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Ask HN: How to run a SaaS in an environment with non-supportive parents?
so basically im running a SaaS business. i got a few customers just after a few weeks after launching and focused on making more happen. but... my parents are unhappy that im not working at a job and think im wasting time. even when i convince them that these are monthly paying customers (at least paying $100 and upwards) and that I am confident I can make enough sales within a few months to pay the same salary I got when I used to work as a developer but they are not having it.
I'm half ass applying for jobs I don't even want to work for, just to buy time almost. I really feel like this is an opportunity for me to make an independent business, I do take freelance projects on the side as well to supplement income but to my parents it doesn't look like a 'job'.
How can I explain it when they won't even listen? They are still stuck with the old school idea of 9 to 5, marrying a co-worker, and that I'm running out of time (I'm 26 and have worked as a software dev for about 2 years at a few companies, I fucking hated it and took drugs and drank).
The office life is really not for me, I really want to work on this and make it financially viable and I have confidence that I can do this. I set out to sell this week and I made it happen. Next week I'll try sell to two people and make it happen somehow. I don't know if I'm being too optimistic but I just see that if I sell to 15 people, I'll make the same salary I used to. That's a totally achievable number in my head. If I even do slightly above it, I'm breaking the salary barrier.
- greenyoda 12y agoWhen you say "non-supportive", do you mean (1) that your parents think it's a bad idea, or do you mean that (2) your parents refuse to support you financially (housing, food and other expenses) while you're building this business?
- curiously 12y agothey think that I'm getting old and that I should go outside and socialize in work environment because they fear that I will become a hermit and never have a family on my own and that they will have to support me forever.
- joeclark77 12y agoBe sure you don't dismiss out of hand the possibility that your parents might be right. You are getting old. And would it hurt to go on a date once in a while?
- webmaven 12y agoIn your case 'socializing in a work environment' can mean going to entrepreneur, technology, and other related meetups. Plenty of opportunities to make friends, find co-conspirators, etc.
- justintocci 12y agoYou got it. Stall, sell. Excellent plan.
- icedchai 12y agoIt sounds like you're doing great! Just tell them you're "interviewing" while you go to a coffee shop, work on your business. What is your focus/niche for your SaaS? no need to give the site away, just curious.
- saluki 12y agoI can understand your parents perspective . . . Would 15 subscribers (@ $100 +/-) replace your developer salary . . . that seems a little low If you like development . . . but not the office . . . think about a remote developer position . . . maybe focus your applications in that direction . . . If 15 signups would replace your developer salary and you have 3 right now . . . think about hustling using cold calls and cold emails to potential signups and see if you can get that up to 15 or 20 signups . . . If the SaaS business isn't taking up too much of your time you could consider a remote developer position to make ends meet until your SaaS scales up. If your parents are giving you a place to live/financial help I would try to obtain a remote position . . . or hustle and scale things up to 15 to 20 signups . . . to show them it's meeting your financial needs. I can understand your parents are a little old school and probably don't understand that SaaS can exceed a traditional income . . . so show them it's working. (That said typically scaling SaaS takes a while so you might need a J O B in the mean time. Take a listen to . . . StartupsForTheRestOfUs.com and read listen to everything by Patio11 If you aren't already. Good luck . . .
- curiously 12y agosorry 15 X a mix of $100 and 300 plans. so far sold one $100 plan and one $300 plan. so if I can make $3000 a month at least, its not quite my developer salary but its close (Used to make $4000~5000 per month ish. Seems like I need to up it more but my immediate goal is to get 10 sales this month. If I get more then I would be so happy.
- davismwfl 12y agoNot trying to be an ass, but you are 26. Your parents have no say on what you do with your life, unless you are living in their house rent free and they are paying your bills. In which case, they do have some say, especially if you can't pay your bills and they don't see something towards progress as they view it. I am not suggesting you start a war with your parents, but they will not understand your position easily. Instead try to appeal to their compassion. Explain to them you understand and respect that they are just trying to look out for you but that you have struggled doing the traditional job. Tell them that you need their moral support because their opinion means so much and you want them to be proud of you. Explain to them that you also have to be proud of yourself so you want to give this a go for 3, 6 months whatever you think it will take to get enough people to cover your old salary. I take it you are likely outside the US given the low dollar amount for a developer salary, so maybe this can work out for you since you have a lower threshold (which is awesome). Also, I recognize that culturally the parent/child relationships are unique, but I think all parents want their kids happy and to be proud of them, so appeal to that. If all else fails, stall them for a few months, or get some freelancing work to keep them happy and still make progress on your sales.
- curiously 12y agoyou laid it out well. yeah I think im going to get more freelance/remote based work and then also do sales with this.
- staunch 12y agoYour parents are like your investors in a hostage situation. Convince them. Explain to them what you're doing. Show them examples of other people doing it. Tell them your goals and hit them. Get them involved to some degree. And work really really hard. Don't slack off at all until you're paying your own expenses. No drinking beer and playing video games all day on their dime. You've correctly recognized the opportunity you have. Not having to worry about living expenses has been the key ingredient in a lot of successful careers. You're ramen profitable on day one. Do something useful with it!
- patio11 12y agoIf you think you need 15 to achieve parity with the old salary, shoot for 30 (as a starting point). Your costs are systematically higher than an employee's, you'll have to pay taxes which were previously not disclosed to you as part of your income, you'll have to buy your own benefits, etc. With regards to marketing to parents: in a similar situation, my strategy was to position the business as an extended job application to Google ("They basically won't take somebody these days who hasn't demonstrated above-and-beyond capabilities on the Internet") and continue doing so until mom and dad thought the Google idea was stupid when it was obvious that I'd make more money with the bingo thing. Also, try not to let this dominate your relationship with your parents, because their intersection with your professional choices is a very, very small part of life and they are, after all, your parents. No shame in not liking the office life. It's virtually a cliche among my entrepreneur friends: we do this because we're totally useless for 9-to-5 at BigCo. It may be salutary to broaden your social circle to include some folks who either share your aspirations or resemble the people you want to be like in the future.