I figure it's somewhat easier since you don't have to manage employees, no?
Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
41–50 of 107 posts
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#42The major trick, IMHO, is not to grow. While a "normal" startup is focused on growing! growing! growing! a small company should instead think like a physical restaurant: "I have 10 tables * 4 seats. 4 waiters. Operate Lu-Fri 10 am - 6 pm. I can serve only up to 40 customers max per hour. My income will never be bigger than 40* Average meal. My income needs to be at minimum Costs + 3% profits". Then you see you have t…
Wouldn't a real restaurant increase the sitting area, open a second location or increase prices if it had more clients than it could serve?
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#43Keeping away form VCs that "know better" how to monetize my time seems like a proven technique for managing my time. Money I create directly impacts my loved ones.
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#44Im 15 ish years in.
>> one-person company ... managing contractors.
You're not a one person company if you have to manage contractors. One of the definitions of being a "contractor" is "independent work". Get better people who are self starers, or more motivated, or more flexible or...
>> planning, development
The lie corporate tech tells us is that these things are different jobs. You need to re-learn how to play. You're playing with code, and ideas and features. Play has a component that has learning build in.
Learn to separate GROWING your business (development, new features) and running it (customer service, billing, accounting). Track your time into these two buckets and ask yourself if you're spending the right effort in the right places.
Lastly. You're going to work hard, maybe harder than you ever have in your life. Sun up to sun set, and then some. You don't get to party, or vacation or socialize. If you want those sorts of things "get a job" if you want to build and own something then you're going to learn to eat that shit sandwich for a bit. It took me a few years for me to get to a stable place. There are moments where I have to put in the extra time, but they are very infrequent now and mostly include a massive pay day when they happen.
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#45[dead]
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#46[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Your time is worth more than any reasonable subscription fee. " Sure, but what do I do, if that service just closes tomorrow? Or they change the fee to "unreasonable" (after they gained control of the market). A SaaS would have to be way better than any offline tool, I could use 10 years from now in this shape. But in general yes, don't skimp and loose time, when there is a working alternative.
> Sure, but what do I do, if that service just closes tomorrow? You're far more likely to die tomorrow than Notion to close abruptly tomorrow.
I have outlived most SaaS products that have ever been developed.
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Your time is worth more than any reasonable subscription fee. " Sure, but what do I do, if that service just closes tomorrow? Or they change the fee to "unreasonable" (after they gained control of the market). A SaaS would have to be way better than any offline tool, I could use 10 years from now in this shape. But in general yes, don't skimp and loose time, when there is a working alternative.
> Sure, but what do I do, if that service just closes tomorrow? You're far more likely to die tomorrow than Notion to close abruptly tomorrow.
Is this true though? Doesn’t pass the sniff test since most people last a lot longer than most companies.
I checked and the probability of death for an American in their 30s (median American is 37 years old) is under 0.2% in any year. I think there’s a far larger than 1 in 500 chance that Notion goes under or is acquired and cancelled.
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#49The major trick, IMHO, is not to grow. While a "normal" startup is focused on growing! growing! growing! a small company should instead think like a physical restaurant: "I have 10 tables * 4 seats. 4 waiters. Operate Lu-Fri 10 am - 6 pm. I can serve only up to 40 customers max per hour. My income will never be bigger than 40* Average meal. My income needs to be at minimum Costs + 3% profits". Then you see you have t…
Wouldn't a real restaurant increase the sitting area, open a second location or increase prices if it had more clients than it could serve?
If that’s an option, yes. But for many it isn’t. The building isn’t owned by them. Or there’s no available space next door to expand into. Or the capital cost of remodeling that new section is too high. Or the profit margins are so small they can’t justify the cost. Or they’re already maxed out on loans and can’t afford more.
Re: Ask HN: One-person companies—how do you manage it all and stay sane?
#50The major trick, IMHO, is not to grow. While a "normal" startup is focused on growing! growing! growing! a small company should instead think like a physical restaurant: "I have 10 tables * 4 seats. 4 waiters. Operate Lu-Fri 10 am - 6 pm. I can serve only up to 40 customers max per hour. My income will never be bigger than 40* Average meal. My income needs to be at minimum Costs + 3% profits". Then you see you have t…
Wouldn't a real restaurant increase the sitting area, open a second location or increase prices if it had more clients than it could serve?
Not at all, depends on the owners goals in life. If the goal is to make as much money as possible and you don't mind over working then it could grow, or take on a partner.
There was a great breakfast place near me ran by the guy who owned basically all the commercial real estate on the block - the breakfast place was only open in the mornings 6 days a week and occasionally the owner would come in and serve, it was basically a passion project and he wanted to make enough to pay for it. After 15ish years of running he started hosting popups at night and another 4-5 years after that sold to one of the popups. It was a real restaurant and widely love by those in the know.
You could say El Bulli fits the bill of don't expand, they shut down after a while and converted the space into food research and events center. A little different, but I was trying to think of a more famous "real restaurant".