Is it wise to kill a side project when it makes some money but lacks potential?

I think you should keep it. I think establishing 3/4 products that generate this kind of revenue is a very credible business strategy to be honest. This is assuming that it doesn't take up too much of your time of course.

I'd say yes. We built a wedding planning app and had to kill it.
It was fraught with problems.

1. Fickle customers.

2. Fierce and established competition.

3. Poor initial planning.
   (We built the platform without customer feedback)

4. Way too much effort just to get one customer.

5)Lack of initial planning set us down a very difficult path.

I would second what people are saying here. 15-20k is pretty decent if you can automate the effort (or outsource it while maintaining a profit).

If the side project is labor intensive but profitable, I would then consider selling it - I haven't done this, but I've heard some success stories. Someone else might see an opportunity to grow it.

Congrats on making something that is that profitable!

Does your side project require much effort or can it run autonomously? If the second... keep it running, it's still an extra 15-20k per year for little to no involvement.

Look for / talk to a buyer, just to get a feeling whats on the table.

And as @thomasm1964 already suggested. Make it your primary goal for the next 4 weeks to reduce / outsource / remove the work tasks which take up most of that 30 hours.

Good luck!

As others have mentioned maybe you can outsource the work so the project goes on autopilot? Another option would be doing what Patrick McKenzie did and just sell it. I believe Courtland interviewed someone on the IH podcast, who's service helps connect buyers and sellers for websites.

If it makes 15-20k per year I'd consider trying out a few other options before killing it.

Depending on what the 30 hours per week is going towards, I would recommend working on reducing that weekly time commitment. Finding ways to do that could even spawn your next project.

If that doesn't seem possible, I would try to find a way to outsource those 30 hours somehow.

Any money is good money so don't shut down. You can probably make it independent and make it run without you.

Long time lurker here on IH and just officially signed up. I am heavy on the tech side and I am also currently in a full-time gig. I don't have anything going on the side that would allow me to break free from my full-time gig but I want to put the wheels in motion that will allow me to eventually do so. If you want to chat about how we could maybe help each other out hit me up via the email in my bio.
Cheers !

don't kill it, sell it!

Try to sell it before killing it. Somebody may see some value not obvious to you. Try 4-5 times your net.

Can't you keep it and work on a side project at the same time?

Hi Matt,

I looked for your e-mail address but i couldn't find it.

I have an offer for you: i am looking to build some capital for my feature products. I can operate this website for you for very little payment/commission. I also get a commission payment if i find a buyer for your project.

So you will be able to save your time and continue to earn money for your next big project.

I am a technical guy, working with business partners.

Just send me an e-mail if you are interested: yigit[at]yigitnot.com

This comment was deleted 6 years ago

This comment was deleted 7 years ago

This comment was deleted 6 years ago