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I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

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Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#91

Post by mathiaspoint »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #29

> I buy a domain name → I code for 3 all-nighters → I lose interest → I start again. At least you're actually doing the "I code for 3 all-nighters" step! I've stopped too many projects at the "I buy a domain name" stage, and added an intermediate "I create a Trello board" step between that and starting to write code. No need to pull all-nighters, which are hard to do with family and a full-time job, if all I need to…

I always buy a domain well after I've finished the MVP and have been using it myself for months. Am I doing it wrong?

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#92

Post by danudey »

> I buy a domain name → I code for 3 all-nighters → I lose interest → I start again.

That's ADHD for you.

A former coworker of mine lamented this - "I start so many projects or hobbies, but just when I feel like I've learned a lot I lose interest". I had to point out to him that his hobby isn't - whatever, sheep shearing or book bindery or underwater basket weaving - but rather his hobby is learning things. That's a common thing for ADHD people, absorbing all you can in a rapid amount of time, devoting every minute of thought to something, and then suddenly completely forgetting it exists until you get the domain renewal notice.

At least you (seem to) have (some degree of) acceptance of the circumstance and recognize the benefits of this behavior rather than just focusing on the drawbacks; too many people have this behavior and think it's a personal failing, when really they just have a different hobby than they think they have.

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#93

Post by corentin88 »

msephton wrote: post #78

I'm similar but my ratio of prototypes to launching is higher. I find it helps to pace yourself, it increases the chance of finishing exponentially. But the most important things is good scoping and resisting gesture creep. After 35+ years I'm now really good at both. My list of projects is at https://www.gingerbeardman.com and details of my 2023, the year one of my projects got Game Of The Year, are at https://news.…

You built emojipedia? I’m impressed.

By the way the link is broken on your website.

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#94

Post by lelanthran »

parpfish wrote: post #50

tangential question for the HN side-project crowd: i have lots of ideas for fun little side projects that would never be revenue generating. i'll go on a tear and start building it, but when it comes time to figure out how much it'd cost each month for domains/cloud services/etc I talk myself out of it. I'm not talking about big LLM bills here, just things like $25/month for the database, $10-50/year for a domain, et…

What's wrong with a single domain and a $5/m VPS that keeps both DB and application on it?

I ran a paid business app on a $5/m VPS. No complaints.

If your $5/m VPS cannot handle some load, then that's when you upgrade it. And, TBH, at the point that your $5/m VPS is at 80% load on a paid product, you're already getting a few thousands of dollars of revenue from it anyway.

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#95

Post by jononor »

mathiaspoint wrote: post #91
LeifCarrotson wrote: post #29

> I buy a domain name → I code for 3 all-nighters → I lose interest → I start again. At least you're actually doing the "I code for 3 all-nighters" step! I've stopped too many projects at the "I buy a domain name" stage, and added an intermediate "I create a Trello board" step between that and starting to write code. No need to pull all-nighters, which are hard to do with family and a full-time job, if all I need to…

I always buy a domain well after I've finished the MVP and have been using it myself for months. Am I doing it wrong?

Only if your goal is collecting unused domains!

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#96

Post by karaterobot »

danudey wrote: post #92

> I buy a domain name → I code for 3 all-nighters → I lose interest → I start again. That's ADHD for you. A former coworker of mine lamented this - "I start so many projects or hobbies, but just when I feel like I've learned a lot I lose interest". I had to point out to him that his hobby isn't - whatever, sheep shearing or book bindery or underwater basket weaving - but rather his hobby is learning things . That's a…

I don't think it has to be ADHD. I don't have ADHD, and none of my friends have it that I know of. We all start things we don't finish, though. I was going to post some of the more ridiculous domain names I've purchased for personal projects, before I realized I'd be doxxing myself. Too bad, there are some good ones.

I think in many cases, we fail to finish projects because it's so much easier to start than it is to finish. The first 90% is easy, as the saying goes, but the second 90% is much harder.

And I use the word 'fail' advisedly. I think it's fine to not finish everything you start, but it's not good to never finish anything, ever. Not if your intention was to finish it anyway. I think finishing things is a crucial skill, and we need to practice it in order to get good at it, and we won't do that if we tell ourselves it's about as good to give up as it is to keep going.

ADHD is a real diagnosis, but I'm hesitant to pathologize not finishing projects, since that will end up being an excuse rather than an explanation for a lot of people.

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#97

Post by hellojesus »

perilunar wrote: post #67
hellojesus wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Otherwise you spend your whole life chasing something that will probably never happen, and avoiding better opportunities. I'm also have a decent graveyard of domains. I've all but accepted that I'll never create anything of value in my life or even anything awesome. But the dark side of that is now there's no point to being alive, so I'm planning to die. What are these better opportunities you referenced? Anything…

You may never create a successful web business but that’s a long way from never creating anything of value. By definition most people lead mediocre lives — few doing anything extraordinary. What makes it ‘bearable’ are the simple things: family, friends, work, hobbies, helping other people, contributing to society, etc. Planning to end it because life seems pointless is depression. Please get professional help.

> What makes it ‘bearable’ are the simple things: family, friends, work, hobbies, helping other people, contributing to society, etc.

I've heard these things and have thought about them previously, but then I think, "How can I meaningfully contribute to society?" And then I get stuck in a loop realizing my contributions will not be anything of merit. And then I think, what would cause a lasting impact and be achievable? And then I realize how mass shooters are born.

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#98

Post by itsthecourier »

steinvakt2 wrote: post #86

https://munin.watch It offers searching in transcriptions of all Norwegian podcasts in (roughly) real-time. Also offers subscribing to alerts, for example if anyone mentions your business name. Launched some days ago

great work

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#99

Post by MrGilbert »

karaterobot wrote: post #96
danudey wrote: post #92

> I buy a domain name → I code for 3 all-nighters → I lose interest → I start again. That's ADHD for you. A former coworker of mine lamented this - "I start so many projects or hobbies, but just when I feel like I've learned a lot I lose interest". I had to point out to him that his hobby isn't - whatever, sheep shearing or book bindery or underwater basket weaving - but rather his hobby is learning things . That's a…

I don't think it has to be ADHD. I don't have ADHD, and none of my friends have it that I know of. We all start things we don't finish, though. I was going to post some of the more ridiculous domain names I've purchased for personal projects, before I realized I'd be doxxing myself. Too bad, there are some good ones. I think in many cases, we fail to finish projects because it's so much easier to start than it is to…

However, as it can be a valid indicator for ADHD, it is fine to do a test, like[1] offers. It's difficult to diagnose adults, but I was surprised to see a quite high rate of matches in the test. I share the same "problems" as OP: I quit projects because I was able to solve the problem at hand.

[1]: https://www.adxs.org/en/

Re: I launched 17 side projects. Result? I'm rich in expired domains

#100

Post by slackpad »

I ended up using one of my more generic domains (https://www.modulecollective.com/) and then launching things as .modulecollective.com. It's a little wordy but it's free and creates kind of a natural place to catalog things. I figure if any of them take off then I can go buy a better name later and move it over, having the old one redirect. That would be a good problem to have :-)

That particular domain was going to be like a Netflix DVD style subscription product for Eurorack modules but I never even ended up trying to build that after buying the domain.

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