash flow management, legal, on and on. While what the author did was neat and fun for him, let’…

Reminds me of the book "The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work". Just because you are a good engineer, does not mean you are a good entrepreneur. Most engineers think it's just about building a good product. This is not true.

It actually is entirely about building a good product if by good product you mean something people want.

Re: Six Months of Tiny Projects

#10
post #7

> I believe there's a big advantage to this "micro-bet" approach of launching many tiny businesses These aren’t businesses. These are websites. Most people on HN can build a website. It takes some coding and some tech knowledge. Not everyone can build a business. That involves marketing, advertising, customer acquisition, cash flow management, legal, on and on. While what the author did was neat and fun for him, let’…

I took this same approach and from about ~50 things, 5 made enough money to make it time well spent overall. They were tiny like the projects listed here, so it's possible it could work out for the author, and I'm still sticking to the same approach now. Launch something quick with little self-criticism, then double down on anything that seems to have traction.

So 10% worked - is that not about normal for business?
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