31–40 of 42 posts
"Drugs!?" hey, don't make the mistake of assuming that your values are universally held by everyone else...
Assuming you are doing this to create a business and not for... fun. Work smarter instead of longer. Sign up for the Micropreneur Academy they have a lot of great articles for working smarter http://www.micropreneur.com It boils down to stop trying to do everything yourself. Put a dollar value per hour on your time and aim for $75 - $100. Then you realize doing something yourself is NOT free but extremely expensive.…
This is really ground breaking stuff. You mean to tell me that instead of enjoying my friends and family and experiencing all that life has to offer, I can simply work on my Web app? Whoa. Seriously though, why sacrifice so much for a mere 'side-project'? Either get a better/bigger idea and make IT your full-time work, or find a 40hr./week job that is fulfilling to you. There is no other side project that will be as…
How long will you be able to pull this off? 2 weeks? Maybe 3 weeks at best. And you'll be suffering from burnout so bad you wouldn't want to look at your project ever again.
I suppose that depends on the individual, their life situation (single, married, college student, full time job, etc), and how long they can stay excited about their idea. I'm curious about how long the OP specifically has been pulling these 49 hour additional work-weeks.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're making the mistake of assuming your values are universally held by everyone else. They aren't. Some people really enjoy building something, even if that means not spending as much time with family/friends. Different people have different values/priorities and are in different parts of their lives (i.e someone with kids spends significantly more time with their kids than someone without kids). You seem to be im…
And you imply that there isn't value in having friends and family, spending time with your spouse and kids. When a person has a spouse and kids they have responsibilities to their family. Not everyone has your values either. As someone who has just taken his first employment, I've only been self-employed up to this point, I've found that even a 40 hour work week is restrictive. I'm still used to spending time with my…
That said, friends and family isn't a specific obligation for a set number of hours, that if you get in 30 less minutes one week it all blows up. It's a continuum of possible activities. Everyone needs to make their own choice. It seems silly to criticize someone else for doing a "side project", by implying that it must always be at the cost of friends and family. It's not.
I did this (for six months) up until recently (quit my job) and I can say that it's a great means for getting your project started. If you're in a situation where you don't have a lot of money saved up and need a job, nothing beats spending time in the evenings and weekends working on your idea. The only caveat that wasn't really noted by the author is that it's NOT EASY. When all of your time is occupied with work (…
I have been doing this for four years basically working two full time jobs. It is not easy. During this time I have even relearned to code (Wrote some Java apps ten years ago).
It is not the ideal situation. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because it's very hard to do a great job at both. Unfortunately I go back and forth when I'm succeeding at one the other usually suffers. When I'm succeeding at both at the same time it's usually because I've been working on the rings that are currently succeeding in alternating patterns for a long time and it just happens that it's finishing around the same time.
I have learned a lot and wouldn't go back and change much but I still wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I don't know from first hand experience but it seems a lot like those stories about someone working a full time job and going to law school at the same time in their mid thirties. Your life disappears and I doubt they'd recommend the same path to anyone else, but it can work.
I did this (for six months) up until recently (quit my job) and I can say that it's a great means for getting your project started. If you're in a situation where you don't have a lot of money saved up and need a job, nothing beats spending time in the evenings and weekends working on your idea. The only caveat that wasn't really noted by the author is that it's NOT EASY. When all of your time is occupied with work (…
I'm doing a less intense version of this now. Taking breaks (sometimes whole-day breaks) helps prevent burnout. Nontechnical breaks are especially good: house chores, exercise, meals. (I actually let the dishes pile up a bit so I can wash them as a break and come back feeling productive.)
I watch movies. Lots of movies. Probably two a week on iTunes. I end up getting a little less sleep usually because I don't start them until 11 or 11:30 but it seems to help me keep my sanity.
I hope you're not suggesting that an entrepreneur must be willing to sacrifice family time (or having a family at all) to be successful.
Because that's definitely bullshit.
Assuming you are doing this to create a business and not for... fun. Work smarter instead of longer. Sign up for the Micropreneur Academy they have a lot of great articles for working smarter http://www.micropreneur.com It boils down to stop trying to do everything yourself. Put a dollar value per hour on your time and aim for $75 - $100. Then you realize doing something yourself is NOT free but extremely expensive.…
One month of doing this in my spare time has cost me 196 hours of my spare time. At $75 an hour, that's $14,700. I do have 196 hours of spare time, I do not have $14,700.