Stronico

Non paywalled link https://archive.is/g7HNV

I can just give the logins to someone else. My current setup is a workable, optimal, but not clean solution to the problem.

I've got it down to 45 minutes a month, including a phone call to the venue.

All of those can be done on meetup - but then we would lose a lot of people who are not, and will not be on Meetup.

The email list is probably the single most important part of the tech stack actually.

I run a discussion group that meets once a month - our tech stack is 1. A blog running WordPress that I use to announce meetings 2. A meetup.com account (free tier) that has the same information as the blog 3. A MailChimp account (free tier) where I send notices about the meetups 4. A very active Slack group (free tier) where I announce meetups and we have entended discussions. Discord would probably work just as well.

I've never used Facebook for anything, but the above four tools work very well for us.

It's important not to overthink this - You're a specialist at being you, more specifically you have a bundle of skills, some of which will be useful to people with both problems and money. All you can really do is to isolate those skills, give them a name, and offer that as a service.

Based on your original description - you are an expert in "back office" skills.

1. Care about technical matters and show that you care about technical matters - if you're selling something technical it's good to have complicated opinions on technical matters

2. Someone who is difficult in good times will be a monster in bad times

3. Repeating the words of other's back to them is eerily effective

4. Every client is in the middle of some sort of political drama, you will be some minor part of that drama - this is normal and not that meaningful

Risk is independent of prior events, habits are not - I think that was what the anthropologist story is about

Maybe I've just gotten better at what I follow/comment on, but the mood feels like it's gotten a bit better over the past few years, more tolerant, more heterdox, less shrill, more interesting, less combative, less "performative", etc. Not perfect, but improving over a few years ago. It does feel like the average age of the commenter has increased though.

I've done a fair amount of that - some mistakes I've made -

1. Not getting money up front

2. Extending credit

3. Open ended meetings

4. Being insufficiently explicit about what is being delivered

5. Working on a handshake (seldom a problem with big clients actually) - get them to sign something

6. Not actually meeting in person at least once

7. Not being clear on who owns the code/technology (if you're going to do more or less the same thing for the person across the street then make sure to let the client know that they are getting a license (or something similar))

8. Scheduling meetings in their downtime, but your worktime

9. Not having a template, or even an idea of what a good referral would look like

10. Having a specified finish line - much more important for the smaller client than the larger ones IME

Many things can be said but you will experience an emotional range like you've never felt before - the lows are really low and the highs are really high - plus a lot of your life will no longer be within your control, which always adds a bit of adventure to things.

It can be nice in big cities too, maybe a little harder, but still pretty easy - all you have to do is remove social media and the clickbait/outrage web and life becomes pretty normal.

Things I know I will need in the next month get scanned and sent to Notion - Tax Docs go to a folder on my desk

Everything else I place in a large pile on the side of my desk - once it looks like it's going to fall over I go through everything, throw out what looks useless and put the rest in a separate pile. Every once in a while I scan the separate pile documents to OneNote and shred them. It's worked surprisingly well for the past 15 years or so.

Nice catch actually

I've always found the "You can accomplish Task A by using Method B, but Method C is way easier and better in the long run" quite helpful, and rarely on stack overflow

Go for the bedrock with "Knowledge and Decisions"

A column or collection of random quotes will never adequately summarize a thinker - however his books "Knowledge and Decisions" and "A Conflict of Visions" both rank as masterpieces.

The categories were made for man, not man for the categories (as a wise man once said). If you can improve your lot without hurting someone else you should do it. The name of the problem doesn't matter if you have a solution available.

More production per worker - due to automation and other efficiency improvements.

The book Never Enough by Judith Grisel is a good addition this field, and probably this book.

Short version - your body longs to be at equilibrium/homeostasis and drugs (alcohol, stimulants, opiates, etc) upset that equilibrium, so your body attempts to return you to your previous state.

There is no free lunch, and a high will be accompanied by a low. The lows come in numerous and surprising forms.

The book is significantly better than my description.

I've found "How centralized is decision making in the company?" to be illuminating. The specific answer doesn't matter, but it probably hasn't been asked before and the answerer will have to think about the answer. If they give an easy, enthusiastic answer, that is a good sign - if they give a slow convoluted corporate speak answer that is a bad sign.

Valid - but building a crappy first machine is a great way to learn how to build a better second machine.