Slow and Steady vs Sprints

[gabeb1920]

Hi All,

I have a question regarding working on a business idea while also working a 9-5 job. Is it best to work on the business idea 'slow and steady' by working on it during evenings and weekends or to take time off from the 9-5 and work on it full-time for a few weeks to a month?

I've tried to frame this as a general question but I guess it also is specific to my situation. I have been working for the same organisation for the last 5 years and have saved up around 5 weeks paid leave. I have currently arranged to use this leave to have every Friday off giving me a 4 day working week for the next 6 months or so. I'm using the Fridays to read business books and work on creating my web application idea. (Still very early stages)

Alternatively I could take the full 4-5 weeks off in a chunk and use the time to work full-time on the web application idea.

So which is better?

Here are some of my thoughts:

Slow and Steady Pros

• It's a process which means it'll help create long term habits
• Being over a greater length of time it will allow me to learn topics thoroughly which could help improve the quality of my product
• I will be able to respond to customer feedback and adjust the product as it is built
• If the product fails I won't have used all my leave and so I can focus on something else with the rest of the time

Slow and Steady Cons

• It's slow! By definition it will take longer
• By the time the product is complete it could be irrelevant or there could be competitors out there
• Competitors will be able to respond to the market faster

Sprint Work Pros

• The product will be completed and taken to market faster
• This could result in being financially able to leave the 9-5 work sooner in order to work full-time on the product (assuming it is successful)
• It allows me to get it out there and get customer feedback sooner which will help determine the viability and direction of the product
• Single point of focus. I'd be putting all my effort and resources behind a single project/idea which should provide a higher chance of success.

Sprint Work Cons

• Risk that the product fails and I've used all my leave making future work more difficult
• Basically throwing all my eggs in the one basket. I'd be putting all my effort and resources which while improving the odds of success also increases the cost of failure

Summary
Looking at it like this my 'safe bet' instinct is to continue with the slow and steady course with occasional weekend sprints of effort when I have the time.

However part of me wants to go all out and really pursue this idea. I really want to be free of my 9-5 as I think I have much more to give than what the 9-5 gives me the opportunity to.

So what do you think? Slow and Steady or an all out sprint? Perhaps a hybrid of the 2?

Cheers

Gabriel

 

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[Jon L]

I would suggest saving your time off for when you launch the web app. You'll likely need to work a LOT during that time period to fix issues that crop up, and it would be nice to not have to also think about work.

 

[gabeb1920]

I would suggest saving your time off for when you launch the web app. You'll likely need to work a LOT during that time period to fix issues that crop up, and it would be nice to not have to also think about work.

Thanks @Jon L that's a good idea.

I actually hadn't really thought about the launch just yet as I still need to build the thing!

Would you suggest doing a launch event of some kind or just launching quietly with a few friends and letting it grow organically?

I was thinking I'd present it to a few friends first and then let it grow organically. The app has a bit of a social aspect to it so I'm thinking it will grow quite quickly (ie each person who uses it will expose approx 10-15 of their friends to it simply by the way it has to be used. If they like it then they might use it which would expose it to their friends and so on.)

The app is Facebook related so if I was to do a full launch I'd imagine Facebook advertising would be the way to go.

 

[Runum]

Hi All,

I have a question regarding working on a business idea while also working a 9-5 job. Is it best to work on the business idea 'slow and steady' by working on it during evenings and weekends or to take time off from the 9-5 and work on it full-time for a few weeks to a month?

I've tried to frame this as a general question but I guess it also is specific to my situation. I have been working for the same organisation for the last 5 years and have saved up around 5 weeks paid leave. I have currently arranged to use this leave to have every Friday off giving me a 4 day working week for the next 6 months or so. I'm using the Fridays to read business books and work on creating my web application idea. (Still very early stages)

Alternatively I could take the full 4-5 weeks off in a chunk and use the time to work full-time on the web application idea.

So which is better?

Here are some of my thoughts:

Slow and Steady Pros

• It's a process which means it'll help create long term habits
• Being over a greater length of time it will allow me to learn topics thoroughly which could help improve the quality of my product
• I will be able to respond to customer feedback and adjust the product as it is built
• If the product fails I won't have used all my leave and so I can focus on something else with the rest of the time

Slow and Steady Cons

• It's slow! By definition it will take longer
• By the time the product is complete it could be irrelevant or there could be competitors out there
• Competitors will be able to respond to the market faster

Sprint Work Pros

• The product will be completed and taken to market faster
• This could result in being financially able to leave the 9-5 work sooner in order to work full-time on the product (assuming it is successful)
• It allows me to get it out there and get customer feedback sooner which will help determine the viability and direction of the product
• Single point of focus. I'd be putting all my effort and resources behind a single project/idea which should provide a higher chance of success.

Sprint Work Cons

• Risk that the product fails and I've used all my leave making future work more difficult
• Basically throwing all my eggs in the one basket. I'd be putting all my effort and resources which while improving the odds of success also increases the cost of failure

Summary
Looking at it like this my 'safe bet' instinct is to continue with the slow and steady course with occasional weekend sprints of effort when I have the time.

However part of me wants to go all out and really pursue this idea. I really want to be free of my 9-5 as I think I have much more to give than what the 9-5 gives me the opportunity to.

So what do you think? Slow and Steady or an all out sprint? Perhaps a hybrid of the 2?

Cheers

Gabriel

From my experience, I do both.

I am a teacher, so I get 2+ months a year to bust a$$ on my stuff. During the school year I can work at a slower pace.

I can tell you that things come up all the time. You probably will not get as far as you think you will during your time off. Complications arise, you have to learn new things, all a normal part of biz development. You will not overcome them during your hiatus. You will not solve all the problems and things will not be smooth sailing after your hiatus is over.

Working both ways has worked for me. May not work for others. I don't think it has to be an either/or situation.

Good luck.

 

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[Vigilante]

Both

 

[gabeb1920]

From my experience, I do both.

I am a teacher, so I get 2+ months a year to bust a$$ on my stuff. During the school year I can work at a slower pace.

I can tell you that things come up all the time. You probably will not get as far as you think you will during your time off. Complications arise, you have to learn new things, all a normal part of biz development. You will not overcome them during your hiatus. You will not solve all the problems and things will not be smooth sailing after your hiatus is over.

Working both ways has worked for me. May not work for others. I don't think it has to be an either/or situation.

Good luck.

Thanks @Runum I agree that there would be things which would come up on the holiday break which would derail any plans I may have made. A combination of the 2 seems like the best approach.

Cheers

EDIT: @Vigilante agrees!

 

[Leo Hendrix]

Both, also early mornings + evenings + weekends + any 'free' time.

 

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