I made my first $1 from a side project this year. I’ve pursued this milestone for the last 4 years. It should have been an incredible accomplishment. It was, kind of.

People are willing to spend money on what I make. Regardless of its unpolished MVP nature. Finally, I knew. But I wasn't proud.

I’ve failed for the past 4 years, but that just pushed me closer to my goal. This time it was different. Unlike the other failed projects, this project showed me the exact direction to go next, and that’s why I’m killing it.

Lessons learned

1) Consume less, make more

I used to enjoy reading self-development content. From books to the Medium’s posts. One thing you should know is this. By making, I learned exponentially more.

2) Prioritize

Make time for what you believe in. Aline your priorities with your goals. It's hard building a project and having a full-time job at the same time. There's no magic formula. I had to make sacrifices. You do too, and probably will continue to do so as well.

3) Execution doesn't matter

No, you don't need this new framework. You'll be fine with that old one. Or with none. Serious makers don't bother wasting a second thinking about it. Why should you? Customers don't care.

4) Except when it does

Your product deserves a nice presentation. Landing pages make a huge impact. Don't underestimate them. Adding some fluff to it won't hurt. It's not pointless over-engineering. It's making sure it converts.

5) Monetize quickly

I learned the hard way. At first, users asked me for a paid plan to give them more quota. Then they went quiet. It took me 3 months to add this paid plan. But the majority of those who previously asked didn't stick around. $1000 mistake.

When to kill a side project

Back to my story. I'm not killing my project because it's technically challenging or because of bad luck. I'm ending it because it doesn't make me happy.

My journey as a maker began with building an online diary for fitness enthusiasts. I believe in fitness. It was a natural fit. My next project was in the same field.

Not this project. This project is in a completely different category. Marketing. My numero uno nemesis. The Darth Vader.

I fought the challenge. Nobody won.

I want to move back to what I enjoy the most. Building things that I truly believe will change lives of the like-minded.

What's next

As I said, this project showed me the direction to go next. It was actually the users. In fact, the user who wrote this to me:

(FYI: I reduced features in a free plan and added a new paid plan. No one was forced to upgrade.)

Rounding all the edges of a side project is nearly impossible. But you should never cheat on a communication with your users. I did. I realized I had in all of my projects.

I'm pivoting, again. And I'm hoping you're a like-minded individual.

I'm going to build an emailing solution for us makers. So we don't have to cheat ever again. It's called Sidemail. Perhaps, you could sign up for early access, and get progress updates straight to your mailbox.

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Thank you for reading!

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