Ideas for Side Projects

For some reason, ideas are quite a controversial topic.

Some people will tell you ideas are worthless, they don't matter, and the only thing that matters is execution.

Others will tell you that ideas are very important, and people even raise millions of dollars with just an idea.

As usual, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Ideas without execution are worthless, executing the wrong idea puts you into a headwind that you may not be able to overcome.

When coming up with ideas for your side project you first need to think about why you're considering building a the side project.

Build your network

A lot of projects I’ve built over the years have been for exposure, yeah I know, I’ve heard horror stories about people wanting to build their projects for exposure. This is different though, you’d be building projects directly for your exposure, not just when someone mentions you built it.

Your name will be directly attached to the projects on social media, product hunt, etc.

Building projects to build my network has led directly to freelance gigs, investments, job offers, and even grants.

It’s important to build projects that will reach the group of people you want to get access to.

When I first discovered Product Hunt, I felt like the community there was exactly the kind of people I wanted to be a part of. How would I become known, and how to be well regarded among them? I quickly built 3 or 4 projects for people active on Product Hunt and shared my projects with the community.

Lead generation for another project

Side projects are a great way to build an audience, list, backlinks, and traffic for other (even future) projects.

If you have a product you’ve built and are trying to get visitors either directly or through SEO, having a side project that you can launch and get some buzz around is a great option. Small single-purpose tools are a great way to execute this.

A photography side-project Unsplash, helped save a struggling Crew, by bringing in new customers when it gained popularity on Hacker News.

When Nathan shared his idea for Operation Pie with me, it was a way to test an idea and build an audience for what later became Founderpath.

Your next big thing

Maybe you’re employed, but don’t like your job. Maybe the job is great, but the pay sucks. Maybe you just want to work for yourself and set your own hours.

Starting your next big thing as a side project is a great way to take some risk out of the process. What if the idea isn’t as popular as you hoped? What if it takes longer to reach the audience than you anticipated?

Working on the side projects means you’ll keep a steady paycheck while you figure out the new thing.

The downside is that your time will be limited so launching the next thing will take longer.

Hopefully, you’ll get to the point when you have to decide to go all in or not. Having the experience and data to make that decision will give you confidence you're making the right choice at the right time.

Where to find ideas

If this was easy everyone would do it, right?

The best solutions solve problems for lots of people, but finding those problems is hard.

I typically look for problems I’m experiencing and then consider if solving the problem for myself is a good enough reason to build the solution. The hope is that other people will also have a similar pain that your solution can solve too.

If you’re part of any large groups you can look for common problems there too. The Internet has made this a little easier. Facebook, Reddit, Twitter etc, are great places to look for people sharing the pains they are experiencing.

Depending on why you’re building a side project, you do have to consider the time/cost it will take to build. Also, are people willing to pay to have this problem solved for them? Are you making a vitamin or a painkiller?

In the next post, I’m going to a deep dive into the idea that I’ll be building for Nights and Weekends S5, how it came about, and why I think it’s a good idea to build.

Cheers,
Mubs