A transparent look at how I generated $6,072 in revenue from my indie projects in March 2021.

I’ve been hiring software developers and other freelancers for the past seven years. Even though I write most code myself, hiring other developers is a tremendous force multiplier that frees up time for other parts of my business.

Freelancers work well if you manage the relationship properly, but there are hundreds of ways it can go wrong. The best way to start things off is by reaching a shared understanding of your freelancer-client relationship.

Highlights

• TinyPilots revenues dropped for the first time in six months.
• TinyPilot finished the month with $33k in revenue, a 21% drop from January.
• One of the critical TinyPilot parts I need suddenly disappeared from vendors.
• Delegating work to others is paradoxically leaving me with less free time.

Goal grades

At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those goals:

A transparent look at how I generated $5,517 in revenue from my indie projects in February 2021.

Highlights

• TinyPilot achieved astonishing growth in revenue, jumping from $15k in December to $42k in January.
• Most of TinyPilot’s sales came from a single positive YouTube review.
• TinyPilot is experiencing growing pains as I scramble to meet demand.

Goal grades

At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those goals:

Hire a freelance developer to help with TinyPilot development

• Result: I ran one trial hire that didn’t work out, but I’m currently trying with another.
• Grade: A

Hiring a new developer is a slow process, but it’s going according to plan. With each trial hire, I’m finding ways to help them ramp up faster. It also helps me recognize what qualities I should look for in future hires.