As a child, I was always interested in business. I used to sell candies and gums in middle school. I ran a small-scale lottery scheme in my village during my high school years. With the lack of exposure to business in my family circle, I had to take the corporate path after graduating. But the idea of me being a business owner has always stayed with me.
When I saved enough money, I started a few retail businesses and lost both my time and money. But I learned an important lesson. Business involving hard labor and physical goods is not the kind of business I want to own.
With a software engineering background, I can code my way to becoming a business owner and independent. And I learned there is a community for this in Indie Hackers. But I never had time to pursue Indie Hacking.
– Charles Buxton
“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.”
That quote made me pause and think. I don’t want to give up on my dream. And I don’t want to regret not trying later in life. I decided to Indie Hacking from today.
Making time for Indie Hacking
Indie Hacking will be my fourth area of focus. The other three being Self(my health), Relationship(family), and work(full-time job). It is not going to be easy but doable with good time management. Here is what I am willing to sacrifice and what I will not
What I am willing to sacrifice
I am willing to sacrifice the social time I spend with my friends. I am willing to sacrifice my screen time. I will stop scrolling my Twitter feed, checking fantasy scores, and reading the news. I will negotiate with my employer to avoid/reduce the commute to work.
What I will not sacrifice
I am not willing to sacrifice my health or the time I spend with my family. I will continue to walk, exercise, and journal every day. I will continue to read to my kids and play with them. I will not skip eating together or our movie nights.
Product Ideas
I have a few ideas. The first one I am going to try is a B2B ALM tool. The company I am working for uses a homegrown ALM tool which is shitty. I have been working on this idea on and off for more than a year now. This time around I am going to commit and develop an MVP.
The other Idea I have is a productivity tool to manage my day/life. I know what you are thinking. Knowing there are a ton of productivity tools out there, I want to develop this tool for myself. I have a framework that I would like to implement and see if it is useful to me. If it is, then it may be useful to others.
Quit or Not to Quit the full-time job
Unlike many people I read about on Indie hackers and Twitter, I don’t want to give up my full-time job. I think quitting without a replacement income is an irresponsible thing to do. It may have worked for some. I don’t want to fall for Survivorship Bias. I will keep the job until I can replace my full-time income with my side projects.
There are many unknowns. I will go through difficult times. But I want to give it an honest try. Even If I fail, there will be a ton I would have learned which I am planning to share in this blog. Wish me luck.
What else do I need to know about Indie Hacking with a full-time job and family? Are you an Indie Hacking parent with a full-time job? Would love to connect with other Indie Hacking parents with a full-time job.