You have described exactly the kind if work/life balance i desire! I do enjoy a lot working alone since i've got family with little children too. I won't add any value with my comment, i just wanted to thank you since it feels just a little bit easier to know somebody else is having what i want: one day i may have it too.

You can do it. A good life/work balance is something I hope everyone will find. It took me 15 years to get to where I am today.

I'm not criticizing your preferences at all, but I think it's really strange for you to describe them as loneliness. I would say you work alone, but you're not lonely, because you have a bunch of other social connections in your life that for some people are replaced by coworkers. If anything, your comment reflects a kind of strange default on HN where work consumes so much of your life that coworkers are your "friends" and working alone is the same as being lonely.

I should have quoted that word. What I prefer is the fact that it's quiet, I don't get interrupted, I can set my own agenda and I never have to go to a meeting that messes up my progress. I like teammates and coworkers, I just don't need them to do what I like to do.

You're living my dream. I've been working on a side project all year but struggle to find the energy and build momentum while working a full time job.

Did you quit work to start this, or did you manage to work around your day job?

I found that having 10-15 employees (and working for clients instead of yourself) took all the fun away from the work I enjoyed most so I started designing/developing/marketing my own projects as a hobby. It was already earning a living wage by the time I sold the company, and it was always my plan B. So when I got the chance to sell I did not hesitate.

How do you make money? I didn't think farming spiders would pay that well, unless they're really rare spiders.

Super broad question here but how do you guys do it? I mean, how do you go from knowing how to build a basic webpage to knowing that you need e.g. Elasticsearch for search queries. It seems like there is so much specialized tech to learn but no obvious learning progression path.

I shared this answer before on HN:

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I only learn when I have a project in mind that I want to do. No matter if it’s work on or around my house, creating an app or designing something like a logo or interior. Then I just start. Walk into a wall. Stop. Look for learning material or inspiration. Start over.

Reiterate. Learn more. Reiterate.

I’m not easily frustrated by failure, starting over or general lack of progress. If I have an interesting goal I just keep going. It might not be the most efficient way, but it’s how I learn best.

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There is no magic bullet. It's a combination of inspiration, motivation and perseverance. Example: I spent 1 year learning to built an app in Swift (together with a friend, one evening every two weeks), then we decided to ditch most of what we learned and start over in Flutter, knowing that it would take us another year and I just don't care. I'll get there eventually.

For how long? I kind of was at your place (no kids, just my girlfriend) for a few years and then I needed a change

Started january 2016, so I’m almost 4 years in. I’m actually thinking about dropping some consultancy clients so I can focus even more on my own projects.

I get that it’s not for everyone but I grew up on a farm so I kind of got used to the quietness early on I guess.

What product/service does your company sell if you don't mind me asking?

I have developed a network of websites (communities and marketplaces) in several very specific niches, all focused on the agricultural sector. The revenue is mostly coming from subscriptions and Adsense.

Does it matter?

What is your current company about? How are you able to restrict your working hours?

Most of my revenue (subscriptions and advertising) is recurring, so as long as there are no incidents I can just timebox everything I do.