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I started my business with less than $1000. I worked a full-time job and built my first video game product (http://store.steampowered.com/app/386900/The_Cat_Mac
by DizzyDoo 9y ago
I started my business with less than $1000. I worked a full-time job and built my first video game product (http://store.steampowered.com/app/386900/The_Cat_Machine/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/386900/The_Cat_Machine/) by waking up earlier in the morning to get an hour or two in before my 'real' job, and working Saturdays, and doing that for a year. I found customers by putting an enormous about of effort into marketing, and finding only some of it paid off (but what did, really worked). Obviously, having a comfortable day job and not having familial responsibilities lowers many of the risks of starting a business, I'm not sure how I would have approached it had I a family or less secure employment.
The biggest expenses were commissioning a composer friend of mine to produce an excellent soundtrack, and licensing a couple of pieces of development software, but that was <$1000. That product has funded my current product, so it's still early days for my business, I'm only a few years into this.
I feel like product one taught me so, so much, and product number two has been a similar learning experience. I'll probably know what I'm doing by my sixth or seventh game!
- schnevets 9y agoI know someone who has written two hugo-nominated sci-fi novels, but otherwise lives a typical 9-to-5 work life. I finally asked how he gets his writing done and learned that he wakes up at 5am each day. According to him, "the first thing you do every day is the most important thing".
- DizzyDoo 9y agoOh, I absolutely agree! I'm definitely an early morning sort of person, and when you're a self-employed, self-directed programmer, that feeling in the day of 'getting going', digging into a good chunk of work with free hours stretching ahead of you, that can't really be beaten. So I do get up earlier, and start work earlier than most, but I don't start the day with news sites, or emails, or twitter or anything like that. At best, it distracts from getting the work-day going, and at worst, it introduces an awful lot of negativity. Took me a while to figure out, perhaps it's more obvious to others, but a truly 'quiet' first few hours in a day is very beneficial to me.
- mdekkers 9y agoit introduces an awful lot of negativity. So true - I used to start my day reading news. No more, and my days are happier for it. Most of it is shit you cannot influence anyway.
- CuriouslyC 9y agoI've also found that my thinking is at its best in the first few hours after I wake up. My creativity and problem solving skills steadily decline throughout the day, and at night I'm only good for fairly mechanical work. I don't think it's a time of day thing (I'm not an early riser) but more that your brain is refreshed by sleep. I wish I could take naps, it would be wonderful to regain that state mid-day.
- 1337biz 9y agoBut then you need to be extremely driven. There are very few things in life I would be willing to sacrifice sleeping a little bit longer for.
- hermanradtke 9y agoI started going to bed earlier so I could wake up earlier. Seems zero sum, but waking up early to focus on my top priority when it is quiet and I am fresh has been a huge gain.
- dfabulich 9y ago> I found customers by putting an enormous about of effort into marketing, and finding only some of it paid off (but what did, really worked). What worked and what didn't?
- jim_d 9y agowhat marketing did you try and what did you find really worked? I've got a side project that I'll hopefully be launching this month and I would love some tips.