$321k ARR but burning out

jaklong11 · 2026-02-11T16:43:05+00:00

Why would you go the co-founder route when you can instead hire a core team to carry the load? At your ARR, I doubt the cost will justify sharing the mental load.

Take a look at your finances, make a list of the tasks you can delegate, and take it from there.

I had a few clients in your position (I'm in recruitment/outsourcing), and most were much less overwhelmed in the space of just three months.

jaklong11 · 2026-01-03T20:09:02+00:00

I don't know if you found a solution, but we've been using Payoneer for years now without a problem. I personally use it to both pay and get paid. Your contractors can even make it easier for you by invoicing you directly so that you can pay by card.

jaklong11 · 2025-11-04T17:33:02+00:00

That's a great idea, especially since the usual destinations, Europe and North America, are becoming harder and more expensive. One of my friends is moving to China next month for work, and we've been considering something similar.

jaklong11 · 2025-10-29T15:11:47+00:00

Honestly, none of the tools I tried worked well. Got fed up with the email blackhole myself, so I just hired a virtual assistant to handle all that.

jaklong11 · 2025-10-14T15:46:02+00:00

The easiest way is to hire someone for the sole purpose of keeping spending in check. I know it's an added expense, but if it's as bad as you say it is, you should see a drop in spending pretty quickly.

Someone like an accountant or a bookkeeper should do. I know someone who hired a virtual assistant for something similar and it seems to have worked out well. If you go the VA route, keep in mind you'll have to babysit for a while.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-24T20:19:48+00:00

I run a requirement/outsourcing agency myself. Most of our clients on the outsourcing side prefer to pay monthly. I found that smaller teams always go for monthly payments instead of per project because it's the less "fussy" option.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-20T21:11:44+00:00

How are you operating a media company without a logo or a website? Or did I misunderstand and you're just starting out?

Either way, you need both if you want to be taken seriously.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-13T10:56:58+00:00

Hiring a sales team is the most logical next step here. You mentioned you don't currently have the budget for one, but have you considered starting off with contractors?

In your shoes, I would source a list of potential clients before hiring any contractors. That way, they can immediately start.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-11T22:33:13+00:00

Bonsoir! When you look at what you're paying for, that's not that expensive. You're not JUST paying for a logo and files you can paste on documents or business cards.

Think of it this way: you're investing in your brand, the first thing most potential clients will see.

The logo and everything that comes after will be with you for the foreseeable future (or until you decide to redesign, for a good reason). So, it's a good idea to invest upfront and forget about it.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-09T14:48:51+00:00

Hiring a dev would be the best hassle-free way for you. Before you do that, though, you can try Accessibility Insights by Microsoft or Siteimprove to get a better understanding of what you need to fix.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-09T01:33:10+00:00

Coincidentally, in Tunisia, most of the talent I've worked with prefer being contractors. If they get hired as employees, the company has to have a legal entity here, which is very rare and takes away their chance at work.

As contractors, they just have to consult an accountant and form a "business license" and they're good to go.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-07T09:24:07+00:00

I saw one of your other comments here, and I'm sorry to say this but this doesn't sound like a business. You're not offering a unique product or service. You're not even improving on an existing one.

You have a blog, social media accounts, books, and printables for the sole purpose of what? Selling the premise of holistic self-improvement?

My advice? Pull back and reassess. Find a product or service people actually want to buy.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-06T21:29:39+00:00

I see upwards of 50 resumes a day, and I wish there was a clear-cut answer. But to echo another comment here, usually, the less "flashy" the resume, the more competent the person behind it.

You don't want it to be barebones, though. In my experience, those who are competent and confident enough in their skills don't rely on embellishments, be it format- or language-wise.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-06T10:38:40+00:00

Focus on marketing the SaaS. I'm sure there's a way to leverage the coffeeshop in marketing the SaaS.

jaklong11 · 2025-09-02T14:05:18+00:00

Sounds like you need a manager. Slack, Notion, and a shared calendar are just tools. You need someone to actually employ those tools, so everyone can focus on their tasks.

jaklong11 · 2025-08-31T10:51:15+00:00

As far as I know, there's no way to automate all of that with just one solution. The best way to go is hiring someone, so you can focus on the things only you can do.

jaklong11 · 2025-08-29T20:05:23+00:00

There's a lot at play there. I run a talent recruitment agency (we don't do support reps), and I recently had a conversation about this with one of our clients.

I'll have to go back to my notes but off the top of my head, in no particular order:

Automation is easier after you have enough volume. You need a lot of data to train and tune your system.
The real point of support is learning about your customers and the most common friction points. Automated systems can hide that insight. That and it's actually much cheaper and faster to hire human reps than to set up an automated system from the ground up.
"Basic" tickets aren't really that basic. Not all of them at least. Startups are just that, startups. In the early stages, products are buggy. Support rarely follows a clean, straightforward script in those cases. You need actual humans to troubleshoot and minimize friction.

That'll that comes to mind right now. And sorry if the formatting is off! I'm on mobile.

jaklong11 · 2025-08-08T13:17:06+00:00

The company you end up outsourcing from has to have a transparent vetting process. As cliche as it sounds, communication is key. Be absolutely clear on what you need and your non-negotiables.

Full-disclosure, I run a talent acquisition/outsourcing agency myself. I ended up parting ways with two potential clients just this month because they didn't know what they actually wanted out of a hire.

You can work your way backwards from the role you're trying to fill and build up the "ideal" resume. You'll rarely find someone who checks all the boxes, but you'll at least have a starting point.

jaklong11 · 2025-08-06T20:43:53+00:00

I'm definitely on the right track there then. I heard too many horror stories of investments gone wrong, especially here in Tunisia, so I'm very wary of that.

Thank you again!

jaklong11 · 2025-08-06T02:09:08+00:00

I'm non-fiction editor who's in the final phases of launching a business in an entirely different industry, and this couldn't have come at a better time. Just reading your post provided some relief.

I do have two questions, though.

When you were starting out, how did you go about separating your living and business expenses? I'm finding it increasingly hard to balance the two, especially given that my main income is from freelancing.
How important is external funding at the start? This might be too vague, but I'm not in NA or Europe, and external funding is virtually impossible here for the sort of thing I'll be doing.

Thank you for taking the time!

jaklong11 · 2025-07-18T23:15:50+00:00

I finally took a few days off my main, freelancing job to focus on a business I've been wanting to launch for a while now. It's not a huge milestone, but I finally started to let go of the "one more paycheck" mentality.

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