Tweets

@xakpc Mostly because humans can only run on small margins for so long.

I used to tell myself the lifestyle improvements made everything worthwhile (even though my bank balance hadn't improved).

But that only works to a point.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1334273821143040000

Sofware devs:

Apple, Google, Amazon, and other Big Tech Cos™ are now offering Sr. Software Developers salaries of $350k - $550k USD.

If you don't 200% love the idea of running your own company, optimizing your resume is probably a way better bet than becoming a founder.

@jmacias And another one here: https://justinjackson.ca/giveup

@jmacias I've written about it here:
https://justinjackson.ca/moving-on

Entrepreneurship is a huge risk (financially).

You're giving up some of the best years of your career to focus on a bet that might not work out.

The potential financial rewards should account for the risks you're taking.

Don't invest 5x for a 1x financial return.

@abhishekray07 Yes... but within reason.

Entrepreneurship is a huge risk (financially).

You're giving up some of the best years of your career to focus on a bet that might not work out.

The potential financial rewards should account for the risks you're taking.

Too often, entrepreneurs don't value the time and energy they invest in their idea.

If you spend 5 years building something that doesn't work out, you've lost 5 years of investing in your career, family, etc.

If it starts feeling like a bad bet, cut your losses, and get out!

Every time we start something new, we're making a bet.

We're risking our:

⏰ Time
💸 Money
🏃‍♂️ Energy

Every idea we commit to has huge opportunity costs.

Founders need a clear sense of what they're giving up, and what the potential payoff is.

Example:
💸 I'm investing $5k,
⏰ and 800 hours of my time,
💻 building this software.
🏆 My goal is to reach $10k in MRR
📆 by August 2, 2021.

Wow. Really inspired by these @convertkit podcasts.

@IsaAdney's narration is 💯.

(I wish I could sound this good on the mic!)

https://convertkit.com/creator-stories-vannesia-darby

@jongold Nice! 🙌

@uibreakfast Lol. I like it!

@anildash cc @BreneBrown

@harriskenny 💯

@thejonotron @dchymko @AngelaHapke @TransistorFM

@thejonotron @dchymko @AngelaHapke @TransistorFM I’ve done the free test, but then paid for this one. Yup.

I think it’s mostly woo-woo, but sometimes woo-woo makes me feel good, alright?

@LisaFrame Nice!

Email and promotions are where I'm weakest at @TransistorFM.

We haven't done any Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals so far, but thinking it might provide a nice boost.

I’m bullish on alcohol sales after the pandemic as well: once everyone has the vaccine, there’s going to be a shit-ton of partying. https://twitter.com/helena/status/1333861238225334272

[slow whistle]

Salesforce to acquire Slack for $28 billion.

https://www.axios.com/salesforce-will-buy-slack-for-28-billion-bcc4d220-9e12-4184-9c57-c30876dd988e.html

💯 The “it helps me sleep at night” factor is huge.

When I was doing one-time sales, I was always anxiously thinking about the next launch.

Once we hit “default alive” with @TransistorFM, my stress went down considerably. https://twitter.com/cgimmer/status/1333867910075473921

@MaxMaxim73 It depends on the product and the market.

Can you tell me more about what you’re building?

We're also seeing the power of building popular open-source frameworks and then offering paid SaaS/utilities/content on top of that.

- @laravelphp (mature + growing)
- @tailwindcss (growth/traction phase)
- @flybayer's Blitz.js (developing)

(If I could) I'd invest $$$ in all 3.

One info-product sector that I'm extremely bullish on is anything related to software developers improving their technical skills/abilities.

Launch after launch, that niche is showing incredible revenue numbers (especially if you become an influencer on a topic).

I'm still slightly bearish on MRR that's connected to info-products (newsletters, memberships, etc).

That MRR seems much more fragile, and not as reliable as what you get with SaaS.

I could be wrong (we might be in a new era of Substack newsletters that have amazing retention).

The risk with one-time sales is you can have a reasonable launch ($10k - $30k) but then have it peter out.

Then, it's like squeezing juice from a squeezed lemon. 🍋

But, if you get a really good launch ($100k - $500k) you have the margin to figure out how to make it sustainable

The only thing that compares is a one-time sale product (course, book, downloadable software) that does massive revenue when it launches, and then consistent sales in the years that follow.

(Without needing a lot of re-launching, complex sales funnels, or CPC ads)

Nothing gives indie founders a better quality of life than recurring revenue. 🥰

@thejonotron @AngelaHapke @TransistorFM You can take the official “paid” test here:
https://tests.enneagraminstitute.com/

@thejonotron @AngelaHapke @TransistorFM 😉 BTW - if I could afford you Jono, I’d hire you in a second.

@brandonklotz When I was getting started (2012), I did a bunch of research and planned out questions in advance.

These days, I do a lot less planning. Partly this is because I’m comfortable on the mic, and partly because I’m mostly speaking with folks whom I have a lot of familiarity with.

@TransistorFM @thejonotron @AngelaHapke Angela! I'm an Enneagram Type 7: "The Enthusiast."

@NathanTankus 👍

Curious, if inflation is the concern with MMT... have there been any studies on inflation in a digital economy?

With so many goods and services unrestrained by physical supply, it feels like inflation might not be as big of an issue?

@NathanTankus I’m still struggling to understand MMT.

I found this (audio) summary helpful.

Do you think it holds up?

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/never-mind-the-deficit-1.5812231

RT @mariepoulin: In November I paid out ~$16k in contractor invoices, all to fellow women business owners. I love helping ladies get paid…

@MatthewBogart I’d love this as a poster!

@joelgascoigne @buffer 👉 @hamstu fan club reporting in. 🎉

RT @mijustin: The best way to reduce your stress is to have fewer obligations.

@MatthewBogart OH YEAAAAAH! 🔥🕺🔥

@cgimmer I still don’t get it. 😜

@rosiesherry I’m a fan of:

@iamashley’s podcasts and writing
@charliprangley’s YouTube
@mariepoulin’s YouTube
@theartofchristi’s substack
@Abadesi’s podcasts
@leenyburger & @mjwhansen’s podcast

@Mattylantz So good. So refreshing. So wholesome.

@podcastharry They love it.

@beingbrad Bro, to save money on your electricity bill and fight climate change!

@nish_crafts I enjoyed this. 😄

I’m inspired by ⁦@patrickc⁩’s format here:

- an ongoing list of examples of a phenomenon (with citations)
- a big question: “why is it this way?”
- an ongoing list of research and hypotheses

I’d like to use this template myself for a few topics. 👍 https://patrickcollison.com/fast

@digitaltrouble Oooh 👀

RT @Craig_A_Spencer: As COVID19 surges across the US, it’s hard to describe the situation inside hospitals for healthcare providers & patie…

@MatthewBogart Ooh. I dig this.

(This looks like it would make an amazing poster / art piece!)

@harriskenny @TransistorFM Nice! 🤙

@LenaSesardic Yup. It’s true.

But (in retrospect) I wish I’d protected myself more early on.

We need to be careful about what we own.

Many possessions require too much maintenance.

Almost all possessions need storage space.

Needy possessions reduce your margin.

In modern society, there’s pressure to commit to doing too many things:

- practice days for kids’ activities
- phone calls and meetings
- volunteering obligations
- demanding careers
- home projects
- side projects

When these things crowd out our margin, we lose ourselves.

We need to be very careful what we say “yes” to, because each “yes” creates an obligation (and often, stress).

@LenaSesardic Yes! Reducing the number of times I’m available for meetings has dramatically improved my happiness.

One way to increase your happiness to make sure the things you really want to do don’t get crowded out by the things you don’t want to do.

The best way to reduce your stress is to have fewer obligations.

The best way to be less busy is to commit to doing fewer things.

The best way to have more time is to leave more space on your calendar.

@nbashaw I wonder if our culture has become more transparent?

Is it harder for bad behavior to stay hidden these days?

“Need Apple Pro XDR Display so that I can count votes. Please send cash.”

@typeoneerror @TangerineBank Can you set it as a % of the deposit?

@scormier Can you set it as a % of the deposit?

@iChris Wait. They do?

I would love it if @Wealthsimple could solve this problem (but they’d probably have to introduce chequing accounts).

@punchlinecopy 😂

Are there any Canadian banks where you can automatically have a % transferred to savings/investments every time there’s a deposit?

@codyantunez They used to do regular tours. They even picked me up from my hotel!

@spencerfry @Shpigford +1

RT @jasonhickel: I worry that our response to climate breakdown will look eerily similar to our response to covid:
1) dither and delay
2) d…

@Shpigford @LaserTweets In the skateboard industry we called them “seconds.”

The Zappos office was chaotic and loud. But it was also infused with a genuine joy I hadn’t experience anywhere else.

Everyone was excited to be there.

Tony encouraged positivity, creativity, connectivity, and it showed itself in the people at Zappos.

In 2012, after reading Tony Hsieh's book, Delivering Happiness, I was so inspired I traveled to Vegas to see Zappos in person.

I was blown away by their culture. They genuinely cared for people: their staff, customers, and guests.

RIP Tony. You changed my perspective forever.

@jonathanstark @davidguttman Let’s do that!

Was especially inspired to 🔥 VCs after reading this New Yorker piece:

https://twitter.com/jitbit/status/1331996557143646208

I tried out @heyhey's dumpster fire. 😜

@petersuhm Is “drill” a euphemism? 😅

Or are people literally doing construction every night?

@Patticus Except, in practice, it often ends up being a “quick way for someone to raise their rates.”

It’s also odd to me that many of the public case studies caused people to increase their rates (“charge more!”), but I’ve never seen anyone *lower* their rates because of VBP. 🤔

@mbuckbee Lol. Perfect. 👍

@christophrumpel are you building a todo app

RT @mijustin: What’s your favorite room in your house?

What makes it good?

@LashaKrikheli @mariepoulin Can you tell me more about generational wealth?

What’s attractive to you about it?

(Any possible downsides?)

@mikerubini Congrats! 🎉

Hey! @mariepoulin and I are doing a podcast about money. What should we talk about? https://www.pscp.tv/w/co7HUDM4NTU1MXwxa3ZKcG9EQXdsUUdFO4UU0RqdaHq_VN2JjKtH4s2r5ltEqaZZsGVL_Tsaufg=

Relief from present-day scarcity gives you the space to have future-based dreams.

https://justinjackson.ca/cure

@adii We need to get on a call (podcast?) some time to talk this out.

I'm not exactly sure what you're advocating for here.😅

@__willharrison @chriscoyier The popular interpretation of “value-based pricing” is “founder-determined pricing.”

@nathanbraun @chriscoyier It's everything: COGS, supply, demand, competition, perceived value by the consumer.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1332028660572770309

@CupOJoseph Agreed. It's based on a number of factors:
https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1332028660572770309

Sorry that happened to your family btw! That's awful. 😞

🎯 @chrislema nails it here:

"At the end of the day, a customer defines the value. And your job is to do the hard work to figure out where that value sits."

@adii That's my whole point.

It's the market forces that determine the price, not the "whims of the founder."

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1332028660572770309

@suhails_ @chriscoyier Except, values are often shared!

Currently, there are many many people who value Tesla stock. Also, Tesla cars.

Meanwhile, Chrysler sales (and their stock) are down.

@mattlehrer @chriscoyier There's always a variety of things that determine the price.

No founder gets to make a pricing decision in a vacuum. 😉

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1332028660572770309

We should be paying more attention to "brand-based pricing."

In most cases, it's your brand that allows you to charge more.

A good brand can change the perceived value of a product.

If people are used to paying $19/month for a thing, you can't just magically sprinkle "value-based pricing" on it, and expect them to pay $99.

Even if your quality is better!

@sherellesays Yes. Increasingly, I think it's actually "brand" that increases a product's price.

@Swizec Weird thing: folks with exquisite mahogany floors and folks with cheap laminate floors could be buying the *same* felt pads.

See the disconnect?

Quality, by itself, is rarely enough to increase a product's price by 5x.

In the mind of the consumer, "5x better quality" might only be worth "1.5x higher price."

Or, it might not be worth any price increase to them!

"The price of a thing" is determined by a variety of factors, including:

- costs
- supply
- demand
- branding
- competition
- gatekeepers
- govt regulation
- perceived value by customer

Often, founders try to impose a price based on how much value *they* think their product provides.

(Much of the "value-based pricing" movement was focused on creators "charging what they're worth.")

But that's backward.

Ultimately, it's "what is the customer willing to pay?"

While reading @chriscoyier's blog, I had a thought about "value-based pricing."

Many products provide enormous value (like felt pads for your chairs) but aren't priced accordingly.

Why?

Because (ultimately) it's customers who ascribe a value to your product. They decide.