Independent development is a way out for programmers

Programmers can't only serve enterprises .

There are so many programmers in the world , They are both developing , Product manager again , Both front-end , Back end again . They rely solely on personal strength , Released a series of unique games and Applications . These people have a name , be called Indie developer .

Xiaohui has a friend who is a successful independent developer , named Xu Kaiyuan , Just listening to his name has the spirit of open source sharing . Next, let's listen to his story , In the following text “ I ” Not ash , It refers to this friend .

There are always some people , For writing code itself , Not so interested ; Or tired of writing all kinds of business logic in the company every day , Quarrel with the product manager in the morning , In the afternoon, I quarreled with my test classmates . I always feel that I don't have any time , Whether it's learning to recharge or dating entertainment .

The author himself , This is a typical example .

I used to be a programmer in a big company , For a while iOS Development . Later, he resigned from the company , Completely freelance , No outsourcing , I have been an independent developer for about a year now . Now I can control my time , The income is also several times higher than the previous salary . I hope my experience can enlighten you who don't want to work .

My experience

My major in university is computer science and technology , But I learned it in school Java、C++ One kind of , I'm not interested at all , To tell the truth, I haven't learned much . I've even missed macroeconomics class .

Later, my family supported , I bought one for MacBook, Then I began to learn to do iOS Development , When I see an application running according to my own idea , I was really excited for a while , When I don't sleep, I'm basically Typing Code .

I thought this was just the beginning , I thought I would become a full stack engineer . I didn't expect to graduate , I've been doing this —— Independent development .

To put it simply, this process is ：

• By the time of graduation , I rely entirely on myself （ Design 、 Promotion and other work without the help of anyone ）, stay App Store More than 10 Application of funds , The number of downloads exceeded 100000 , However, I didn't make much money .
• My development skills are still average , But because there is something you can write on your resume , Fortunately, I went to Ali for an internship
• My biggest feeling from this internship is ,996 Too scary , If only independent development could support yourself

However, the reality is not ideal , After graduation, I went to work honestly . I feel tired and sleepy when I come home from work , Feeling that the weekend hasn't started yet seems to be over , I feel like I want to be promoted but I don't know what I can do . Then I quit naked .

The first month after leaving naked , I rely on my own App Make a 3k, This is all the income of that month .

To 2018 end of the year , I started once One day income exceeds 30k 了 . After resignation , My app is App Store Recommended twice , Another app has done it App Store No. 1 in China's payment list .

No great achievements , But I finally Time is free 了 . If you are interested in this process , Feel there is some overlap with your vision , You can keep looking down .

Is it reliable to develop independently

This problem is a little big , I think it can be divided into two parts ：

1. “ I ” Is it suitable for doing this
2. If I also want to do independent development , How to start

Let's start with the first question .

Many people think that , Independent development emphasizes self-discipline , Being forced to work in the company （ Of course, it may not be forced , Is to get the bonus by yourself 、 To be promoted, these things force ）, If you do it yourself, you have to force yourself to find promotion resources 、 Update products again and again , It seems that self-discipline really doesn't work .

But I think this is just a result , It's not the reason .

I think we should do independent development , First of all, you should make sure that you are not only interested in development , Although in terms of specific implementation , Independent development is really writing code many times , But engineers realize thinking , Think about how to make this thing first , But making products is actually user thinking and business thinking ,“ What is the value of this thing , Will someone use , Can you make money .”

1. To make products 、 Interested in creating things
2. I really want to make money
3. Don't want to be a screw , Want to dominate yourself

Three points above , At least meet one point , I think we can do independent development , If you are only interested in writing code , Maybe it's better for you to go to work and get promoted .

I've seen people get married and have children , Also dare to say goodbye to the independent development , Also made . I've also seen that I just graduated and didn't want to go to work , Just make your own products , But it didn't work .

So the point is not whether you are self disciplined 、 Is it disgusting to work , It's about talking about things , Do a good job in independent development , Your interests 、 power , Can it match the needs of users , The needs of the market .

And the second question , How to get started and develop independently , There are a few points that I think are very important ：

1. Have the most basic development ability , Ensure product availability . As for performance 、 Package size or something , Users really don't care. And the existing BaaS The scheme is mature enough , You don't have to write your own background for client development .
2. Product thinking . Obvious , You want to make a product , I hope there are users to use , Of course, you should have product thinking , There are only so many skills , It's just that it's not that complicated , It's quick . It's certainly hard to be a top product manager , But you don't have to do that .
3. ASO, That is, if it is easier for users to search your application , This is actually very easy to learn ,, Unfortunately, many people have been ignoring 、 Don't understand this matter , Make it difficult to make profits .
4. Subjectively Attach importance to promotion This matter . If you feel like doing something well , Someone will automatically pay for it , This probability is not too high . Of course, word of mouth is also very important .

Last

When I was a sophomore, I made my first application , I don't know how to promote 、 How to make money .

Up to now, I know the details of all aspects of independent development , I don't know how many pits I stepped on , Of course, I volunteered , The only goal is ： Free your time , Have a share of ” Income after sleep “.

Now of I , More and more like a product manager + Product operation , But I think , I'm just a ” Free programmers “, Secretly learned the skills of product managers ：）