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Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

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Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#381

Post by trungdq88 »

wingerlang wrote: post #377
trungdq88 wrote: post #252

I built a screenshot app for macOS and made ~$3k/mo from it :) https://xnapper.com People like the app for its ability to turn a normal boring screenshot into a beautiful one that they can share on social media instantly.

Wow this is interesting, you write "read like snapper" on the homepage. I made a screenshot tool for iOS which is actually called Snapper. I have been working on/maintaining it since 2014! https://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/01/22/snapper-2-screensho... - video

Interesting! I guess "snap" is quite a desirable verb for a screenshot tool name, haha.

I couldn't get snapper.com, so I replace "s" with "x" instead.

One thing I didn't know is that people tend to read it like "ex-snapper" or "znapper", which is unexpected to me (English is not my first language)

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#382

Post by trungdq88 »

tmaly wrote: post #367
trungdq88 wrote: post #252

I built a screenshot app for macOS and made ~$3k/mo from it :) https://xnapper.com People like the app for its ability to turn a normal boring screenshot into a beautiful one that they can share on social media instantly.

wow, that is really nice. How long did it take you to develop the app to where it is today?

I've been working on it on and off since July 2022.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#383

Post by ferat »

Two years ago I made https://vemto.app, a GUI code generation tool for PHP/Laravel developers. At the time, my wife and I were going through a difficult process, in which we urgently needed to move out of an apartment. The tool sold well enough for us to put a down payment on a house, and has continued to sell for those two years, and now I'm working on a second, more powerful version that not only generates code, but can connect to existing projects to edit them. There is a video of the second version at this link: https://twitter.com/Tiago_Ferat/status/1591450807433826304

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#384

Post by Swizec »

jspash wrote: post #315
Swizec wrote: post #26

https://seniormindset.com/ – book and workshop helping people with the shift in mindset that goes into being a senior [software] engineer. You can tldr my philosophy as “business results trump technical excellence” No MRR but made about $40k in sales last year. Biggest challenge is figuring out how to turn that into stable revenue. Biggest opportunity is that unlike my previous (technical) infoproducts, this one does…

I might be alone in this thinking but the "price goes up every 100 purchases" really gives off the wrong vibe. I understand you are trying to convey scarcity and value, but it comes off like some sort of used car salesman pitch. Maybe I just too cynical these days, but when I hear certain phrases from salespeople, I immediately shut down the conversation and move on. Am I being too critical? Or is there an angle that…

Good feedback!

That's there to help bump people over the "Eh I'll buy this eventually" hump, which is common with nice-to-have infoproducts. Because I don't want to do the open/closed cohort based approach at this time.

I don't have the traffic volume or brand strength to go with the "You'll remember to come back when you're ready" approach ... yet?

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#385

Post by Swizec »

414techie wrote: post #245
Swizec wrote: post #26

https://seniormindset.com/ – book and workshop helping people with the shift in mindset that goes into being a senior [software] engineer. You can tldr my philosophy as “business results trump technical excellence” No MRR but made about $40k in sales last year. Biggest challenge is figuring out how to turn that into stable revenue. Biggest opportunity is that unlike my previous (technical) infoproducts, this one does…

How long did it take you to develop your Senior Mindset infoproduct? Curious what the ROI on your time looked like for that.

Depends how you count. It's based on ~10 years of working on my own career. But it's also a collection of essays so a lot of writing happened live while the career was happening.

My time tracker says I spent 139 hours last year on this project.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#386

Post by wingerlang »

trungdq88 wrote: post #381
wingerlang wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow this is interesting, you write "read like snapper" on the homepage. I made a screenshot tool for iOS which is actually called Snapper. I have been working on/maintaining it since 2014! https://www.idownloadblog.com/2016/01/22/snapper-2-screensho... - video

Interesting! I guess "snap" is quite a desirable verb for a screenshot tool name, haha. I couldn't get snapper.com, so I replace "s" with "x" instead. One thing I didn't know is that people tend to read it like "ex-snapper" or "znapper", which is unexpected to me (English is not my first language)

Yes definitely, over the years I've seen a few names with 'snap' as a base. It makes sense. I also tried to get snapper.com some times (although in my niche audience a website is not required at all). For the name, I think read it as ex-napper.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#387

Post by itake »

OJFord wrote: post #353
itake wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m basically losing money. I spend like $1.20 to earn $1.

Assuming it's a capital repayment mortgage, you're neglecting that you are erasing debt, only the interest payment is really a cost here. But yeah I think it makes sense to exclude it anyway, needs/wants might change and you no longer have the room(s) available to let or whatever, and it wouldn't really be a useful comparison of your 'side project' earnings to compare a year as a landlord with one not, it's a differe…

Insurance ($97/mo) + Mortgage ($3,400/mo) + Property taxes ($444/mo) + trash, water ($100/mo) = $4k/mo. My mortgage is new and is only paying down principle ~$120/mo. This means I pay about $900/mo for my room, except I have had an average of $1k/mo in home repairs since I bought the house.

The real value I am capturing is my personal housing _might_ be cheaper than if I rented myself.

I am sure in 10 years, I will be in a good spot, but not today.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#388

Post by dbancajas »

trungdq88 wrote: post #252

I built a screenshot app for macOS and made ~$3k/mo from it :) https://xnapper.com People like the app for its ability to turn a normal boring screenshot into a beautiful one that they can share on social media instantly.

What is the tech stack for this? I really want to build small apps like this and have a diversified portfolio but don't know where to start. Are you still earning 3K/month from this and what kind of on-going marketing are you doing?

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#389

Post by joshmn »

culiao wrote: post #212
joshmn wrote: post #3

During COVID I was in Mexico. At some point I wanted to go horseback riding. I was researching places to go horseback riding and I was not at all surprised to see I would have to make some calls to book. Fast-forward a few weeks, I become pretty good friends with the owner at the ranch I went to. We grab tacos one night and he shares his concerns: They're not doing so well financially and are worried about whether or…

Did you use a 3rd party for handling booking?

More here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34482904

It’s in-house. I wasn’t happy with anything we tried, and honestly it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500+/month on side projects in 2023 – Show and tell

#390

Post by Eatcats »

I have 2 rehearsal rooms for musicians, with good acoustics and some basic music equipment. There are 10 bands sharing the rooms and paying monthly giving me 500$+ with ease. I will do more as the market for such places in my city is not saturated yet.
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