4 ms·

Awesome. What is your business?

by eof 16y ago

koepked 16y ago
As I write this the above comment is 31 points! Please don't view this as a complaint, and to eof especially, I'm not saying the comment isn't worth that value. It just seems like an anomaly to me. Is it because everyone wants to know what the business is?
- bullseye 16y ago
  >> Is it because everyone wants to know what the business is? Yes.
- eof 16y ago
  7 points 18 minutes later. People really want to know! I imagine it will stop when/if it is answered.
  - ahizzle 16y ago
    Absolutely. Also seems a little strange to not give back to the community such basic information, after it's done so much for him. Maybe there's a competitive reason he's not divulging, or he's just too darn busy? ;) (I'd love to know, too)
    - bhjodokast 16y ago
      All your numberz are belong to us.
  - eof 16y ago
    it didn't completely stop but it was near a screeching halt
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
needmoney 16y ago
Well, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you all and tell you I run a bakery. I know you guys were expecting a tech company. I wasn't actually planning on revealing this, but you guys seem to really want to know and the community has been good to me. And maybe you can give me more advice. I actually have a degree in CS and I love to code, but I tried for a while and never managed to make money on my own with my tech skills before Patrick. I figured (correctly, I think) that my problem was not with my hacking abilities but with my business skills - I had absolutely no good sense of what people would give me money for. In my mind, I saw myself stumbling around on a seemingly infinite plane while I was trying to follow a hill-climbing algorithm to maximize the amount of money I was making. So I imagined something like a random-restart approach might work: let's jump somewhere totally different and try climbing any hills we find there. Plus, I knew that people were willing to give money for baked goods, so I figured that simplified the business component to an extent. It turns out I was right - I did find a hill to climb and I've gotten a lot better at business in general. The dilemma now is I really enjoy coding and actually think I have the skills to run a softare business (which could ultimately be more lucrative), but have a growing food business on my hands. I'm certainly not complaining - really, anything that brings me more money to buy stuff like a dryer makes me happy - but sometimes I feel out of place. Now that I've hired a manager for the bakery, I have a bit more control of my time and I've recently been able to take on a bit of consulting work, which has turned out well, and I'm pumping the money into growing the bakery. I think that's the optimal strategy I can follow for now. What do you guys think? I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my relatively twisted path.
- NathanKP 16y ago
  Not exactly what I was expecting, but interesting nonetheless. Do you feel that the hacker business approach articles featured here helped your bakery succeed, or did they just give you impetus you needed to get started launching your own business? Just wondering. Edit: Why not build a web app for your bakery? Allow customers to order via the web. If you provide some sort of customization so that customers can request custom cakes and confections it could turn into an interesting internet aided brick and mortar business. Whatever you do don't downplay the value of having a business that makes real money selling real things.

Awesome. What is your business?

by eof 16y ago

Awesome. What is your business?

As I write this the above comment is 31 points! Please don't view this as a complaint, and to eof especially, I'm not saying the comment isn't worth that value. It just seems like an anomaly to me. Is it because everyone wants to know what the business is?

bullseye 16y ago
>> Is it because everyone wants to know what the business is? Yes.
eof 16y ago
7 points 18 minutes later. People really want to know! I imagine it will stop when/if it is answered.
- ahizzle 16y ago
  Absolutely. Also seems a little strange to not give back to the community such basic information, after it's done so much for him. Maybe there's a competitive reason he's not divulging, or he's just too darn busy? ;) (I'd love to know, too)
  - bhjodokast 16y ago
    All your numberz are belong to us.
- eof 16y ago
  it didn't completely stop but it was near a screeching halt
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

needmoney 16y ago

Well, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you all and tell you I run a bakery. I know you guys were expecting a tech company. I wasn't actually planning on revealing this, but you guys seem to really want to know and the community has been good to me. And maybe you can give me more advice. I actually have a degree in CS and I love to code, but I tried for a while and never managed to make money on my own with my tech skills before Patrick. I figured (correctly, I think) that my problem was not with my hacking abilities but with my business skills - I had absolutely no good sense of what people would give me money for. In my mind, I saw myself stumbling around on a seemingly infinite plane while I was trying to follow a hill-climbing algorithm to maximize the amount of money I was making. So I imagined something like a random-restart approach might work: let's jump somewhere totally different and try climbing any hills we find there. Plus, I knew that people were willing to give money for baked goods, so I figured that simplified the business component to an extent. It turns out I was right - I did find a hill to climb and I've gotten a lot better at business in general. The dilemma now is I really enjoy coding and actually think I have the skills to run a softare business (which could ultimately be more lucrative), but have a growing food business on my hands. I'm certainly not complaining - really, anything that brings me more money to buy stuff like a dryer makes me happy - but sometimes I feel out of place. Now that I've hired a manager for the bakery, I have a bit more control of my time and I've recently been able to take on a bit of consulting work, which has turned out well, and I'm pumping the money into growing the bakery. I think that's the optimal strategy I can follow for now. What do you guys think? I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my relatively twisted path.

NathanKP 16y ago
Not exactly what I was expecting, but interesting nonetheless. Do you feel that the hacker business approach articles featured here helped your bakery succeed, or did they just give you impetus you needed to get started launching your own business? Just wondering. Edit: Why not build a web app for your bakery? Allow customers to order via the web. If you provide some sort of customization so that customers can request custom cakes and confections it could turn into an interesting internet aided brick and mortar business. Whatever you do don't downplay the value of having a business that makes real money selling real things.