I'm spending possibly too many hours in front of a screen, but no matter how hard I hit the road, it still feels like I'm too far away from where I want to be. It's a delicate balance, I admit. One that I struggle to find. Enjoying your life, and I mean that literally, while also keeping yourself accountable for your reality.
Over the past few weeks, however, I've had a lot of time to think about my current "business models." Please note the air quotes.
For a long time, many of us held onto the same idea. The markets would eventually turn around, greener pastures would emerge, and we'd finally be able to breathe a little easier. Maybe even enjoy some relief, if not outright joy.
Lately, though, I've started to question whether that plan, if I can even call it a plan, is realistic. Worse, I wonder if it's actually self destructive.
To be clear, I'm not quitting or anything of the sort. After nine years in this place, the crab bucket is too deep for my short claws. But I am taking a very serious look at where I'm investing my time and energy.
I need to become bear resistant.
It can't be that even if the market eventually turns around, I find myself right back in this exact position a year or two later. That's not sustainable. I suspect my liver isn't particularly fond of the arrangement either.
As much as it pains me to say it, I may have to conclude that the plan of simply living off crypto is not a particularly smart one.
About a year ago, I started working on a Point of Sale system. My goal was to help push the HBD economy forward. In that sense, it worked. But beyond that, not much happened.
Recently, though, I think I've identified a gap in the market. More importantly, I believe I've identified potential clients who actually need a solution. That's where my attention is heading now.
Is the world becoming one giant SaaS subscription?
It certainly seems that way. Then again, maybe that's exactly what people want. I'm not entirely sure.
What I do know is that I've been doing a lot of research, having a lot of conversations, and speaking with my first potential clients. Hopefully, I'll have some wins to report on that front soon.
A short description of the idea would be this: imagine something analogous to WordPress, but focused on image management and Point of Sale systems. A flexible core platform, extended through plugins that adapt to different needs and workflows. Something versatile enough to bend to the user's requirements rather than forcing the user to adapt to it.
Am I onto something?
I think so.
But this is one climb I suspect I'll be making by myself.
MenO
Interesting idea ! Personally, I hate that the world is moving towards an SaaS model, but I accept that's the way the world is.
From a business perspective, I've just gone through a serious process recently of trimming out those packages I don't use enough or which are no longer value for money. Too many packages have gone from £5, £10 or £20 a month two years ago to £50 or £100 or more a month now. That's an increase way above inflation, and almost always because the companies involved have been bought out by venture capital. It leaves a gap in the market for good products that are sensibly priced.
I like the plugin model that Wordpress uses, but it's something which will need careful thought and long-term planning. We dropped a WooCommerce site last year (which is effectively a Wordpress plugin), because it was getting incredibly slow, clunky and unmanageable. The key issues were plugins that stopped playing nice with each other as different teams updated each one, combined with problems handling growing volumes of historical data. With nearly 10,000 products and a stack of historical order data growing by several thousand a month, plus some real inefficiencies around email handling, it just didn't work.
So it's definitely a good idea, but needs good planning. It could create you a huge workload, though, so I'd suggest documenting everything as you do it so that it's easy to bring other talented coders onboard when you need them (not to mention that good documentation can be make or break from a user perspective). I wonder if using HBD as the native crypto, but enabling customers to pay in BTC, ETH etc that gets converted to HBD to minimise fees, would be a great core integration. Some people run from crypto, but if you can make it feel like a natural part of the system that might be less of an issue.
I'd say go for it, even though there is a lot to consider and a huge amount of marketing needed ! Just make sure you plan it out so you don't get overwhelmed, and make sure the monetisation model works for the users but also gives you enough to make it worthwhile !
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This is such a relatable write up!
I used to say I'M NOT QUITTING, but of course, I also need to acknowledge the depth of the bucket that shows resilience.
We're not giving up, but we're also being honest about the limits of our current situation. Happy Sunday! 😇
I think that hope basically is based on the fact that costumers will willingly come to your store-solution-app and use it, making you rich in the process. However I better business model is to go out and get the costumers into using your app and finding if its really amount to all that blam. So here is another idea, why not Ad your app and monitor the incoming traffic and constantly improve it until you get to the traffic you want to see through.
Just like any neuromarketing strategy, appeal to their feelings, hopes and desires, or even fears, and see if you are being efficient. There are so many Hive narratives that I heard brought up to the front by people like theycallmedan however none of these ever really materialize into a core message to get people into Hive. So why not do it individually toward your app, maybe, and maybe maybe.... it works.
I recommend you to check out my 3Speak Hive Marketing posts on sales, marketing, and business to get some ideas.
Excellent reflection, @meno. I'm particularly struck by that phrase: "Hope is not a business model." So true. That blind faith that "the market will turn around" can become complacent, even self-destructive. I love that you're identifying a real niche with potential clients, not just speculation. Moving from "surviving on crypto" to building something useful (that POS system + image management) is the way forward. Best of luck with your progress.
🤜✍️
(Google Translation)
This hits right in the feels The title itself is a gold standard truth Hope is not a business model,' but consistency and endurance definitely are. The grind in front of the screen can feel incredibly exhausting and distant sometimes, but looking at the powerful imagery you shared, every step up that rugged mountain counts. You are building, solving, and enduring every single day, and that progress is real even if the destination feels far right now. Take some well-deserved rest, brother. Your dedication is highly inspiring to the rest of the Hive community! Keep pushing forward 💪"
hope always to be in our lives
sounds all good. u gotta do what u think is best for u.. and for sure HBD is awesome, so there's that.. ;)
#hive #posh
Amazing idea! It’s a fresh vision that deserves to be developed further I truly hope you achieve great success with your creativity
I completely agree with you that just wishing for success doesn't work at all. We need a real practical plan to survive in real life. In the tech and crypto world relying on hype or waiting for luck will eventually run a project into the ground (can't be skied at all).
Instead of just hoping people will show up we have to actively build good features and to solve real problems also should look to make a sustainable strategy. True success comes from hard work and smart execution not just good intentions needed for that...