Here's my "Indie Hacker's Hall of Mistakes" - lessons learned the hard way:
1. Thinking I could avoid making mistakes. Spoiler: you can't.
2. Misinterpreting "fail fast" as "fail constantly".
3. Spending more time planning the perfect business than actually building it.
4. Trying to be a one-person army. Turns out, I'm not an expert in everything. Shocking, I know.
5. Underestimating the power of a good night's sleep.
6. Forgetting that cash flow is king. Profit on paper doesn't pay the bills.
7. Believing "if I build it, they will come". Spoiler alert: They don't.
8. Not validating my idea before pouring months of work into it.
9. Focusing on perfection instead of progress. Done is better than perfect, every time.
Hi! Here are some mistakes I made along my way:
1. Focusing on idea rather than execution — turns out the idea is much easier than the execution!
2. The lack of a template really makes my development slow. Speed is really important as an IndieHacker so right now I'm taking a break and making huge template repositories I might need for future need!
- Dashboard
- Themes (fonts, colors)
- Workflow w/ ai
- Landing pages
3. Being scared of posting. I've been so scared of posting because I always thought I needed to be perfect, but I think I'll go broke before then so might as well post now!
I will be messaging you in 14 days on [**2024-07-19 14:33:59 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-07-19%2014:33:59%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/indiehackers/comments/1dvijfj/what_mistakes_you_would_never_repeat_again/lbqyofl/?context=3)
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For me it's shipping new features late at night or on Friday afternoon, and then staying awake all night fixing bugs and answering angry support requests...
Here's my "Indie Hacker's Hall of Mistakes" - lessons learned the hard way: 1. Thinking I could avoid making mistakes. Spoiler: you can't. 2. Misinterpreting "fail fast" as "fail constantly". 3. Spending more time planning the perfect business than actually building it. 4. Trying to be a one-person army. Turns out, I'm not an expert in everything. Shocking, I know. 5. Underestimating the power of a good night's sleep. 6. Forgetting that cash flow is king. Profit on paper doesn't pay the bills. 7. Believing "if I build it, they will come". Spoiler alert: They don't. 8. Not validating my idea before pouring months of work into it. 9. Focusing on perfection instead of progress. Done is better than perfect, every time.
A bit cliche, but not managing my time effectively was a big one for me. Now, I prioritize tasks and set concrete deadlines to stay on track.
Definitely something I need to work on… 😬
What are you tips to stay on task and prioritize? I have ADHD and always jumping from one domain to another domain
Thank you for asking this! It’ll be really interesting to see everyone’s answers - I’m just starting out, so I’m sure this information will be useful!
Hi! Here are some mistakes I made along my way: 1. Focusing on idea rather than execution — turns out the idea is much easier than the execution! 2. The lack of a template really makes my development slow. Speed is really important as an IndieHacker so right now I'm taking a break and making huge template repositories I might need for future need! - Dashboard - Themes (fonts, colors) - Workflow w/ ai - Landing pages 3. Being scared of posting. I've been so scared of posting because I always thought I needed to be perfect, but I think I'll go broke before then so might as well post now!
Any chance you’d be willing to share these templates to help out others?
Yes I'm looking to share some of them — just the core. Don't want anyone stealing my designs haha
Haha of course! I get you. Would love to hear about the AI workflow you land on! RemindMe! 2 weeks
I will be messaging you in 14 days on [**2024-07-19 14:33:59 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-07-19%2014:33:59%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/indiehackers/comments/1dvijfj/what_mistakes_you_would_never_repeat_again/lbqyofl/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Findiehackers%2Fcomments%2F1dvijfj%2Fwhat_mistakes_you_would_never_repeat_again%2Flbqyofl%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202024-07-19%2014%3A33%3A59%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201dvijfj) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
For me it's shipping new features late at night or on Friday afternoon, and then staying awake all night fixing bugs and answering angry support requests...
Don't ask your friends for feedback and validation, even if they're your target user persona
Why?
Bailing out when things get tough …