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Starting isn't the hard bit, I've started 50+ projects, I've finished hardly any of them, not including client work, that's my job, so it's easier to finish. W

Starting isn't the hard bit, I've started 50+ projects, I've finished hardly any of them, not including client work, that's my job, so it's easier to finish. What's different with a project that's mine is I go all gusto for a while, get a half MVP up and kinda lose the will to carry on. The problem is I have too many ideas and don't stick with my own things to see them through. I'd probably be more successful if I hired someone else to build it, and get client work myself to pay for it.

peterjancelis 13y ago
Maybe you could work on your own projects as if it is a client, i.e. take 2 hours out of your 40 hour billable work week and deliver as if it is a client. To make it even more real you can take some savings, draft a contract with someone you trust and tell them to only pay the money back as you deliver the 'client work' to yourself. If you fail to deliver, the money goes to charity. Also, once you have some revenue from your own app, divide by your hourly rate to know how many hours you will spend on it per week.
jondot 13y ago
Hey Tam, I'm exactly the same. Maybe we can form a support group for such people (i'm serious)?
- kranner 13y ago
  Although I'm not in exactly the same boat (i.e. I do finish projects but I'm slow), I'd love to be a member of such a group: a mutual accountability forum or weekly lab-meeting where everyone declares what they've done this week. I know that the Micropreneur Academy has such a forum as one of the attractions, but I think it can be open and free for anyone who's not too worried about their ideas getting pinched (speaking for myself, I wouldn't be worried).
- TamDenholm 13y ago
  Hey Jon, yeah i have a kind of support group, its a small IRC room i run that a few regulars hang around in, you're welcome to come in. www.chatwebdev.com
skarmklart 13y ago
How do you usually test if your project ideas have market fit? I'm writing a book about this very topic so I'm very interested obviously :)
- Chanel_Bunnell 13y ago
  A landing page about the product - as if it's almost ready - and a series of Google ads. $200 of ads can tell you a heck of a lot about traffic, keywords, click thru, etc. And that tells you a heck of a lot about whether your potential product has potential. If you ask people would they use X, many will say yes, sure they would. And they'd be lying - not intentionally, but lying none the less. Their search activity doesn't lie.
Anonymous238 13y ago
Try releasing early. When I work on personal projects and drag them out to perfection or until they have every feature I originally envisioned, they never get finished. I redesign them half a dozen times throughout their development, recode bit and pieces, etc. However, when I hack together a project over a weekend or week, toss it online and it gets a little traction, it's good motivation to continue. You have users behind you providing feedback and ideas, and it's fun to push out little updates every few days when you have people excited to see them. At the same time, it prevents you from becoming too involved in a failed concept. Release quickly, if there's an audience, keep polishing the project and grow it over the coming years. If the interest just isn't there, well you wasted a week, learned a few things, and move on.
- n_coats 13y ago
  Yes, I think early release is critical. It keeps momentum and lets you hear feedback while you're still fresh in dev mode.

peterjancelis 13y ago

Maybe you could work on your own projects as if it is a client, i.e. take 2 hours out of your 40 hour billable work week and deliver as if it is a client. To make it even more real you can take some savings, draft a contract with someone you trust and tell them to only pay the money back as you deliver the 'client work' to yourself. If you fail to deliver, the money goes to charity. Also, once you have some revenue from your own app, divide by your hourly rate to know how many hours you will spend on it per week.

jondot 13y ago

Hey Tam, I'm exactly the same. Maybe we can form a support group for such people (i'm serious)?

kranner 13y ago
Although I'm not in exactly the same boat (i.e. I do finish projects but I'm slow), I'd love to be a member of such a group: a mutual accountability forum or weekly lab-meeting where everyone declares what they've done this week. I know that the Micropreneur Academy has such a forum as one of the attractions, but I think it can be open and free for anyone who's not too worried about their ideas getting pinched (speaking for myself, I wouldn't be worried).
TamDenholm 13y ago
Hey Jon, yeah i have a kind of support group, its a small IRC room i run that a few regulars hang around in, you're welcome to come in. www.chatwebdev.com

skarmklart 13y ago

How do you usually test if your project ideas have market fit? I'm writing a book about this very topic so I'm very interested obviously :)

Chanel_Bunnell 13y ago
A landing page about the product - as if it's almost ready - and a series of Google ads. $200 of ads can tell you a heck of a lot about traffic, keywords, click thru, etc. And that tells you a heck of a lot about whether your potential product has potential. If you ask people would they use X, many will say yes, sure they would. And they'd be lying - not intentionally, but lying none the less. Their search activity doesn't lie.

Anonymous238 13y ago

Try releasing early. When I work on personal projects and drag them out to perfection or until they have every feature I originally envisioned, they never get finished. I redesign them half a dozen times throughout their development, recode bit and pieces, etc. However, when I hack together a project over a weekend or week, toss it online and it gets a little traction, it's good motivation to continue. You have users behind you providing feedback and ideas, and it's fun to push out little updates every few days when you have people excited to see them. At the same time, it prevents you from becoming too involved in a failed concept. Release quickly, if there's an audience, keep polishing the project and grow it over the coming years. If the interest just isn't there, well you wasted a week, learned a few things, and move on.

n_coats 13y ago
Yes, I think early release is critical. It keeps momentum and lets you hear feedback while you're still fresh in dev mode.