The magic of recent tech developments, such as low-code/no-code and AI, has meant that solopreneurship is more accessible than ever to those who wonder how to build an app and start a business of their own with it. In fact, in the US, there are around 29.8 million solopreneurs who roughly contribute $1.7 million to the economy — they may be solo, but their role in society isn’t small at all.
Ideally, you have an app idea you believe will contribute to the world, you develop it on your own, and then grow it enough that your team and your reach expand. However, it doesn’t always pan out that way when the product you’re building doesn’t quite connect with its intended audience. Eighty percent of apps fail within their first two years, which isn’t surprising, considering that dev democratization means more apps hit the market daily, and competition is fierce.
But this shouldn’t discourage solo developers. It’s never about quantity, but quality. And quality takes time, effort, and lots of conversations that help iterate and improve your product. As a company that started with a single person and has now built successful software for over two decades alongside brilliant teams, take our word for it: it isn’t easy, but it’s possible if you nail some key aspects.
Let’s discuss how to develop an app and why it’s so crucial to step outside the developer mindset by listening to your audience, finding a real solution, balancing function and form, and knowing how to sell your product.
How To Develop an App and Make Money: Understand the People Behind the Problem
Oftentimes, when a developer finds a new app idea exciting, they dive headfirst into it just for the sake of making it. It’s even the mere discovery of a new coding feature that will get them going. Without the proper research, this can end up like forcing a square into a circle. By the time they launch their app, it’s an aimless endeavor that won’t connect with an audience and will barely make any revenue, if any.
If you’re delving into building solutions for other industries, it’s crucial to get to know the real, daily users in order to develop an app they will actually use. When we created Appli, for instance, the job was made easier as it was a dev tool for other devs. Today, we use it to build other productized apps, such as Quizli, and internal tools that support us at conferences and other operational tasks. We’ve built a user base by knowing their needs and the solutions to them — because we’re part of this niche.
So, if you’re looking to build an app for healthcare, education, logistics, or any other industry outside of your own, you must first connect with your potential customer. Whether that’s by browsing forums online or meeting with friends of friends who work in the industry, you must have conversations with them and learn about their challenges at work. This is when your gears should start to turn, blending your new industry knowledge with your deep app development skills to find a suitable solution for your potential users.
Know What You’re After with a Clear Problem and Solution
It’s undeniable that people will only pay for an app that makes a significant difference in their lives. This might also be influenced by soft- or hard-launching a paid subscription model, but that is only an option when you’ve already offered your users enough value to consider staying by paying or getting reduced features.
So, the secret is in finding the right solution after you’ve learned enough about the issue (by talking to your future customers). In this case, it’s best to think in terms of “jobs” that need to get done instead of “features.” That way, you’re actually building an app that meets regular users where they are, instead of locking yourself in the developer mindset once more, and losing sight of who your users are.
By this point, you should’ve researched the market for similar apps, whether your impromptu focus group uses them or you scavenged them on your own. In the first case, you’d like to gather feedback from the focus group on their current app and find out what’s not working well — sometimes, apps lose their user base because they fail to adapt to evolving needs. In the second case, download the app yourself and, based on your new knowledge, identify what could be improved and what you can mimic from it. This is how you blend familiarity with innovation.
Strike a Balance Between Functionality and Design
Familiarity must also translate into an intuitive experience that blends functionality and design. One common mistake among solo devs is putting their developer cap on and making an app that’s too technical and complicated for an average user. Basically, they lack productization that makes it more user-friendly. On the other hand, you have apps that are too focused on design and a sleek interface, but they barely deliver real solutions.
Market research should also inform you of what your audience favors in terms of design and functionality. For instance, our parent company has created two programs for the health sector that are similar in functionality but serve different customers — one for ophthalmologists and one for school nurses.
While both apps run audiometry tests, ophthalmologists can use a more technical, less visually striking app because vision tests are second nature to them, and therefore need less hand-holding. For school nurses, these tests are just one of many tasks they must fulfill, making it necessary to build a multi-layered app that visually guides them through tests and offers more features, such as easily sending vision test referrals and leaving notes for other nurses to read.
Become a Master at Pitching
Many people tell you that building an outstanding app will be more than enough to sell it — quality will do the selling for you. Unfortunately, this isn’t true for most cases, especially when you’re a solo dev. The harsh truth is that finishing your app is only 50% of the process. The other 50%? Pitching it to others.
Whether you’re talking to potential customers, being active on social media and forums, or showing it to interested partners, you will need to put in the elbow grease to get your app to grow. Hitting the app stores isn’t enough anymore in a sea of other apps competing for downloads and revenue.
If selling is definitely not your thing, seek out advice or get a partner who can help you sell it (for a commission, of course). The bottom line is that you’ll need to do it, regardless, because there’s no avoiding it. The more you get used to selling your product, the better. The good news is that if you believe in your solution, pitching it won’t be difficult. Rather, you’ll be able to turn selling into a natural conversation with your audience.
Ultimately, how to build an app and make money becomes an act of asking questions, listening, observing, and setting your wheels in motion to find a solution that meets real needs. That’s when your app will turn into an essential daily tool for users, in which case paying for it will be a necessity rather than a splurge.
Are you ready to start building your app with low-code/no-code? Download Appli today and develop innovative solutions for your niche audience as a solo developer!
