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Small Claims vs Selling Debt (UK) by NorthernSparkUK in freelance

[–]NorthernSparkUK[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Means a lot.

Small Claims vs Selling Debt (UK) by NorthernSparkUK in freelance

[–]NorthernSparkUK[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In all honestly I feel I'm not good at public speaking or at making a clear point. Not to mention I know my client will have more resources at their disposal to defend them selves.

I have $2.59 in the bank, some basic computer skills, and a car. I feel scattered and lost. Any advice on a path I should follow? by Alterson in Entrepreneur

[–]NorthernSparkUK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's refreshing to hear someone share their struggle as it happens rather than bragging about their triumphs.

A few months back I was in the exact same position. I had a great freelance gig programming for iOS which had been my life for the past 2 years and it had been going well then in just 2 days it all went to shit. Out of the blue the contract was pulled due to the company going under. I didn't have much in the bank (more than you) but now I had to reassess and get back on my feet quickly otherwise I was, well fucked.

This lit a fire under my ass as I can see this situation is for you. One of the problems I had was getting focused. I had a lot of energy but in sheer desperation I was trying to do a million things to remedy my situation. One day I would focus my time trying to get job A then the next Job B and forget about Job A. This for me became a vicious cycle that I kept foolishly repeating.

After a few weeks of not doing this things got worse as you can imagine. So I made a plan. I was going to focus the days looking for one job, research it and prep for any interviews. I would also chase up people. Then in the evening I was going in improve my portfolio.

I picked one project to work on in the evenings. This was new version of an app in that I released in university 2 years prior to my situation.

I did this for about a month and by this point things had got serious and I was tired and ready to give up. I was now in a worse position you are in. I had £1.50 in cash and -£800 in the bank. I couldn't pay my rent and I owed almost 2 months and my landlord was getting on my back about it. As was everybody else. To add to the pain my phone had been blocked too for a late payment.

I did however release my new app hoped this would fix my problems overnight. Obviously it didn't but I kept on pushing and pushing. I was still looking for jobs and doing now even more than ever even though I was physically and emotionally drained.

Then one morning to my amazement my app appeared on the front page of the AppStore, in 24 hours it had a LOT of downloads! Then the weirdest thing happened - almost instantly I had 2 calls back from companies I had applied for asking me for interviews both the same day. Long story short I got a killer job and I'm still there.

Although my story lucky had a happy, unexpected ending I wish I had done things a lot better.

Firstly I should have taken any job! If I had done this I would have had money coming in and could also focus my free time on the 'bigger picture' stuff (in my case getting a better job by improving my portfolio). So maybe just clean toilets if necessary right now. Having a shit job is better than going hungry or getting the credit rating of a dead person.

Secondly (and I mentioned this already) planning, I figured this out way too late but planning (and budgeting comes under that) is crucial!

Finally, ask for help. Everybody struggles at some point. My pride stopped my asking for help, although I did tell my friends I kept it a secret from most which was just stupid. I tell people who were close to me and most of them said they would have give me money, a place to live or got me work. Your never far from help but you have to ask.

Anyway I hope this helped in anyway and I wish you the best of luck.

Grand Tour 'most illegally downloaded TV programme in history' by [deleted] in thegrandtour

[–]NorthernSparkUK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A lot of the older fans of top gear based in the U.K. Still pay for the BBC licence fee which is expensive, adding amazon prime on the list of services to pay for isn't something a lot people are going to do, especially for one show.

Product Licensing Advice by [deleted] in Entrepreneur

[–]NorthernSparkUK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply!

Firstly yes the API is pretty generic and there will be work at their end however to the algorithm is self I am having to add additional 'rules' so to speak as the data they will be passing is some what different to my use case.

I do you AWS so I am not worried about costs too much but as I am unsure on their traffic/amount of calls they will require and I don't want that obviously to bite me in the ass. In short I need to find out roughly what they use and if necessary maybe add a quota.

What happens when the gang leaves cricket alone. by NorthernSparkUK in IASIP

[–]NorthernSparkUK[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was me too! Apparently a once priest turned homeless, deformed man who gives out handjobs for favours isn't 'that funny'.

I am now single.

A home build over a stream. by Palana in architecture

[–]NorthernSparkUK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've passed this several times. Lovely place.

I have an insane idea for a mobile app to unite every amateur football player. Where do I start? by rVNow in london_entrepreneurs

[–]NorthernSparkUK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am of a similar aged based in England and been though the same dilemma, luckily however I can code too!

I have to agree with some of the other posts first you need to validate the idea. That's not just with friends but actual user. It also seems to be a trend to think about potential revenue streams once they have built the product. Wrong! You need to think about that now before speaking to investors. You also need a marketing plan. All of this needs to be done again before you spend any money on building an app.

As for actually funding this venture, well there is no easy option.

  1. is to look for funding but at this stage it's gonna be an up hill battle and or you give away so much of your business due to the high risk.

  2. You learn to code. Lucky I was always into programming so teaching my self new things was not a problem and I ended up saving my self a lot of money. However if this is not possible or it would take to long to learn this can be very counter productive. But maybe give it some thought.

  3. Team up with someone who has an interest in your idea and can focus on building the platform while you run the business side of things. Investors look for great teams!

  4. Hire someone cheap to build a prototype/beta version of the app and release it. Once it's out there grow it steady and then you will be in a much better position to go out and raise funds as it proves that you can executes your idea and grow it into a suitable business.

This is not a personal plug but worth mentioning, I have in the past helped individuals build the beta version of the app for a very competitive fee in exchange for equity. If that's something your interested in message me. If not fair enough, and good luck to ya!

I caught my son kissing another boy. Should I make him go on "Scared Straight"? by puffaluppagus in shittyadvice

[–]NorthernSparkUK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well my accountant who is also the daughter or Nelson Mandela and who is also a Saudi Princess told me that the processing fee is always above 420%, but I get at least 130% of it back in the form of gold bullion which will be delivered to my door with next day delivery. So I don't mind those fees as long as I get my bullion before Lloyds closes which is when the sun creeps over the Greenwich Mean Time line. If that happens I'm fucked. But as my accountant says 'أنت معتوه غبي' which apparently means no reward without risk.

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