

Taking the Leap. Any tips? - djreyes

I'm finally doing it. Starting in January I am taking a non-paid indefinite leave of absence from a consulting job that I've gotten too comfortable with over the last 7-8 years. I haven't yet decided what exactly I'm going to do but I have some ideas for web/mobile apps that I'm planning to pursue.<p>I used to think that I wanted to build the next great startup but in reading the first couple of chapters of Rob Walling's "Start Small, Stay Small", I'm starting to rethink what my goals are.<p>Being an out of practice developer with minimal experience in web/mobile apps means that I'll need to decide and ramp up on a language. I have some very basic skills with PHP and mySQL so was planning to stick with those.<p>Any tips or ideas for pursuing such an endeavor?
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karterk
If there is one thing I have learned out of reading HN the past couple of
years - it's that to be successful, the technology is not always as important
as the actual problem being solved. So, don't get carried away by the
technology or the prettiness of your code etc. Solve a real problem, and do so
with constant feedback from your target audience. Also start thinking about
marketing from day one. Be prepared to cold email and cold call. Building is
easy, but selling is not!

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polyfractal
Well, if you enjoyed Rob's book and think micropreneurship may be interesting
(aka building a portfolio of web apps/properties as your income), I highly
suggest Rob and Mike's podcast:

<http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/>

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djreyes
Thanks! I'll definitely have to give these a listen.

