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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?

#111

Post by garysieling »

metakermit wrote: post #65
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…

> So you need to work consistently 1-2 hours a day on your side project. I would underline this consistency. I found that as long as I'm regularly doing even the tiniest of improvements to my side-project, I am very efficient over the span of a few months. When due to other obligations I drop the habit, I start forgetting how parts of the codebase work. It becomes harder to restart the project and the whole thing jus…

I agree with the consistency thing too. I built a search engine for talks (https://www.findlectures.com), which has a UI plus lots of little scraper/ETL utilities.

If I have a small block of time (1-2 hours), I try to make 2-6 really small commits, so there is always progress.

If I have a larger block (4-6 hours) I try to build out a feature so it just works, just working on things that require that amount of time (leave all the short problems for later).

I found this also affects my decisions about what tools I use and how the software is designed. E.g. using npm libraries for UI components that are "good enough", which I might be tempted to start from scratch in a work environment. I also intentionally built an application that is easy to manage - no user accounts means no database to pay for / migrate / monitor.

I'm using Heroku to outsource monitoring/logging, and Aweber for email. Paid tools can be cheap compared to the time it would take to replace them, and if you don't pay for one of these, your side project turns into building those products as well.

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

#112

Post by onyb »

joeyspn wrote: post #95

Start looking for people that complements your skills! I've just created a "HN Side Project Partner Search" google stylesheet for people seeking team mates or help building their side projects: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fDNE2O862oLmlojAPDXd... IMO building a team (2 or 3) is the best way to go... Hopefully you'll find the idea useful (ideally this should be a website but I'm testing the waters with a si…

Can I use the Google sheet to find partners for my open source project (no monetary benefit)?

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

#113

Post by j_s »

joe563323 wrote: post #110
danielsamuels wrote: post #79

I built Rocket League Replays[1], a website which analyses the replay files generated from matches played in Rocket League. I took my inspiration from GGTracker[2] which is essentially the same thing, but for StarCraft 2. I was looking through the replay files and noticed that there was some human readable content in them, so I wrote a parser[3] and built the site around it. Eventually I started a Patreon which allow…

Tell us more about your skills before starting the project and after starting the project. Were you basically a front end or back end guy before starting the project. What technolgies did you choose and why. How long did it take to complete. How many hours did you invest. Did you invest time consistently in smaller chunks or large chunks at one shot.

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.

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

#114

Post by joeyspn »

onyb wrote: post #112
joeyspn wrote: post #95

Start looking for people that complements your skills! I've just created a "HN Side Project Partner Search" google stylesheet for people seeking team mates or help building their side projects: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fDNE2O862oLmlojAPDXd... IMO building a team (2 or 3) is the best way to go... Hopefully you'll find the idea useful (ideally this should be a website but I'm testing the waters with a si…

Can I use the Google sheet to find partners for my open source project (no monetary benefit)?

Sure why not? just add a comment explaining all in the "additional info" column... ;)

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

#115

Post by danielsamuels »

joe563323 wrote: post #110
danielsamuels wrote: post #79

I built Rocket League Replays[1], a website which analyses the replay files generated from matches played in Rocket League. I took my inspiration from GGTracker[2] which is essentially the same thing, but for StarCraft 2. I was looking through the replay files and noticed that there was some human readable content in them, so I wrote a parser[3] and built the site around it. Eventually I started a Patreon which allow…

Tell us more about your skills before starting the project and after starting the project. Were you basically a front end or back end guy before starting the project. What technolgies did you choose and why. How long did it take to complete. How many hours did you invest. Did you invest time consistently in smaller chunks or large chunks at one shot.

Sure, so I've been a full stack developer for 11 years. Started in PHP, now working in Python (using Django). I've been the lead developer (now technical director) at a top 4 digital agency in the UK, so I've got a lot of industry experience.

The MVP was built in 2-3 days, I think I started it Friday night and launched Sunday morning, the initial version didn't do a lot, but it was good enough to get it live. From there I then worked on it most weekends for a period of perhaps 4-5 months? Since September-ish, it's been pretty self sufficient. I update it every now and again when new updates are released to the game or the parser (which is now written by someone else), and I sometimes work on new features, but for the most part it's in a good spot and I'm happy with it. It's on Github[1] so you can get an idea of the effort put into it (the version which is live isn't the same as the public Github repo, I have a few private repos on Github due to some NDAs, hopefully I'll be able to publish the latest code soon).

[1]: https://github.com/rocket-league-replays/rocket-league-repla...

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

#116

Post by danielsamuels »

j_s wrote: post #113
joe563323 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tell us more about your skills before starting the project and after starting the project. Were you basically a front end or back end guy before starting the project. What technolgies did you choose and why. How long did it take to complete. How many hours did you invest. Did you invest time consistently in smaller chunks or large chunks at one shot.

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 (paid-for) features to the top teams to get them using it. I added support for features which users asked for.

One of the biggest sources of traffic for me now are the Rocket League analysis / training subreddits[10]. It's become _the_ location to upload your replays if you want to share them with other people. Making it easy to share (no account required) was a big part of this.

[1]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/3et5yx/after_...

[2]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/4f3jq2/rocket...

[3]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/4d1kpe/rocket...

[4]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/4a9s44/rocket...

[5]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/44xp8j/rocket...

[6]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/3yws8d/rocket...

[7]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/3pra3u/rocket...

[8]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeague/comments/3gtulm/rocket...

[9]: https://twitter.com/RLReplays

[10]: https://www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeagueAnalysis/

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

#117

Post by icoder »

nurettin wrote: post #44
arikr wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ad supported or paid?

Ads are awful. It is currently a one-time purchase. Edit: this is one more thing that others were doing wrong. Edit: Google ads are inane in my localization. You mostly get adult lines and "you caught a virus" scams despite opting out. Google doesn't seem to do anything about it despite complaints. I get paid because I removed the ads (even from demo version) and I do it gladly. Good riddance.

Reminds me of the time an ad managed to somehow break out of its boundaries and present the user with a popup. It still amazes me, this was Google Adsense for Android, but I saw it with my own eyes. And guess who received the bad reviews..

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

#118

Post by j_s »

haser_au wrote: post #8

Here's my suggestion. Walk down the road to shops in your area (small, family run businesses) and ask if they have a business problem they think IT can solve. You'd be surprised how little some of these businesses know. I have previously; - Built a travel database in MS Access for a Travel Agent (long time ago) - Ordered and setup ADSL connections and email for a water tank manufacturer and a furniture store - Captur…

This is a great way to start freelancing; be careful to research multiple sources if looking for a multi-customer side project!

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

#119

Post by snarf21 »

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 several projects running and was paying a low cost designer for a small number of hours per week. This is kind of like having a company without long term commitments. It helps to keep me motivated since I need to keep work ready for him each week. Plus, I've made a personal commitment to pay him regardless. I don't want to waste money or his time so the project naturally keeps some momentum. This may not work for everyone but is like a "go to the gym with a buddy" plan that helps me. YMMV

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

#120

Post by patio11 »

shubhamjain wrote: post #102
patio11 wrote: post #98

What are some simple things I can build by myself? You're already successful at selling enterprise services to at least one company in management and backend data processing. Have you considered selling management and backend data processing advise, perhaps delivered in the form of a PDF or series of videos? This is stupendously valuable to tech companies if you meaningfully improve on what they have already and woul…

> If you prefer knocking together a site to sell your own books, it is essentially an hour to get the minimum thing to charge money and ~2 days to get something which could plausibly be the kernel of an ongoing business. But what about traffic? How do you get eyeballs to your book-selling microsite? Do you reach out to people who might be interested? Do you post on forums? Do you use paid advertising? I can guess it'…

If it were me and I was coming at it from nothing I'd write, in order:

1) Minimal stake-in-the-Internet landing page. ("I'm writing a book on ActiveRecord optimization. I've worked for 3 years on AR optimization. For more details, [ ].")

2) ~3 blog posts about the topic at issue which each mention the forthcoming book and link to your landing page. Promote blog posts in the usual ways: tweet about them, send cold emails to folks whose audiences they are relevant to, post them in your usual community watering holes.

Checkpoint: if the blog posts go nowhere, don't write your book.

3) Write a minimalistic email drip campaign to send to folks who are on your list. Consider cross posting versions of the messages in it to your blog, depending on your appetite for doing this.

4) Write a proper landing page for your book.

5) Write your book.

6) Run a "launch sequence" for your book over 2~3 weeks prior to publishing your book.

7) Launch your book.

8) Get more serious about turning your book into a business via e.g. increasing acquisition, tuning the automated bookseller that is your email list, etc.

I've seen folks be really, really successful at this model on the strength of first books supported by hundreds of email subscribers and 3~5 blog posts. You do not need to be "Internet famous" to pull this off. (Anecdotally, most of my Internet buddies who do the meat-and-potatoes work here get $10k to $20k on the first book launch.)

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