Ryan Bond
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bondryanbond.com
Ryan Bond
@bondryanbond.com
240 followers 51 following 1.6K posts
Learning how to be a solopreneur in public. Demonstrating anything is possible with grit, authenticity, and time, while having fun doing it. Come build with me! bondryanbond.com Currently building: stickerch.art
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It was my lifelong dream to become my own boss by time I was 40, and I failed.

But instead of giving up, I’m pivoting.

I'll rebuild, now in public, using

- authenticity
- transparency
- openness
- vulnerability

I'll show you the ups and downs, the highs and lows.

Follow along 👇
Received some very valuable feedback that my landing page is too text-heavy.

I took a look and it is mostly text. 😅

Looked at some competitors, and theirs are mostly visual.

So, I've got some work to do this week to fix that!

#buildinpublic
Just wanted to reiterate how much I appreciated this feedback.

I went and looked at some competitor pages, and you're totally right.

Most pages were MORE visual than text.

So clearly I have some changes to make! Probably why my bounce rate is so high.
Mom's surgery went great yesterday, and so far recovery is also going very well.

I'm still staying with her for 72 hours, so my schedule is a little funky, but this should actually free me up to get more work done than usual, which is great.

#buildinpublic
The latter especially 😮‍💨

I've always struggled with this sort of thing, so it's no surprise. Just another opportunity for personal growth! 😅
That's for sure

I had someone give me this advice earlier this year, shortly after I started building solo.

I was like, there's no way 💀

I have 5 kids, thousands of dollars in monthly expenses, and no savings. I'll pass!
Thank you! Makes sense you'd have an interest in that one 😁

It's the project I'm most passionate about by far.

It's also the one that will unfortunately take the longest to build.

Hopefully by time it's done I will have figured out marketing 😅
Yeah that's definitely not a thing I am interested in.

Are they trying to make sure Claude gets credit? I don't understand the motivation for that.
Is this a thing that happens? I haven't noticed this before in my commits.
I'll post an update probably after our first weekly call (next few days), and then again probably as a retro after the 30 days is up (5 weeks-ish).

So far though I really appreciate having a smaller group of people to check in with, vs. the #buildinpublic community at large. I feel more seen maybe?
I appreciate that! Sometimes I think it would be good to have someone there to hold me accountable though. But I've been doing a co-op with a few other people this past week and that has already helped so we'll see.
Not the first time I've seen that suggestion lately!

I've been hesitant to take one on, bc I've been burned before, and I haven't met anyone who totally shares my values and vision yet.

Who knows though! Maybe I'll find the right one someday.
Agreed!

And maybe some help learning the marketing part. 😅

Oh and someone to keep me consistent.
I agree with this more & more. It's my struggle with my current app, stickerch.art. I wonder, is this something I really want to be promoting and marketing in 5-10 years? Sometimes I'm not so sure.

My other project, mxtp.gg, on the other hand... 🤔
stickerch.art
stickerch.art
The constantly checking my accounts for notifications is mine.

But it does help you know what's working!
If you haven't, I suggest reading Influence by Robert Cialdini. There's a whole chapter devoted to this exact concept. Well said!
A quick look at my immediate surroundings in Google Maps shows that I am absolutely surrounded by people who own local businesses.

If they can do it, so can I!

I think the key is just persistence.
That's a great philosophy tbh.

Theoretically if you build something you feel strongly enough about, your ability to market it will be increased, and so do the odds of your success.
That's why I've seen some people suggest that going independent works better when you DON'T have the safety net.

I can't say that vibes with me, I've got too many dependents, but I can appreciate the intent.

It does feel like I apply myself less knowing I have a salary to fall back on.
I kinda feel this too.

I tried it at first when I built time-protector.vercel.app, but quickly figured out that I didn't want to sell to other devs, so I moved to parent/family apps.

My advice: build something people are already using, but put your own spin on it.
Time Protector
Protect your time and productivity by blocking distracting programs and websites.
time-protector.vercel.app
Makes sense! Well I'm not on iOS at all, but I hope people find it useful!
That's a good call-out.

I only have one visual on the landing page now that I'm looking at it.

I'll look at injecting some visual components into the landing page!
Sorry you've been in crisis recently. Hope you're feeling better lately!

Definitely curious about the app, as a person who has been dealing with depression and other stuff for years.

Is it iOS only?

I do think this is an underserved part of our community, mental health support for solo devs.
I'm using FB/Instagram as my free channels.

www.facebook.com/share/1aaNKf...

I did a few paid ads early on, but have been hesitant to do them too often as I am trying very hard to keep costs as low as possible.
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com