From Side Hustle to Life-Changing Income
What started as a weekend coding project became a £25,000/month business within 18 months. Here's exactly how it happened.
The Beginning: A Problem Worth Solving
It started with frustration. Managing invoices as a freelancer was painful—existing tools were either too complex or too expensive for solo operators.
**The Insight**: Thousands of UK freelancers and micro-businesses face the same problem.
Month 1-2: Building the MVP
**Investment**: £0 (built it myself on weekends)
**Time**: ~60 hours total
**What I Built**:
**What I Skipped**:
Month 3: First Launch
**Strategy**: Posted on Reddit, Hacker News, and relevant Facebook groups
**Results**:
**Revenue**: £207/month
Month 4-6: Listening and Iterating
**Key Changes Based on Feedback**:
**Growth**:
**Revenue**: £1,350/month
Month 7-12: Finding Product-Market Fit
**Major Improvements**:
**Marketing Efforts**:
**Revenue**: £8,500/month by month 12
Month 13-18: Scaling What Works
**Key Decisions**:
**Current State**:
The Tech Stack That Made It Possible
**Frontend**: Next.js + Tailwind CSS
**Backend**: Node.js + PostgreSQL
**Hosting**: Vercel + AWS
**Payments**: Stripe
**Email**: Resend
**Analytics**: Mixpanel
Key Lessons Learned
1. Start Embarrassingly Small
My first version was missing features that "every" invoice tool has. It didn't matter—it solved one problem well.
2. Talk to Customers Constantly
Weekly calls with users revealed features I never would have prioritised on my own.
3. Focus on Retention First
Acquiring customers is expensive. Keeping them is where profits come from.
4. Price Higher Than You Think
I doubled my prices twice. Each time, conversion rates barely changed but revenue doubled.
5. Automate Everything Possible
From onboarding emails to payment recovery, automation is essential for true passive income.
What's Next
The roadmap includes:
Your Turn
The playbook is simple:
The best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is today.