It’s still too much. 200k items in a database is nothing. I’m familiar with elasticsearch as well.

What size server are you running? Are you sure you needed an EC2 instance? Why not lightsail instead?

Are you using RDS? Redundancies? LB with multiple servers – doesn’t look like it.

Zoho for email was a good choice – are you using the free tier?

Your bill for your infrastructure and what is needed is high.

Now onto the revenue. Even at $7 you would barely be able to pay for a lightsail instance and break even. Though, it could buy you some time with the 3 mo free.

Your traffic is decent. But, your offering is near impossible to find. Are you referring to Patron?

How many of your users are on mobile vs desktop? On mobile it looks confusing. How many are repeat users? I read some, but percentage? Why do they return? Is what you’re offering for the $5 worth it to them or how did you decide on the “perks”?

When you talked to your users what did they say?

If it’s 5% equity it’s straight forward. They get 5% of the business and any owner’s draw they get 5%. I’m assuming this isn’t a very small business (under lets say 500k), because they wouldn’t be accounting for owner’s/managers salary. For that investment you should be netting around 300k (after reasonable owner/manager salary), growing every year, etc. I say net, because these types of service businesses usually sell for 2X EBITDA. Look at similar businesses for sale or even talk to a business broker (or a few) to get a better idea. Tell them you’re interested in selling your business and want a valuation. That usually includes owner/manager salary – this is the reasonable rate if you were to hire someone to manage the business.

It always depends on how the contract is written, but purchasing 5% equity is usually straight forward. Alternatively, he could want 5% of revenue, profits before any distributions, etc. A lot of possibilities for how the contract is written.

If he’s looking for for 5% there are a lot of other ways that aren’t as risky as investing in your business. There are a lot of angel groups he could join and invest in 1 or 2 of the startups (normally min is 20k). Those are more risky, but usually have a higher multiple return if they’re successful.

Yes, love the process and what you’re doing – you’ll never work a day in your life (or so they say lol)! I love building as well! Even have some patents :)

Yes, I can relate to that as well. I think the impact you have and how you make others around you feel is important.

Yes, I love doing this as well. I believe entrepreneurs are those that love building.

Hi, I also started my first business at 19. Before that I played live music at wineries Fri-Sun and taught guitar lessons. Unlike most of my friends I did not attend college and taught myself. In fact, I have been programming for the last 10 years :)

While not impossible and I can attest you can make great money with programming services it is a tough road. The problem is there is a lot of competition.

For music, I wrote my own and got a lucky break when looking for a job as a server. They asked if I had any experience which I didn’t and ended up asking if I played music (the odds of that are probably pretty low). So, it was the right time and luck.

For the property Preservation company I was 19 and had worked at another company for only a few months before starting my own. This was in early 2011 and the foreclosure boom was still running strong. There were lots of contractors, but they were clueless in how to get these jobs for themselves. The bigger part was that the banks and property management companies wanted to work with someone that could cover a large area – so I just had a list of contractors and knew the requirements for work orders.

So, the same thing applies with coding or anything else. You need to find a niche you excel at (within programming), can offer at a great price, have better service, or whatever the customers care about. You can always grow from there and add on services, but you need to build trust and recognition first. The more saturated it is the harder it is to break through (example “web development”). To start you will be competing with others on price – that’s fine as long as you don’t get stuck long term. You need reviews, word of mouth, other services you can charge more for after getting in.

Good luck!

Good advice. I used to play guitar and piano live – that was my first “job” friday-sunday and taught guitar lessons. Those were great days and was in the 70-100k range just doing that. I do still play for fun, work out, and travel occasionally.

Interestingly, my initial goal was around the same. Then it always changed 100k,120k, etc. It wasn’t all about money, but it certainly was always a goal. Time will tell if your goal remains the same, but if you’re happy at 70k and can live the life you want, there isn’t much point of moving the needle.

Webflow, wix, shopify (ecommerce), etc.

Mostly correct and I agree that almost all ideas (even good ones) are worth $0. It’s all about execution. However, if you can come up with them consistently there are think tanks.

Without googling I’m not aware of a state that doesn’t require recurring fees. You also usually need to file taxes (yes even for $0). I have filed businesses in 4 states and all have recurring fees (smallest was CO, highest CA).

It’s nice to file some paperwork, but its not really an achievement. Having started multiple LLCs, C Corps, etc it only cost you money. You should be proud when you start making money (more than you spend) on a regular recurring basis.

Good luck!

Having jumped around a few times myself – don’t be compulsive. Your 32k won’t go as far as you hope and without finding that repeatable model you’re going to end up spending your savings and be depressed that you have to start over. Keep working, save/invest, and work on your YouTube channel on the side.

Old folks homes, handyman services, grandchildren, medical…

All good points. Its definitely a mix. I have found that its much harder than it originally seemed to keep employees and contractors truly happy as well.