Happy Spooky Season, folks! 🎃 it’s the third Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for a new dispatch from Dropped Bits.

More On Cheqin

The temperatures have started to plummet here in Montreal, Canada, and with that I’ve been doing a lot of planning work for next year, mostly related to Cheqin, the new app I mentioned last month.

There’s a lot more than just writing code that goes into launching something like this. I’m working on setting up a support forum as well as a product marketing website; I’m thinking a lot about the general business model, too. That include pricing, which is especially tricky for a personal finance app since your customer might have more sensitivity to what an app costs. I want to deliver as much value as possible, but I also want to be sure I can deliver that value sustainably — unlike some other apps that keep raising their subscription prices.

Goodness gracious me, it's been a while. I last sent out an update in February, and then dropped into silence. Clearly, I am very good at EnGaGeMeNt mArKeTiNg.

A couple of things have happened since the last update.

A New App

I've been wanting to build a new app for a while now. Trouble is, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to build. My background is in accounting and engineering, so the natural fit was something to do with finance, and I started thinking about building something for entrepreneurs… before realizing that my real passion is to build something for everyone.

Okay, so — first things first: Two Common Cents Club will not continue in its current form past the end of 2024. In fact, I’m probably going to shut this down and refund subscribers (thanks for your support!) earlier than that.

And you know what? I’m not even mad/sad. In fact, I’m excited.

How We Got Here

Eight months in, uptake on this blog/newsletter has been a flat line. I’m not doing much promotion here outside of sharing the link when a new article comes out, so that’s not especially surprising. But I also don’t get very much engagement here, either. I get replies and comments on my personal newsletter, The Angelo Report, and that’s motivating.

Okay, if you’re an indie developer or a creator and that’s your side business —I know, super specific, but that’s who I’m writing for— how much time do you spend making vs talking about what you’re making?

Don’t tell me, just write down a split on a piece of paper or something. 50-50? 80-20? 35-65?

Now think about the last product, service, or feature that you launched. How did that go?

For me, talking about what I’m making has had two interesting effects.

Note: I somehow missed publishing this on the 15th of July. I think that only underscores the problem.

I took two weeks off at my day job recently. I was excited to have all this free time on my hands — I’d get some projects done around the house, I’d get to work on Cheqin, and I’d get to take a little overnight trip with my wife.

We took our overnight trip. It was great; we went out to a little ski-resort village, did some kayaking and walking around, had some good food and got a nice break from the day-to-day routine.

Last time, I wrote about the options you have in deploying your "leftovers" — the cash remaining in your business after you pay your bills. I also mentioned that I'm working on something to help with this.

Building The Thing

Since then, I’ve started further fleshing out the ideas for Cheqin, my “financial toolkit” app for indie devs and creators. One of the biggest roadblocks I’ve had up to this point was figuring out just how I want to build this thing: a web app, or a Mac app?

Web apps are universal, in that they (mostly) just need a browser to work. The downside is that customer data must by definition be available on the internet, which means a large threat surface that I need to cover, and I don’t feel confident enough in my knowledge of this stuff to build a web-based product.

If you’re running a business of any size, you’ve got three piles of money to think about:

1. How much is coming in;
2. How much going out; and
3. What's to be done with the leftovers.

The goals for the first two piles are pretty straightforward: maximize (1) and minimize (2). These can’t grow to infinity or shrink to zero, respectively, of course, but that’s a topic for another day.

That third pile, though, is where things get interesting. That third pile, the leftovers, is about opportunity.

In the last issue, I said that I’m feeling a lack of progress. Distractions tend to replace deep work with busywork, and I promised I’d spend this time trying to determine two things for my side business:

1. Finding my niche; and
2. Finding my tribe.

Here’s how that went.

The Niche

We’re in the fifth month of this website’s existence, which makes this the tenth issue. I started this in January with a grand ambition —building a successful microbusiness— so I thought I’d share how that’s going.

I’ve made the site’s analytics public, so you can see exactly what I see about visits. Since the beginning of the year, there have been about 300 unique visitors, mostly coming directly to the site. About a third of those visitors come from the United States, with Canada taking second place.

The most popular issue on the site, by far, has been about focusing on customers before you have any which, perhaps ironically, I published on April Fool’s Day.

I generally haven’t been doing much sharing of these issues on social. I share across social networks on the day of publishing, and that’s about it. Engagement generally isn’t very high. I have thoughts on this.

A month ago, I wrote about a new app I’m thinking about building. I’m calling it Atelier, and it’s an iOS (and probably Mac) app for managing your Buttondown newsletters.

As I mentioned in that article, I started by sharing a survey to try and get some idea of how people would be interested in using the app (and, hopefully, pay for). And believe it or not, people actually shared their thoughts!

Now, it wasn’t a huge sample of users. But it signaled enough interest that I set up a website and a newsletter that you can sign up to if you want updates on how development is coming along.

Last week, I sent out the first issue to a handful of subscribers. I shared the survey results, talked a little bit about my expectations, and even got a reply where someone shared how they build their own weekly Buttondown newsletter.

I've been feeling a bit stuck lately. I have ideas for moving various projects forward, and I make a bit of progress on those ideas on mornings and weekends.

I make a little progress forward, then set things aside to focus on the day job, or personal stuff, or whatever. And when I come back to it, I need to get back up to speed on what I was doing, exactly. My notes haven't been great lately, so they're no help.

It's frustrating. And I know that's a common feeling for anyone trying to make a go of a side business (or even personal projects, which I think are wonderful).

I asked on social media and in various Slack groups what indie devs struggle most with when trying to make a go of a side business.

I’m working on building a new app for the first time in a couple of years, and this time I’m starting a little differently than I usually do: I’m starting with figuring out if I should even build it at all.

How It Started

In the past, the apps I built were largely made to scratch an itch (and learn something in the process). Per, my price-per-unit calculator app, is a good example of this: it was something my wife mentioned would be really helpful, and I was looking for an opportunity to learn a new programming language Apple had just released, called Swift.

My first app, HoneyJar, was similar: I wanted a way to calculate the future value (or opportunity cost) of recurring payments, and also to learn how to build and ship an iOS app.

Last time, I said:

Constraints mean starting with less money so you have to launch faster. I’ve earmarked a chunk of my business’ retained earnings to run Two Common Cents Club for a year, and not investing anything beyond that. If I can make it self-sustaining by then, it’s a success.

And I promised to share the tool I put together in today’s article.

But first, a story.

Last time, I shared a review on a book I was reading called Company of One, by Paul Jarvis.

In the book, Jarvis talks about how to build and run a company that provides enough — the idea that by pushing back against growing for growth’s sake, we can deliver excellent value entirely because serving our customers excellently doesn’t scale.

(Related: I firmly believe that chasing 30–40% year-over-year growth necessarily comes at a cost to your customers, your colleagues, and your community. If you want me to write more about this, let me know.)

Every book, article, and podcast on building a business that I’ve consumed recently involved some measure of doing something that 99% of people won’t do. Avoiding growth-for-the-sake-of-growth feels like one of those 1% things.

The Intro

Today, we’re looking at a book that feels like it was written just for what I’m trying to do with 2C³. Company of One by Paul Jarvis is a refreshing take on the concept of business growth and success. It challenges the traditional notion that bigger is always better, advocating instead for a philosophy of 'better before bigger'. It’s particularly relevant for solopreneurs and individuals running a side business, as it lays out a blueprint for building a sustainable business without succumbing to the pressures of relentless expansion.

I like to break book reviews like this down into four sections — a summary of key points discussed, any criticisms I might have about the book, any concepts I’m applying (or plan to apply), and a conclusion. Let’s get started!

The Download

Hey folks, it's been a while! Here's a small update for you.

First, Some Important Stuff

Historically, the analytics available from this newsletter's provider have been disabled. However, I'm seeing a lot of spammy new subscribers, so I've enabled these analytics. The privacy policy has been updated to reflect this.

I proudly use Buttondown as my newsletter provider of choice. They're a privacy-focused small business, just like Dropped Bits. For the sake of completeness, here's what's now tracked in Dispatches from Dropped Bits HQ, this company newsletter:

In my first article, I said (emphasis mine):

I’ll post here twice a month; on the first of the month, I’m going to share news and updates. On the fifteenth of the month, I’ll share more in the way of resources.

You might be looking at your calendar right now, confused. It's the third of February. Which is not the first of the month.

So in my third bit of writing, I've already broken a promise. You expected to be reading this two days ago, and I didn't deliver.

The Intro

We’re going to be digging into The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber, a renowned book in the entrepreneur space that delves into the myths surrounding starting and running a small business.

I like to break book reviews like this down into four sections — a summary of key points discussed, any criticisms I might have about the book, any concepts I’m applying (or plan to apply), and a conclusion. Let’s get started!

The Download

Twelve years ago today, Dropped Bits, Inc. was incorporated. Domains were registered. Social accounts were created. Even business cards were printed.

And then… nothing much happened for a couple of years after that.

Eventually, some iPhone apps were launched to thunderous… silence.

Today, Per and Thought Detox have a few thousand installs, and the business is profitable, but it’s not exactly what I’d call successful. Marketing, product development, and growth of any kind has generally been an afterthought, and frankly, while I’m proud of the apps I’ve built, I have to admit: they’re utilities. They’re little apps I’ve built to scratch an itch, to learn something new, and to recoup my expenses. They are not —and this is key to understand— something that I can build a successful business around.

Hello, friends!

It's been a little while since the last newsletter. If you don't remember why you're receiving this, you probably signed up on the Dropped Bits website. In today's edition, I'll share some updates on my apps, and a special mention for World Mental Health Day.

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