Is it Hard to Make Kshs 100,000/- A Month Online?

Here’s a very interestiing answer to that question (from Quora.com):

How difficult this will be is all relative, of course, but it is definitely possible. Being a developer already should remove the biggest barrier. I would break this up into a few different stages.

Ideate a Profitable Product
It’s easy to come up with an idea that seems good to you. Finding an idea that can be profitable is a lot harder. While sometimes people simply stumble upon them, there is a process to finding good ideas. I recommend you read this article by Paul Graham on the topic: http://www.paulgraham.com/ideas

The easiest way to come up with something is to find something in your daily or weekly routine that could be improved. “I always wish this product did X” or “If only I had a product that could do Y for me.”

Identify a problem and come up with a solution. Sometimes this is a product that is entirely new, but usually it’s an improvement of an existing product. This is key: you don’t have to revolutionize a market, you simply have to do one thing better than everyone else.

Apple’s products aren’t inherently better than others on the market, but they sell because of their image. Zappos is so successful because of their customer service. Find a problem, come up with a good solution, then figure out how you can set yourself apart.

Building the Product
This part should be fairly cut and dry for you, but don’t think it’s easy. If you have always worked as a developer in a team, especially a corporation, you’re in for a shock when you have to build everything yourself. In regards to a web app, this likely means creating the database structure and interactions, server side logic, front end programming and design.

Keep in mind that you will be the one maintaining the code. You can’t simply pawn it off to someone else, or expect others to track down bugs. So take the time to write good, quality code. This is the best tip I have for saving time later (once you get users bugs mean support requests, upset customers, and maybe refunds).

If you are a developer but not a designer, you might want to spend a little money to either hire a designer or pay for a theme for the front end. Presenting your product in a professional, attractive manner is of huge importance for gaining paying customers. No one wants to break out a credit card for a site with a poor design.

Marketing the Product (Getting your first customers)
This is another area that people often think will be easy. The “if you build it, they will come” mentality only works if you’re Kevin Costner. Getting your site listed on Hacker News and the dozens of “startup” listing sites that have popped up is valuable – it gets you some good backlinks and maybe a little buzz. Don’t expect to get any paying customers from that exposure unless they are your target audience.

Finding where your target audience is and meeting them is really the key. If your customers are going to be single mothers, hanging out on Hacker News might connect you with a handful of them, but you need to find out where your customer spends their time online. Do whatever it takes to ingratiate yourself to them. Don’t dive in head first advertising your product, but spend a little time getting to know those social circles each day while you are still building the product. This will pay off ten fold.

Write. Write a lot. Not only about your product, but about your market, what they’re interested in, what they hate, what they find useful, etc. Have about 10 blog posts ready to go when you launch your product, and publish no fewer than 1 a week afterward. If you’re building a web app, chances are there isn’t much for search engines to index. So you need a blog.

Supporting the Product
The biggest area for supporting a product is customer complaints or questions or support. Have a good system setup using UserVoice or GetSatisfaction.

Ask them for valuable feedback. Don’t ever stop asking, and when they tell you respond to them. It doesn’t always have to be a “I’ll add that next week,” but even a “that feedback doesn’t mesh well with the goal of my product” will win over customers.

I recommend reading through this short article series by Tom Buck:
Building a web business that makes $500 a month – It’s one of the most ‘down to earth’ accounts of a single person building a profitable side project.