Hello World - I'm Max, and I Can't Help It!

Plot Twist: I'm a Dad Now

Hi, I'm Max. About a year ago, I made three life-changing decisions: become a full-time developer after 4 years of UX design at an agency, move across Germany and have a baby. Spoiler alert: timing could have been better. 😅

Now I'm here, 12 months into parenthood, debugging code with one hand while bouncing a teething baby with the other, wondering why I thought this was the perfect time to start multiple project. But hey, if you're going to have a quarter-life crisis, might as well document it, right?

Why I'm Doing This (Besides the Obvious Insanity)

After years of designing beautiful interfaces for other people, I realized something: I want the freedom to close my laptop at 2 PM on a Tuesday and take my son to the playground without asking anyone's permission. I want to be able to say "I've stared at screens enough today" and go build something with my hands instead.

The traditional employment path feels safe, but is it really? One company, one income stream, one decision-maker who could change everything overnight. To me, that's the real risk. Building multiple income streams in my own hands? That's actually diversification - the same principle that makes investment portfolios safer.

So here I am, attempting to build that freedom while my son teaches me that the best moments in life happen when you're not scheduled for them.

So here I am, attempting to pursue financial independence through multiple passions while my son teaches me that sleep is a luxury and coffee is a food group. (Seriously, I'm not kidding. I used to dial in my espresso machine. Now I want need to cups of black filter coffee in the morning.)

What You Can Expect (When I have a minute to myself)

This blog will document the real, unfiltered journey of building multiple ventures between 6 AM wake-ups and midnight coding sessions:

• Automotive lifestyle clothing
• Handmade speakers (woodworking with power tools while sleep-deprived - what could go wrong?)
• Photography projects (capturing life one blurry toddler photo at a time)
• Apps and digital tools (my "serious" business-ideas)
• Automotive(?) podcast

Just to name a few ideas.

The Reality Check

Let me be honest: most of my "productive work time" happens between 9 PM and 1 AM, if he sleeps by then, fueled by the desperate energy of someone who just got their first quiet moment of the day. My workshop is currently 0% done and 100% a fire hazard.

Some weeks I might successfully design an app. Other weeks, I'll consider it a win if I manage to not lose it throughout the day.

Why "I Can't Help It"?

Because that's exactly how my wife looks at me when I explain my latest project idea at 11 PM. "Honey, I know we have a baby and I just started a new job, but hear me out - what if we also started a speaker company?"

I can't help but see opportunities everywhere. I can't help but want to build and create across different domains. And apparently, I can't help but choose the most challenging time in my life to do it all. 🤷‍♂️

What's Next?

Follow along as I document this beautifully chaotic journey. Next week, I'll probably be designing an app while my son naps, then switching to woodworking when he wakes up (because power tools are apparently fascinating to 12-month-olds).

It's going to be messy, it's going to be real, and there will definitely be baby interruptions in any video content (should I do video content honey?). But hopefully, it'll prove that you don't need perfect conditions to build something meaningful - you just need coffee, determination, and really good noise-canceling headphones.

Welcome to the journey. Let's build something amazing together (naptime permitting).

P.S. - If you're also a parent trying to build something on the side, you're my people. Let's survive this together.