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Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

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Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#211

Post by David_R »

trcollinson wrote: post #196
Untit1ed wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got any tips on recognising a bad idea early?

Actually, yes! Again, your milage may vary but I have had a few things that have been an indicator of a bad idea. Some of this has to do with process as well. First off, if no one wants to talk to you about your idea at all, then it's probably a bad idea. I know this one is fairly obvious but I missed it a number of times. It's important to make sure you always are trying to get customers or users. If you can't get a…

Very insightful! I think these are 100% valid. I wish I had been sensitive to them before sinking a couple of years into a project. Thanks for explaining them in detail.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#212

Post by kilroy123 »

You never said net or profit. My side project is now making over $1,000 in revenue. Soon it will actually be profitable.

It's an apparel company for women who like to: hunt, fish, and be outdoors.

VERY random for a vegetarian software develop, from Portland.

https://henoutdoors.com

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#213

Post by trcollinson »

Im_a_throw_away wrote: post #205
trcollinson wrote: post #167

I've been working on a side project for the last 3 months and it has finally gotten to the point where I am making more than $1000/month with more than 25 active customers 100% through word of mouth. I am working on a Show HN with some of my learning from the process so I won't get too deep into it here but here are a couple of highlights: * You do have time. I work a time consuming job, have a wife and kids, and sti…

Really cool! What's your app doing?

It's actually management software for PTA's and PTSA's which is a fairly large market in the US.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#214

Post by trcollinson »

David_R wrote: post #211
trcollinson wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, yes! Again, your milage may vary but I have had a few things that have been an indicator of a bad idea. Some of this has to do with process as well. First off, if no one wants to talk to you about your idea at all, then it's probably a bad idea. I know this one is fairly obvious but I missed it a number of times. It's important to make sure you always are trying to get customers or users. If you can't get a…

Very insightful! I think these are 100% valid. I wish I had been sensitive to them before sinking a couple of years into a project. Thanks for explaining them in detail.

The interesting part for me is, I have used this advise for other people's businesses for as long as I can remember. There is something about building your own product though that somehow seems to overshadow your better judgement. I guess that is the differentiator (or possibly ultimate lesson to learn) for an entrepreneur. Can you throw out the ideas that don't work and pursue the good ones? I am still learning it, but it feels good when you get it right.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#216

Post by justanton »

erikrothoff wrote: post #34

I made http://feeder.co , a Chrome extension to simulate Firefox's RSS live bookmarks back in 2010. Now it has 500,000 active installs on Chrome and our cloud hosted service is netting around 1500 USD each month after costs (1700 subscriptions). Me and my twin brother have had it as a passive income thingie for years. After a failed attempt at selling it (SaaS metrics are NOT easy) we met a guy who saw some potential…

Pardon my ignorance: but how one actually earns money with chrome extensions?

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#217

Post by carlmungz »

kilroy123 wrote: post #212

You never said net or profit. My side project is now making over $1,000 in revenue. Soon it will actually be profitable. It's an apparel company for women who like to: hunt, fish, and be outdoors. VERY random for a vegetarian software develop, from Portland. https://henoutdoors.com

How did you get that up and running?

A friend of mine started this label therhinestonecompany.bigcartel.com as a side project and I joined a year ago. We had (and still do) a lot of interest but we both became busy. But I'm tempted to pick it up again only because I feel it would do well with proper execution. I've been a silent Hacker News reader the past year or so (I'm a journalist turned coder) but your post grabbed my attention!

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#218

Post by throwaway17265 »

Over 3-4 years I seem to average around 800 per month, but the last 2 months have been over 1k, and around 1-2 times per year this happens (in the meantime, it's very low).

It is software, 3-4 small utilities of high quality in the niche platform it is. A launcher, a screenshot tool and such items.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#219

Post by vsax »

I created MEAN studio, www.meanstudio.com, where I charge $25 per hour to create highly functional prototypes in couple of weeks. I use existing code from other projects so my coding velocity is fast and never charge the clients more time than I spent on it. Clients see the quality and speed and just spread the word. I am making $1500 per month in the 3rd month of it running.

Re: Ask HN: Those making over $1K/month on side projects, what did you make?

#220

Post by vsax »

csallen wrote: post #174
stockkid wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the main source of revenue for Indie Hackers? Congrats on hitting 1k/month.

Sponsorships account for 97% of my revenue right now. I send out a weekly newsletter, and in the first couple weeks I asked if anyone was interested in sponsoring the site. At least 4 or 5 companies have reached out to me since then. I've also dabbled in Amazon affiliate links, but those don't seem to be quite worth it yet.

How do you evaluate what to charge the sponsors? My site http://thelogo.site showed up on the front page of HN and then ever since traffic has been growing. I have been just making money off of leads through the site asking for custom logos(on average about $2000 per month). But some people have enquired about sponsorship.
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