The net revenue he gets is actually reasonable.
I’ve never worked as a consultant but is it reasonable to assume you always have work (8*21 hours) which pays $120 per hour?
No, but estimating being booked 75%+ isn't unreasonable.
Costs of running a macOS app studio business
21–30 of 220 posts
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#22This is a beautifully poignant post about life and selling one's time. At 39 I've reached this point where I can verbalise that sentiment whereas before I could only really feel it. Having to sell one's time to others sucks. Doing things on someone else's schedule sucks. And ultimately as the post ended, having the freedom to spend life the way it should be spent means sacrificing that extra bit of money we might want but don't need. Great post.
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#23Congrats for knowing what's important to you (time and peace of mind, from what I read), and acting on it. I work as a consultant, but for the same reasons: I choose to work only a few days a week, take the salary loss, and spend more time with my young kids. A time will come where I'll start working more, which will also unlock more meaningful work – but for now that's a choice I'm happy to make.
Thanks! And happy to hear you're doing that! I also asked for a 3-day work week from my last company when I wanted to try and make Lunar paid. It's incredible how much your life changes when you're not defined by your job anymore. Because you spend more time (4 days) doing some other thing than your job (3 days), you really start seeing what's actually important, and the question "what's your job" no longer has a str…
This ^^. What we call "work" gets totally redefined in later years. That flip makes you realise, you are not your job and your job is just a means to an end.
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#24This is a beautifully poignant post about life and selling one's time. At 39 I've reached this point where I can verbalise that sentiment whereas before I could only really feel it. Having to sell one's time to others sucks. Doing things on someone else's schedule sucks. And ultimately as the post ended, having the freedom to spend life the way it should be spent means sacrificing that extra bit of money we might wan…
You have seen the light. Thing is it’s doable. Keep pushing.
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#25Isn't $5800/month a shit ton of money in Romania? Who even gets paid similar amounts there? He mentions a consulting job, but you don't consult as many hours a month as a salaried person
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#26The Apple app store is a disaster for making a living as an indie. People can't find the apps so sales are low, market rate prices are also low. The only way to make a living is to rip-off users with misleading subscriptions, which I won't do. I made much more money writing $20 shareware in the 90s. That's why I write apps for a corporation now.
That’s by design. You are meant to work for a corporation. Capitalism is nearly dead due to this - corporation flooding the market, drowning indie enterprise, and clogging money. We need a return to capitalism and do away with guilded corporatism.
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#27The Apple app store is a disaster for making a living as an indie. People can't find the apps so sales are low, market rate prices are also low. The only way to make a living is to rip-off users with misleading subscriptions, which I won't do. I made much more money writing $20 shareware in the 90s. That's why I write apps for a corporation now.
[deleted]
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#28Isn't $5800/month a shit ton of money in Romania? Who even gets paid similar amounts there? He mentions a consulting job, but you don't consult as many hours a month as a salaried person
[deleted]
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#29To add context, it seems like the CoL of Romania is ~45% cheaper than the US [1]. Which seems like would make for a very comfortable lifestyle with that income. [1] https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/cost-of-living/united-states...
Yeah but people’s budgets are not made fully of restaurants and groceries. The bulk is made of housing, cars, phones, goods, clothes, which cost the same as western europe for the most part. In some cases I find food in the UK cheaper. Petrol is also comparable. While far from London the real estate market in a large city is comparable to say Manchester or similar. I doubt people writing apps live in areas where a house costs as much as a house in Detroit’s rundown areas. So op’s expenses are likely higher than that stat.
Re: Costs of running a macOS app studio business
#30This is a beautifully poignant post about life and selling one's time. At 39 I've reached this point where I can verbalise that sentiment whereas before I could only really feel it. Having to sell one's time to others sucks. Doing things on someone else's schedule sucks. And ultimately as the post ended, having the freedom to spend life the way it should be spent means sacrificing that extra bit of money we might wan…
That's why I'm not that upset that no one wants to work with an old guy (that's me), and I was forced to retire.
I still get to play with software, but on my own time, and on my own schedule.
The difference is amazing.