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Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

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Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#131

Post by j_s »

superasn wrote: post #9

I think you should start something very very small and forget about the money part for now. For me, my most successful project ideas came from problems that I faced during my own site launches. Since you don't have much knowledge of FE development, I would suggest you keep things Simple Stupid and try to do as much as possible with HTML and jQuery. I have created really complex websites using just PHP and jQuery (sit…

Money is a good motivator but it is not the only one.

If you intend to switch to money later, you should probably at least validate the idea before having a great time building something only to find out no one wants it.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#132

Post by jasonswett »

This is what I believe to be the formula: 1. Find a group of people who are interested in a subject. 2. Find out what, related to that subject, they want to buy. 3. Sell them that thing.

This is the approach I took with my book/videos at AngularOnRails.com, a "side project that makes money".

Another important thing is to surround yourself with people who have successfully done the thing you're trying to do.

I don't have much time right now but if you (or anybody) wants to talk about building side projects that make money, feel free to email me at jason@angularonrails.com. I'm not an expert but I know a hell of a lot more than I did 9 years ago when I started.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#133

Post by debaserab2 »

danielsamuels wrote: post #116
j_s wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The details regarding time managment would be great. However, I personally would be much more interested in any info on how he got the word out and attracted users. That's the part most developers are missing in the " that makes money " portion of the equation.

Reddit and Twitter were big things for me, I announced the initial release on the Rocket League subreddit[1] and then announced updates whenever they were released[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. I automated daily posts to reddit and Twitter[9] for the "match of the day" (calculated based on a variety of factors). I engaged heavily in the community on Twitter, other fan sites and got my name out there. I gave away the extra (p…

Wow, you've done a great job making this a useful product with meaningful value.

There's a user in the Heroes of the Storm (Blizzard moba, same engine as SC2) that did the same thing, except went the completely opposite route and riddled the site with predatory ads (the kinds that produce popunders and play audio on load). The paid option was to get rid of the ads. Most updates to the site lately seem to be to combat ad blockers instead of add new things.

The community went from being extremely open and excited about the site at the beginning to now begrudgingly having to use it since it has no competitor.

Props to you for engaging the community and keeping them on your side.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#134

Post by TuringNYC »

amelius wrote: post #85

If thousands of engineers are looking for something to build that others will pay for (but can't find it), then that tells me there is something fundamentally wrong with the way the economy works. Shouldn't it be the other way around? People who have a certain need express it, and engineers just pick one and work on it.

Often people need something, not badly but enough to want to pay for a solution. However, they come to sub-optimal situations the way they are. Sometimes it is too subtle to vocally warrant speaking out about. Sometimes they do speak about it, but it is lost in the fire-hose of societal conversation.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#135

Post by Touche »

snarf21 wrote: post #119
mikekchar wrote: post #25

This is going to sounds like crazy advice, but having worked on many side projects in my life the last thing that's going to let you down is your skills. What you really need is time. Let's say it takes you 400 hours to build your project -- in those 400 hours, you will build up enough skills to get you started (not nearly enough to be good at it, but good enough). So you need to work consistently 1-2 hours a day on…

I agree with you that time is the big limiting factor. I think the other trap that people fall into is starting a side project that is too big. If you can't finish it in less than 2 months, odds are that you never will. Focus on something specific enough that it does something after two months. Then do v2.0 or switch to a new project. I've personally found the "don't spend money" part to be demotivating. I have sever…

I disagree with "2 months". It's definitely true that launching early is the way to go. I think the biggest thing is continuing momentum. If you commit to working on the project every day for 1-2 like some others have said, you will accomplish small little things each day, and that will motivate you to continue.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#136

Post by wpietri »

jasonswett wrote: post #132

This is what I believe to be the formula: 1. Find a group of people who are interested in a subject. 2. Find out what, related to that subject, they want to buy. 3. Sell them that thing. This is the approach I took with my book/videos at AngularOnRails.com, a "side project that makes money". Another important thing is to surround yourself with people who have successfully done the thing you're trying to do. I don't h…

Yes, 100% this. Too many programmers build something and then try to sell it. And worse, when they get close to trying to sell it, they get nervous and go add more features, because writing code makes them feel safe.

But the real risk isn't that an imagined product can't be built. It's that the imagined product won't be bought when you build it.

So please, everybody, do what jasonswett says and start with the audience and their need. Verify that people will buy the thing before you build it. Because, and I'm speaking from experience here, it zero fun to build something and then discover that nobody cares.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#137

Post by _jdams »

SyneRyder wrote: post #67
nurettin wrote: post #30

Not sure if I should share this, as it is a trivial and obvious thing to do. Recently I created a ramen-profitable on google play with currently a couple of thousand users. The idea is to look for apps that have low ratings, high downloads and lots of recent comments, then make them better. You can use synonyms and the same niche category to increase visibility on google play. This is where the money is.

> Not sure if I should share this, as it is a trivial and obvious thing to do... Probably worth linking here to Derek Sivers' post "Obvious To You, Amazing To Others": https://sivers.org/obvious I've heard of your method before, but I first read it in Fast Company in a story called The Amazon Whisperer, and while it might seem obvious now, I thought it was amazing when I first read it: https://www.fastcompany.com/302…

That article on FastCompany about the Amazon Whisperer is incredibly eye-opening. Thanks for linking

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#138

Post by ryandrake »

Surprised this has not been mentioned yet: Make sure your current employer is cool with side projects and moonlighting. Very few companies I've worked for are OK with it, even if done completely with personal equipment/time. You don't want to build the next Facebook in your free time and get fired over it or have your current employer claim IP ownership of it.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#139

Post by Touche »

ssijak wrote: post #63
mikekchar wrote: post #25

This is going to sounds like crazy advice, but having worked on many side projects in my life the last thing that's going to let you down is your skills. What you really need is time. Let's say it takes you 400 hours to build your project -- in those 400 hours, you will build up enough skills to get you started (not nearly enough to be good at it, but good enough). So you need to work consistently 1-2 hours a day on…

My biggest problem is in "no need to get fancy". Do not know how to overcome that urge to overengineer everything in the start and how to be satisfied with minimal working thing even if it looks like crap.

You can always make it fancy later. Having shipped a project and seeing people using it is very rewarding.

Re: Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start?

#140

Post by Touche »

ryandrake wrote: post #138

Surprised this has not been mentioned yet: Make sure your current employer is cool with side projects and moonlighting. Very few companies I've worked for are OK with it, even if done completely with personal equipment/time. You don't want to build the next Facebook in your free time and get fired over it or have your current employer claim IP ownership of it.

Side projects are so important to me that I would absolutely never accept a job at a company that has an issue with it. We're talking about something that I spend a huge % of my brain energy on, and you're telling me I can only use that brain energy on your thing? Pfft, get the f* out of here.
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