How do you maintain your mental and emotional health? - **As founders, it can be easy to become overwhelmed or lonely.** How do you stay the course when things get difficult? Founders weigh in below. - **Companies are working harder (and paying more)
How do you maintain your mental and emotional health?
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As founders, it can be easy to become overwhelmed or lonely. How do you stay the course when things get difficult? Founders weigh in below.
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Companies are working harder (and paying more) to gain attention, since paid marketing channels are expensive and competitive. Here's how side project marketing can help you build brand awareness and generate leads.
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Founder Justin Welsh hit $135,000 in monthly revenue as a solo founder of several businesses. Below, he shares what he's learned about managing stress, and why he wants to go smaller, not bigger.
Want to share something with over 100,000 indie hackers? Submit a section for us to include in a future newsletter. —Channing
💖 Maintaining Mental and Emotional Health as Founders
by Ryan Randall
I quit my job one month ago today to go all-in on my startup, ProMen, a productivity and mental health app for men. After a one week high over being my own boss, I then hit a major low. I’m panicked about everything (and no, the irony isn’t lost on me that I’m saying this while working on an app for productivity and mental health!).
Do these feelings ever get any better?
The worst case scenario
Ryan says that the grind doesn't get easier, but he's now able to approach it with rationality and perspective:
I'm currently on my fifth startup. Before I run headfirst into a new project, I tell myself that I need to be able to be happy with the worst case scenario.
I think it's important to frame things correctly, which will help with the mental side of things. Allocate a certain amount of your savings to invest in your startup, and be comfortable with spending all of that. Regardless of what area of your business you invest the money into, it'll deliver significant data on where you should go next, even if it is returning to a 9-5. It's the cost of testing your product and testing yourself. It's a great investment.
Secondly, give yourself a timeframe to operate within, and detail what you want to learn by the end of every period. The anxiety for me always comes when I function without constraints. That's the aspect that a lot of people don't expect: The lack of direction that comes along with having time freedom. You need to be more strict on yourself than any boss would be.
Embrace ambiguity
JC left his job a year ago to work on a variety of projects:
So far, there have been high highs and low lows. Some days, I'm just super productive and really excited about my path. Other days, I'm paralyzed with the stress of whether I've made a huge mistake.
Here's what helps me:
- Find a hobby, preferably physical, that gets you out of your head and your house for a couple of hours a few times a week. I climb or go for runs, but it could be a walk, reading in a coffee shop, or whatever you enjoy.
- Get comfortable with ambiguity. It will feel like everyone around you is on the path to success, while you have no idea what you're doing. I've just started learning to accept that.
- Come up with a backup plan in case it actually doesn't work out. Hopefully you won't need it, but brainstorming may help you feel more in control and ease some anxiety.
- Try to meet other founders and freelancers. This is a lonely journey, and there are many people who feel the way that you do.
Challenge yourself outside of work
Ryan Randall recommends finding something that really challenges you physically:
I'm not just talking about working out. I've been training for my first full ironman. When you exhaust your body physically every day, the business issues seem more minor. Swimming three miles in an open lake will really help take your mind off things!
Keep at it, stick to a routine, and challenge yourself outside of work with an extreme physical activity. Train for a triathlon, practice jiu jitsu, train for some other martial art, etc.
Hone in on your best working conditions
Carolyn says to not be afraid to self-reflect:
Some people are just not cut out to be full-time founders. That may sound harsh, but it’s true. I started my website design business almost seven years ago, and it was so stressful. I couldn’t deal with it, and went back to my 9-5 while still running my business on the side.
It was the only thing that worked. I needed the stability and security of a paycheck to make me a more mentally stable founder.
Release expectations
Dmitrii Chistov started a new project without any expectations:
I was prepared for failure, so I didn't feel any pressure or frustration. I thought of it as a chance to learn something new, gain experience, and (hopefully) make some money.
Most of the time, this viewpoint helps me enjoy the process, not feel pressured, and not be disappointed. When there are no expectations, there is no pain. Persistence, curiosity, and desire are all it takes.
Remember that, if you become successful, you will still have to deal with problems, only different ones. Therefore, the only thing you can do is change your perspective. Don't expect anything, focus on the process (not the result or outcome), and enjoy your journey.
How do you keep going when you feel discouraged? Share below!
Discuss this story.
📰 In the News
from the Volv newsletter by Priyanka Vazirani
🍎 "Top Widgets" has soared to number one in the App Store.
💰 Almost everyone loves Netflix stock again.
🥸 People are hiring proxies to pretend to be them in job interviews.
🛩 It's not just your imagination, planes really are dirtier now.
🎭 Broadway's longest running show is closing after 35 years.
Check out Volv for more 9-second news digests.
🗣 Trend Alert: Marketing Your Side Project
from the Trends.vc newsletter by Dru Riley
Why it matters
Companies are working harder, and paying more, to get attention.
Problem
Paid marketing channels are expensive and competitive.
Solution
Side project marketing helps you build brand awareness and generate leads.
This includes quizzes, calculators, games, guides, templates, directories, checklists, apps, and more.
Players
Side project marketing examples:
Predictions
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No-code and low-code tools will make it easier to build side projects. These tools make development 10x faster. Marketers are becoming citizen developers and building projects themselves. Omniconvert built quizzes with Typeform. Crypto Tax Software by CoinTaxList is a software directory built with Softr.
- More agencies, freelancers, and practitioners will use side projects to sell their services, establish authority, and land new clients. Neal Agarwal built Neal.Fun with 24 fun, creative tools. WeLoveNoCode built NoCode List, which features 2K+ no-code tools and platforms. Ali Mese launched Freebie Supply and hit 2M+ web views. Jessica Hische launched Should I Work for Free and Daily Drop Cap; both brought in new clients, and helped her stand out in the design community.
- More companies will build side project directories as one-stop shops, covering multiple needs. Business Tools by Shopify helps you sell and grow your retail business. Developer Utilities by Retool helps you with common frontend and backend tasks. Veed Editing Tools by Veed helps you cut, trim, crop, and transcribe videos, and add subtitles, progress bars, and more.
Opportunities
- Buy instead of build. Most side projects are small, simple, and relatively cheap. See Tiny Acquisitions and SideProjectors marketplaces. Globster is a glob pattern tester, listed for $3K. Devtools is a database of 250+ tools for developers, listed for $1.5K. Awesome Info Products is a directory of info products, listed for $2.5K.
- Host tools on your own domain. These can generate backlinks, which improves your domain authority and leads to higher ranking pages.
- Offer side projects as a service. Help companies leverage this marketing channel by building on-demand side projects. Upthrust can build an MVP for your app or micro-service. Side Product Led Growth builds tools, apps, and micro-services. Growthcurve builds tools for one-to-one target marketing campaigns.
- Use no-code and low-code tools to build side projects. Build useful tools to attract customers faster. Nocoloco by Xperian is a list of no-code templates made with Softr. VenturePact built an app cost calculator with Outgrow that brought in 11K+ qualified leads. PR Database by WeLoveNoCode is an Airtable list of 4K+ startup journalists.
Risks
- Market risk: Don't waste your resources building tools that nobody needs. Look for evidence of need. Clone and improve tools that people already use.
- Opportunity cost: Your time, money, and energy are limited resources. Working on side projects when there are more promising options is unwise.
- Short-termism: Side project marketing is a long-term investment. It can be wise to choose another marketing strategy if you are looking for immediate results.
Key lessons
Hot takes
- Blogs, podcasts, and newsletters can be side projects. This is owned media. You don't compete with others for bandwidth. REWORK by 37signals gets ~54% direct visitors. Similarweb says that these are likely to be amongst some of the website's most loyal and engaged users.
- Side projects are a great way to build your personal brand. Max Stoiber created react-boilerplate and styled-components. These are used by Bloomberg, Reddit, Atlassian, Coinbase, Patreon, and hundreds of other companies. He uses these credentials to promote his code audit services.
- Sports jerseys and clothing with brand labels are non-programmatic paid side projects. Customers pay to promote these.
Haters
"I'm busy working on the main product. Side projects will waste my time."
A great marketing strategy at the wrong time is the wrong move. Side project marketing is a longer-term investment.
"These are free tools. I like getting paid for my work."
We covered examples where side projects brought new leads, users, and sales.
"Free tools will displace my paid product."
Others may be able to clone your features and offer them for free. You might as well cannibalize yourself if you can be cannibalized. Find markets with moats to avoid this dilemma.
"You told me to ask for an email, then you told me not to."
We shared successful examples with each of those recommendations. Both strategies can work.
Links
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Who Builds Growth Tools? The tweet behind this report.
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A Solid Basic Framework for a Successful Side Project: A framework for building and launching side projects.
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How Side Projects Saved Our Startup: Mikael Cho shares how side project marketing helped grow Crew when it only had three months of cash runway left.
Related reports
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Growth Tools: The first version of this report.
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Growth Hacking: Side project marketing is part of growth marketing.
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Digital Products: Checklists, e-books, guides, templates, and other tools are digital products.
More reports
Go here to get the Trends Pro report. It contains 200% more insights. You also get access to the entire back catalog and the next 52 Pro Reports.
Discuss this story, or subscribe to Trends.vc for more.
🧠 Harry's Growth Tip
from the Marketing Examples newsletter by Harry Dry
How to sell recycled toilet paper: Reframe regular toilet paper as trees. How can you reframe your product to your advantage?
Go here for more short, sweet, practical marketing tips.
Subscribe to Marketing Examples for more.
🛠 Justin Welsh Hit $135K MRR as a Solo Founder
by Bobby Burch
Justin Welsh is building a portfolio of one-person businesses to $5M in revenue. He's now hit $135K MRR, and is sharing insights from his journey!
From panic attack to founder
In my previous life, I was an executive at a high-growth startup that I helped build to $50M+ ARR in 4.5 years.
Towards the end of that journey, I started burning out pretty heavily. In December 2018, all of that culminated in a massive panic attack. 911 was called, EMTs were sent, the whole shebang. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to live a much more intentional life, focused on doing more of what I liked and less of what I didn’t.
The things that have kept me going since then are:
- Traction in my business.
- Receiving thousands of DMs, emails, and notes from people that I've helped.
- Wanting desperately to hold onto this lifestyle.
A revenue breakdown
My MRR comes from The Monthly Templates, a subscription email that I send out once a month. It's five fill-in-the-blank templates that you can use to deliver your message on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. The rest of my income comes from course sales, coaching, newsletter sponsorships, affiliate deals, and more.
- Course revenue: $110K MRR.
- Sponsorship revenue: $16K MRR.
- Coaching revenue: $7K MRR.
- Affiliate revenue: $2K MRR.
His daily routine
My schedule changes over time as I take on new projects and go on vacation, but my normal schedule looks a bit like this:
- 7:15 AM - 8:15 AM: Interact on LinkedIn and Twitter for 45 minutes.
- 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM: Go to the gym with my wife.
- 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM: Write, then eat lunch.
- 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Client calls.
Outside of that, I work to move projects forward, or do some extra writing when I feel creative. I probably work 40-50 hours per week when I factor in the extra work that I do outside of this schedule. Some weeks are closer to 20, while others might be 60 or 70. It all depends on whether I’m in the middle of a project, have a new client, or am working on a course.
Surviving the ups and downs
The best part is being able to spend my time doing what I want, when I want, and with whom I want. For example, I’m doing this interview on a Thursday, and I’m about to head out to lunch with my wife for a few hours. I didn’t have that luxury when I worked for someone else.
I love having complete creative control over everything that I do in this business, and I was surprised by the flexibility to try new things. I thought there was a game plan or set of best practices, but everyone is just out here winging it for the most part.
The worst part of being a founder is that it can get quite lonely. I miss being around friends and peers in the office, so I’m considering trying to replicate that in some way. Having a good group of friends and a social calendar is extra critical when you work on your own. Luckily, I have a wonderfully supportive wife and family, plus hundreds of online and in-person friends, mentors, and partners.
Sometimes, I bounce ideas off of a great group of online friends from both Twitter and LinkedIn. We jump on a Zoom, or meet for a beer, just to chat through the challenges we’re facing.
On stress
I take a lot of action. I’ve found that stress is generally a response to things that have already happened, and anxiety is a response to things that might happen in the future. So, I try to remain in the present and take a lot of action. New content, new products, new experiments, etc. I’m always trying to get a little better each day by actually doing something.
On going smaller, not bigger
I have considered adding people to my team, but I think it all goes back to what’s most important to me. I don’t want to scale up or go big. I actually want to go smaller. I want to work less, make the same, and continue to design my life with intention. Managing people just isn’t part of that for me.
Discuss this story.
🐦 The Tweetmaster's Pick
by Tweetmaster Flex
I post the tweets indie hackers share the most. Here's today's pick:
🏁 Enjoy This Newsletter?
Forward it to a friend, and let them know they can subscribe here.
Also, you can submit a section for us to include in a future newsletter.
Special thanks to Jay Avery for editing this issue, to Gabriella Federico for the illustrations, and to Ryan Randall, Priyanka Vazirani, Dru Riley, Harry Dry, and Bobby Burch for contributing posts. —Channing
