How to start a side project during the main work?

Question

Project management

I think that many will agree that owning a business means prospects, independence, and, in general, cool.

But how to start your business along with work?
There were several attempts, the scenario is always something like this:
- A small initiative group of colleagues/acquaintances gathers;
- A clear idea, the concept of MVP and hard skills - all this is available;
- But after a while the projects are bent , the initiative disappears, and the activity comes to naught.

So, maybe there are books / techniques / articles on this topic - how to develop your project, create a management system that works in such conditions?

Answer 1

Your example is just a demonstration that owning a project is NOT perspective, NOT independent, and NOT cool. Own project is first of all purposefulness, responsibility and qualification. Obviously, not everyone has it all. It would be more correct to say that very few people have it.

Answer 2

Projects are bent because the monetization for each of the participants is not clear.
You need not only: "A clear idea, MVP concept and hard skills", but also a business plan.

Answer 3

There used to be such popular trainings - Business Youth, everyone scolded them, but I still love them, although I only watched their free videos.
So they propagandized a sound principle: NKTZA: don't pull the cat for...
An idea came up - immediately implement it, urgently, over the weekend, until it burned out - let it be an ax on your knee. If your project cannot be implemented before the MVP on the night from Friday to Monday - it is obviously garbage. Which is confirmed by your experience.
In a month, you can and should have time to test 4 ideas, and in a year - 48. Maybe 48 is too much - on some weekends you will have a rest. But something will shoot out of this and start bringing in money - this is the project that needs to be developed later.

Answer 4

There are two processes that can fuel the side project development process that you are aware of:
1) Discrete funding process from investors. The logic is as follows: if the world needs a side project, it means that with the help of a side project you can earn money, and one of the options is to buy a share at the time of the first pie cutting.
2) the process of replacing performers. The logic is as follows: if you manage to motivate well and keep the fire in your eyes for some time, then you just need to cut off ties with current performers in time and constantly find new ones. Of course, this has its drawbacks, and there is even a threat of litigation.
3) it is possible to make a compromise: both to receive investments and to deceive performers. But this option requires periodically changing the host country, although if you do everything carefully, then there will be enough countries for the rest of your life.
4) you can move to a country available to you with the highest standard of living, and recruit a team in a country with a low standard of living. At the same time, you will be more managerial and it will be easier to find clients.
5) you can continue the scheme according to which you are already doing something. Probably just worth learning to extract mistakes from past experience. If your MVP is so complicated that your core team has time to fall apart, maybe you don't have an MVP at all? Only two friends who have decided to become "spiritual brothers" can work on enthusiasm for more than two weeks, everything else needs to be nourished with something.
PS There are a lot of books about motivation and personnel management, and they are all written by coaches who write books for those who bring someone who finds an author-coach for training. To find out about development in teams without funding, you can interview modders, or participate yourself to meet the strangest representatives of mankind. In some cases, it turns out that in general the process itself is more important than the release, if it were possible to make a mod for 20 years, then it would take 30 years to make it.

Answer 5

Find clients for your project, and those who are willing to pay.

Answer 6

In order to launch a side project, you need to plan everything. And it doesn't matter if it's your main job or not. During the main work, of course, there will be a more extended plan in time. But a plan is a MUST, no matter how big or small the project is.
All ideas, all concepts must be painted. A brief scheme for preparing for the project, point by point, is as follows:
1. The initiator (you) paints the concept of the project. It also requires answers to the questions: why do we do it? who needs the product? why should they buy (in the case of a commercial project)?
2. Introduce the document to potential project participants (your acquaintances with hard skills).
3. Discuss in general details (listen to who will tell you, study the mood of potential participants)
4. A week or two break (the brain can then look at the idea from the other side or refuse it)
two weeks have passed ...
5. You understand that the idea is still relevant, once again discuss and find out who is ready and how much time they are ready to devote the project, who needs what from the project, whether your goals converge with the goals of the project participants, in general, agree on the terms of participation on the shore in a general way (described in the details in the risks)
6. Thoroughly think over monetization (at this stage, details may be revealed that will show the inexpediency of implementing the project if you are thinking about independence and earnings), who has how much in share, the conditions for exiting the project at different stages (a business plan at the project start stage is not required if there are no large financial investments, the main thing is a clear monetization plan "how will we earn"?)
7. Choose ONE person responsible for the project (let's say you) and those responsible for the rest of the activites
8. You make a roadmap for MVP (how will we achieve the goal?) . Get to know the team.
9. Create a document called Dealing with Risks. You prescribe in it all the risks that may interfere with the implementation of the project and how you will work with these risks (example of risks: departure of a team member, late completion of tasks, loss of motivation by the participant, unforeseen expenses, the need to significantly extend the project, etc.). The first column is the risk, the second is how we solve this risk if it occurs. Get to know the team. If someone somewhere disagrees, correct the document by compromise. Remember, risks are cool it's cool. No risk - no project.
10. Plan all activities in the Gantt chart. If there are no deadlines, the project will stretch for a very long time and will not be completed.
That's it! You can start work!
All points are important. Do not rush to start development, give enough time to the planning stage.
And remember, there is only one person responsible for the project, even if everyone is in the share. If you are the initiator - manage the process YOURSELF and do not expect that the project will somehow come to mind later on. No responsible - no result.
In total, the main thing is:
1. Planning (first we plan - then we do it)
2. Deadlines (without specified deadlines - we don’t start work)
3. Dealing with risks (there will be problems - therefore we learn to work with them)
About motivation, management, management, etc. .d. you read it in smart books yourself.

Answer 7

I do not like any business training, but here it is very useful. The correct formulation of the problem is already half the result. Look for an example of what SMART is.
In your case, it is important to determine the MVP, distribute the roles in the team and - most importantly - set deadlines. Real terms, feasible taking into account the main work, but close. And then the most difficult thing - these terms must be adhered to. Do not sleep at night, but do it on time.
Plus, the shorter the stage planning period, the more effectively you can control everything. From my practice, it is optimal for such a project to break its development into weekly sprints.
And an important addition. A personal project is a way out of your comfort zone. You invest money, energy, time there. Take time away from sleep, family, your hobbies. You need to be ready for this. And such a life will be at best a year and a half, until the project gets on its feet enough to provide you with an income that allows you to quit your main job. If at least one of the team members is not ready for this, then the project will die.

Answer 8

For me, my own project is an opportunity to apply new technologies - after all, only with the help of them I try to realize my plans. Even if the project fails, the knowledge will remain.

Answer 9

The problem with such projects is that you know how to solve the problem technically, but you don’t know how to sell the project on the market, unless of course it’s a sarafan.

Answer 10

I have done all my successful projects alone.
If you need help in design, promotion and other things, then I attract other people for money.