Hello everyone,
finally, I joined the forum and want to introduce myself.
I am a Software Engineer from Germany, early 40s, introverted but not shy, with a well paying corporate job. Most of my peers would say I have a dream job. Problem: I am not happy with it.
Here are some other "businesses" I tried before I chose a slow lane career path:
I had a good knowledge of computers but could not code. I talked to some people and they told me I needed 60K€ for this project. I had no 60K€ so I enrolled in university to study computer science.
My idea was: After finishing Uni I can develop everything I want.
It took me 5 years to finish Uni because I had to work 2-3 jobs. It was quite tough.
After graduating with my CS degree I had no drive like before. Because I knew everything I would think waaaay too much and overanalyze everything. I had all the skills and couldn't do shit.
But I still think it was one of the best decisions to study computer science.
I was very exhausted and only wanted to work a 9-5 to reset a little bit. I was "lucky" to get a job as a software engineer at a small company. I learned a lot, paid of 15K€ debt from university, but I did not like the job. I was the only software engineer and the expectations were very high or unrealistic. I worked there for 2 years.
Then I switched to a big corporate enterprise where I work now. I do mostly business intelligence and database stuff. I like the work a lot, the pay is good, the job is considered safe.
I don't know if it counts as a FTE, but after some promises were neglected I came to the conclusion that I will not do this forever.
I have no control and I don't like that.
I had a lot of ideas over time which I took notes of. Three of them are quite good and survived the CENTS Test
I started to build one of them, where I see the most potential.
By my estimation, there are ~5000 potential customers in Germany. I already have one small company as a potential customer, who offered me 1500€(One Time Payment) when I provide this software. I will provide the software on a subscription basis, except for this first one.
I can build a lot of things by myself like Web Apps, Mobile Apps, Desktop Applications, Server Applications, Database Systems, etc.
Proficient in C, C++, Qt, C#, Python, Javascript.
Bad at things like design, sales, marketing, networking( I am not a peoples person )
It's a lot of work at the beginning and therefore I don't know what the best approach is.
Probably a professional redesign will be needed.
I have quite a lot of free time, which I use to build this business
My plan is to work on a Fastlane business and stay in my corporate job and save more money. I plan to do this for 3 years max. By then I want to make at least what I make now, but work for myself.
Sorry for the long introduction.
Thanks for reading.
Edit: Removed some personal information and rewrote accordingly.
finally, I joined the forum and want to introduce myself.
I am a Software Engineer from Germany, early 40s, introverted but not shy, with a well paying corporate job. Most of my peers would say I have a dream job. Problem: I am not happy with it.
Here are some other "businesses" I tried before I chose a slow lane career path:
- Went to flee markets and bought almost all books and sold it on amazon. This worked pretty well for some time. I Worked like 2-3 days per week and earned about 3K€
- I learned Joomla and started to make websites for friends/businesses I knew. Made roughly 1k€ a month
- Bought and sold computer parts. Not so good. I don't like too much used-stuff lying around
- Printed flyers for computer repair and handed it out to everyone. I got some calls but it was to much work for very little money. Maybe 200€ a month
- Played poker. Won offline, lost more online -> Minus 2-3K€
I had a good knowledge of computers but could not code. I talked to some people and they told me I needed 60K€ for this project. I had no 60K€ so I enrolled in university to study computer science.
My idea was: After finishing Uni I can develop everything I want.
It took me 5 years to finish Uni because I had to work 2-3 jobs. It was quite tough.
After graduating with my CS degree I had no drive like before. Because I knew everything I would think waaaay too much and overanalyze everything. I had all the skills and couldn't do shit.
But I still think it was one of the best decisions to study computer science.
I was very exhausted and only wanted to work a 9-5 to reset a little bit. I was "lucky" to get a job as a software engineer at a small company. I learned a lot, paid of 15K€ debt from university, but I did not like the job. I was the only software engineer and the expectations were very high or unrealistic. I worked there for 2 years.
Then I switched to a big corporate enterprise where I work now. I do mostly business intelligence and database stuff. I like the work a lot, the pay is good, the job is considered safe.
I don't know if it counts as a FTE, but after some promises were neglected I came to the conclusion that I will not do this forever.
I have no control and I don't like that.
I had a lot of ideas over time which I took notes of. Three of them are quite good and survived the CENTS Test
I started to build one of them, where I see the most potential.
By my estimation, there are ~5000 potential customers in Germany. I already have one small company as a potential customer, who offered me 1500€(One Time Payment) when I provide this software. I will provide the software on a subscription basis, except for this first one.
I can build a lot of things by myself like Web Apps, Mobile Apps, Desktop Applications, Server Applications, Database Systems, etc.
Proficient in C, C++, Qt, C#, Python, Javascript.
Bad at things like design, sales, marketing, networking( I am not a peoples person )
It's a lot of work at the beginning and therefore I don't know what the best approach is.
Probably a professional redesign will be needed.
I have quite a lot of free time, which I use to build this business
My plan is to work on a Fastlane business and stay in my corporate job and save more money. I plan to do this for 3 years max. By then I want to make at least what I make now, but work for myself.
Sorry for the long introduction.
Thanks for reading.
Edit: Removed some personal information and rewrote accordingly.
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