It's like, why don't all the chefs open their own restaurant? Because it's not just about cooking. There are cooking, serving, cleaning, hiring, managing, accounting etc tasks to be handled. Besides you need to have free time and a good amount of savings to do so. In return, you won't be sure if you're restaurant is good enough to make living and eventually make rich. Likewise, even a simple app needs coding and testing for a month or two, designing, preparing appstore/playstore screenshots, icons and other store entries, ASO research, ad budget, ad creatives and campaign management bla bla and in the end your app may flop. Some devs don't want to risk it and get stressed and I totally understand that.

Make an app for other coders, because that way everything at work is transferable. Wait, every coder does that

I used to create a software product 20y ago. I just wanted to make an existing product better (a windows tool). I didn't care about if it will be successful. I just enjoyed the process of creating and learning. I created a website for my product and asked myself the question, what next... how the hell people will download it? I learned about SEO and I published my software to many software download sites. I even created my own software website so other devs could publish on my site. I remember when I got my first sale. It was magical. I absolutely had no idea what I was doing. I also was crap at coding. Learned everything by doing (and copy pasting xD ) You basically need an initial idea. Maybe make an existing product better. Finding something completely new is hard but could be very profitable, but most ideas from history are combinations of other ideas. Find a problem and solve it. People will pay. Another advice: don't spend too long on that product. Do not plan every detail in andvance. Try to deploy a mvp.

Writing a version 1 of an app is one thing. Updating, supporting, marketing, selling, financing...something else entirely.

I'm on this grind, working the 9-5 and building my own platform on my free time. It has been about 2 years already, spending ~2 hours every day. It is not easy, but it is starting to get traction.

It could be fear related to legal issues, servicing customers that complain, worry about not fully testing the App, processing payments, hiding it from your employer etc. These fears would be maxed for a SAAS product I think.

I have been struggling with this for half a decade and you were on point 100% as to what is the issue and that’s why all coders can’t have their own shop. But knowing that the upper management gets richer out of coders motivates me to build, deploy, market and handle the business side, if it fails its still a win because you get a lot of experience and can be used to advance your position. The only thing missing is the work ethic and the discipline. One last point don’t just focus on the result but enjoy the journey and the rest will come.

The grind don't stop!

People have this mindset that everything must be connected to the cloud and must be reachable to the whole world. Without the cloud nothing can exist and we are slaves to CEO's. Give what customers want, something not polluted with spyware, something that does not have a subscription and something that does not show targeted advertisement. Juniors developers have to let go that nothing exists without an internet connection. Create software for local shops. create software that does not need cloud as database, but reside in NAS server. Do you really think that running a small hotel requires any cloud connection? Do you really think that price displays need a internet connection to show any prices? Hell no, just a Raspberry pie. Create software for local business. Let go of the "I need a cloud" mantra. No you don't!

We do code up apps, they just don't get traction

I think the best approach to launch your own app, is to work and grind on a job for a couple of years, and set funds aside to last you at least a year, and then quit your job, and work full-time on building your app. If you run out of funds, pause the development, and get hired again, set funds aside again, and repeat the process! However, I don't think the lack of time and burnout is the real reason of why more coders aren't building their apps. It's business, admin, taxes, and laws! I personally don't want to become a business owner! I like coding, not talking to people and investors and clients! I'm not good with laws and taxes, and it's a straight-up nightmare to deal with all those! I think people should focus on doing what they love and what they're good at, instead of trying to get rich no matter what! It's a miserable experience otherwise!

I think its just a thing of preference. Some people get excited to work on projects like that some just consider them a nightmare. Its like the thing with mechanics and Why do most mechanics drive junk cars or at least simple cars? Work becomes work and work usually consists of things you don't feel like doing. :D Good luck to you too

This is good advice. Regarding how to break out of it, the other solution is a sabbatical or some form of break from a full-time job. You can incorporate breaks (e.g., a few months) between jobs to focus on your app. This way, you don't get significant gaps in your CV and still have some time for deep work on your projects. When it comes to why more developers are not doing this, in at least some cases, money in full-time employment is simply too big. Big tech or finance firms pay really good money, and when you do the math, you realize that you can save and invest at a very high rate (e.g. 50%+ of your net pay). Basically, you can "get rich" off full-time employment which is an anomaly in human history 🙂

Nice vid! Correction: people don't make money releasing apps, they make money selling apps. Not only that, they have to acquire customers faster than they lose customers. And their cost of acquiring new customers has to be less than they get in total business from each customer. (CAC, LTV) Most developers are better served making projects without revenue requirement. It helps your development in so many ways. If you think you are called to be a business owner, at least consider starting with a small non-software venture. Sell things to people. If this idea seems absurd to you, you're not ready to start a business. Become a better engineer. That will provide your best ROI.

Most apps are thrash. You have to be exceptional to compete on the free market. Most apps fail. If I spent all the time I spent making apps In my job instead, I would have made so much money.

I write software to solve problems to make lives easier in some way. I have no interest in monetizing app, dealing with business stuff (ick), etc.

As a developer, I don't think building the app is the issue. I think it's a combination of "good ideas" and marketing. I've made hundreds of things to solve problems, my unique one-off problem. Finding a generalized problem to solve that enough people for the app to be successful is hard.

Yes absolutely I am a very technical person. Running a business and the marketing does not satisfy my creativity. Give me a good business and marketing guy and we could make millions.

You talked on a nice and important topic, for me at least, thank you ❤❤

Good idea

I am a game developer I struggle with this exact dame issue, my attention had never been great.... And well while i do my job stellarly once i'm done with the 8 hour shift the will to work on personal projects is not really there... And also when i've tried gollowing other family members advice to watch work on it during the day while i have no takss my work output gets diminished... It foes seem like attention is a limited faily resource... What do you guys recommend I should do to improve on this?

Rightly said

These are good points brother. I have the business skills let me know how I can help

Nailed it

I followed 200+ iOS devs on Twitter for a year or so. Some were FAANG superstars, others were little guys like me trying to learn. One thing became clear: full-time devs aren't good at coming up with app ideas outside their area of expertise. Their apps were almost all the generic ideas that have been done a hundred times before

After that app hits the market, the chances of that failing (not being used by a lot a people) or AI replacing is too high compared to some other business like a restaurant for example. If a man can do it in 30 min with experience, a person with no experience can do it in maybe a week in worst case. Too much competition.

What are those apps you are talking about?

Why did not they launch it publicly? Because the same app is already published by at least 100 other developers and none of them made a penny... :)

You can't just launch apps, you are right, you need product-market fit, sales, marketing, etc etc etc. It feels like a catch-22 where like you have to go and learn all of the buisness stuff (mainly marketing and sales) and by doing so you are not keeping up and expanding your technical skills. It's doable ofc, many have done it, to your other points if you have a family at home and other responsibilities... It's just to much.

Your last comment on finding a job that aligns with your side project -- doesn't that get close to the line of violating "Do Not Compete" clauses that many of us have with our employers? If we go out and launch a project or app that shares a lot of similarities with what we worked on that is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

if you do something significantly similar to what you do at work, you better be darn careful you aren't making an app that seems like it competes with your dayjob, or you will get sued hard. there is no perfect solution to this.

Making a successful app is 90% having a good idea, sales and marketing 10% about how good you can program. The sad part is if you have a successful idea you are better off hiring someone to code it for you, if you make your own app its better as a learning experience for yourself.

The work required to build something that someone is willing to enough pay is, more often than not, not worth it.

i have 3 aps released none of them are making me money =[

Cool video, i am a coder, let me know if you would like to collaborate on an app, or if you might be interested in see if we can be good fit for a co-founder

Folks instead preferring to be a youtuber, tiktoker, twitch streamer. Seems like it has more money with less work

You need an idea first...

I get distracted by other ideas and lose interest in current after pouring yrs into it😅

Isn't your recommendation illegal? I'm sure there is clause in contract about using the knowledge from your work elsewhere while you're still working there.

I am barely using apps. They are quite useless. More useful than web crap, but overall other than KZfaq and messengers - I don't need anything. Makes me question what was the point of buying a smartphone.

Fact that you are working as a programmer shows that you are (was) incapable to write "killer app". May be you WILL. Haha, good luck.

What's your twitter?