On March 17th, I quit my job as a Software Developer to go full-time as an entrepreneur.

It was an incredibly proud and exciting time for me, something I had wanted to do, had dreamed of doing in the past, and thanks to Software Ideas (the project originally born out of my own research for my next SaaS), I decided to take the leap and chase the dream.

For the weeks after announcing my work but before my last day, I was extremely excited. Software Ideas was desperate for more of my time each week.

When it first started, I could write an entire weekly newsletter in roughly 10-15 hours. With that, I had time to do all the marketing, handle customer emails and questions, all while still holding down a software developer job.

However, as the newsletter grew in subscribers, this was no longer the case.

Over time, the analysis in the Software Ideas newsletter has gotten significantly more detailed. The first newsletter that was ever written was 1,218 words (estimated reading time of 4.5 minutes). The newsletter that just came out today as I’m writing this was 8,306 words (30 minutes reading time). That’s nearly eight times the length!

Because of this, the reports take significantly longer to write, not only due to more words to type but also the deeper research that goes into them.

Basically, I got stuck in a position where I didn’t have time to do everything the business needed to keep growing. This was the main reason I decided that now was the time to leap.

Unfortunately, three days before my final day as a software developer, my girlfriend developed health issues that brought her to the hospital for the next week.

I’ll keep this part brief out of respect for my girlfriend’s privacy, but I took her to the emergency room after she experienced crippling, mind-bending pain in her abdomen.

Coupled with an inability to eat or drink, her life was in serious danger.

Of course, the timing couldn’t have been worse, but that wasn’t important. We just focused on getting through it.

A week later, we had a bill for $60,000 from the hospital and no clear answer for why she was in so much pain. They prescribed narcotics and sent her home.

At this point, the majority of my day was helping her manage her meds and making sure our dog was taken care of. Trying to find time for Software Ideas was nearly impossible. Customer emails went ignored for days, if not weeks. It was rough.

In an astounding stroke of bad luck, our dog started vomiting.

A snapshot of our life - our dog Luna looks so thin in this picture, and a row of medications behind her.

After the third time in three days, we took her to the vet. About 2 hours later, the vet called us and let us know that our dog had somehow been exposed to an unknown toxin and was in complete liver failure.

Our dog is only three years old, so this news was beyond shocking. We still can’t figure out what she got into - we hardly go anywhere with COVID, and I caged her while visiting my girlfriend at the hospital.

Our dog has a liver biopsy today to find out if she’ll live.

That’s where everything stands today. We are still seeking answers for what’s causing both my girlfriend and our dog’s medical issue.

And I’ve been trying my best to keep up with Software Ideas - but I know I haven’t been perfect.

I’ve specifically failed regarding The Foundation course - a video series I’m supposed to be releasing weekly. People are purchasing subscriptions to Software Ideas with the expectation of watching this course, and I’ve definitely dropped the ball.

Despite everything that’s happened, I do want to point out a silver lining.

You could look at my situation and feel that I was unlucky to have just quit my job. But in reality, I feel so fortunate! Here’s why:

I was able to spend every day with my girlfriend at the hospital.

I’ve been able to be at every appointment and be an advocate for her care.

I’ve been able to shoulder the burden of managing our dog’s vet care.

And it’s only been possible thanks to being a founder…

It’s always said that the best part of going full-time is the freedom you get. And I can’t even express how grateful I am to have the freedom to focus on our family’s health without worrying about random BS - like how many days off my company gives me.

I know we’ll get through this, and I know that soon I’ll be able to focus on growing Software Ideas again, but for now, I’m just happy that chasing my dream has given me something I never knew I would want so badly - freedom to focus on my family.