Are you a developer? So why are you still working for someone?

As a developer, you are sitting on a gold mine. Do you realize that?

No, seriously, on @ # $% gold mine! Never in history has there been an opportunity to create something from scratch so easily, with little or no initial capital and a marketing model limited only by your imagination.

Think about the largest sites you constantly visit: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Foursquare, or even Google - they were all created by developers who had just an idea. Was it easy? Hell no. But this could only be done in our time. So, damn it, why do you sit out day after day working for someone?

Yes, I am also an employee. And I hate that.

If there are so many great opportunities around, why don't most developers work for themselves? I think there are a few excuses that we come up with for ourselves. But not one of them is serious.

Myth # 1: You don’t have time.

I often hear this excuse and laugh every time. How much time do you spend watching a TV or playing an XBox, Wii, Playstation, and so on? On the strength of an hour a day, right? How much time do you spend on Facebook and Twitter? (Most likely, a minute now, a minute later?) And what do you do every day at lunchtime? This is an entire hour of time.

Here's what I will say: an hour here, an hour there - you actually have time. The bottom line is how you spend it. If you really want to do something, you need to find an idea (a really good idea) andcatch fire on her! If you get carried away with something, you will find time. And in the end, you will come to the fact that you are uncomfortable working on something other than your idea.

I am 31 years old, I am married, and we have three young children. I work all day, and then I come home to my wonderful wife, who by the end of the day does not know where to go from the children. I consider myself a rather busy person, but nevertheless I manage to find at least 20 hours a week in order to work on my idea, which will help me free myself from the salary trap where I lured myself.

I write this text while sitting in a comfortable chair in a cafe across the road from my work. I come here almost every day, and this amounts to almost 5 additional hours of productive work per week! No running kids around, no distractions, just me, my laptop and my headphones.

In the evening, after we put the children to bed, wash the dishes, I sit at work for another 3 or 4 hours. And so every day. I usually give myself a day or two days off to relax and unwind a bit. But during these 20 evening hours and 5 hours of lunch breaks, I manage to do a good amount of work.

Even if you cannot quit your job to take up your idea (like me), I think you can take the time to work on an idea if you are passionate enough about it!

Myth # 2: I can't come up with an idea

If you are just starting work, you constantly hear phrases from people like “Ideas are worthless” and “I can easily come up with an idea, I just don’t have time to implement”. When you sit and try to come up with Another Cool Stuck (another Facebook, another Reddit, etc.), it seems to you that all the good ideas have already been realized ! And you cannot come up with anything worthwhile.

Ask the founder of any major website to compare the current state of affairs with the way he represented it, and I'm sure he will laugh. All of them were unlikely to go the way they were about to go. Now these sites have huge traffic due to the fact that their creators were smart enough to improve and create features that users like .

So stop trying to make a home run ( approx. Per. - in baseball, a shot through the entire field, allowing you to score a point ), it is better to try to reach the base first! Create something useful. Something that people need , and then improve it, again and again. Start simple and develop. If you are too keen on the end result (a yacht and a private island in the Caribbean), then you are just a dreamer. Do something, show it to people, get feedback and improve .

Here is what I do when I try to come up with a new fun idea for work:

1. Listening to National Public Radio (or any other talk show). People love to complain. I look at any complaint as an opportunity! For example, my current project was born during the celebration of the centenary of the Scout movement. I myself am a former scout, was the leader of scouts. However, I managed to forget about all the difficulties. The broadcast gave me the idea I'm working on right now. This is a rather narrow niche, but it provides many opportunities.
I also come up with a lot of bad ideas, but that's fine! It is like an exercise. The more open you are, the easier thoughts come to mind and the easier it is to evaluate them. Find what people hate, which makes them uncomfortable , and do something that they want to pay for (no matter directly or indirectly).
2. Than you liketo do? What do you like best? Do what you like, otherwise soon it can really get bored, and you will want to do something else. Before you begin, make sure that you are ready to think about your idea around the clock for a week, otherwise you will not succeed. One of my hobbies is scuba diving. I would really like to live in a world where you do not need to think about anything other than diving. So I have a few ideas in this area that I am considering.
3. Keep notes. Google Docs to help you. I have a document that I call Ideas for My Programs. When I get an idea - no matter how trivial or unique it is - I immediately write it down in this document. Some people keep notebooks on the bedside table for this purpose. I don’t even know how many times I got ideas while driving, and by the time I got home I had forgotten them. Not that these were bad ideas, I was just distracted and forgot about them. After a while they returned to me, but it was still unpleasant. Keeping notes will allow you to organize your ideas, add notes and thoughts to them.

Never start work on the same day you came up with the idea. Ponder it for at least a day or two. Make sure it's worth the next few years of your life. Do not do something to see if people will like it. First read “Yes, but who told you that they will BUY this thing?” ( Approx. Per. - the link leads to an untranslated article ) and return. Come on, I'll wait.

Myth # 3: I don’t have money.

Who said “money”? Only if your idea definitely requires investment, which is a fairly rare occurrence on the Internet, can you start with zero. Zero. Nothing. Nothing at all. Be creativeto achieve the desired result. Change, sell, advise. Make it a rule to spend as little as possible to achieve a result. And it’s better not to spend money at all until you begin to receive it from your customers.

I spent a ton of money hosting for Django in my current project. I like hosting, but I think it's a luxury. I could use the Google App Engine for free, but hell, I’m able to spend a hundred bucks a year. I plan to use free Chargify until I get enough money from the project to spend it on hosting.

You do not need money to start. If you think differently, and especially if this is your first time doing your job, you should think again.

Myth # 4: I don’t know anything about marketing / design / etc.

This is not the best excuse for starting a business, but the most popular. As a developer, I am horrified by what needs to be sold. I hate hanging on the phone. I do not like to think about how to attract more people to my site. I love to create something. If now you agree with me, then you have two ways:

1. Find a partner who knows what you don’t understand. Focus on what you do well. If you're a developer, listen to what users are saying and spend all your time creating a really cool product. Sales and marketing can take all your free time. It is really hard to cope with both directions. If you have two tech partners, we can separate the sales and marketing tasks, and in the end you will find that the one who manages them better will do them all the time. However, the fact that you are a “developer” does not mean that you should not be involved in sales or marketing! Although it is necessary to focus on strengths, you also need to know how sales, marketing, PR and everything related to it work. This will prevent phrases like “Damn, why can't John bring a single customer? It seems to me that I am doing all the work. ”You will become more appreciative of sales and marketing after you find out how hard it is to deal with them! Let's! Do not be a woman! (Ladies, I'm sorry for the expression.) And vice versa, let your partner who is thinking in sales or marketing, look at the code at least diagonally. Arrange some kind of collaboration. At least, if he knows how much time your work takes, he will first consult with you about a new feature, and will not go to sell non-existent functionality. Take away the veil of secrecy and delve into each other's affairs! I apologize for the expression.) And vice versa, let your partner, who is thinking in sales or marketing, look at the code at least diagonally. Arrange some kind of collaboration. At least, if he knows how much time your work takes, he will first consult with you about a new feature, and will not go to sell non-existent functionality. Take away the veil of secrecy and delve into each other's affairs! I apologize for the expression.) And vice versa, let your partner, who is thinking in sales or marketing, look at the code at least diagonally. Arrange some kind of collaboration. At least, if he knows how much time your work takes, he will first consult with you about a new feature, and will not go to sell non-existent functionality. Take away the veil of secrecy and delve into each other's affairs!
2. Do not be a rag and learn it! This means that you will need to put the code aside and learn how to sell and become a real salesperson or PR manager. It takes time, just don’t give up! The good news is that what works for one company or site will not necessarily work for another. What? Does this sound more like bad news? Take a look at it the other way around: the worst thing you can do is not manage. I'm ironic, but it's true. If you fail at a marketing company, then what? TRY to do it the other way. Add the bad option to the list of bad ways and move on. Study books, forums, sites, manuals, and then go and EXPERIMENT. You don’t even need money for this. Be creative and resourceful. You need to know which approach works for you, not for anyone else. Learn and try.

Myth number 5: I can’t quit my job - I need a stable income.

This seems more like a real reason than an excuse, but why put up with the current state of things? Do you really want to work for someone every day, agreeing to the proposed conditions? Not? Well then, you have to sacrifice something. And you know about it, otherwise you would not read this article!

At the slightest opportunity, the best thing you can do is leave your job and devote 100% of your time to your startup. This will make you focus on the product and do something that people will pay for. The need to pay bills and buy food are very good motivators.

If you also have children and leaving work is not possible, you can still find the time. Just a project will take more time. See “Myth # 1: You Don't Have Time.”

All the big startups weren’t done in one night. Sometimes it takes years to achieve something. The main thing is not to give up!

Once you have a working prototype, you need to go to people who said that the idea is good, and find out what they think about your product. It really gives strength. There are those who do not like your product, but do not take it to heart. Consider criticism and make your product even better. The worst that can happen is people who say nice things to you just because they don’t want to offend you. In this case, you will get an ordinary thing that no one needs.

Once you have started to receive feedback and attract users, start attracting investments in your project. Ask your friends about this, communicate with business angels. Even if you fail to convince them to invest, this does not mean that your idea is bad, it means that you need to improve it and attract more users. If you can attract and retain people, then you are worth something. Nowadays, it is not necessary to have a well-invested or fashionable project to make money!

Myth # 6: I can't find a partner.

Poor partnerships are the most common cause of startup failures. Quarrels or partners who do not invest in work kill a business very quickly. It is very important to find the same passionate partner as you.

Do not think that someone will immediately light up your idea as much. You thought and dreamed about it much longer. When discussing ideas, criticism and playing the Devil's Advocate are welcome. Do you really think your opinion is the opinion of everyone? Therefore, welcome disagreements and differences of opinion, at least until they go beyond constructive criticism.

Where to look for a good partner? Best among people you know. In this way, the risk of incompatibility is reduced, because you already know people, their habits and addictions.

You also need someone who understands that at the beginning of the journey, a startup involves hard work and small returns. Participate in communities like Hacker News and Founders Mixto find people who are right for you.

If Gangplank meetings are taking place nearby , go hang out there. Listen to what people are saying and don't be afraid to share your idea with them. Do not try to guess what people need, and ASK them directly! It's stupid to hang around and be afraid to express your idea out loud, because "they can steal it." Ideas are worthless. If you think that someone can realize your ideas better, you have big problems.

Now take and do something that people need!