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Proud to see my blog post on HN. It has been a tough slog working full-time while spending every other waking moment on Gridspy. It doesn't help that I spend e

by gridspy 17y ago

Proud to see my blog post on HN. It has been a tough slog working full-time while spending every other waking moment on Gridspy. It doesn't help that I spend every waking moment thinking about it, even when I should be applying myself to my full-time job. Biggest challenges: 1) Starting work again at 7pm after dinner, and sticking with it as long as possible 2) Stopping at 10:30pm so I'm not dead after 2 days 3) Taking time off on Saturday, simultaneously fantastic + frustrating 4) Being an available father, giving love and attention to my kids 5) Knowing that I could do in one normal day what takes me Monday..Friday to do. The second I can step up and go full-time Gridspy without going bankrupt in 1 month, I will.

tom_ilsinszki 17y ago
I'm inspired. I don't have a family yet, so if you can do it, I can do it... Good luck!
gruntruk 17y ago
Congrats on both your hard work and what looks like a very cool product. It's encouraging to see others with families making their product aspirations work, even if at a slower pace than a FT startup. Best of luck!
Sukotto 17y ago
Well written and it comes at a great time for me. It's such a wonderful feeling to know there's someone else out there like me... I too am a family man (2 + 1 in the oven) with a fulltime job and a mortgage, and am trying to make time to build something by myself. I love pg's essays though I often feel depressed after reading them. He frequently seems to be saying "don't even try unless you're young, free, have at least one partner, live in the valley, have no other obligations, and are willing to 'work until you endanger your health'" Added your blog to my RSS reader.
- Sukotto 17y ago
  @pg: Uh... that came across as far more negative than I intended. I really do like reading your work and want to read more. The fact that I don't fit into (what I think is) your primary audience does NOT make them any less valuable to me.
MikeMacMan 17y ago
Thanks for writing this. I am in the same position, working full-time in a semi-demanding job, with a wife, son, big lawn to mow, etc. I've been working nights and weekends for over a year and am 2 months away from launching. My schedule looks almost exactly like yours. On Saturdays, I watch my son while my wife is at work, and I have the same mixed feelings about spending time with my son vs. working on my startup. Then I feel guilty for having mixed feelings...you know how it goes. Good luck with your startup. Keep fighting the good fight!
- patio11 17y ago
  I am in the same position, working full-time in a semi-demanding job, with a wife, son, big lawn to mow, etc. Keep the job, keep the wife, keep the son, outsource the lawn.
  - MikeMacMan 17y ago
    But I just bought a John Deere riding mower!
  - Poiesis 17y ago
    Of course--but at least for me, I don't have enough spare cash flow to outsource all the handyman stuff. And if I did, I've found that the time cost of finding someone and managing them can be at times almost as much as doing it myself. So I end up paying more for a very small savings in time. Actually, our current strategy is to stop watering the lawn and have a big patch of dirt in the front (our area has a drought). :) Disadvantages: dirt tracked in the house, neighbors hate us.
hopeless 17y ago
It's always great to hear of others attempting the same thing. Although, I must admit that I'm not applying myself to the day job - at all. Bizarrely though, I've just had my annual review and got an above average rating, which is the same as the year I worked my ass off! Perhaps it just says more about the average than about me ;-) Another limiting factor which I think you alluded to: just because you have a full-time job doesn't mean your savings (runway) is growing. Personally, my job doesn't even pay the bills so I need the side-business to generate income even if I keep the day job.

by gridspy 17y ago

tom_ilsinszki 17y ago

I'm inspired. I don't have a family yet, so if you can do it, I can do it... Good luck!

gruntruk 17y ago

Congrats on both your hard work and what looks like a very cool product. It's encouraging to see others with families making their product aspirations work, even if at a slower pace than a FT startup. Best of luck!

Sukotto 17y ago

Well written and it comes at a great time for me. It's such a wonderful feeling to know there's someone else out there like me... I too am a family man (2 + 1 in the oven) with a fulltime job and a mortgage, and am trying to make time to build something by myself. I love pg's essays though I often feel depressed after reading them. He frequently seems to be saying "don't even try unless you're young, free, have at least one partner, live in the valley, have no other obligations, and are willing to 'work until you endanger your health'" Added your blog to my RSS reader.

Sukotto 17y ago
@pg: Uh... that came across as far more negative than I intended. I really do like reading your work and want to read more. The fact that I don't fit into (what I think is) your primary audience does NOT make them any less valuable to me.

MikeMacMan 17y ago

Thanks for writing this. I am in the same position, working full-time in a semi-demanding job, with a wife, son, big lawn to mow, etc. I've been working nights and weekends for over a year and am 2 months away from launching. My schedule looks almost exactly like yours. On Saturdays, I watch my son while my wife is at work, and I have the same mixed feelings about spending time with my son vs. working on my startup. Then I feel guilty for having mixed feelings...you know how it goes. Good luck with your startup. Keep fighting the good fight!

patio11 17y ago
I am in the same position, working full-time in a semi-demanding job, with a wife, son, big lawn to mow, etc. Keep the job, keep the wife, keep the son, outsource the lawn.
- MikeMacMan 17y ago
  But I just bought a John Deere riding mower!
- Poiesis 17y ago
  Of course--but at least for me, I don't have enough spare cash flow to outsource all the handyman stuff. And if I did, I've found that the time cost of finding someone and managing them can be at times almost as much as doing it myself. So I end up paying more for a very small savings in time. Actually, our current strategy is to stop watering the lawn and have a big patch of dirt in the front (our area has a drought). :) Disadvantages: dirt tracked in the house, neighbors hate us.

hopeless 17y ago

It's always great to hear of others attempting the same thing. Although, I must admit that I'm not applying myself to the day job - at all. Bizarrely though, I've just had my annual review and got an above average rating, which is the same as the year I worked my ass off! Perhaps it just says more about the average than about me ;-) Another limiting factor which I think you alluded to: just because you have a full-time job doesn't mean your savings (runway) is growing. Personally, my job doesn't even pay the bills so I need the side-business to generate income even if I keep the day job.