48
39 Comments

Micro SaaS founder on the side of a 9-5 job? Yes, it's possible.

Starting an entrepreneurial journey is not easy.

I started my journey as a solopreneur back in 2021, on the side of a 9-5 job to escape the rat race.

And I truly believe that’s the best way to start it, the reason is simple: it takes a lot of time to start making money and understand how marketing works.

Most software engineers think that a great product is enough to succeed. Well, let me tell you that it is not the truth. But let’s go in order.

The software engineer's product bias

We are all tempted to think, that if the product is cool, people will come and pay for it.

Our product references are products like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, etc.

But their growth model is very different than ours. They were not bootstrapped but VC-funded.

They received so much money to conquer the world, and even with all that money, most of the startups just failed. It’s a different game. We, as bootstrapped solopreneurs, play a different game.

What is a bootstrapped company?

It’s simply a company that doesn’t take any funding money, no external money from angel investors, Venture Capital, and so on. The founders use their own money to run the business and reinvest the revenues into the business.

Here’s how I suggest you start your own online business, like a Micro SaaS, or any other digital product: start with the problem to solve.

The more painful is the problem, the better. The customers need to think, “I need this product to save me and my company time or money” (they are both linked anyway).

Once you identify the problem, it’s the right moment to start building the product.

Organize your time

Most people I know are amazed when they discover I am a solopreneur on the side of a 9-5 job.

I was able to achieve quite some good results (6 SaaS, sold 3 of them) while working as a senior software engineer and team lead for different companies.

But let’s give you the exact daily schedule I use:

  • I wake up around 7/7:30 AM (I’m not an early bird, I can’t wake up before, I tried, but it’s not for me)
  • I do some house stuff, like preparing breakfast for the family and so on
  • I work out a bit, (usually push-ups)
  • At 8 AM I’m in front of my desk, I work for an hour on my stuff (coding my products, or scheduling posts on X and engaging)
  • At 9 AM I start working for my employer, until 1 PM, launch break of 1 hour, employer work until 6 PM
  • The evening is usually dedicated to personal time, I watch some TV series or go out for dinner. I rarely work.
  • During the weekend I might do something, or not, but I never overwork. I try to keep a good work-life balance because I want to do this in the long term and avoid burning out at all costs.

That’s it, do this every day, and your effort will compound over time to build something bigger.

You don’t need morning routines, to wake up at 5 AM, or any other fancy technique.

Do just a little bit every day.

Of course, I work from home, and I don’t have commuting time.

Having a 9-5 removes from you the money pressure, the pressure to make money to pay the bills. And you can reinvest part of your salary into your businesses (sponsorships, paid ads, consultancies, etc.).

This is what I was able to achieve by being consistent:

  • Between 2019 and 2021, I built the SaaS Iterspace and sold it.
  • In 2021 I started building an audience on Twitter talking about web development (by the way, grab the free 200+ slides about JavaScript, React, CSS if you haven’t already).
  • In 2022 I started building Hivoe in public, a Twitter DM automation micro SaaS, and Inboxs, a Twitter DM productivity inbox micro SaaS ($4k MRR, I sold both of them in 2023)
  • In 2023 I built OmniWrite an AI writing Chrome extension, Userdesk an AI Chatbots platform for businesses ($1k MRR), Wuf a mobile push notifications Micro SaaS, and launched Shipped.club, the Next.js Micro SaaS Boilerplate for busy founders ($12k+ revenues).

I strongly suggest that everyone start indie hacking on the side, it’s the most sustainable and stress-free way of approaching it.

Also because there’s a lot to learn, and it takes time.

My tech stack

Over the years I’ve consolidated my tech stack into something optimized for speed.

Here’s what I use, so you can steal it and use it as well:

  • React great UI library based on reusable components, I’m so quick building web app using React
  • ChakraUI is one of the best open source Design Systems and UI kits for React. I get many components from it and responsive props.
  • Next.js is a full-stack framework for React based on node.js (JavaScript). It makes it so easy to build full-stack apps, with client and server code in one single codebase.
  • Vercel I host my web apps using Vercel. You push your commit to your GitHub repo, and they deploy it. It’s that simple.
  • NextAuth authentication made finally easy, for Next.js
  • PostgreSQL is my favorite open-source SQL database

To kickstart your solopreneurial journey with a huge jump, I’ve built Shipped.club the Next.js Startup Boilerplate with all you need to build and launch your product fast.

Save weeks of coding and start your product right. Check it out.

I hope you find this information useful, and if you have any questions, please write to me on Twitter/X or via email 🙌

posted to Icon for group Lessons learned
Lessons learned
on March 7, 2024
  1. 3

    It's definitely enviable, I wake up at 10am and go to bed at 2-3am every day

    1. 1

      why is it like that Qiufeng?

      1. 1

        Since I'm in charge of development, design, and marketing all by myself, there's just too much for me to handle on a daily basis, and I'm sure it might ease up after this time.

  2. 1

    Very inspiring content! 👏

    1. 1

      thanks Roberot! 🙌

  3. 1

    This is a very interesting post!

  4. 1

    I'm just trying to figure out what to build as a side project, but I still feel like I'm in the learning process. Also, I was thinking about buying your boilerplate to learn about good coding practices. Your story really inspired me.

    1. 1

      Selecting a good product idea is key, indeed.
      Picking the right one comes with expertise, as always.
      I think it's particularly useful for solopreneurs, because you have limited resources and terms of money and time to invest.

      Here are my considerations on the topic and how I select and find those good ideas: https://www.solopreneurtofreedom.com/p/how-to-find-and-validate-product

  5. 1

    This is the way, well done Luca 👏

  6. 1

    Thanks for sharing!

    Have you thought about going indie full time? What has prevented you from doing so?

    1. 1

      I'll never go full-time indie until I have a business that generates €10k of constant recurrent monthly revenues.

      The amount might be very different for you, depending on your fixed costs.
      For instance, if you are young and still live with your parents, it's a great situation to start. It's not mine as I'm a grown-up man.

      The reason is that money pressure is painful, and I don't want to feel it.
      When I'll reach that point of revenue, I'll go full-time.

  7. 1

    thanks for sharing, but just wanted to ask how you identify the product idea to build,

    How do you validate and how do you find the gap,

    i am also a solopreneur and build trackbes, but i have not idea that what should i build next, it is very hard to find the gap and idea for your products,

    Hope to see your reply here

    1. 1

      It's quite a complex topic, but I wrote about finding good product ideas here https://www.solopreneurtofreedom.com/p/how-to-find-and-validate-product

      I hope it helps.

  8. 1

    Hi Luca, thanks for sharing your story here! It’s inspiring and encouraging to hear. I’ve been wanting to get some side hustles going, but I’ve always found it super difficult to carve out the time (I also work a regular full time job).

    So you mentioned you spend an hour on your side hustles each weekday, and maybe some time on the weekend occasionally. I’m curious, what would you say your average hours/week is on your side projects?

    I’m super impressed you’ve been able to accomplish so much! And I hope to get there one day soon too. 😁

    1. 2

      you're right Logan, that's my schedule. One hour a day on weekday and a bit, sporadically during the weekend.
      Like 8 hours a week in total.

      Consistency and efficiency help a lot.
      I'm very proficient at building, the hardest part is marketing : )

  9. 1

    Hey fellow hustlers!

    Starting your own gig ain't a walk in the park.

    I dove into the solopreneur life in 2021 while juggling a 9-5 grind, aiming to dodge the rat race.

    Let me tell you, it's no cakewalk. But it's totally worth it.

    See, us software geeks often think that if we build something cool, folks will come flocking, wallets open. But that's a myth. Reality check: Building a great product is just the beginning.

    I'm talking bootstrapped solopreneurship here, where you're hustling with your own cash, no fancy VC backing.

    Here's the secret sauce to kickstart your online biz:

    Step 1: Pinpoint a Pain - Find a problem so painful, folks are itching for your solution.

    Step 2: Work that Time - Juggle your 9-5 gig with your side hustle. Trust me, it's doable. Just ask me about my daily grind.

    Step 3: Tech Talk - Use tech that's quick and slick. React, ChakraUI, Next.js - these babies make my life so much easier.

    And hey, if you wanna fast-track your journey, check out Shipped.club. It's the cheat code to launching your product like a boss.

    Now, here's the million-dollar question: What's your go-to tech stack for hustling? I'm all ears!

    Catch you on the flip side,
    Mary Jean

    P.S. If you haven't snagged those free JavaScript slides yet, you're missing out!

    1. 2

      Thank for this AI-generated reply 🤣

  10. 1

    Thanks for the insightful post - would your be able to expand anymore on the process of selling 3 of your saas's and what sort of return you got on them? The idea of making something that doesn't quite work out but being able to at least fall back on selling it to someone who has time the time to try and reignite your efforts I find quite appealing - was that the case for the ones you sold?

    1. 1

      This week I sold my 4th SaaS product.
      The usual price of a SaaS is ARR (annual recurrent revenues) multiplied by a factor from 2 to 5, depending on many factors.

      So if the product doesn't generate revenues is very hard to sell it.

      The MRR is proof the product has some traction, but maybe you are missing out on the right positioning or marketing.

      Anyway, you can find much more information in my latest article https://www.solopreneurtofreedom.com/p/i-sold-my-4th-saas-product-how-and

  11. 1

    Heard about shipped on reddit and definitely will be purchasing next SaaS product I build. I've spent waaaaay too much time organizing my own boilerplate and it's a no-brainer purchase unless you have something that is already validated that requires some crazy custom interface.

    Great to hear about your side-hustle journey here! I'm convinced the bootstrapped model working on side projects is the way to go!

    Cheers

    1. 1

      hey @christianscott I totally agree with you, I wanted to have a battle-tested boilerplate when I got started.

      The bootstrapped model is definitely my favourite, it's hard of course, but it's the more rewarding because you own 100% of the business.

  12. 1

    I agree, a micro SaaS is possible on the side.

    1. 1

      Nice to hear that Dennis 🙌

  13. 1

    The article provides valuable insights into starting a Micro SaaS business on the side of a 9-5 job, emphasizing the importance of solving a painful problem and utilizing time effectively. The author's personal schedule and success stories serve as practical examples for aspiring entrepreneurs. Additionally, the tech stack recommendations offer helpful tools for building and scaling digital products efficiently. Overall, it's a motivational and informative piece for individuals looking to embark on their entrepreneurial journey.

    1. 5

      It looks like AI-generated 🤔
      Why?

  14. 1

    Thank you for sharing this with rather specific details.

    1. 2

      My pleasure 🙌

  15. 1

    Lucas great work with Shipped! Really enjoyed reading this and watching you grow as a founder. Thanks for the content!

    1. 1

      Thanks Matt! 🙌

  16. 1

    This is a very informative post.

    1. 1

      Thanks @premsaini 🙌

      Please let me know if you have any questions.

  17. 1

    Thanks for the honest breakdown of your time. That is a more realistic approach that is sustainable for you, your family and work. Really impressive stats and congrats on shipped!

    1. 1

      Thanks Jesús 🙌 I really appreciate your kind words.

  18. 1

    Exactly what I'm trying to do!

    1. 1

      Good luck Federico! 💪

      If you have any doubts, please reach out.

Trending on Indie Hackers
I spent $0 on marketing and got 1,200 website visitors - Here's my exact playbook User Avatar 41 comments Why Early-Stage Founders Should Consider Skipping Prior Art Searches for Their Patent Applications User Avatar 22 comments I built eSIMKitStore — helping travelers stay online with instant QR-based eSIMs 🌍 User Avatar 20 comments Codenhack Beta — Full Access + Referral User Avatar 20 comments Veo 3.1 vs Sora 2: AI Video Generation in 2025 🎬🤖 User Avatar 18 comments Day 6 - Slow days as a solo founder User Avatar 13 comments