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Chris - your posts are one of the highlights of Hacker News for me. A few comments/suggestions: 1. It would be great if you could organize your revenue/expense
by bgraves 15y ago
Chris - your posts are one of the highlights of Hacker News for me. A few comments/suggestions:
1. It would be great if you could organize your revenue/expenses a bit more. Something like BCC Stats [1] would be great. Perhaps just take the metrics you are tracking now, put them in a Google Spreadsheet, and create some simple Google Charts that are automatically updated and published. It would take a few hours to set up, but your stats would be much easier to gather and publish going forward.
2. Have you thought about ways to make website flipping more passive? What are the sticking points on this income stream and how can they be removed? I have given this a lot of thought and was able to go from a website idea to gathering sign-ups on a website in less than 6 hours. My idea was not successful, but I wasted very little time/energy by using ThemeForest, AdWords coupons, and a simple email script to validate it. If the site became popular, I would have developed it more fully and perhaps sold it or just collected income passively.
3. On a more personal note, how does your wife/family view this "work" situation? I assume that they are happy, but I have found that sometimes family and friends do not understand how this type of stuff works. I'm married with kids, too. In my experience, most people equate hard work with high pay -- but we have found a way to work smarter not necessarily harder.
Thanks for sharing this information!
[1] http://www.bingocardcreator.com/expenses/profitability-pie-chart http://www.bingocardcreator.com/expenses/profitability-pie-c...
- kreci 15y agoThanks for such long comment. Ad.1) I will consider adding costs. But those are very little - hosting $30, some domains I buy and renew. Plus tax and health insurance that is specific for each country. Ad.2) It looks very interesting to flip websites based on my stats. But what really matters is the good idea that sells. And it is hardest to get plenty of such. Ad.3) She is happy that I am at home. It is harder to work like this because there are many disturbances. But it is a way better to be your own boss + in my case double the income + have a lot more free time.
- bgraves 15y agoYou are welcome :) 1. I meant to ask how you might be able to streamline/automate your monthly reports like BCC has done. 2. What is your idea generation process? If that really is the sticking point, then consider reducing the friction or cost of going from idea to MVP. My example of going from idea to MVP in 6 hours is very streamlined. If I had enough money to spend on AdWords, I could potentially test 1 idea per week and dump the low performers. My point of friction here is traffic. The only honest, reliable way to get traffic (and potential interested customers) is with AdWords, which is not free. 3. Very good to get your personal experience on this subject. Thanks as always...
- LiveTheDream 15y agoWould you consider adding time into the statistics? I agree with nasmorn that the absolute income would not come close to covering cost of living expenses that I'm familiar with, so having a sense of working hours would provide some valuable context. Also - thanks for sharing the data!