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Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

indiehackers.com

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Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#61

Post by em500 »

webmaven wrote: post #39
emerongi wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rent most likely ~200, food ~100-200, misc ~100. You can get by with 300-500/month in eastern Europe, but you will have to monitor your expenses really closely. 300 if you live with friends/parents, cook at home and don't really do much else other than eat, sleep and work. Get a decent apartment, have some fun in your free time and 1000 does turn into a "barely getting by"-wage. 1.5k-2k is comfortable wage, but media…

How much for a decent high-speed Internet connection?

Around 7 to 8 dollar/month

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Bucharest?displayCu...

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#62

Post by GFischer »

kkt262 wrote: post #20
eugeneionesco wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Is everyone in Romania, and is that a living wage there? It's a very good living wage for Romania but low for what other IT people are earning, ~$2k monthly.

Why don't Romanians just get remote jobs?

There's a lot of friction for both buying remote work and selling.

It has to be really worth the other party's time.

Not everyone can be a freelancer, that's one of the points behind the theory of the firm.

Technological advances can and have shifted the % of freelancers, but I doubt it will ever be near 100%.

I say that as both having been a freelancer, currently working semi-remote, and hiring freelancers (both locally and from India and Pakistan).

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#63

Post by erikrothoff »

morgante wrote: post #50
erikrothoff wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it's the drive to try to build something that might become something. (I was interviewed for indiehackers but only have 3k recurring revenue, so did not really peak any interest here on HN :) Sure I can consult 110% and probably earn enough as three full time jobs. But I already have everything. Gadgets are not very exciting when your employer gives you top-of-the-line Macbooks and iPhones. I don't play video…

I'm definitely with you on the hobby aspect. That's why I keep trying: I do love building new products. The problem is that I don't really enjoy the other aspects of building a side business (marketing, sales, etc.) so it's hard to sustain those when the revenue is so pitiful. Would you mind linking to your interview? $3k/m is certainly respectable and more than I've ever reached.

Absolutely! https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/feeder

Also posting revenues is never really interesting without talking about costs... Also taxes take a lot from different directions, so even after hosting costs it's VAT and corporate tax and even more. That's when you see the scale needed to actually succeed with it for a living.

As for the other side (marketing etc) I couldn't agree more. Getting in a third person who actually likes that part made a massive difference for us. Not only for the product, but also within the team. I can really respect why having complementing co-founders is so important.

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#64

Post by tracker1 »

senko wrote: post #47
limelight wrote: post #36

I really love these IndieHackers interviews but surprisingly find them somewhat demotivating. Even the more successful interviewees make less revenue per month than I can make through straight consulting. And they're the success stories—most people (including myself) make far less per month from their products. How do people keep motivated to work on side projects when consulting is so much more profitable?

They're (at least somewhat) passive income, while your consulting work is not. Once up and running, these projects typically require far less time and effort to maintain, and majority of time is spent in improvements so the revenue grows in the future. Or the owner can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the Four Hour Work Week [tm]. As a contrast, consulting gig is good money while you're working. When you stop (vacatio…

I'm trying to be motivated enough to finish one of my own project ideas and get it up and running next week... Had a rough couple months (extenuating circumstances) and my goal is to have enough relatively passive income to cover the essential bills so I don't stress out as much as I have been.

Although my model won't be recurring revenue, so will have to do enough marketing to keep a more consistent churn. Fortunately, I can do some pretty targeted marketing in a service that isn't saturated, and the incumbents haven't kept up well.

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#65

Post by beambot »

merpnderp wrote: post #38
limelight wrote: post #36

I really love these IndieHackers interviews but surprisingly find them somewhat demotivating. Even the more successful interviewees make less revenue per month than I can make through straight consulting. And they're the success stories—most people (including myself) make far less per month from their products. How do people keep motivated to work on side projects when consulting is so much more profitable?

If you can make more than $17k/month from straight consulting, I would like to subscribe to your newsletter please.

With a consulting team of 6 people...? That actually sounds too low.

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#66

Post by morgante »

erikrothoff wrote: post #63
morgante wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm definitely with you on the hobby aspect. That's why I keep trying: I do love building new products. The problem is that I don't really enjoy the other aspects of building a side business (marketing, sales, etc.) so it's hard to sustain those when the revenue is so pitiful. Would you mind linking to your interview? $3k/m is certainly respectable and more than I've ever reached.

Absolutely! https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/feeder Also posting revenues is never really interesting without talking about costs... Also taxes take a lot from different directions, so even after hosting costs it's VAT and corporate tax and even more. That's when you see the scale needed to actually succeed with it for a living. As for the other side (marketing etc) I couldn't agree more. Getting in a third pe…

Thanks for sharing, feeder looks very impressive. I think you should raise your prices.

Working with a team definitely makes a huge difference. It's a lot easier to stay motivated when someone else is handling their specialty and you're accountable to them as well as yourself.

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#67

Post by yazanl »

limelight wrote: post #36

I really love these IndieHackers interviews but surprisingly find them somewhat demotivating. Even the more successful interviewees make less revenue per month than I can make through straight consulting. And they're the success stories—most people (including myself) make far less per month from their products. How do people keep motivated to work on side projects when consulting is so much more profitable?

While it may be more lucrative to be a consultant, it may be harder for people to get into that career. I am not a consultant, so my experience is limited, but it seems that its all about having contacts and being good. If it's your first programming job, you may have neither the skills nor the contacts to be a successful consultant.

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#69

Post by RSZC »

erikrothoff wrote: post #44
limelight wrote: post #36

I really love these IndieHackers interviews but surprisingly find them somewhat demotivating. Even the more successful interviewees make less revenue per month than I can make through straight consulting. And they're the success stories—most people (including myself) make far less per month from their products. How do people keep motivated to work on side projects when consulting is so much more profitable?

For me it's the drive to try to build something that might become something. (I was interviewed for indiehackers but only have 3k recurring revenue, so did not really peak any interest here on HN :) Sure I can consult 110% and probably earn enough as three full time jobs. But I already have everything. Gadgets are not very exciting when your employer gives you top-of-the-line Macbooks and iPhones. I don't play video…

Not to be rude, but it's pique, not peak. Just thought you might want to know

Re: Creative Tim: Growing a side project into a $17k/month business

#70

Post by jxm262 »

beambot wrote: post #60
jxm262 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for mentioning. This is something I needed to be reminded of myself. As part of my new year's resolution, I want to get serious about building a product from one of my seemingly endless ideas that I never execute on. I often give up part way through when I notice that my consulting pays exponentially more, but neglected to consider the passive side of the equation

If your goal is truly to build a business rather than just "side project for its own sake", then you might be trying to launch with too many features. Best advice I've ever seen on this topic: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13213871

Yeah I also glanced at that earlier , but didn't read through it fully. This does seem to echo alot of the reasons why I don't follow through with things - ie. build too many features when I originally start off with 1 straigtforward goal. I think at this point, most of what's holding me back is psychological. I'm going to make a very strong attempt at figuring out how I can best focus on not act all ADD on my ideas.
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