008 — A Focus on Interest
Just a quick one on a mindset that I have been trying to apply to the things that I have been working on, or committing to, in 2024. The concept revolves around two requirements to meet when committing to a project/client/etc. Those two requirements are, the project either has to be interesting, whether that is interesting to work on, an interesting topic, or potentially an interesting technical challenge. Or, alternatively, but not mutually exclusive, would embarking on this project/collaboration/client engagement generate interest (ie. make money/margins) both in the short-term, but also potentially in the long-term or over time.
In a perfect world, the project(s) would both be very interesting, while also providing the potential to earn a healthy level of interest over time. At least, that is my goal with the personal projects that I am working on, and plan to work on in the future.
Another thought that comes out during this episode is some reflection on the debate of working on multiple things, or going all-in on a single project. I am of the mindset that the people going “all-in” on something are potentially leaving money and some optionality on the table when they abandon an existing user base to pursue a new niche customer market that no longer aligns with the initial product offering. A few questions that I have been debating as I hear people weigh-in on this topic are:
- Would potentially maintaining that existing product, while exploring a new target customer with an altered, or new product, really impact the success of the new initiative?
- Would maintaining the existing customers, even if growth is plateaued, allow for you to retain them and the current MRR while supporting the development of the new product?
- If the new initiative is not a success and you potentially want to re-engage with the previous customers that you abandoned, is there even a pathway back to your previous state?
I hope to be able to explore and play with some of these questions as I am building and growing the projects I am working on. And I look forward to sharing those insights and internal debates in future episodes of the show.
To follow along, you can find me at ryanhefner.com, follow me on Twitter @ryanhefner, and keep up with the show on allplay.fm and @allplayfm.
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This was originally posted on: https://www.allplay.fm/podcast/008-a-focus-on-interest
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Transcript
00:00–00:17
Hey. How’s it going? This is Ryan Hefner, and this is the All Play Podcast. A word I’ve been focusing a lot about this year is interest and kind of, like, in, like, 2 different contexts. 1, I wanna focus on things that are just more interesting because I think they’re more fun.
00:17–01:11
And I think also, like, things that are more interesting just gives you a whole lot more to talk about, and people find them more interesting, hopefully, and, you know, everything that goes along with that. And then also just the idea of just interest and having, you know, embarking on, like, endeavors or figuring out deals or just, you know, whatever it is that can actually generate some extra cash to give you a little margin to then allow you to then focus on things that are more interesting. So it’s kinda funny. I was talking with my buddy, John, like, back early in the year, and that just that whole thing of I’m, like, focusing on interest kinda came out during my our conversation. It was just an interesting concept.
01:11–01:55
So that’s really I mean, that’s one of the things I’m trying to get to with, what I’m working on right now and also just trying to be mindful of that idea. It’s either it’s it’s either building or or, you know, creating interest, or it’s interesting. And ideally, when those 2 come together, I think that’s really powerful. So that’s what I’ve been trying to look at everything, you know, the things that I’m working on in that kind of mindset. And, yeah, I think inter interesting is kind of interesting on multiple fronts.
01:57–02:44
Obviously, interesting is different for a lot of different people. It’s very subjective. And the things that I’m interested right now is definitely, you know, tools to make building more tools easier and all that kind of stuff. So probably a small small niche population of people who might find that kind of stuff interesting, but I think it’s interesting. Also, I just like the idea of, like, building blocks and being able to kind of, like, move faster on stuff as more of those are kind of built up and and made rigid and, reliable and kinda creating a a solid foundation to then move fast on top of.
02:45–03:57
And not in, like, the move fast, break things, but just, you know, it’s nice to see ideas come from this little spark and actually see them mature into something that’s real in a in a amount of time that still aligns with that initial interest or excitement that comes along when, like, a new idea is is out there and and you try to, you know, attack it. So, yeah, I mean, I think the interesting thing is a whole lot easier than the interest part and focusing on projects or getting, you know, associated with, clients that can both provide, you know, for the for the work that’s happening now, but also potentially provide down the road. Long term, that’s a trickier one, I feel like, to get right. Obviously, there’s options and stuff, but those are kinda just like hopes. Like, a number of hopes in a basket, and not all of those materialize as far as, you know, getting options on a company.
04:00–04:47
But I do think that and I the and there’s a lot of debate around the whole small bets and working on multiple things. But I’m guessing that if you really step back on the and reevaluated the people who are maybe so strongly against that, they might not realize that they’re actually doing their own kind of version of small bets, but maybe just under a same the same name. So when a company pivots or is kind of repositioning itself, you know, I mean, I guess they’re technically going all in on that all pit that that pivot. I also feel sometimes it could be interesting. It’s like, well, if this isn’t working, what if you just had that?
04:47–05:30
And, you know, kinda tag that branch or tag that code base at that point in time, let it live. Is it the name that has to stick around when you do the pivot? Or is it like, if you find something that’s kind of working, do you have to fully change it in order to then materialize the the real effects down the road? Or could you just let that one idea that maybe is generating a little bit of cash live and let that, you know, maybe it’s plateaued, but it at least it’s money coming in, and then use the funds from that one to, invest in the next, you know, pivot. Yeah.
05:30–06:30
I don’t know. I mean, hopefully, I get to some of this learning sooner than later so I actually have my own stories to tell and share on that. But I I don’t know. I can go I I can foresee myself going in multiple directions, but I also like the idea of if you’re building something and there’s something there that’s working, but you wanna maybe fully change it or totally reposition it for another market or change the the the wording, that also could potentially alienate the existing users, does it have to be a total shift and you just dump anyone who’s currently on the product, or is there a way to do that to where you can basically let that previous one live and and maybe even circle back on it and approach different marketing techniques or just get it out in front of different people and or let people just live with it for a while. You know what I mean?
06:32–07:00
I definitely like being in or like, I’m interested in knowing what the latest stuff that’s going on. I’d but I’m I’m kind of like an early adopter, late adopter. Like, I’d like to know about it. If there’s something that’s interesting, I like to dig into it. But as far as actually fully adopting it for things that I’m really working on versus just kinda kicking the tires and see what it does, I’m kind of a late adopter.
07:02–07:44
But that’s also just because sometimes I don’t really sometimes you can’t realize the value until you’ve lived with it for a while, or it’s just kind of you’re aware of it, and then finally, that moment comes where it actually does provide value. So, yeah, interest and interesting. Just wanted to throw out a little thought piece on, some of the things that’s bounced around my head. And I’m gonna leave it at that and actually have this one be well under well, a good a good amount under the 10 minutes that I’m kinda shooting for on these things. So I’m Ryan Heffner.
07:44–08:13
You can find me @ryanhefner on Twitter. You can also find my website, ryanhefner.com. You can follow the podcast on Twitter. It’s @allplayfm, and you can also find the website at allplay.fm. So hopefully this was interesting, and, hopefully, you’re all out there building interest on, on the things you’re working on or the money that you’re saving or whatever else.
08:14–08:18
And I’ll talk to you soon. Alright. Have a great one. Later.
