Day 804 - No preconceived notions - https://golifelog.com/posts/no-preconceived-notions-1678875677186
I used to have lots of preconceived notions of what I want for my products and what I don't want. Trawling through my old writings back when I just started indie hacking, I once [wrote these](https://jasonleow.github.io/200wordsaday/articles/how-do-i-make-a-million-dollars-6-running-a-calm-not-crazy-business-250065d54061da0c67/index):
> So here’s me saying “no” to how I would want to run a calm business on the internet, hereon:
>
> - I’ll stay a company of one. A solo business. No investors, no business partners. Less co-workers, less drama. But occasional (good) freelancers are fine.
> - Health and fitness as NUMBER 1 priority. What would your schedule look like if health was top priority? No, seriously. Reschedule a meeting, a call, a task or anything if I don’t have enough sleep and exercise.
> - Work normal hours. Work 4, or even 3, days a week. Be lazy.
> - Tell customers upfront (politely) that support is available only during work days and work hours in my timezone. No weekends, no late nights.
> - Self-help by default, as much as possible. Help customers help themselves.
> - Build relationships. Know customers by name.
> - Don’t use “we”, use “me”. Act small, not corporate. Be intentionally tiny, but human.
> - No empty promises just because “the customer is always right”. Just to polite and honest about the difficulties.
> - No roadmap. Get customers to buy what the product is today, not what it is in the future.
> - Set a upper revenue/profit limit. Close shop for the day/month/year when that’s achieved. Go travel, surf, spend time with family.
> - Be lifestyle business proud. I am in this for the lifestyle.
> - No growth (buying more assets, ads, hiring) unless it’s cheaper to do so.
> - No growth hacking for growth’s sake. Intentional and selective growth, where it makes sense.
> - Automate, automate, automate. Use bots, cron jobs, scripts, or even VAs to remove manual hassles as much as possible, as early as possible, but not too early.
> - Leverage tech as default for scalability, beyond the bottleneck of me. Labour, if it can’t be automated, and last, capital.
> - No open startup data, without context. Envy and jealousy are easier on the internet than inspiration, if context is not set properly. Be transparent selectively, where it makes sense, where it authentically helps.
> - Email by default, call for discussions. No coffees, no meetings unless it’s an emergency. Just simply say “My calendar doesn’t allow. Hope you are well.” Don’t apologise, don’t say sorry, just say no nicely but firmly.
> - Profit from Day 1. In the black over in the red, always. When in the red, it’s always crazy. Calm is in the black.
> - Have fun. The moment you’re too serious about your goal, you’re inching it out of reach. Set a random, funny goal alongside your big one.
No this, no that.
Okay, some might still apply because they are based on certain core values that's tied to my personality and outlook on life. But for most other business-related ones—like no ads, profit from day 1, email by default—it's simply not grounded in reality and context. It just something that sounded nice in theory, something that I wear because "I'm an indie hacker", but has no basis in any experience in the market or real life. Frankly, they're just newbie naivety.
Few years on, for my Plugins project, I'm actually trying affiliate marketing. I just published my first [guest blog post](https://starrt.co/blog/mobile-responsive-nav-menu). I'm kinda partnering with other Carrd makers to cross promote. I bought ads. I'm spent $150 on one sponsored ad on a fellow indie maker's newsletter – the single biggest reinvestment I've made so far (I used to keep every cent). I run upsells, and try out promo codes. I'm thinking of how future projects could be set up for acquisition/sale.
Essentially, I'm trying anything that works.
I mean, sure I've still got a baseline of ethics and boundaries I wouldn't cross. Like no cheating, manipulation. Nothing illegal or grey in the law. No ponzis. Stuff that most people can agree on. But beyond that, everything's open to exploration. No lame rules, unless it's been proven in the realities of a real market. No utopian ideals and borrowed narratives on how things *should* be done, instead focusing on what the data shows that *needs* done. No over-identifying with a label or a group of people. No undue emotional investment in my "baby".
No inhibitions. No preconceived notions.
Just doing it what needs to be done, my own way. Just focused equanimity.
I like this.
It smells like I've grown up a bit as an indie hacker.
> So here’s me saying “no” to how I would want to run a calm business on the internet, hereon:
>
> - I’ll stay a company of one. A solo business. No investors, no business partners. Less co-workers, less drama. But occasional (good) freelancers are fine.
> - Health and fitness as NUMBER 1 priority. What would your schedule look like if health was top priority? No, seriously. Reschedule a meeting, a call, a task or anything if I don’t have enough sleep and exercise.
> - Work normal hours. Work 4, or even 3, days a week. Be lazy.
> - Tell customers upfront (politely) that support is available only during work days and work hours in my timezone. No weekends, no late nights.
> - Self-help by default, as much as possible. Help customers help themselves.
> - Build relationships. Know customers by name.
> - Don’t use “we”, use “me”. Act small, not corporate. Be intentionally tiny, but human.
> - No empty promises just because “the customer is always right”. Just to polite and honest about the difficulties.
> - No roadmap. Get customers to buy what the product is today, not what it is in the future.
> - Set a upper revenue/profit limit. Close shop for the day/month/year when that’s achieved. Go travel, surf, spend time with family.
> - Be lifestyle business proud. I am in this for the lifestyle.
> - No growth (buying more assets, ads, hiring) unless it’s cheaper to do so.
> - No growth hacking for growth’s sake. Intentional and selective growth, where it makes sense.
> - Automate, automate, automate. Use bots, cron jobs, scripts, or even VAs to remove manual hassles as much as possible, as early as possible, but not too early.
> - Leverage tech as default for scalability, beyond the bottleneck of me. Labour, if it can’t be automated, and last, capital.
> - No open startup data, without context. Envy and jealousy are easier on the internet than inspiration, if context is not set properly. Be transparent selectively, where it makes sense, where it authentically helps.
> - Email by default, call for discussions. No coffees, no meetings unless it’s an emergency. Just simply say “My calendar doesn’t allow. Hope you are well.” Don’t apologise, don’t say sorry, just say no nicely but firmly.
> - Profit from Day 1. In the black over in the red, always. When in the red, it’s always crazy. Calm is in the black.
> - Have fun. The moment you’re too serious about your goal, you’re inching it out of reach. Set a random, funny goal alongside your big one.
No this, no that.
Okay, some might still apply because they are based on certain core values that's tied to my personality and outlook on life. But for most other business-related ones—like no ads, profit from day 1, email by default—it's simply not grounded in reality and context. It just something that sounded nice in theory, something that I wear because "I'm an indie hacker", but has no basis in any experience in the market or real life. Frankly, they're just newbie naivety.
Few years on, for my Plugins project, I'm actually trying affiliate marketing. I just published my first [guest blog post](https://starrt.co/blog/mobile-responsive-nav-menu). I'm kinda partnering with other Carrd makers to cross promote. I bought ads. I'm spent $150 on one sponsored ad on a fellow indie maker's newsletter – the single biggest reinvestment I've made so far (I used to keep every cent). I run upsells, and try out promo codes. I'm thinking of how future projects could be set up for acquisition/sale.
Essentially, I'm trying anything that works.
I mean, sure I've still got a baseline of ethics and boundaries I wouldn't cross. Like no cheating, manipulation. Nothing illegal or grey in the law. No ponzis. Stuff that most people can agree on. But beyond that, everything's open to exploration. No lame rules, unless it's been proven in the realities of a real market. No utopian ideals and borrowed narratives on how things *should* be done, instead focusing on what the data shows that *needs* done. No over-identifying with a label or a group of people. No undue emotional investment in my "baby".
No inhibitions. No preconceived notions.
Just doing it what needs to be done, my own way. Just focused equanimity.
I like this.
It smells like I've grown up a bit as an indie hacker.