Becoming an Indie
summary
Builds a product selling historical Irish maps, ends up bought big plotters and doing fulfillment by rolling and posting prints; fails the first year because there is no signed contract with the fulfillment partner and no sales plan; switches to contracting, hires staff, hits 2009 recession, then later sells the map data and tripled our money on the sale. Gives concrete takeaways: get signed contracts, price for downtime, specialize, subcontract design, and timebox work.
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chapters (12)
- 0:00BECOMING AN INDIE ADRIAN STRAHAN
- 2:05WHY BECOME AN INDIE? Frustration? Not enough freedom? Think you can do things better? Want to specialize in something you love doing? Now or never moment?
- 9:00WHAT WE DID WRONG No signed contract We were relying on someone else to do the marketing Didn't maintain a sales plan Couldn't all commit No contingency More interested in the technology - didn't understand the customer
- 10:30MAKING THE LEAP Partner? Contract or freelance? When do it? Find the work first Sign those contracts!
- 13:31BUILD A PRODUCT? Business case and a budget Need marketing and sales plans Understand the use-cases Listen to your users Be prepared to fail - but fail fast
- 17:52TAKE ON STAFF? Contractor or employee? Huge responsibility They come first Got to have things for them to do Got to get the rates you charge right
- 20:58Allow for time to market yourself and your services Big yourself up - but be humble Share what you do Don't undersell yourself Treat your clients well-manage them
- 24:14Word-of-mouth counts for a lot - but it can't be everything Specialize Train yourself Don't overcharge - be competitive
- 27:08WORK/LIFE BALANCE Separate your work from your life Don't be afraid to time-box your work Try and leave your work in your office Finish work at a sensible time each day
- 28:58THERE WILL BE LOWS You will mess up Business is hard - but fulfilling Things go wrong
- 30:02THERE WILL BE HIGHS You are your own boss You can earn more No more 'Sunday night dread' You can pick and choose what you work on You will learn a lot
- 31:28WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE MAPS?
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