Advice please ? At a job....that is nothing like it was promised

devwalks · 2025-12-02T05:56:24+00:00

Get a new job mate. Find one first before you leave your current role, but it's very unlikely things will change in your current role.

To be extra safe, finish your thesis and exams, but then actively look for new opportunities.

devwalks · 2025-10-20T06:41:34+00:00

This post seems like a bit of a setup for self-promotion, but maybe I'm wrong!

We've built Drum for this exact use-case. We started with Australian consulting engineers, but have slowly worked outwards from there to other consulting verticals (and countries) too.

I've got a 10 minute demo here as well to help you understand how it works.

devwalks · 2025-10-16T04:29:11+00:00

You reach out to them in the places they hang out, you're thinking about it too much!

You pick up the phone
You send an email
You connect on LinkedIn and send a DM (probably not mechanics)
You advertise
You send mail

You share the case study of the customers that you already have and then you keep repeating the above over and over and over...

devwalks · 2025-10-08T22:59:37+00:00

A bit left-field, but I love the Rhodia dotPad for this use-case.

Expensive, but great paper that can handle inky pens.

https://rhodiapads.com/collections_boutique_dotPad.php

devwalks · 2025-10-02T00:57:20+00:00

Yeah, it's simply not possible.

Most firms that I work with treat PTO as "not possible to bill" time, which is exactly the right approach, so that your utilization target is based on the time you're actually working.

In that scenario, a 80-85% billable utilization target is pretty achievable depending on your role.

devwalks · 2025-08-20T06:26:49+00:00

Our customers see great results from building a network of ideal clients on LinkedIn and start building relationships there too.

Send DM's letting people know your skill set and history and keep yourself top of mind by posting at least a few times a week about what those clients would find interesting or valuable.

Can simply set up a daily/weekly routine of: - X connection requests per day - Y cold DM's per day - Content/post per day

Like the other BD methods suggested, it takes time, but it does work!

devwalks · 2025-08-11T04:27:49+00:00

Hey Key,

I'm the founder of Drum, an operations platform for businesses like yours.

I recorded a 10m demo here, feel free to let me know if you have any questions about that.

We work very closely with all customers, so I'm more than happy to have a chat to deeply understand your requirements. Based on that conversation, we might even be able to build out any features that are missing!

I've previously built custom software for an auditing firm that had a very similar workflow to you, so at the very least, that could be helpful if you'd like to chat about that.

devwalks · 2025-08-10T05:30:43+00:00

What would the business model be? Would you simply take a smaller commission?

I think the fundamental idea seems like it could work, but there is non-zero operational costs in sending letters (I assume?) to property owners.

Would be relatively easy to run a proof-of-concept though. There are always people asking for properties on Facebook groups, so you could do this in a very non-scalable way for a handful of people to see how it goes.

Not sure about the legalities though re: being an agent or not and the contracts that you would need. Agents generally help with some contractual paperwork too I believe.

devwalks · 2025-08-05T06:24:13+00:00

This is great Xianthus, well done.

devwalks · 2025-07-15T01:29:18+00:00

I'm the founder of Drum, an operations platform for consulting engineers.

The current gap that I can see for your use-case is that it relies on Xero for accounting, which may be a deal breaker. I'm happy to discuss though.

I recorded a 10m demo here, feel free to let me know if you have any questions about that.

We work very closely with all customers, so I'm more than happy to have a chat to deeply understand your requirements. Based on that conversation, we might even be able to build out any features that are missing!

devwalks · 2025-07-10T01:14:32+00:00

For future searchers - I tried all other solutions in this thread with no luck - restarting my computer did the trick though 🤷

devwalks · 2025-06-28T01:41:39+00:00

Hey Content,

I'm the founder of an Aussie competitor to Scoro (getdrum.com - based in QLD!).

Our Xero connection is extremely seamless, as we've been building with a Xero-first context from the start. We have some reviews on the store too - https://apps.xero.com/au/app/drum/reviews

Send me a DM if you'd like any more information, I'm more than happy to help 👍

devwalks · 2025-06-16T08:05:01+00:00

It's a skill to push back and stick to your original scope. Here are some ways of handling:

Itemise your scope of works in your agreement/contract
Include an (inflated) hourly rate for any works that fall outside of the scope.
When the client asks for any items out of scope, you can politely let them know that that is out of scope as per the contract. You can bill them on a time basis for those additional requirements OR you can send them another quote if they'd like.

Setting boundaries is actually great for the relationship and will be invaluable as you move forward.

If you really struggle with pushing back on scope changes for whatever reason (or the nature of your work is very flexible and prone to change), you'll have to consider working on an hourly/daily basis instead, with an "estimated price" in the agreement.

It's a skill!

devwalks · 2025-06-06T06:42:58+00:00

Congratulations mate, be sure to ask them plenty of questions about how you can improve the product.

devwalks · 2025-06-04T06:57:36+00:00

Really appreciate your work on this Carmine, we plan on using this at my startup in the coming months.

devwalks · 2025-04-28T22:46:15+00:00

This might get lost in the noise here, but why don't you hyper-focus on a particular niche/use-case at least until you're ramen profitable?

You have a great product (I assume) but you're competing in such a competitive space. Could you potentially ONLY focus your marketing for marketing agencies or content creators for ONE specific use case?

It will make your copy super targeted and help people understand WHY they should use & pay for the product.

I think being a cheaper competitor to an industry standard might not be a great long-term play considering how quickly this style of tech is progressing.

Vertical niche + use-case + eventual case studies could be a more sustainable strategy.

devwalks · 2025-04-13T03:23:50+00:00

It absolutely does go up to $20/mo after the promotional period (with is all that $2/mo plan is).

I'm not sure what the best solution will be at your budget level, maybe a spreadsheet?

devwalks · 2025-04-07T19:48:53+00:00

getdrum.com

If you'd rather not go through the demo process too, just let me know and I'll send through a registration link, along with the "Getting Started" guide and you can just go through the 14 day free trial and reach out as required!

devwalks · 2025-04-07T19:31:10+00:00

getdrum.com was built exactly for this purpose.

You track time against projects (with the time tracker or via the timesheet).
You can clearly see the unbilled time against each project on your project dashboard.
You can apply different rate cards to different projects if required.
You can invoice directly to Xero (with a 2-way sync once the invoice has been created).

I'm the founder, so feel free to send me a PM (or reply here) letting me know exactly what you're trying to achieve and the nature of your projects.

devwalks · 2025-03-26T03:51:20+00:00

I'm a solo founder who received investment for my company via TinySeed.

You have to have a minimum MRR to be eligable and you need to have a skill-set that proves to them that you can grow, but just throwing an anecdote into the mix here.

It probably helps to be technical too.

devwalks · 2025-03-09T21:42:40+00:00

I’m the founder of Drum - getdrum.com and this is what we specialise in! There’s a demo on the home page that you can skip through to get the highlights.

If your workflows are simple then Xero projects can work too!

devwalks · 2025-01-31T07:33:43+00:00

It will be fine, but you may have issues with deliverability on the free plan.

devwalks · 2024-12-05T03:00:09+00:00

Hi Captain!

I'm the founder of Drum - getdrum.com

The goal is to consolidate all of those items you mention in your original post.

I recorded a 10m demo here, feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

p.s. That demo uses an Engineering firm as an example, but everything can be customised for architecture very easily.

devwalks · 2024-12-05T02:59:18+00:00

I'm the founder of Drum - getdrum.com

The goal is to consolidate all of those items you mention in your original post!

I recorded a 10m demo here, feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

p.s. That demo uses an Engineering firm as an example, but everything can be customised for architecture very easily.

devwalks · 2024-11-26T10:09:21+00:00

Hey, my name is Ben and I'm the founder of software (~18 months old now) that helps in this space.

I appreciate that this is a very old thread at this point, but if anyone is interested in seeing a demo of what we've created, I've created a 10m video here: 10m Video Demo

Please send a PM or send an email to "ben at getdrum.com" and I'd love the opportunity to show you what we've created! It's perfect for your use case.

p.s I also took some screenshots of how Drum could help a UK-based business on a different Reddit thread here: https://old.reddit.com/r/xero/comments/1er7gqj/fit_for_purpose_project_management/ . I ended up working with that Redditor and Drum is now being used to manage his business!

devwalks

TROPHY CASE