Honest question: does building in public actually pay?

hello world. Let's open with the uncomfortable question: who here actually makes money from what they build and post?
Not "exposure". Not GitHub stars. Not a nice comment from a stranger. Real money that shows up in a bank account.
Here is my unpopular opinion: most developers who say they "just build for fun" never tried to get paid. Fun is a fine reason. But a lot of the time it is a polite way of saying "I never figured out the money part, and I would rather not think about it."

What I keep seeing

• Side projects with real users and no pricing page.- Open source maintainers doing unpaid support at 2am.- Great technical writers giving away years of expertise with no newsletter and no offer.None of that is wrong. But when it burns you out, "for fun" stops being fun. ## The real blockers
• Asking for money feels like selling out.- We price our work like a weekend hack, not like years of skill.- We wait for the project to be "ready" instead of charging the first ten people who already need it.## So, prove me wrong If you make money from a side project, open source, writing or content: what actually worked? Sponsors, paid tiers, consulting, a course, ads? And if you decided not to monetize on purpose, I want to hear why. Drop it in the comments.