Use your accidents

“You have to know how to use your accidents." – Painter Helen Frankenthaler reminds us that everything — even the mistakes and misfortunes — is material for your next move. Source: Paraphrased from Tyler Graphics interview (July 11, 1994), via James Clear

It’s a deftly clever tactic, this one.

Use your accidents.

In indie hacking, that means:

If your server goes down and lots of customers complain, that means your product matter a lot to them! Use the accident, engage them, say sorry, and keep the updates flowing. It’s a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate what your brand stands for.

If your new product failed, it’s not a fail. That story is precious. What worked, what didn’t. Talk about it, share it, connect with new friends with it. Use it to get some attention, if not, as a springboard for your next product. If you use your waste products, you’ll never lose.

If you struggle to solve a problem that’s common for entrepreneurs in your situation, and managed to solve it, then build a tool or resource with that knowledge. That pain point just became a selling point. The tool can be a lead generator, or indirectly bring more traffic to your main products.

Use the misfortunes.
Use the accidents.
Use the difficulty.

Everything is a resource, in indie hacking.