Some folks have asked us for pointers on how to develop an indie business. Like, how did you do it? They’ll say. And, hey, it’s easy.
Five of us worked for two years without pay and now seven of us make below minimum wage with no healthcare or (ha-ha-ha) retirement plans. Oh, we’re not complaining. We love running Chill Subs…in a manic sort of way. It’s just too cool to ignore so instead we ignore our overall well being.
Since we don’t have any major updates this week, I thought I’d share the various ailments we’ve accumulated as a team (with everyone’s permission, of course). Since we are remote, we all work all day on our computers, and if God and evolution only agree on one thing it’s that human beings were not meant to live their life sitting at a computer.
This week, Karina got so wrapped up in her work she forgot to go to her latest dentist appointment to fix her cavities.
Marcin has developed jaw problems so in meetings he uses a massage roller on his face.
Ben has also developed jaw problems (Temporomandibular Disorder) that are so severe he can’t sleep and has to use a dumb ice-pack collar multiple times a day.
Kailey has lower back troubles from sitting too much at the computer.
Nikita has such bad lower back problems his back grew a second back as an abscess he had to get removed (not fun).
Shelby’s hips are messed up from standing at her desk all wrong so they’ve shifted too far forward.
Shannan is fine. She’s a mom so I think that gives her extra physical and emotional superpowers.
Point is…Don’t do it! We all do yoga and stretches and running and in meetings we groan and shift and stand and sit and oof. We’re a bag of broken toys. There is a very good reason most startups have investors. But hey, you all are writers. You know the computer game. What do you do to keep healthy and not fall to pieces?
So yeah, hey, those are our final updates for June. As always, thank you for supporting us over here at Chill Subs. If you have the means to do so, you can support us financially here.
And don’t feel bad. We hit 30,000 users this week. We love what we do, just need to get some company apple watches or some shit to remind us to stand/sit, do the hokey-pokey and keep limber so we can keep at this for years and years.
Best,
CS
Felt bad liking this post because it hurt. All I have to offer is this: walk, walk, walk; get out of your office and walk. Walk for an hour a day at least, not on a machine, outside among trees if you can. It's free and it's been working for me since my back packed it in twenty years ago, leaving me unable to walk without assistance. It makes everythig better. I promise.
Appreciate all you all do. Two things I do that help: 1) switch mousing or trackpad hand regularly. You will get proficient at the other hand quickly enough. 2) I use a night mouth guard by Oral-B. It REALLY helps with TMJ. Sometimes I wear it in the day if stressed.