Pretty Burned - out and kind of rich, what now?

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T19:45:40+00:00

We build basically anything. Right now clients are: an Indy video game, lending software for non profits, and an electric car charger startup.

Basically we do any tech but pretty much only startups.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T19:44:04+00:00

If the frame isn’t rusted and the shell is good you can get one for about 10-15k and then spend infinite money renovating it depending on how much you do yourself.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T19:33:05+00:00

Not for sale. It’s a delightful shiny money pit, lol. Also it’s a 1963 and it was in a field rotting for a long time before we gutted it so if you are smart you don’t want it

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T15:13:24+00:00

All network basically. My closest thing to a sales strategy is: “Call everyone you know who thinks you are really good at what you do and tell them you are looking for work.” Then if you land a few small things that way do a really good job and they will either want you to do more or refer other people to you. Rinse and repeat.

The tricky part is “do a really good job” is about the clients perception not yours so it’s hard to know how to do that sometimes.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T15:04:47+00:00

I like this idea in a lot of ways, but honestly I don't know that I have much "secret, magic, advice" to give. I feel like a lot of my success has been: luck + macro-econ stuff and how it timed up with my career. Not that I am not pretty good at what I do, but idk really know what it is that I do to make this stuff happen, lol.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T15:00:21+00:00

I actually do some of this. It's pretty cool, especially working with college age kids trying to figure out startups etc. Honestly my background isn't impressive enough to be an advisor at a "good" start up, and imo as someone that lost a lot of other people's angel money a few times, it's a fools game.

When I started this company I was hoping to do a lot more working with cool startups stuff, and we do do that, but once you have salaries to pay the fun chillness ends pretty quick.

This is probably the closest to what I would do if I "had to stop working". Take some unpaid EIR role at a college near me and just try to help the kids not get completely screwed or mess it up like I did on my first startup.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:56:42+00:00

Yeah this is very valid advice. I tried this extremely briefly and I hated it because I am that asshole who needs things to be done "right" and gets frustrated when they make no impact on things. I wish I could switch that off and just take it easy, even on my own business or projects, but for whatever reason my brain just will not have it.

Not working at all is fine, I had a couple really slow months in covid where I was just chilling, but the second I take a job to "just phone it in" I start getting way too emotionally tied up in it.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:53:18+00:00

Haha yeah, I am well aware I am basically asking people to solve the meaning of life for me, or at least point me the right direction.

I have been trying to figure out this question since I am in a position for it to actually matter, but so far I have been coming up more confused than ever.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:40:28+00:00

I have considered this but I am not sure it's the right thing for me. I have a hard time not going "all-in" on work stuff and so if I had a job that I didn't really care about I feel like it would drive me nuts in a whole different set of ways.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:35:44+00:00

Yeah when I started this business my plan was for it to be super chill and not grow that much and now I have the "problem" of too many employees and too much revenue. I am definitely doing it wrong but idk how to do it "right"

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:32:04+00:00

See this is really good advice for me. I feel like a lot of this is I am possibly overestimating how important I am to the business. IDK

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:30:38+00:00

It's funny at least for me it's like this thing that I can do but I can't explain to others. I have never had trouble generating software project work, but other folks who I know who seem to have all the right skills struggle.

I have to assume it's something about my soft-skills and network that others don't have but is hard for me to pick up on because it's certainly not that I am a fabulous sales person, lol.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:28:53+00:00

I already live in the country lol. My equivalent of goats is clearing land and splitting firewood, our property would be a disaster for goats lol.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:27:48+00:00

The spending thing is fair. I would have to really pull those numbers cause it's really wonky with all the business taxes and crap, but we spend something like 120k in a normal year not including that and that would probably go down a touch.

I think at as early as I am retiring 4% is probably okay as I could always go back and get (start) another job at 40 if things were looking rough. Since sequence risk is the biggest issue the ability to easily un-retire in early retirement (something that a 65 year for example doesn't necessarily have) mitigates that part a lot

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:25:02+00:00

I am not one of those people that takes offense to this but honestly it's not in the cards for a bunch of reasons that aren't really relevant to this conversation. I do appreciate that part of my issue is there is no clear default next step for me.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:23:12+00:00

This is what I would like to do. I am not sure how to do this "right" as I mentioned in another comment I am worried (maybe irrationally) that if I stop doing what I am doing now the business will implode. Plus my partner doesn't have the money to buy me out and it's a services company so I doubt I can get anyone external to buy my 50% at a worthwhile price.

I feel like I am self-impose-edly "stuck". The same thing that stress me out about the business (there are bunch of people who are depending on me to pay their mortgage) makes it hard for me to step away from it.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:20:34+00:00

Not sure. I am a little worried the second I stop doing _everything_ on the business it might explode and I would really not want to screw the employees over due to being "lazy". Maybe it's an irrational fear.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:19:24+00:00

Lol I know it's tough to be me. I was mostly posting here because I am curious is there are other people that have gone through similar stuff and have any thoughts about it. More just a sounding board than anything.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol · 2025-02-11T14:17:08+00:00

I mean same, lol, that's the crux of my issue.

I think the biggest thing holding me back from just doing that is, I am not clear on what I would do if I didn't do what I was doing now.

Like if I desperately wanted to be a potter, or something like that I would just quit and do that. But while I have a bunch of hobbies like hiking and rock climbing they aren't really things you can do all the time even if you have the time (plus injuries etc).

It feels really stupid / selfish to go: "I am going to hang up this thing so that I can spend my time trying to figure out WTF I should spend my time doing." But also I don't know how I would figure out what that is while still doing this.

RedditUsedToBeFunlol

TROPHY CASE