A year ago, I got laid off. I had been working at that job for two years — it was my first job as a web developer (I had a career in marketing before) and my first job in the United States. And it happened right in the middle of my paternity leave. It sucked.
I got a good severance, and then I applied for unemployment. So I was somewhat financially secure, and I tried my best to figure out what to do next.
I saw three paths — to create a personal project, monetize it, and become an awesome indie hacker; to open my own agency and build websites and web apps for clients; and to find a job.
I tried them all — and more — and failed.
I started interviewing with companies at the end of last August. The market had already started to get pretty shitty, but I still managed to land some interviews. I talked to six companies and reached the final round with four, but got rejected for different reasons. Around the same time, I published a post about my experience that blew up on Hacker News, and several founders reached out to me, but it still didn’t work out.
I loved the whole build-in-public community, and I tried my best to find something amazing I could monetize. I launched nine projects, but none of them succeeded.
At the end of last year, a friend asked me to help with the website for his startup, and that became the beginning of a new journey — I decided to start a one-person agency and help businesses grow their online presence. I had several clients, but it didn’t grow much. I talked to almost every business around me, reached out to 50+ ex-coworkers, told all my friends. But it just didn’t work out. At least not as I expected. At least not this time.
And at the same time, I started to burn out. Apparently, it’s not easy to stay positive when you need to make money, take care of a newborn, and keep your family life steady.
The last drop came when a friend of mine started her own project and, after a few discussions, asked me to help with marketing. We started to collaborate, but she was focused on raising money, so it didn’t work out. I hope she succeeds in her journey, though, since the idea is really great.
By this time, I was exhausted. I felt like shit and stopped planning anything.
I took a few weeks off from everything but family. No hustle, just calm. I started therapy again, got some meds, and I began to feel much better.
So yeah, I think I’m ready. I’m coming back. I’m starting at square one.
I’m already working on a project, which I’ll talk about pretty soon.
Any advice or words of encouragement are appreciated!
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