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5 Comments

How do I not quit?

I spent last 2 months building an app. The main purpose was to learn Flutter so I made up some messaging app. App is somewhat interesting and unusual, but now that I built it, I'm like: what am I suppose to do with it. I don't know how to promote it, does it even make sense.

Now I decided to learn iOS so I need to find something else to work on in order to learn iOS. I like social networking the most, but I'm opened to anything as long as it interests me. I'm good at dev, but bad at reaching audience

I tried to even find someone who share the same interets, thinking that it will help me not quit. Sometimes I post in communities that I’m opened for cooperation as mobile dev. Usually few people contact me. But after 1 or 2 messages they just stop replying completely. I don’t get it. It’s not me who contacted them.

How do I not quit once I build it?

  1. 5

    Since you are only building these things to learn technologies doesn't it make sense to quit after you have learned what you wanted?

    1. 1

      This hit me. I do struggle with finding an end goal out of learning new things. Much need TLC all the same.

  2. 3

    If the goal of your app is to learn, then you’ve accomplished that. But what are your goals beyond that—making money, having users, a portfolio piece, fun, teaching, the topic/hobby of the app itself, charity?

    I think that learning new technologies is a great excuse to build an app. And, if you’re building an app, why not try to make a buck from it? For me, even if it fails, it’s a fun portfolio piece.

    So then the idea—what are you interested in? What are your hobbies? What is your background? It’s always good to dogfood your own product and make something you’ll actually use.

    Then brainstorm. Come up with at least 5 real product ideas. Sometimes that’s the hard part—I’ve helped a couple friends come up with projects. Don’t be afraid to ask others what they think or ask for their ideas. Also, you have a unique experience and are part of specialized communities—there are problems that you can see and solve that many others could miss. Take a week to mull it over. After all, you’ll spend months if not years on your app.

    Recommended readings:

    • Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
    • The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you

    Then pick your direction. Feeback. Build. Feedback. Launch. Feedback. Iterate. Feedback. Repeat. Feedback. Your idea will likely go in a different way than you expected. Be open to ideas and talk to your users to get feedback.

    Also, have fun making it—don’t overwork and burn yourself out. Sure not every part of making a product is fun, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to enjoy it.

    I don’t know you enough to be able to brainstorm with you, but hopefully this gives you a little bit to think about.

    What makes it worthwhile for me—the fun challenge, a topic I love, building with a friend every so often, not worrying about failure, and making something genuinely cool. The key to success is consistency. Making money would be nice too, but that’s a future step.

  3. 3

    This is pretty relatable. I can code anything if i'm determined but once i build something i lose interest.

    I think our issue is having a hammer and we're looking for a nail. Since we can code, anything sounds like a good idea. However, in most cases what is built does not fit real-world usage from other people.

    So far, the only time i haven't lost interest is when people use my product.

  4. 2

    I think you started with some end-goal in mind; which was different from learning. It happens. Normal. Don't worry.

    We all fall into the trap of building a 'solution' which needs to search for a 'problem'. The general advice from successful entrepreneurs is to go reverse - find a problem and then build a solution.

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