Maker
MANUFACTURE
YOUR PROJECT
(And make a living
doing what you love.)
By Mitch Altman
First of all, you have to pick an idea that
you love. Remember, this project is going
to take over your life!
When I came up with the notion of
TV-B-Gone ( makezine.com/go/tvbgone)
universal remotes, I couldn’t know how it
would change my life, and a bit of the world.
I learned a great deal from the process of
bringing it from a mere idea to a successful
reality. By sharing my experience, I hope
I’ll help make yours that much easier.
The steps I’ve outlined in this article
may not seem all fun. But remember, each
step along the way, the process is based
on a project you totally love, and you know
deep inside that you need to put it out into
the world. The lows are something to get
What would your life be like if you spent your time working
on your own project, making enough money to live the life
you want to live? Hold that image and think about what it
would take to get there.
through to learn from.
The highs are incredible! You’ll meet
people with ideas to support your idea. You
may travel places where you’ll meet more
incredibly cool people. You’ll learn so much
about yourself and the world as you play
parent to your “child” and watch it find its
own place out there, knowing that you can
take these experiences and use them to
make your idea (and your next ideas) work
better, with fewer problems, and more fun.
The process is incredibly fulfilling.
MAKE contributor Mitch Altman gives workshops teaching people to make cool things with microcontrollers,
is CEO of Cornfield Electronics, and is co-founder of
Noisebridge hackerspace. He is currently writing a book
based on his workshops.
32 Make: makezine.com/26
