Turning 21: My One Year Reflection
Today I officially turn 21, and I wanted to write a blog to reflect on my journey leading up to now. I have many goals to reach, and while I still have a bit to go, each achievement certainly helps.
For background, I've been into computer programming since I was 11 years old, first starting off tinkering with Lego Mindstorm - where you could program lego mechanics to do things.
As time went on, I got involved with Minecraft, which led me to learn Java and build server-sided modifications for the game. I then began learning to build websites and developed a desire to collect premium one-word domain names.
Over the years, I've started projects and killed many in the process. I lost motivation too quickly because I was too engrossed with revenue - if I didn't generate quickly, I felt like it just wasn't working.
The last year especially has been a huge game changer, letting me become more confident as a person and learning a lot in the process.
Project Background
I started my job in January 2020, working 6 days a week, and wanted a fun project in my small but limited time. A friend played a game mode within Minecraft and wanted a website that could track items within the game. I started work on the project and launched it pre-COVID (early March), giving me something to work on.
This was solely built for the pleasure aspect - no monetisation was even considered. However, I was unaware of the potential it would turn out to have. Shortly after going live, multiple YouTubers with high influence in the game mode started making videos covering it. This propelled my site, and we started gaining hundreds of concurrent visitors.
As visitors grew, a friend mentioned the idea of putting Google Ads on the website. From what I knew, the pay was awful. I agreed and set them up, then was shocked to see I was generating $700-$1,000 per month from Google. This allowed us to remain free-to-use whilst covering server costs of around $200 - not cheap for 90 million rows of data.
The Last Year
By this point, the project was generating income, but I was eager to earn more as Google doesn't have the best rates. I started reaching out to companies relating to my website's audience - Minecraft. We used the market average CPM, which I believe was $18-20, giving us a price of $3,250 a month.
We started gaining monthly sponsorships, which allowed for higher income and the groundwork to potentially go full-time. I had heard of MicroAcquire - a 0% commission marketplace for smaller businesses. It sounded crazy, but it sparked curiosity. At the end of the day, it cost nothing to list. So I listed it for a decently high 5-figure number, thinking it would just sit there unsold.
Shortly after listing, I was flooded with requests. Most were spammy one-word messages that never continued. However, a small few were genuinely interested, which led to countless Zoom meetings and back-and-forth emails. We got close to acquisition, negotiated on price, and within weeks the money was in my account.
This is the first successful business I've sold. MicroAcquire makes it super easy to sell your business.
What I Learned
Going from countless projects that failed due to lack of motivation and too much focus on monetisation - my advice is to focus on projects for pleasure and enjoyment. You can still focus on monetisation, but leave that to the end. It means you'll build features people want, not features just for money's sake.
Go with the tech stack you're personally comfortable with. I've come across many people telling me to use X or Y, but the end goal is to provide a solution to a potential customer, not a developer. Often when you get replies such as "ew PHP" or "but you're a PHP developer," it stems from jealousy. If it works and you're comfortable - use it.
Go build solutions that customers will want to pay for, but focus on core functionality as your primary goal. Forget about being peer pressured into certain tech stacks. If it works for you and lets you build that solution, then use it.