Show HN: How I Made $1934.66 in Two Days Consulting with No Proposal
Published in 2018, this chronicle by @SamPutnam details the mechanics of building a profitable, self-funded business without venture backing. Key verified financial milestone: $1934.66.
Core Principles for Independent Builders:
Charging customers from day one acts as the ultimate filter for building software that solves genuine, high-urgency problems.
Keeping fixed overhead low and leveraging lean infrastructure allows founders to stay alive until market tailwinds kick in.
Small, repetitive improvements in customer retention and conversion rates yield massive returns over multi-year horizons.
Community Debate Themes:
The community focused on B2B customer acquisition channels, cold email vs SEO distribution, and balancing full-time employment with side-project development.
2018
250 views and no comments? I am happy to answer any questions you may have. -SP
CATEGORY Bootstrapping & MRR →
HISTORICAL ERA Cloud & Mobile Era (2014–2019)
COMMUNITY SCORE ★ 9 points
TOTAL DISCUSSIONS 0 comments
52 weeks/year, 40 hours/week = 2080 hours. You can turn those knobs up/down based on vacation, non-billable time, etc, but just to pick a number, let's say you have 1,500 billed hours per year. $250,000 / 1,500 hours = $167/hour. I know car mechanics who make more than that. If someone's telling you $250k isn't realistic, they're either underestimating hours worked, or underestimating billable rates, or thinking about being a full time employee of a consulting company (rather than an independent consultant.) They're likely contractors, not consultants" - A Seasoned Tech Consultant