[patatino]

Congrats on selling your first side project!

I do not look at side projects that are set up to make money as side projects. Those are businesses you create with the goal of making money. And when you also have a full-time job creating a business on the side is hard enough, so no fun projects.

Basically, I look at it this way:

A) Fulltime job + building a business on the side

B) Fulltime job + fun projects

I don't mix those. Sure, sometimes you set up a new project to try out new technology. But that is for learning, and you do not have to finish the product.

[purple-leafy]

Thanks!

Yes I think I need to start calling these things as they are, business (on the side)

It is very hard doing a full time job and doing a side business, I’m wondering how some folk manage to make it work. I certainly struggle to

[enasterosophes]

> It is very hard doing a full time job and doing a side business, I’m wondering how some folk manage to make it work. I certainly struggle to

Manage expectations.

I earn a comfortable amount of money in $DAYJOB (openstack devops) and I've started building a consulting business on the side. That's amidst other side projects that won't ever earn money.

I make it work by not expecting my business to build quickly. I focus on making my dayjob work, because that's where the reliable money is coming from, and I make sure I have enough time to relax and appreciate life. I work on my business when I have time and energy left over.

One day I may get enough clients that I can start thinking about reversing the priorities, pushing back on the dayjob to make more time for the business. But if that day never comes, I'm still happy: I'm not going to be homeless any time soon, and regardless of what happens, I have a high probability of a good retirement in 15 or 20 years due to investments I've already made.

You must be young. I also used to stress about how I could never get enough done, and beat myself up for not being able to fill every waking moment with something productive. You'll eventually learn that this is the path to burnout. I wonder if it's necessary to burn out first before you learn the lesson ...