On My Entrepreneurial Journey: August 2024 Summary

What have I done and what do I want to do in the future?

AI Product:

Selman Barcin and I are developing an artificial intelligence product together. Due to the usual process of life, we could not finish the product. This is something that is caused by me because my prompt skills are not very good. The problem with our artificial intelligence product is that when we ask for a logo, it creates a logo with irrelevant text on it. Even when we ask it to create a logo with at least the brand name, it writes other things.

Then I discussed this issue with Cagdas Kurultay Kalkan in a meet and greet. I showed him the code and he said: “The prompt is too short”.

The prompt was short because even a long prompt eats up the token in the API credit. I tried to keep it short but it didn't work. He suggested that it's a good strategy to first extract the desired result and then try to shorten the prompt.

As you can notice, this means a lot of experimentation, which means running out of API token credits. I needed to make more money to create new technologies!

What Have I Been Working on Lately?

I'm trying to increase my income. I tried to launch this month and sell a micro SaaS boilerplate but it didn't sell. I started a podcast but couldn't sustain it. I started giving live lessons in the Turkish language. I taught 1 person but no one else took lessons. I had to pivot but still, no other paid students came.

No matter how much I tried to increase my income, I didn't want to do freelance work. Because I always tell myself “I am an entrepreneur” but when I need some money, I do “freelance” work. Does that make me an entrepreneur? Not in my opinion! I have to solve my problems and needs with my entrepreneurial skills! That's why I launched last month.

I'm still not making the money I expected, so even though I'm a bit unhappy, I'm still very happy. Because even though I launched and didn't sell anything, I still felt happy. I realized that I love the bad parts of this business as much as I love the good parts.

Form Builder:

I have one SaaS. NotionPlus.dev. But the money I earn is not enough for me. So I rolled up my sleeves for the 2nd active SaaS. I was going to make a form builder. I didn't choose this idea randomly, there are some reasons.

I tried to code the form builder in the simplest form, but it was really hard. Since I shared the process from the very beginning by making #buildinpublic on X, I talked to people about it via DM. Gorkem Cetin, an entrepreneur I met online and respected, said: “There is no need to reinvent the wheel”. And I said: “reinventing the wheel is a lot of fun”.

DAAAATTT!

I'm thinking with my feelings! No! You're an entrepreneur, Ugur! You have to think like an entrepreneur!

That's why I started using open-source technologies. But....

The development process was constantly interrupted by other projects.

Komunite.com.tr 1on1:

I have been a member of the Komunite since it was founded. I am a moderator there now. I will make my first presentation as a moderator at the end of September. I am happy there.

Even if I am a moderator, I also have needs. We had a 1on1 meeting and they told me what I lacked.

“Simplify!”

I am so disorganized! I try to be everywhere, even on my social media I have two accounts. Both in Turkish and English. I'm taking too many steps to generate income. I need to simplify!

I made some moves. I merged my accounts, renewed my website, etc. But I also needed to simplify my products. I had to launch fewer products. I'm working on it.

Fed up:

I'm making products and I'm not getting the results I expect, so I'm thinking of ending some of my projects or leaving them in zombie mode. Also, how long will this situation continue?

I have a target. I need to make $1000 a month before the end of 2024! I have to!

That's why I have to finish the form builder in September but I'm losing a lot of time because of other things, I'm very disorganized, and I need to simplify!

Above all, I want to start a long-term startup.

Kumulatif.org:

I needed to cover the domain fee and other expenses for the form builder. That's why I created a job ad for Kumulatif. Kumulatif is my automated agency.

In the past 8 years, I made a lot of software videos on YouTube, and people would watch them and offer me freelance jobs. I mostly refused, “I hate freelancing!”. I had clients but no people to work with. I solved the employee problem. I put all this together and started an agency.

The client would come from YouTube. I would pass the work to freelancers and agencies I knew. I would get a commission. It was a simple idea. But it didn't work.

Customers weren't coming immediately. So I decided to record podcasts to generate customers. This was a mistake because I built an agency on top of the existing customer flow. Trying to increase the flow means more energy. It is important to manage time and energy well! I didn't manage it with this move.

I didn't have time to translate it into English. But if you want, you can work with us starting from a minimum of $1000.

Minik.Link:

This is my link-shortening site. But it doesn't make money. It was also lacking in GDPR and KVKK. I made updates on this issue as much as I could. I was going to video this and publish it on YouTube with the concept of “#buildinpublic vlog”. But it didn't happen. Because it is a very energy-consuming process.

It also has shortcomings in terms of generating income. I tested some ideas, but I failed. I'm still going to try and generate income from it. That's my intention.

Amazon Web Services Problem:

I applied and won the Amazon Founder program 2 years ago. I published my old project getapimaker.com on AWS, but it failed. At the end of 2 years, AWS sent me an email and announced that they invoiced me. I explained the situation and they gave me hope.

If I close my account, then the problem will be solved. The debt would not be counted. But even if I closed my account, they still sent me emails telling me that I still owed money. Even though I tried to explain my problem several times, they told me twice to “delete my account”. By account I mean delete my website on Lightsail. I deleted it and they continued but I'm fed up 😖, I don't care about the emails.

I want to try this September for the last time. I want to solve everything in one message. I hope I will succeed.

Note: I can sell getapimaker.com with codes, member registration, and domain for $1000. It's on auction until the first week of October. I will sell to the highest bidder.

Websitetion:

Notion website themes were a product that could promote NotionPlus with a concept I thought to produce. But the same thing happened again. I had done things that I could have done myself but never enjoyed doing. Designing a website is fun but not every day.

These processes are good. I discover myself better, I learn my likes and dislikes, and I become a better person every day.

The funny part is that I made a deal about this. So I have to design at least 3 Notion-based websites! The person I made a deal with was actually a person I sold a domain to. As a result, I made a promise and I have to keep that promise! Those 3 themes will be made!

NotionPlus.dev:

It's growing. But it's almost never sold. So I did a survey on the dashboard. 30% of the respondents approved. That's good enough for me (See: Pareto principle).

It was a survey about improving pricing. I asked if adding quarterly, semi-annual, and annual rates in addition to monthly pricing would be a good idea. The rates satisfied me. I've done half of the system. I never expected that it would take so long. The process has exhausted me a bit mentally. But I plan to finish this in September and I hope this will increase my MRR. 🙏

Counseling:

I am counseling 1 person. In August I was going to do a small thing for him. I worked on it for a few days and finished it. She thanked me at the end. This spiritual power was nice.

Squarespace:

I canceled the renewal of failed domains, some of them disappeared because of that.

If anyone wants to buy my failed projects, you can contact me at hi@ugurkilci.com.

Marketplace:

On Komunite 1on1 they told me that making a marketplace might be a good strategy for a person like me. So I'm trying, I found a nice domain but I can't buy it yet :S

Mystery Startup:

For three years, I have been developing a new idea that will continue. Again, I don't have the money to buy its domain. :S I will eventually solve this problem. This mystery startup will be based in Turkey, but I will eventually add an English-language option.

Patreon:

Yes, I have financial disadvantages. I try everything I can. In Turkey, we call it “pressing all the buttons”. While playing a fighting game on a console, I can describe it as a move to try to knock out the other person by pressing all the buttons.

You can support me and my initiatives on Patreon. Right now 1 person is supporting me but this is not enough. I need to get support from at least 5-6 more people. On Patreon, I will share secret information about developing new products. I will share some small spoilers and some small details about the development process etc. Please support me on Patreon. Thank you!

Will Continue:

Yes, you've noticed. I'm very scattered, I'm trying to simplify, and the processes are getting more difficult. I'm getting physically older day by day. I have to stabilize these things as soon as possible.

I choose this life. It may seem very wrong to many of you. I can understand you. This is my story and this is how I want to create it.

I am a hardcore entrepreneur! Bootstrapping hardcore entrepreneur! One day I will make startups that I will get invested in, but I still have a lot to learn. You can support my process.

You can support me on Patreon if you wish! You can subscribe on YouTube or follow me on X. The decision is yours.

See you in next month's recap. 🙋‍♂️

I am Uğur KILCI.

ugurkilci.com