How I’m Making Five-Figures A Month Off Bootstrapped Products

Post by ryanwaggoner » Sat, Oct 13, 2012, 9:02 PM UTC

larrys wrote: post #85

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this outlook really sad. I paid $39 for Brennan's ebook (thanks to a $10 off coupon) and I didn't know him from Adam when I bought it. Literally don't think I had ever heard of him, but someone on HN recommended it. I read the whole thing in one sitting and the very next day, sent out two project proposals at a 50% bump in my normal hourly rates. One guy balked, one guy just said ok without comment. That simpl…

I think the approach is what the parent is reacting to and I don't disagree that the approach is definitely reminiscent of items that are sold that are of the "get rich quick" variety. Others in the comments have also pointed this out as well. From skimming it (no patience to read every word) it seemed to follow a well known formula where the author probably read a book on how to create this type of thing himself whi…

Post by AVTizzle » Sat, Oct 13, 2012, 9:07 PM UTC

ahoyhere wrote: post #90

righyeah wrote: post #62

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You've nailed it with your first paragraph. That is the scheme. It's old. It still works. The web, like TV, is absolutely perfect for this scheme. The audience that includes people who would pay for this sort of advice is the one that watches TV at odd hours, and they are now increasingly surfing the web. It is the rough equivalent of the infommercial. While it may be theoretically possible, no one is going to make f…

Just one of my products, Freckle, makes $30,000 a month… more than 6x what you claim is impossible. On, what, you say? Time tracking. A space in which we are a tiny niche player. http://letsfreckle.com But there's no point in letting facts get in the way of righteous condemnation, is there?

Post by fooandbarify » Sat, Oct 13, 2012, 9:12 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #50

fooandbarify wrote: post #43

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I'm not sure that's true. My hypothesis is that we find it easier to meet and communicate with people similar to us, so marketing a product aimed at other developers is an obvious path. There is lots of money to be made by getting out of our stupid little bubble--last week I went for coffee with a guy that sells a modern UI for a legacy system in the construction industry. His code base is probably not the prettiest,…

Here's why I think it's true in some abstract sense. Actual details may not be quite so clear cut - apologies to patio11 if I'm tweaking things a bit to make a point. Let's take the bingo card thing and ignore Appointment Reminder: it makes good money, but seems to have some kind of upper bound in that he's never going to turn it into a multi-billion dollar business. On the other hand, he's developed some serious com…

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Oct 13, 2012, 9:12 PM UTC

larrys wrote: post #87

bdunn wrote: post #81

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Before planscope it was projectorpm.com, cease-and-desist copyright issue. The book and podcast are relatively new. I'm the owner of We Are Titans, my consultancy, and it's been around since 2008. Before that, I was just a freelancer. Also, http://hamptonroads.com/2011/11/small-tech-we-are-titans-off... Lastly, I'm not trying to say I'm some uber consultant extraordinaire. But I know what's worked for me, and have ha…

If I challenge you it's for discussion. Also to point out that others might be thinking the things that I think (at least some people) but not raise the issue. And you could loose business from them. They might look at your planscope page and note that there aren't bios on anyone. That may be important to them. Now if you're a 1 person company there could be a strategic reason for doing that ("better to be thought a…

Post by AVTizzle » Sat, Oct 13, 2012, 9:18 PM UTC

brador wrote: post #69

You don't have a business until you hire your first employee. Until then, you're just a dude trying to make a living.