I sincerely hope that you’re having an outstanding day! If you’re not, and feel like talking with someone, please hit me up. I’d be happy to visit with you.
I hear from so many people who really want to build a product, but they don’t. This ends up giving me a pretty puzzled expression. This post is for those of you on the fence. You’re not a developer right now. You may hate your job. You may be a stay-at-home mother or father. You may have found your way here on accident. At the end of the day you’re at a cross road and you’re thinking about building an app.
So, what if you could wake up tomorrow and feel 100% in control of where your life is going? You’re not working for someone else, you’re working for yourself within your own dream job. 12 months ago you came up with a brilliant product idea and executed it almost to perfection while zoning in and learning where things could improve. Your monthly recurring revenue is not insanely high, but it’s plenty to live off of. Your family is happy. You’re happy. You’ve created your own dream dream job.
Given the world we live in today that possibility is closer than ever. Those of us who understand and enjoy building software products have a huge advantage over those who cling to brick-and-mortar storefronts or elaborate manufacturing processes. You can literally wake up on this beautiful day and decide to execute on an idea that has been percolating in your mind. If you are sitting there, wondering if you should begin working on an app idea of yours, sit no longer. Get on your feet and start learning how to do it!
“Whoa… Why learn? Why not find someone to do it for me?”
Finding people to work on an idea you’ve just come up with can be incredibly difficult. How much capital do you have to invest in an early-stage startup? In addition to that, how risky is this adventure? Do you really want to risk $5,000, $15,000 or even $50,000 to bring a product to life? That doesn’t sound like a smart strategy unless you’re just sitting on way too much cash.
Beyond the financial battle, you’re up against another huge issue. The people you’re after are just like you. They’re likely busy hammering on their own ideas or helping others at much bigger companies. They also require the kind of incentives that very few startup leaders can provide. These incentives go beyond the salary.
“But,” you scream, “I could just ship this overseas and they could handle it!”
You’re dreaming. There are great people overseas. I’m not going to be the guy who knocks those folks trying to earn a living in order to put food on the table for their family. The problem is that outsourcing your work brings a whole bag of unique challenges that I would not advise anyone to get into unless you have someone who is experienced at managing that process. I know the wage looks incredibly appealing, but just… avoid learning those lessons the hard way.
“I have friends!”
Awesome! If you have the persuasion to lure them into your endeavor then go for it! But that’s much harder than it sounds.
“But… I suck at math…”
Not a problem–so do I. The good news is anything that you need to know can discover on YouTube. The super good news is that it’s not something you’re going to think about a whole lot unless you have some really, really wild ideas revolving games or crazy scientific things.
“Okay, you’ve got my attention.”
You’ve dreamed of building your own business. Let’s do it then. Where do you want to start?
So you have an amazing app idea that solves a problem. Start with iOS. If you’re completely new to development you’ll want to grab a Mac and a couple of books. Read them cover-to-cover. Type out all of the example code. When you’re done with those books build a simple to-do list app by yourself. Once you feel good, tackle your idea.
Chisel your idea down to the absolute fundamentals. Define the most basic experience that you would like to provide in version 1. The most dangerous thing you could do is add a huge list of things to add into the app so you need to be very mindful of that.
Build your version one. Show it to some people to get feedback. Clean certain areas up.
There is definitely more to this process than that but it gives you a quick overview. It’s not easy, however it is incredibly rewarding. As long as you have the passion and the persistence you’ll do just fine.
It’s Your Dream. Run with it.
P.S. Oh, and as a bonus, when you’re done learning how to do this you can start earning cash by helping others build their apps. This opens so many doors.
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