"Starting" over at 49 (?)

Cableguy

Cableguy

Expert
Licensed User
Longtime User
Hi guys,

Most of the power-users of this forum know me as I've been here forever....
My Status states me to be an "Expert" but I am only expert at asking noob questions.

My Career has had a very few chnages of "lanes" althoug continuing in the same route over the years, and so have my hobbys.

At 49, although still loving my field of work, I find myself considering a different career choice, based on my 3 favorite hobbys : Code, Electronics & 3DPrinting.

I have search for about 10 mins, here in chit-chat, a post I believe was made by @Alexander Stolte about exactly this... when is it too late to start... and here I am...

Considering starting to take more seriously my hobbys, and if/when the time cames when I can make a living from that, completely change careers.

BUT.... HOW TO EVEN GET STARTED?

Do I create a basic (pun not intended) portfolio?
How to find clients?
How much to charge? per app? per hour?
How to define "chargeable" hours? (if all you do is proofing, or research...)

ETC, ETC, ETC....

I am at lost...
 
I think ?...

Sometimes "thinking" too much is the real problem.

Never is late... if you feel strong... start again and again... every new day is a start!

Another problem is where-when "ending" something..

All the best
 
Cableguy said:
I have search for about 10 mins, here in chit-chat, a post I believe was made by @Alexander Stolte about exactly this... when is it too late to start...
Click to expand...
I might be guilty of that post:

”Is it too late to start?”

This is a big forum. I'm sure we have some members that now and then ask themselves if it's too late to start. Perhaps start the project project they've been thinking about. Or the company they always wanted to have. Or start one of many other possible things one can be interested in. To help...
www.b4x.com www.b4x.com
 
Sandman said:
I might be guilty of that post:

”Is it too late to start?”

This is a big forum. I'm sure we have some members that now and then ask themselves if it's too late to start. Perhaps start the project project they've been thinking about. Or the company they always wanted to have. Or start one of many other possible things one can be interested in. To help...
www.b4x.com www.b4x.com
Click to expand...
Thanks @Sandman , I knew it was a prominent member that had made such thread
 
Hi @Cableguy ,

I am 63 years young. ;)
I stopped working 2 years ago (after 43 years of work) and next year I will pension.
I started programming and selling apps 13 years ago with B4a and after a few years with B4i. For the apps I have also developed the necessary hardware to simplify the operation of the apps.
Meanwhile I could almost live from it, but it should remain my hobby, so I do not make extra advertising to earn even more.

One I forgot to say, I'm not an expert either.
 
Cableguy said:
How much to charge? per app? per hour?
How to define "chargeable" hours? (if all you do is proofing, or research...)
Click to expand...

Maybe not easy to find sustainable clients for an hourly paid programming freelancer?
How about stick on current career and make some indie apps in leisure time to see if there are any business potentials of these leisure products then decide next step. I see most areas in software domain are already deep crowded red oceans, so to find a new application direction that has business potentials and can be managed by one person is hard for the time being...
 
You could think about your current job role.
How much paper work is there in the field?
How much paper work do your bosses do?
If there is anything you can do to stream line your own work, people above may start noticing and change your role because they all have ideas but often don't know where to start looking for someone that does what they want, or don't consider looking because they believe it will cost too much
 
kimstudio said:
How about stick on current career and make some indie apps in leisure time to see if there are any business potentials
Click to expand...
That is mostly the plan.
Unobtainius said:
How much paper work is there in the field?
How much paper work do your bosses do?
If there is anything you can do to stream line your own work
Click to expand...
This is my main target, but I don't want to get that "working for free" feeling that comes with working for your boss in your own free time...
 
Cableguy said:
That is mostly the plan.

This is my main target, but I don't want to get that "working for free" feeling that comes with working for your boss in your own free time...
Click to expand...
It's more a matter of proving you have the right stuff, and likely without a little proof they are not going to go out on a limb as far as they are concerned. Anyway, it's fun, and experience for you (possibly).

If you have other apps you can use to prove yourself to the money men, then by all means go in that direction. You just need to give them faith you're up to the challenge and that there are productivity gains to be had due to less data re-entry and less data re-entry errors.
 
Cableguy said:
working for your boss in your own free time
Click to expand...
If you were in the US it could be a problem having a side-project. Many consider that to automatically be the property of the employer, unless otherwise agreed upon. From your profile I see that you live in a more civilized country, but it might still be worth looking into. If nothing else, you could tell your employer that you, for fun, would like to take up programming as a learning experience and plan to put out some small apps, perhaps games, on the app stores. And you would like an agreement to ensure the apps are your property and the employer has no claim to them in any way. Get it in writing. Obviously, this isn't needed if this is the default in your country.

One more thing, when looking for projects to sink your teeth into. Look for friction and real problems. It's a lot easier to sell something for a headache than it is to sell a vitamin. Don't try to make something that makes a decent situation great. That won't sell a lot. Try to find something problematic, irritating, time-wasting and make something great. That's more likely to sell.
 
Another avenue could be to offer them a prototype, proof of concept type thing, for a set price. Get a spec, and a price, agreed upon by both based on the detail of the deliverables. Timeframe will be important because it would need to accomplished in your spare time, so don't make it another full time job. Things always take longer than you think
 
Sandman said:
If you were in the US it could be a problem having a side-project. Many consider that to automatically be the property of the employer, unless otherwise agreed upon. From your profile I see that you live in a more civilized country, but it might still be worth looking into. If nothing else, you could tell your employer that you, for fun, would like to take up programming as a learning experience and plan to put out some small apps, perhaps games, on the app stores. And you would like an agreement to ensure the apps are your property and the employer has no claim to them in any way. Get it in writing. Obviously, this isn't needed if this is the default in your country.

One more thing, when looking for projects to sink your teeth into. Look for friction and real problems. It's a lot easier to sell something for a headache than it is to sell a vitamin. Don't try to make something that makes a decent situation great. That won't sell a lot. Try to find something problematic, irritating, time-wasting and make something great. That's more likely to sell.
Click to expand...
The company I work for has no market in software, so any software I create, they cannot sell without first spending some money... still, I will have to avoid using company computers for development...
 
Hi Paulo! Hold on to your visions no matter what comes your way. When you love what you do you will keep failing forward.
Success is just a substop towards the next goal. It never ends. By doing what you love you create meaning and that's the greatest value. -my own definition.
Money is a secondary process. It takes time and management, planning. Probably comes at the later part when a product or service is getting ready.
But it has to be planned from the start. All pieces of the puzzle are just as important that makes up the complete picture.

I find the law of attraction and the creative process extremely important in unison.

The creative process scientific pattern can be found here

The law of attraction can be found here

The greater the vision the harder one must work.
Alone or with a team, and that takes money and recources (most single developers don't can afford).

My grandmother used to say "With small means you'll come a long way". I have added "With knowledge, project and extermely hard work you'll get even farther".

Elon Musk proved that. I've been watching many documentaries about Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Ingvar Kamprad, Oprah Winfrey.

Hard work seems to be the key to success. Still I don't make any money and I might never be able to do so, but I still love what I do and that's my greatest value.


All the best,
Roger
 
Last edited:
A little bit of advertising :)
Check my new library B4XAES v2.0 here
Cableguy deserves a bunch of Likes since he's a really skilled programmer.
RESPECT.

/Roger
 
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