Financing my hobbies

[scowha7]

Unfortunately, since I returned to work after the medical leave, I've been scarce on here. This is partly because I'm back at work full time, partly because I'm trying to catch up yard work and home maintenance but mostly because of a side gig I've got going on. Nearly 2 years ago a family friend approached my brother-in-law and asked if he could put together a simple system to run inventory, customer tracking and point-of-sale for his pawn shop. My brother-in-law is a database design guru but he brought me in to design the front-end interface. Now 20 months later, we have invested nearly 2000 hours between the two of us and the two interns we have hired and the code has expanded beyond anyone's dreams. (This pawn shop has grown to be the largest in the midwest and one of the largest in the nation)

We are now 3-4 weeks away from our first alpha release an about 6 months away from version 1 final release. In about 2 months, we will be forming a new company and taking this product on the road. Truth be told, I'm not all about the coding so I'm currently in the process of handing off my coding responsibilities in favor of a more managerial/business management role. So, I'll be dealing with system requirements, regulatory and every day business operations of the new company. It is an exciting time as we never thought we'd get here. The product has the potential to be a big money maker but I still plan to continue at the university--with the hope that things will be more manageable for me once I'm not doing the coding (which I don't like).

I'm going to be back on here more now though because this (and modeling) is going to become a larger part of my "unwind/cool down" time every day/week. I need the mental break from coding to refresh! Hopefully though, as money starts coming in as we sell the product, my family can pay off bills, buy more land and I can buy more models!

[BUCKY]

Sounds like the hard work is gonna pay off, Scott! Congrats, dude!

[JCON]

Good job Scott!!!

[JED]

Good look,it's a subject I know nothing about aside from having to update apps etc,it's a black art!!

[scowha7]

It's a subject sometimes I wish I knew nothing about. I spend 50-60 hrs a week at a computer writing and looking at code, when I'd REALLY rather be playing in the dirt or sawdust at home.

[JCON]

Sounds like my cyber security son!!!

[Deleted]

Looks like you did a good job I'm still trying to find employment I guarantee if I lived in any other state I would probably have a job by now but because I'm in Massachusetts we have some of the strictest laws because we have one of the highest minimum wages in the country people are very picky on who they hire and nobody likes to train in this state.

[JCON]

Sad but true in many areas these days Ben!

[scowha7]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no Ben. I have a degree in Mathematical Economics and Actuarial Science so I could really be out there in the public sector making a whole lot more money, but I don't feel like I'm supposed to be out there anymore--wouldn't want to either. It's a question I get asked quite frequently--"Why aren't you out there making a boatload of money instead of working at a small Christian college making a fraction of the income?" Easy, I'm happy here and it's where I'm supposed to be. Even as a data analyst, I still feel like I get to have an impact on the next generation, if even a very small one.

[Dukemaddog]

Scott, it's great to see things starting to improve for someone. I'm thrilled to see you catching that break. It's about time. I wish you every success and hope and pray things continue to improve.