Does your side project really require you to run your own node server and mysql server? Do the cost benefit on running those things yourself vs paying more for something like Heroku etc or other services with higher level abstractions.
I think automation is really important at the business process level but at this stage you should probably give yourself a budget to buy vs build in most all but your really core areas. Lay the foundation but defer where you can.
Things I would do right away is:
- Have a credit card just for the business
- Automate your accounting (push orders to accounting system)
- Automate your inventory management (at least have a system)
- Figure out shipping well and automate that.
I leverage Shopify and Xero for these and it works OK for now.
Feel free to email me if you want to compare notes in detail.
Does your side project really require you to run your own node server and mysql server? Do the cost benefit on running those things yourself vs paying more for something like Heroku etc or other services with higher level abstractions.
You're totally right, I have a bad habit of wanting to build everything from scratch and in house, I am aware of this and I will need to get over this and enlist other services if I want to run this company by myself.
I really should have used a service like shopify, instead I built my whole site from scratch and integrated the site with Paypal's api via node.js. The site looks and performs excellent but it was and will continue to be a lot of work.
Those are good suggestions and I will review those.
I can relate to your approach. Engineers have a tendency to allow the "not invented here syndrome" take hold.
But ... that is not necessarily a bad thing. It is possible that you are more passionate and motivated by the technical aspects. If your product and the niche that it serves doesn't stir the same intensity of passion then maybe you should consider amping up your skills in the infrastructure side and finding lucrative gigs in that area. If you decide to change track in the future, your current business might be a viable sale proposition. The new owner might need you to maintain the infrastructure on contract.
Money is good, but once your basic needs are met it doesn't buy more happiness. In the long term you are more successful if you do what you are good at and enjoy doing.
Comments
Does your side project really require you to run your own node server and mysql server? Do the cost benefit on running those things yourself vs paying more for something like Heroku etc or other services with higher level abstractions.
I think automation is really important at the business process level but at this stage you should probably give yourself a budget to buy vs build in most all but your really core areas. Lay the foundation but defer where you can.
Things I would do right away is:
- Have a credit card just for the business
- Automate your accounting (push orders to accounting system)
- Automate your inventory management (at least have a system)
- Figure out shipping well and automate that.
I leverage Shopify and Xero for these and it works OK for now.
Feel free to email me if you want to compare notes in detail.
You're totally right, I have a bad habit of wanting to build everything from scratch and in house, I am aware of this and I will need to get over this and enlist other services if I want to run this company by myself.
I really should have used a service like shopify, instead I built my whole site from scratch and integrated the site with Paypal's api via node.js. The site looks and performs excellent but it was and will continue to be a lot of work.
Those are good suggestions and I will review those.
I can relate to your approach. Engineers have a tendency to allow the "not invented here syndrome" take hold.
But ... that is not necessarily a bad thing. It is possible that you are more passionate and motivated by the technical aspects. If your product and the niche that it serves doesn't stir the same intensity of passion then maybe you should consider amping up your skills in the infrastructure side and finding lucrative gigs in that area. If you decide to change track in the future, your current business might be a viable sale proposition. The new owner might need you to maintain the infrastructure on contract.
Money is good, but once your basic needs are met it doesn't buy more happiness. In the long term you are more successful if you do what you are good at and enjoy doing.