Practical Software Side Hustles

Preface

1. Am I qualified?
2. What’s unique about this book?
3. Who should read this book?
4. Send me feedback
5. Introduction

Introduction to Side Hustle

1. Side Hustle are “Hot”
2. Side Hustle Pyramid
3. This Book’s Focus: Software Side Hustles

Software Side Hustles

1. Advantages of Software Side Hustles
2. Decide Which Tiers
3. Skills Required for Software Side Hustles
4. A Successful Example: My Insurance Broker
5. Wrap-up

Are You Ready?

1. “It takes change to make change”
2. The reality of sacrifice: balancing family and ambition
3. It won’t be easy
4. Don’t put your day job at risk before success
5. The shortcut: get a mentor
6. Wrap-up
7. Tier 3 and 2 Side Hustles

Ideal Tier-3 Software Side Hustle

1. Software Testing is the most common software related side hustle
2. Why software testing makes a great first side hustle
3. Practical advice for laymen starting in user testing
4. Simple E2E test scenarios with high probability of exposing app defects
5. Wrap-up

Ideal Tier-2 Software Side Hustle

1. Key attributes of a successful Tier-2 software side hustle
2. My recommendation Tier-2: E2E Test Automation
3. Why I don’t recommend starting the first side hustle as developing apps for clients?
4. Practical advice for starting an E2E Test Automation side hustle
5. Wrap-up

Continuous Testing: E2E Test Automation on Steroids

1. Regression Testing
2. Benefits of executing automated tests in a CT server
3. Manage Test Execution in CT server is much easier
4. Potential CI/CD work
5. Wrap-up

Find Your Ideal Software Side Hustle

1. High demand
2. Easy to get into
3. 10x+ productivity boost through professional skill leverage
4. Professional skills are rare — yet easier to learn than expected
5. Can expand into many other opportunities
6. Easy Adaptability
7. Skills are stable and offer maximum reuse
8. Complements day work
9. Multiplying effect
10. Lay foundation for Tier-1
11. Wrap-up
12. Time Management

Effective Use of Work Time

1. The philosophy of using work time effectively
2. Implementing E2E test automation at work also boosts your side projects
3. Be productive on tool use
4. Learn at work
5. Ask for training
6. Stories
7. Avoid ‘Overtime’
8. How I maximize work time for side projects?
9. Wrap-up

Effective Use of Private Time

1. Eliminate social media distractions to protect your focus and productivity
2. Don’t sacrifice too much family time
3. Start working on side hustles in the early morning (e.g., 5 AM)
4. Create more personal time by working fewer days
5. Pay small money to save time
6. Pay professional help from experts, cheaper than doing yourself
7. Wrap-up

Automation is Side Hustler’s Friend

1. Automation assisted demonstration / ShowCase
2. Automation for Training and Documentation
3. Test Data Generation
4. My simple approach to app health check with automation
5. Exception notification
6. Wrap-up
7. App Development

App Development: Prepare

1. Side app development failure rate is remarkable high
2. Side app development is a Marathon, not a Sprint
3. App Idea: Start with one that actually matters to you or your family
4. App Idea: Don’t over-concern about competition
5. Choose best tech stack for side project, not fixated with one used at work
6. Don’t bring bad workplace practices into your side projects
7. Set a product strategy
8. Wrap-up

App Development: Design and Coding

1. Lightweight development approach: real Agile way
2. Don’t Over-Engineering, You canot afford it
3. Implement database migration strategy
4. Be productive, proactively
5. Case Study: ClinicWise Development — First production release after 40-hour development; Then daily production releases
6. Wrap-up

App Development: Testing

1. System Testing is the main effort for side app development
2. Poor testing is the main reason most side app development fails
3. Manual testing does not fit side app development
4. Effective E2E Test Automation is a huge boost of development productivity
5. Automated E2E regression testing: the safety net
6. Effective E2E Test Automation is massive money saver
7. On-premise continuous testing lab
8. Wrap-up

App Development: Infrastructure and Deployment

1. Make deployments reliable by fully automating them
2. KISS Principle for deployment infrastructure
3. Showcase: Set up a new Ruby on Rails app server < 14 mins
4. Make App Deployment fast, really fast! in seconds!
5. Testing Infrastructure
6. Aim for Lower Infrastructure Costs
7. Wrap-up

App Development: Support

1. Automated E2E regression testing: greatly enhancing support and maintenance
2. Reproducing production data scenarios
3. Documentation, e.g. user manuals
4. Training videos
5. Be responsive to your customers
6. Let go of difficult and excessively demanding customers
7. Anti-Pattern: Handling customer support through email
8. Anti-Pattern: Handling customer support through social media messaging
9. Support ticketing system
10. Wrap-up
11. Business Development

Business Development for Tier-3 & 2

1. Business Revenue Model
2. Business Strategy for Tier-3 Side Hustle Business
3. Business Strategy for Tier-2 Side Hustle Business
4. Wrap-up

Business Development for Tier-1

1. Aiming Passive Income
2. Continuous passive income is even better
3. Good prospect
4. Aiming for a high customer retention rate
5. Aiming a niche market avoid excessive competition
6. Be ready for competition
7. Get a mentor
8. Wrap-up

Software Reselling and Outsourced Development

1. Find and partner with a 100x software engineer
2. Software Reselling
3. Outsourced Development
4. AI Coding
5. Wrap-up

Grow Business

1. One-Person business does not mean don’t collaborate with others
2. Side-hustle business partnership
3. My thoughts on side-hustle partnership
4. Marketing
5. Marketing Partnership
6. Wrap-up

AI and Side Hustle

1. Don’t believe “build apps with AI without programming skills”
2. Avoid “Vibe Coding” or blind AI-generated coding
3. AI Test Automation Is Not Feasible
4. Use AI effectively as a tool can assist
5. Wrap-up

Afterword

1. Turn negative energy at work into motivation for your side hustle
2. Be realistic about side hustle income, focus on growing passive income
3. Reward yourself with side income
4. Wrap-up

Resources

1. Books
2. Tools
3. Blog

References