How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So
This would be more accurately titled, &quot;I survived 10 years as a solo developer and here are the choices I made&quot;.  Here&#x27;s my version:<p>1) Craftsmen pay good money for their tools. Invest in your office space, whether its a dedicated space in your home or a coworking membership. But be honest about what tools you need. You probably don&#x27;t need a $1000 aeron chair. But you do need one that&#x27;s comfortable. You probably don&#x27;t need that super-cool triple-panel 17&quot; laptop Razer pumped at CES for web development. You probably do need something with enough RAM to run a few VMs sometimes.<p>2) Outsource everything that doesn&#x27;t make you money or that you aren&#x27;t good at. Taxes and bookkeeping, for example. But know enough about it so you can tell if you&#x27;ve hired good help there.<p>3) Invest in yourself. Learn some new technology at least once a year—whether thats a framework, a language, or a skill like design. Go to at least one regional conference, and at least one national conference if you can afford it.<p>4) Work the shit out of your network. Set a limit on how many unpaid lunch meetings you&#x27;ll take to hear about other people&#x27;s problems, and always try to find a way to help them even if you don&#x27;t wind up taking the job. And then try to hit your limit most of the time. Farm favors like they&#x27;re a cash crop.<p>5) Find a way to keep yourself accountable, whether that&#x27;s a mentor, a coach, or an accountability partner. We all need someone to keep us honest about our motivations and rationalizations from time to time.<p>6) Try to exercise some self control over how many self-indulgent HN comments you make in a given period of time. :)