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Ask HN: What cool skill or project interests you, but feels out of reach?

124 points akktor | 1 comments | 09 Jun 25 12:41 UTC | HN request time: 0.21s | source

This question's for all those cool projects or skills you're secretly fascinated by, but haven't quite jumped into. Maybe you feel like you just don't have the right "brain" for it, or you're not smart enough to figure it out, or even worse, you simply have no clue how or where to even start.

The idea here is to shine a light on these hidden interests and the little (or big!) mental blocks that come with them. If you're already rocking in those specific areas – or you've been there and figured out how to get past similar hurdles – please chime in! Share some helpful resources, dish out general advice, or just give a nudge of encouragement on how to take that intimidating first step.

Let's help each other get unstuck!

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noisy_boy ◴[11 Jun 25 16:17 UTC] No.44249145[source]▶
I want to help small businesses in my area, those who want it, with technology solutions that can improve things (and in-turn learn about the needs of real small businesses). I can pretty much do full-stack (ranging from something basic that improves things for them to something elaborate like backend, UI, AWS, K8S etc). However, I don't have any idea how to identify customers, approach them, price my work fairly, deal with wiring/hardware, deal with the local laws regarding running a non-full-time business etc. I guess what I'm after is that end-of-the-tunnel satisfaction in helping others using technology but a pretty long tunnel is getting in the way :)
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abhiyerra ◴[12 Jun 25 19:56 UTC] No.44262460[source]▶
Most small businesses don’t need UI, etc. They need lots of integration work though. Like my friend who has a jewelry business needed help integrating Etsy orders to Asana which we did using Zapier.

So lot less custom code and more linking things software focused on their specific needs.

replies(1): >>44268954 #
1. noisy_boy ◴[13 Jun 25 14:40 UTC] No.44268954[source]▶
Thats good to know - I love integration. The most fun I had was to design and build a ci/cd setup for my team (which spread to other teams). I guess I am a plumber at heart.