[{"plot":{"name":"Musing","href":"/p/musing"},"title":"Help Me Retain Project Motivation","published":"2024-05-05T12:14:56.000Z","updated":"2024-05-05T12:14:56.000Z","tags":[],"href":"/p/musing/help-retain-project-motivation","metadata":{"title":"Help Me Retain Project Motivation","published":"2024-05-05T12:14:56.000Z","description":"I have difficulty holding onto my aspirations in the face of competition"},"content":"

I go through phases where I have a strong desire to build and sustain a project that goes beyond basic personal tools; around the scale that demands a small company for upkeep and enhancement.\nThe idea of running a thriving small company where I can address the problems that I want to focus on and steer development towards my own goals sounds both exciting and daunting.

The perceived challenge and risk is where I seem to stumble; cliche no?\nWhen I get into one of these moods where I am interested in creating a revenue-driving product, I get into performing some basic market research and run into existing companies with solutions that are already actively being worked on.\nThese are already staffed, driving revenue, and have community adoption.\nThe simple fact that there is competition kills motivation.\nNot because I want a non-competitive market to participate in, but more because I don’t have a stream of throwaway capital, an excess of time, or interested parties to help me create something new (it’s just me).\nI know, in the back of my head, that these are common challenges for starting any new venture, but I still don’t know how to retain strong motivation in the face of these barriers.

My question is, how to you effectively mitigate apprehension to creating a new product/service when existing well-funded and well-staffed competition exists and is seemingly thriving?

Here is the only real distilled advice that I can find:

Differentiate yourself from the competition by conducting competitive analysis of the market landscape, discovering and defining a target niche in the market, and make a simple product that offers 10x more value to consumers than the competition in that niche.

The competition sounds a little bit more digestible when framed like that. However, the little pessimist inside me still feels as though this insight is presuming that you have the immediate means to fund and build the product.\nRationally, I think if you have good people working with you (inspiring you day-to-day), the fears of tackling the competition alone are no longer such a significant hurdle.

"},{"plot":{"name":"Musing","href":"/p/musing"},"title":"My Career Colors My Reading","published":"2024-04-20T11:49:37.000Z","updated":"2024-04-20T11:49:37.000Z","tags":[],"href":"/p/musing/how-my-career-colors-my-reading","metadata":{"title":"My Career Colors My Reading","published":"2024-04-20T11:49:37.000Z","description":"Avoid a software-colored reading monochrome"},"content":"

I try my best to avoid hyper-focusing on this software engineering gig I’ve seemed to be wedged into.\nMy day-to-day is a constant barage of design patterns, code critique, and unnecessary ceremonial meetings that could easily be done ad hoc.\nAt the end of the day, or week rather, when it’s time to actually focus on learning, the last thing I want to read about is the latest web framework that is barely different from its predecessors.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the creative side of software development, and my day job provides me with a lot of challenging and stimulating problems to tackle, but I’m scared of becoming an engineer wearing horse blinders; never able to see past the technology.\nFor the sake of avoiding a software-colored reading monochrome, my life outside my IDE matters too.

I’ve found that focusing on reading/researching alternative topics — anything from nutrition, fitness, philosophy, to business and economics — provides me with the mental stimulation I really crave.\nCultivating a diverse perspective helps me not only to stay well-rounded as an engineer but also helps me to take off my engineering-tinted glasses every once in a while.\nTechnology isn’t the correct hammer for every nail; in fact, I believe the less complex technology we need to create, the better the outcome will likely be.

To me, it’s all about the broad, multifaceted spectrum of knowledge/interests and avoidance of a technology tunnel-vision that makes a truly talented engineer.

"}]