Entrepreneur

0 readers

1 users here now

Rules

No Personal Attacks - criticism of ideas is allowed, attacking people is not.
Self Posts Only - links can only provide supplementary material. Your post must contain enough content to have a discussion.
No “How To Get Rich Quick” posts - This community is not about making a quick buck. Posts asking the community how to make $X, without making specific reference to a reasonable idea, are not tolerated.
Avoid unprofessional communication - Please treat fellow entrepreneurs like respected coworkers, label conversations if NSFW and avoid deliberate provocations.

Please feel free to provide evidence-based best practices, share a micro-victory, discuss strategy and concepts with a frame work, ask for feedback, and create professional conversation. Treat every post as if you're at work and representing the best version of yourself.

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

communick@indiehackers.space

How do you deal with income insecurity? (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by happycatt31@alien.top to c/entrepreneur@indiehackers.space

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

My income varies so wildly that I can earn $15k one month and $1k the next. I have multiple projects and sometimes a product goes viral and does really well.

Due to how my income goes up and down constantly, I generally just feel poor and in constant struggle mode.

The project I'm most passionate about also does the least well financially. I'm not super ambitious, I started my company to try to make a difference. I'm thinking of getting a job again after 8 years of being self-employed.

Anyone relate?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] tomtermite@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I can relate... when I started my first company, I had -US$5k ... I borrowed a $5,000 cash advance on my credit card! Wow, that was... ill-advised. But I made it... first, if I knew I had money coming in at the end of the week, I was happy. Then, the end of the month. Then, the end of the quarter.

Eventually, I figured out to (a) be personally debt-free (no revolving debt, no car loans. A mortgage was ok, but I purposely paid off my student loans as quickly as possible); and, (b) to keep a couple of months' living expenses in my short-term savings so I could absorb the ups-and-downs.

Weirdly, as I close in on the end of my career, I am back in that same situation (divorce, lost my business, kids in university, emigrating)... cash flows are less predictable, and I rely on my short-term savings to provide a cushion.

Long-term, my recommendation remains the same as when I was young: minimize recurring expenses, have a fund to absorb the dips in income, and plan for the future (with savings for a house or other big investment, and a private pension fund).

Also -- sell more!