TL;DR – Work with me on my product business as a full-time-ish (~32 hours per week) developer and have that extra time every week to work on your own software product. Plus while working with me, you’ll learn what it takes to build, launch, run, and grow a successful software product.
You’re a developer. You want to start building and selling your own software products. But you’re working full-time. Well, more than full-time. You often work until 7 or 8 PM and when you get home there’s just no time to do more work. Besides, you’re tapped out. You’ve used up all your creative energy at work. Sometimes you even have to work weekends, so the ones you do you have off, you spend with friends and family. Seems impossible to start that product business.
Sound familiar?
I’ve heard this story a lot. In fact, I was this story. Then I quit my job and went freelance. It afforded me more flexibility, but with the ebb and flow of freelance and the need to constantly be chasing new clients and dealing with existing clients, there was very little creative energy left to devote to building a product business. I mean, freelancing itself is a business, so trying to start a new business while you’re furiously running another one is very difficult. I’m certainly not saying it can’t be done, but even with a disciplined approach, it is very challenging.
I think an easier path is to find yourself a full-time job that is less demanding. Something where you’re at work 30-40 hours per week (no evenings or weekends) and expending little creative energy. Something as predictable and routine as possible.
I’ve had jobs like this in the past: a few co-op work terms with the government. The schedules were very relaxed and the job demanded little creativity compared to the jobs I had later in the private sector. Jobs that only require 30-40 hours per week and don’t zap your creative energy do exist but they are hard to come by.
John Turner is a great example of how this can work. He joined The Micropreneur Academy and with the help received there, he was able to build a successful WordPress plugin business while working a 9-5 government job. And I know of others who have followed a similar path, but they are few and far between. Again, it’s hard to get one of these ideal full-time jobs and even if you do, it’s still very hard to start a business at the same time.
But guess what? I’m offering exactly this opportunity right now. I’m looking for an experienced developer to work with me full-time, but I’m very flexible with the arrangement. For example, you could do a 4-day work week, around 32 hours per week, which would give you evenings and a 3-day weekend every week to work on your own product business and fit in some time for friends and family.
You will need to use up a good chunk of your creative energy while working with me though. In fact, I want it all on the days you work with me. But because you will be directing it at my product business it is very likely the things you spend your creative energy on will also apply to your own product business. For example, perhaps you think up a great idea to build virality into my product and it will also work for yours. And just learning how to run a product business during your work hours is certain to spark ideas about your own product business.
Basically, this is a well paid apprenticeship opportunity, and if you listen to Dan and Ian every week like I do, you know that an apprenticeship is the best way to get started on your path to building a business.