AndyParkinson
Joined 16 years ago
Karma
171
Submissions
53
Member since
Jan 6
Recent submissions
Comment · 13 years ago
Great review/post.
Remote work is the way of the future. A recent study from of IBM employees showed that if employees have a modest commute then they only need to work 38 hours/week before they start to have work/life balance issues.
If employees work for a company that allows them to telecommute, they can work almost 60 hours per week before running in to work/life balance issues. That's a big deal.
(That's not to say you should put in 60 hour weeks if you can help it, but it highlights the negative effects a commute has on people and their happiness in life.)
Comment · 13 years ago
What if delegation is your weakness (as it is for most of us)?
Comment · 13 years ago
I really hope I can help. It's so important and rarely talked about in our community.
Comment · 13 years ago
That'll change. Someone is building out the identity right now. But I have a thing for monkeys. Don't judge.
Comment · 13 years ago
I think I answered that here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6600121
There are people out there who love the bloggers/writers they follow and will support them. A newsletter is a great way to trade exclusive access for money.
The kind of newsletters that publishers will use HappyLetter for aren't the marketingy kind you're used to. These publishers probably won't have a different product to sell where a newsletter is part of a lead scoring or funnel process. To them, the newsletter is the product.
Comment · 13 years ago
I'm glad you liked it!
I have a "day job". I run another company with a dozen employees. I love creating things, too. I'm like a construction foreman that loves what he does so much that he builds birdhouses on the weekends. Most of the work was done in the morning, over the weekend or at night while watching MasterChef on Hulu with my wife.
I've been following Patrick Rhone for years. He was begging for a letter.ly replacement for a while. Each time he asked, I always thought it was fascinating that no one was taking him up on it.
I built HappyLetter for the fun and sport of it. I saw it as an opportunity to practice some things I need to do more often and better, like writing, sharing, teaching, being transparent, accepting constraints, accepting perfection isn't always necessary, etc. I'm as proud of the HappyLetter blog as I am the product. There are many hard-learned lessons buried in those posts.
I've built many things like HappyLetter that never saw the light of day. Blogging about it forced me to ship.
Comment · 13 years ago
Live-blogging was way more helpful to the development process than I ever imagined it would be.
Even if you don't feel comfortable sharing everything in public, I'd keep a private journal and write through any issues that are stopping you from moving forward.
I started a web development business when I was 16. I used my consulting income to hire people and bootstrap a products-based business.
I help startup founders develop leadership skills and build the kind of culture that keeps and attracts great people. My blog is http://greatcompanies.io