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Hey nostriches, I need your help with some advice.

After 2 years doing my best to counter bitcoin FUD pretty much full time I’ve run out of financial gas to keep doing this.

Wouldn’t be an issue except I have a family and I’m the sole income earner. CH4Capital will eventually pay me something, but at what point is uncertain. Infrastructure deployment on landfills takes a long time and we are still at the site identification stage. I’m fortunate that we do have investments in early stage tech companies that are going well - but no liquidity likely for 4-5 years.

My options seem to be

A. Sell some of our modest stack believing that’ll tide us over to when CH4Capital gets up and running

B. Get a real job - within the bitcoin ecosystem. I’m very grateful that there are a couple of options here.

C. Attempt to get my newsletter to a stage that it’s paying something decent (seems the least feasible option, as it currently turns over four figures p.a).

D. Something that’s staring me in the face but I’m too blind to see it.

Appreciate your thoughts on this.

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Discussion

Trey Walsh 1y ago

I think B) and leaning on folks like Elliot David and other Bitcoin enviro connections well connected to the industry—gotta be some room there (although I know mining companies and the halving is tricky!)

Wouldn’t be lucrative yet but I think your voice, insights, and expertise as well as focus and guests you’d get would be fantastic for a proper Bitcoin environmental podcast as well!

And set up an advocacy nonprofit to counter greenpeace USA! But that’s not a lucrative idea now is it so nevermind 😂

Shawn 1y ago

Could consulting be a happy medium?

Daniel Batten 1y ago

Thank Shawn. Yes this is a good idea worth investigating. Maybe I’m missing something obvious - I’m just not sure to whom I could consult and on what! Feel free to suggest some areas if you feel I’m missing something.

@IsabelSydow Queen of Shrimps (but u can call me Dan.) 1y ago

How many hours would u need to invest in "B. Get a real job - within the bitcoin ecosystem. I’m very grateful that there are a couple of options here."

so you could still have the life/work/bitcoin balance you need?

If B doesn't steal from you a whole lot, I don't see why not.

Daniel Batten 1y ago

Yes that’s true. I could negotiate something that isn’t fulltime so I can still keep creating bitcoin content. Thanks.

@IsabelSydow Queen of Shrimps (but u can call me Dan.) 1y ago

I'm at a crossroads myself. I'm putting in my 2 wk notice tomorrow at a job that offers health benefits for me and hubs, to take a job that pays a lot less where I have to spend a lot more to buy our own insurance, as they don't offer benefits.

But it's either that, or die on my desk while on the phone taking the abuse I have been taking.

The most abusive folks are the ones who DON'T intend to be.

They're just in such horrible circumstances and they're physically suffering because their medicare plan denied them lifesaving treatment.

So I have to prioritize the types of stresses I can handle:

Financial, or the fact that I can't save any of my callers?

You have to balance what you want to do and what you have to do so you can find what you need to do.

Dr. Hax 1y ago

It's a really tough call, but I think this might be the sweet spot. Maybe half time to bring in enough dough to get by and the other half for family/personal projects?

@IsabelSydow Queen of Shrimps (but u can call me Dan.) 1y ago

Also, think about what you could possibly learn from whichever Bitcoin place you'll work at, and how that will shape the content you will be writing about.

Like not even talking about the gig, just how it shapes your knowledge.

𝖋𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖎𝖊𝖗 (¯`◕‿◕´¯) 1y ago

Get a job or get a double income

ck 1y ago

DM me.

nymble 1y ago

no to nostr dm

paulo 1y ago

Option B sounds like the best option to me. I would be surprised if you couldn’t find an interesting position in the industry.

Entropy 1y ago

I skew pretty heavily towards the risk-averse and if I were in a similar situation I would probably opt for getting a job (Bitcoin or elsewhere) and plan to be there long enough for the other endeavor to start bearing fruit.

This way protects your stack for potentially another cycle, gives you a step back from what you are doing so that when you return you'll have a fresh set of eyes and renewed energy.

Just my two sats, it's hard to give advice for these things because there are so many variables that are unknown.

Daniel Batten 1y ago

Totally! There are many variables at play - and great to have your perspective on this. It’s one of those cases in life where getting others’ perspectives is illuminating where my own thinking has become limited.

Ben Arc 1y ago

NEVER sell your stack.

Daniel Batten 1y ago

Thanks Ben. I agree. My wife has different ideas !

Ben Arc 1y ago

You'll only ever regret. The type of stack you can live off for a short period now, will be life changing money in 5 years. Burning the stack to altruisticly self-fund developing things is a very slippery slope, you won't get it back and no one will thank you. I speak from experience.

HODL 1y ago

B or C. You can’t sell your stack right before it rips man. Regret city.

nymble 1y ago

b) or d) 1 year loan to trim from that fit stack

Diego Valley 1y ago

All of the above. Don’t restrict yourself.

Matt 1y ago

B or C all day and B doesn't need to be in Bitcoin really. You're falsely limiting yourself. If you can, awesome. If not, then just get a fiat gig. If anyone gives you shit I will personally donate time telling them to go fuck themselves.

I'll also buy your newsletter in whatever state it's currently in while you work on it.

Throw stack selling right out the window. Let's figure out how to solve this problem AND build your stack more.

Thanks!

Daniel Batten 1y ago

Haha. Awesome Matt. Love that spirit.

Matt 1y ago

On a side note, I recently saw something somewhere about how Substack is slowly working to fuck it's writers by taking more ownership of the subscribers list (so it can't be as easily moved elsewhere). Something to consider since you're considering building it up more. I really dont want a Substack account again but I will for you. Would appreciate an alternative or something on Nostr whenever possible.

This may be a thing at some point:

https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20240410da84128/former-truth-social-executive-to-launch-substack-alternative-letr

Daniel Batten 1y ago

Thanks Matt. It’s (still) not easy to enable bitcoin payments on substack either unless you have significant turnover. I’ll look into Morningstar. Do you know if it’s easier to enable bitcoin payments there?

Matt 1y ago

Let's make B and/or C happen for this man.

He has a newsletter linked on his profile.

@OpenSats ?

#Bitcoin #Nostr

nostr:nevent1qqsfg8v969h0ppw9snted3pxyhttvqy5zapskg2n5yxpykeph6jyrzgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzprlvgf3y0pzmm5n0x6hy7um4prq4m0kq04puux8ccym2h8344ssjqvzqqqqqqygxz6zg

Sats Dragon 1y ago

Hate to say it but B. Also look at bitcoin adjacent jobs. Something that can help bitcoin development but isn’t directly used now.

btcschellingpt 1y ago

They're not mutually exclusive choices and I'm a big fan of building a multitude of income rather than being reliant on one .. resilience really

Most bitcoin companies I've spoken with are pretty flexible and that may give you the freedom to do (C) and/or (D)

Daniel Batten 1y ago

Thanks. Great insight on bitcoin company flexibility

Mysth 1y ago

ABCD

You could also look for short terms contracts / part time jobs in any field you’re an expert or good at, but that are not necessary Bitcoin stuff, until you find a better option (or convert your future employers to Bitcoin)