Ask HN: Building a side project that makes money. Where to start? • Hacker News Board

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

#171

Post by OJFord » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:15 PM UTC

simonbarker87 wrote: post #162

danielsamuels wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (turns out most countries don't pump hot water around their houses!) At the risk of sounding ignorant, what's the alternative that other countries use? Simply electricity?

Basically, yep. Straight up electric heaters are very popular in some places (eg: Scandinavia, New Zealand), some kind of forced air heating or ventilation either on a room by room basis or from a central heat source (essentially air con that can heat and cool) or under floor heating (either electric or water based). New technologies such as Passivhaus, ground source and air source heat pumps are also changing the he…

Central heating seems seriously overdue some innovation. Radiator's are so ugly, but what can you do? I've never known anyone have underfloor heating upstairs, though I'm not sure if there are technical reasons preventing that.

It astounds me that new developments still get white steel atrocities strapped to the walls, among other things like white plastic UX-disaster thermostats.

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

#172

Post by inputcoffee » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:15 PM UTC

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…

But isn't time a function of skill?

To put it another way, if you had a lot of practice at building CRUD apps, have your IDE set up, know the short cuts, might it take you 40 hours where someone else needs 400?

In that case, time and skill would be fungible. (Or, skill can be thought of as "stored time.")

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

#173

Post by inputcoffee » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:15 PM UTC

icoder wrote: post #107

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 want to add that in my experience, it is not so much about 'time' as an objective thing. Instead, especially for dev work, I would argue it's more about 'energy' (or 'focus', 'attention', 'willpower'). Or maybe you need both and the latter is more my limiting factor at the moment.

That's a good point. I find I am more productive in the mornings.

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

#174

Post by maxerickson » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:20 PM UTC

sjburt wrote: post #168

danielsamuels wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (turns out most countries don't pump hot water around their houses!) At the risk of sounding ignorant, what's the alternative that other countries use? Simply electricity?

Most buildings in the US use warm air. This means the same ducts can be used for both heating and cooling. There will be a central gas (or less frequently, oil) furnace or a heat pump. I think that switch occurred in the 1950s. Older homes might have steam heat, or sometimes electric baseboard heaters.

Hot water is also pretty common.

I guess more so in areas where cooling is less needed.

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

#175

Post by inputcoffee » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:21 PM UTC

dpark wrote: post #163

skdotdan wrote: post #161

Instead of building an MVP and then trying to sell it, there are people who suggest: 1-Think of an idea. 2-Make a simple landing page with a mockup or something. 3-Try to sell the product. And by selling the product I mean actually selling it (so people actually transferring you money). If you can achieve a given amount of sells in a given amount of time (important: set concrete goals with concrete timing), then you…

I think what you're describing would be referred to in court as fraud.

I think they meant they would return the money if they ended up not delivering the product.

But, you are on to something. I think this is what always bothered me about the "lean" approach: it almost feels like you're tempting yourself to create vaporware.

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

#176

Post by gschier » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:21 PM UTC

As someone with many failed side projects, I can tell you that having a goal of making money is usually a bad thing. Like many other people have said, you can learn the skills. The hardest part of building a side project is finding the time and staying motivated for more than a few months.

So, pick something _you_ will use and, if you enjoy building/using it, so will others. Obviously think about ways to monetize it, but money should be more of a side-effect than a motivation.

I'm currently working on https://insomnia.rest, which makes around $800/mo right now. I started it as a side-project a couple years ago with no intention of making money. However, traffic grew organically and I eventually left my job to pursue it full-time.

In summary, find something you love to work on and let it consume you. If you do this, making $100/mo should come in no time. Have fun hacking!

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

#177

Post by zdware » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:28 PM UTC

Anytime you start focusing on monetization of a side project, it stops being a side project and more of a "startup". Your mindset has to change around it entirely. You now have to consider marketing, your audience, and legality.

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

#178

Post by katamaritaco » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:28 PM UTC

simonbarker87 wrote: post #141

simonbarker87 wrote: post #130

My side projects always come from personal needs, in each case I built it to solve my own problem before turning it in to a full product (summaries below). If you are going in with the sole intention of making money then make sure you know that there is a need for what you want to make and that you can get your project in front of people. You don't need to use the latest and greatest tech, in fact, I would urge you d…

Thanks to the person who highlighted a typo on taptimer.com and sent in the contact form about it - no email address supplied so I'm thanking them here.

Found another one: Gestures Galour -> Galore

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

#179

Post by alphydan » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:37 PM UTC

gschier wrote: post #176

As someone with many failed side projects, I can tell you that having a goal of making money is usually a bad thing. Like many other people have said, you can learn the skills. The hardest part of building a side project is finding the time and staying motivated for more than a few months. So, pick something _you_ will use and, if you enjoy building/using it, so will others. Obviously think about ways to monetize it,…

I find the font colour/weight of "Available for free on Mac, Windows, and Linux" almost impossible to read. http://imgur.com/a/AUVxr

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

#180

Post by dpark » Wed, Apr 05, 2017, 3:38 PM UTC

skdotdan wrote: post #170

dpark wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think what you're describing would be referred to in court as fraud.

Really? Maybe the way I didn't write it didn't imply it, but I actually meant that you always had to make very clear that the product doesn't exist yet. You are selling the concept of something you are or you will be working on. If after a week you have managed to do only 1 sell, then return the money, say your product didn't receive enough interest, and try something else. However, if you manage to do 1 sell, you wi…

> I actually meant that you always had to make very clear that the product doesn't exist yet.

That wasn't clear to me. It looked like you were proposing the sale of a nonexistent product. If you're openly and clearly stating that it's basically a preorder, then sure, that's fine. That sounds like a tough sale, though.