My first $1000 online and why you should optimise for side projects.
Making $1000 online. Perhaps not the most impressive stat (especially given the incredible MRR stats that fly around these days), but one I argue should be talked about more.
The first $1000 online can be game-changing for anyone. It shows you that there is an alternative path and that you can have a material impact through an online channel. So putting it in that context, making $1000 is an incredible achievement.
We need to celebrate the small wins.
My small win (aka my first $1000) came a few months ago through my Notion template store on Gumroad. Nothing fancy. I don’t know how to code well and I don’t have a background in marketing or product management. It took a lot of tinkering and testing different avenues.
The key lesson I learnt is to optimise for side projects over ‘big’, ‘sexy’, ‘world-changing’ startup ideas. I’ve got endless ideas for startups. I’ve never acted on a single one of them. I probably never will. I suspect many fall into this camp too.
It took me years before I took a step back and tried testing out something much smaller. Something that I could build over a few weekends, something that I could set up with the little upfront cost, something that has little-no risk if it fails and something that can serve as a medium for me to learn new skills.
It was from this point that I started optimising for side projects over a ‘startup’. It was from this point that I found myself having minor success in the world of an online creator.
Although still early days (recognising my progress is a small drop in an ocean of amazing and successful indie hackers) I plan to continue to optimise for side projects. I plan to build out a portfolio of small, impactful and valuable projects.
By no means am I arguing to close the door on startups. I’ll probably opt to build one down the line. But I am absolutely supporting the notion that early creators or those struggling to get something off the ground should start by optimising for side projects over startups.
You just might land your first small win. You just might make your first $1000 online.
Keen to hear everyone’s thoughts on this? Do you agree? Is my argument flawed? Let’s chat 👇🏾
Congrats, @hughdawkins! I came across your posts as I'm looking into codifying a business process into some sort of product that other people can use (and hopefully purchase). I keep circling back to Notion (and possibly Trello); to build out the MVP.
I agree with you on trying out small, impactful projects at the beginning. Especially if you don't have the audience, or time commitment, to launch a full-fledged "startup". Usually those first small projects lead to something larger later on.
Following you on twitter now as well. Looks like you have some great insight into building with Notion!
That sounds great! Totally agree with you. let me know if i can be of any help with your Notion products