Are you a software engineer eager to turn your skills into profitable side hustles?
The possibilities for making money online are endless, and I have some exciting ideas that could make 2024 your greatest year yet. Whether you're looking for extra income or dreaming of launching your own business, these side hustles are designed to get you motivated and upskilled with the potential to boost your earnings. Let's dive in!
Selling Digital Products & Plugins
According to Statista, transaction value in the Digital Commerce market is expected to reach US$7.63tn in 2024. So, if you have the motivation with a great idea, you can also be a part of this booming industry. This is your chance to get a piece of the pie by creating digital assets like plugins for Shopify or WordPress.
Why not create reusable website templates with your favorite tech stack and sell them on platforms like Gumroad or Envato? I will start by selling website templates on Gumroad, I've read and seen it can be a highly profitable venture.
App Store / Play Store App Development
Mobile app development is still thriving. As of 2023, the Google Play Store hosts approximately 3.718 million mobile apps, and the Apple App Store offers around 1.803 million iPhone apps. Using cross-platform tools and frameworks like React Native, Flutter, or Ionic, you can develop apps without learning native languages like Java/Kotlin or Swift.
Monetize your apps through ads, in-app purchases, or by offering a premium ad-free version with extra features. The mobile app market is a goldmine waiting for your innovative ideas.
SaaS or Micro-SaaS Products
Creating specialized, niche SaaS (Software as a Service) products can be incredibly profitable. Micro-SaaS products, often developed by solo developers or small teams, focus on very specific markets or functionalities.
Take inspiration from Raycast, a productivity tool that streamlines daily tasks and workflows with quick access and custom scripts. This small team's subscription-based model has turned into a huge success. Your unique Micro-SaaS product could be the next big thing!
Open Source Project Contributions
Contributing to open-source projects is a fantastic way to showcase your skills, collaborate with other developers, and build your reputation. These contributions can lead to job offers, consulting gigs, or opportunities to sell your own tools and services.
If you start an open-source project that gains traction, you can monetize it through sponsorships, donations, or dual licensing, offering both a free community version and a paid commercial version with additional features or support.
7. Tech Blogging
Tech blogging is a powerful way to share your expertise, review new technologies, and provide tutorials. What starts as a hobby can become a lucrative career through advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, or selling digital products like e-books or courses.
Establish a niche, whether it's web development, AI trends, or gadget reviews. Grow your audience by delivering valuable, accurate, and engaging content. A strong personal brand as a blogger can lead to speaking engagements, book deals, and consulting work.
Ready to turn your skills into something more? These side hustle ideas are your ticket to a great 2024. Share these ideas with fellow developers and start building your side hustle empire today!
Custom AI-Powered Solutions
AI is more than a buzzword; it's a booming market. In 2023, AI was valued at over $153.6 billion, and it's only getting bigger. Every week, new AI tools hit the market, offering endless opportunities for developers.
Imagine creating an AI-powered tool like AgentGPT, using large language models (LLMs) like GPT, Llama, or PaLM 2. These tools break down user-defined goals into actionable tasks and execute them sequentially. Design a user-friendly interface to let users interact with the AI, define goals, monitor progress, and receive outputs. Monetize your creation with a subscription model, and watch the profits roll in as businesses and individuals pay for your time-saving solution.
By exploring these side hustle ideas and others, you can discover new ways to effectively utilize your skills and profitably generate income.
Feel free to follow the links below to view my Open Source Projects and more.
Top comments (18)
I think most of these are great but they also require lots of marketing behind them (or to go viral) to get them to take off
I completely agree. Every project needs marketing to get off the ground. The idea behind this post was to share some ideas and potentially inspire others.
Then how can a mid level developer can create a worthy product?
And marketing costs is very high to be successful
I believe it all starts with a great idea. The product's worth will ultimately be determined by its effectiveness and the response from end users. While there are ways to secure a marketing budget, that's not my focus here.
Marketing is as valuable a skill as development it feels like now a days : )
I'm with you on this one, Josef!
Name on product or service that doesn't require marketing to take off?
Worrying about marketing won't make you build anything worthy of marketing, the product comes before marketing.
Great suggestions Travis for side or even full time income. I enjoyed checking them out
Thank you for the kind words!
Nice content! !
Thank you :)
That's great I am asking you a question How do I start? I am a frontend developer I learned HTML CSS JavaScript React JS tailwind CSS how I started my career in tech. like open-source blogging website templates and plugins SaaS or Micro-SaaS Products.
Thanks for the insight! For future reference if you think outside the box when it comes to things like marketing budgets for instance you can always make it happen if you're dedicated. FYI I am a marketing whiz soon to be world renowned guru LOL always open to collating on a developers project to hero it gain traction in exchange for a piece of the pie!!
Nice read Travis!! but all of this requires a lot of converging focus and time, most people want to have low effort high gains item just like fast food
Nice content! Maybe you can recommand some tools or platforms to build you idea to product
Well said
Actually, this could be a bullet list, it is not an article...
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