Having decision paralysis on your first side project?
I've seen a number of posts from people stuck on where to start. Here is my advice.
- Pick something simple to implement
- Pick something that you know what channels to market it in
- Pick something you are interested in
- Just start
Starting a project can be scary, especially your first one. But you won't learn anything sitting on the sidelines. Chances are you aren't going to hit it out of the park your first time at bat. If you really want to create a side project that turns into something then you will start learning when you actually launch something. If you build something and it turns out to be a viable option for a business, great! If it doesn't, then you have some new knowledge. But dreaming won't help you get to your end goal.
Just start moving forward, if you are moving something is bound to happen. If you are not doing anything then you can't expect to gain anything whether that be knowledge, customers, etc.
What advice do you all have for people stuck on selecting their first side project?
My personal advice is if you're really stuck I would start by scratching your own itch.
I had a need for keeping tax and financial documents private and zipping/encrypting each file was a bit cumbersome. An encrypted disk was the answer for me and I found some commercial solutions that would do the job but they were either bloated or too ugly for my tastes.
Long story short, I learned win32 programming, read tons of cryptography specs (rolling your own is just a bad, bad idea) and learned about storage and kernel drivers (mostly undocumented). All this in three months and outside of crazy startup hours I completed a usable product that I was able to put up and sell online.
By scratching your own itch, you don't have to worry about who will use it (you), what features you need (you decide) and how well it works. I honestly never had it crash on me.
I had a sale here and there which was all gravy for me but then a company wanted to OEM the software. We reached an agreement and they had it boxed up and sold in retail stores.
So scratch your own itch. You'll never know where it leads.
A quick story should be illustrative. One year ago I started a project. I worked on it here and there but really didn't make much progress on it. But I didn't really try too hard. It wasn't a top priority.
Fast forward 11 months, to July 2018. I found out that the thing that I want to accomplish is going to be impossible in October or November 2018.
I worked hard and made it happen within a month. I even spent what I needed to spend, which turned out to be nearly $500.
Taking small action, here and there, is a waste of time. Generally speaking, small, inconsistent actions are easily forgotten. Big accomplishments require fast feedback and massive action.
Thanks for this thread. I’m sorry for just saying I’d be interested in answers!