No genuine interest in a problem/idea
Hi,
I made this mistake with my last project. I was thinking about the problems and ideas that I would like to work on. And I found some ideas and started working on them, but after some time, I discovered that I am not interested in working on this problem anymore. Mostly because I don't have this problem myself, and I am not interested in helping others solve the problem. It was a chore. I managed to finish it(i am not a quitter lol). However, I closed it a few months ago(made around 1k in profit).
It's hard to continue working when you hate your job(project). I should have asked myself if I can continue working on this for the next 2-5 years(if this project will be successful). And if not, then something else had to be found. Lesson learned.
Please don't make my mistake, guys)
Does anyone have this kind of problem with your current or past projects? What do you think?
You're right that its hard to build something which we wouldn't use, I had a Facebook accelerated privacy focused dating product growing great, but I had no qualms shutting it down because I myself never used a dating product ever.
Anyways, I run a problem validation platform needgap where people post their problems for startups to solve. Perhaps you might find something which resonates with you?
There are several products being created now for some of those need gaps.
So you made 1k in profit but still closed it? You do realize that most indie hackers make nothing, right? What was your product?
Shopify app - Image optimizer(compress images).
~1k in 9 months(ARR), but I can't get much better with my product because user churn is too high(and many other issues). I had all the features that other apps have, but it does not matter. The problem is not recurring(customers use it only once and then delete it). Yes, people are adding more products, but they don't bother and don't want to pay for this app.
And there is huge competition in this niche, so it's tough to get more customers.
I was late with this idea.
As for me, I understood that I need to fail fast and move on. I spent too much time on this one.
I think the Shopify app store is like the Apple app store; it's quite hard to stand out with your product(if only it's not something new).
I always come up with ideas that I think will be profitable and provide passive income once they've grown. As a non-tech founder, this typically relates to content type creations and advertising monetisation or gateway/membership type of things.
I used to just jump at getting started and fizzle out after a few days. I've now trained myself to just say no and focus on topics that I care about and enjoy - mainly sport and fitness
This comment was deleted 5 years ago
The project still requires customer support and bug fixing, and it dries my energy, so I can't work on something else.
So that's why I decided to shut it down.
“ If I don't believe in what I'm making anymore, then I don't want to really do it anymore”
Excerpt From: Pieter Levels. “MAKE: Bootstrapper's Handbook”.