​Shutdown Hit Hard, Now Considering Taking Control of My Career

Hello everyone,

I’m looking for advice or direction from anyone who’s been through something similar.

I’ve been a software engineer for about 18 years. I’ve worked with a couple of startups, always on the technical side—building tools, solving problems, and trying to innovate or bring something new to the table. But I never really hit anything big. In the startups I joined, the business side was usually weak. I let other people handle that part, but I never found partners who could really help the startup grow.

For the past 3 years, I’ve been working as a contractor for the federal government, but the shutdown has hit me hard. I live paycheck to paycheck, and as a contractor, I won’t be paid during the shutdown.

So now I want to try things on my own. I’m not chasing wealth—I just want to build my own SaaS, run my own business, make a living from it, and be happy doing something I know I’m capable of.