Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Graeme Fulton

How to be healthy… and escape 9–5

I always hear people complaining about their job, as if there’s no way out.

We hear stories of ‘the grind’ or ‘the hustle’, showing how people went all in, working 5 evenings a week on top of their day job, and weekends…until one day they built a big business empire.

This ‘grind’ philosophy makes starting a business sound stressful and unhealthy. It sounds like the only way, and one better suited to those willing to make crazy sacrifices. Like DHH though, I think we should ‘bury the hustle’ as it’s a bit dogmatic:

Let’s bury the hustle

Maybe because of it, even when people want to do something new, they don’t ever start! I find that frustrating, because there’s so much potential out there that’s never realised…all wasted on people working in jobs that may be limiting them.

You can learn a lot from a 9 to 5, but surely that one structure and route set out in front of you can’t work well for every humabn in the organisation.

Maybe you’re suited to the route that will never exist.

…unless you make it. 👽

So for those with many responsibilities and busy lifestyles, here’s some quick ideas on how to get started on a business that doesn’t involve grinding — even the most lazy person can try!

1. Share ideas

When starting something with limited time, involving other people can be key. Some can be protective of their idea though, as they don’t like the sound of dividing up the rewards it may bring. They might feel like they’re giving away half their riches away before even making any. This can again stop people from making anything at all.

(and all the while, there’s one of them ‘grind’ people working away at the very same idea 😢):

So forget about giving half away, and think about gaining people who can help you make the entire thing real.

2. Share skills

Once you’ve shared your ideas around, it’s a good idea to find people with the skills you don’t have. A developer isn’t more valuable than a marketer, and visa versa.

For example, marketing an idea can get you funding without even having anything coded. So if you think you need technical skills to get started, you really don’t.

You’re just as valuable!

3. Agree on time

Once you have people to work with, come to some agreements on how much time each of you can put in. Then you can divide the reward according to the effort.

Maybe Jordan and Robin can only devote 4 hours a week each. Let them — that’s 8 more hours work done every week for the project.

4. Get feedback

As Dylan Field puts it, there’s 2 ways to go about building a product:

The Lean Startup Doctrine
Stealth Mode (or the Cult of Apple)

“The former is all about building quickly and publicly, the latter carefully and secretly. People in Silicon Valley don’t always know which altar to worship at..”

The raw reality of startup stealth mode

For projects with limited time and financial backing, I’d say being lean and open is probably the better option. Sharing your progress with your audience, especially in the very early days can help build a following and shape your product.

This is the philosophy Buffer used when building their product, and the same one that Product Hunt advocate with Ship. Read more about it below:

Ship by Product Hunt

5. Build a list of subscribers

Sharing valuable content for the industry your product is targeted to can also help you build a list of subscribers — you just have to ask. This is one of the best ways to build an audience without even having a product.

As people read your stuff, you can ask them to sign up to your email list for news and early access to the product you’re building.
Make sure you share your articles in the right places though — there’s no point writing them if nobody is going to read them.
Try not to be salesy — offer your audience stuff that actually helps them. Then they’re more likely to look to you for more in the future.

It’s all about helping other people out really, not yourself.

6. Watch more TV and get more sleep

might as well.

good luck and good night. sometimes it’s better to share unfinished drafts than sharing nothing at all too

7. Remember you don’t need to be a unicorn

just read this 🦄🐴:

Proud to be a Donkey: BuzzSumo Reflections on Growing a $5m SaaS Business

<a href="https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href">https://medium.com/media/b85dfbb5286d8a25cf2e754b9462cf45/href</a>

Bury the Grind, Work Together was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Bury the Grind, Work Together

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