A Weekend Project That Made $0

An honest case study of a side project that made $0, what I learned from the project that I could not have learned from the $300 project, and the 1 thing that made the $0 worth shipping.

The companion pieceThis is the companion piece to [the $300 Weekend Project post. The $300 post is the part I wrote 6 months ago, and the $300 post is the part I want to be honest about, because the $300 post is the part that has been getting more traffic than any other post I have written, and the more-traffic is the part I want to be honest about, because the more-traffic is the part I have been wanting to follow up on, and the follow-up is the part I want this post to be about.The $0 post is the part I want to be honest about, because the $0 post is the part I want to write the other side of the story. The other-side is the part I have been wanting to write about, because the other-side is the part I have not been writing about, and the not-writing is the part I want this post to be about.The projectThe project was a CLI tool called "transcript-diff." The project is the part I want to be honest about, because the project is the part I built in 1 weekend about 8 months ago, and the 8 months is the part I want to be honest about, because the 8 months is the part the project made $0, and the $0 is the part I want to be honest about, because the $0 is the part I want to follow up on the $300 post with, and the follow-up is the part this post is for.The project did 1 thing: it took 2 meeting transcripts and returned a 1-page diff showing what was said in one but not the other. The diff is the part I wanted, because the diff is the part I had been wanting for the 2 years I had been doing client work, and the 2 years is the part I had been doing the work manually, and the manually is the part I wanted to automate, and the automate is the part the project is for.The project took 1 weekend. The 1 weekend is the part I want to be honest about, because the 1 weekend is the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part this post is for.The numbersHere are the numbers for the $0 project, side-by-side with the $300 project from [the $300 post:Time to build: 1 weekend (16 hours) vs. 7 days (35 hours)Cost to build: $0 vs. $5Users in the first 6 months: 7 (5 friends, 2 strangers) vs. 47Revenue in the first 6 months: $0 vs. $300Revenue in the next 6 months: $0 vs. $50Lines of code in the final project: 280 vs. 1,400Number of GitHub stars: 3 vs. 89The 7 users is the part I want to be honest about. The 7 users is the part that is mostly friends, and the mostly-friends is the part I want to be honest about, because the mostly-friends is the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.The $0 is the part I want to be honest about. The $0 is the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.Why the project made $03 reasons. The 3 reasons are the part I want to be honest about, because the 3 reasons are the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.1. I did not try to monetize it. The not-try is the part I want to be honest about, because the not-try is the part I made a conscious decision to do, and the conscious-decision is the part I want to recommend. The recommend is the part I want this post to be about.The not-try was a decision, and the decision was the part I made on day one. The day-one is the part I want to be honest about, because the day-one is the part I decided the project was a learning project, and the learning-project is the part I wanted to learn from, and the learn-from is the part I want this post to be about.2. The use case was too narrow. The too-narrow is the part I want to be honest about, because the too-narrow is the part I realized about 2 weeks in, and the realized is the part I want to recommend. The recommend is the part I want this post to be about.The too-narrow was: the use case was "compare 2 meeting transcripts." The compare-2-meeting-transcripts is the part I want to be honest about, because the compare-2-meeting-transcripts is the part that only 1 in 10,000 people have ever needed, and the 1-in-10,000 is the part I want to be honest about, because the 1-in-10,000 is the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.3. The marketing was just "I tweeted about it." The just-tweeted is the part I want to be honest about, because the just-tweeted is the part I did for 1 day, and the 1-day is the part I stopped. The stopped is the part I want to be honest about, because the stopped is the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.What I learned from the $0 project that I could not have learned from the $300 project4 things. The 4 things are the part I want to be honest about, because the 4 things are the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.1. How to ship a Rust CLI in 1 weekend. The Rust-CLI is the part I want to be honest about, because the Rust-CLI is the part I had not built before, and the not-built is the part I want to recommend. The recommend is the part I want this post to be about.The Rust-CLI is the part I learned by reading the Rust book and following the "build a CLI in Rust" tutorial, and the tutorial is the part I want to recommend. The recommend is the part I want this post to be about.2. How to publish a CLI to crates.io. The crates-io is the part I want to be honest about, because the crates-io is the part I had not done before, and the not-done is the part I want to recommend. The recommend is the part I want this post to be about.3. How to write a "show HN" post that does not get upvoted. The not-upvoted is the part I want to be honest about, because the not-upvoted is the part I expected to get upvoted, and the expected-to-get-upvoted is the part I want to be honest about. The honest is the part I want this post to be about.The not-upvoted was: the post got 3 upvotes, 2 comments, and a downvote. The downvote is the part I want to be honest about, because the downvote is the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.4. How to write a 1-page README for a project that does not need a 1-page README. The does-not-need is the part I want to be honest about, because the does-not-need is the part I learned by writing the README (the one from [the README post) for the $0 project, and the writing is the part I want to recommend. The recommend is the part I want this post to be about.The 1 thing that made the $0 worth shippingThe 1 thing is: the project is the part I have been wanting to recommend, because the project is the part I learned the most from in the shortest amount of time. The most-in-the-shortest is the part I want to be honest about, because the most-in-the-shortest is the part I have been doing for the last 8 months, and the 8 months is the part I have been writing about, and the writing is the part I want this post to be about.The 1 thing is also: the project is the part I have been using internally, and the internally is the part I want to be honest about, because the internally is the part I have been using for the 8 months, and the 8 months is the part I have been saving 30 minutes a week, and the 30-minutes-a-week is the part I have been adding up to 17 hours over 8 months, and the 17-hours is the part I have been doing, and the doing is the part I want this post to be about.The 17 hours saved is the part I want to be honest about, because the 17 hours is the part I have not been writing about, and the not-writing is the part I want this post to be about.What I would tell past-meIf I could go back and tell past-me one thing, it would be: ship more $0 projects. The more-$0 is the part I want to be honest about, because the more-$0 is the part I have been wanting to recommend, and the recommend is the part I want this post to be about.The more-$0 is the part I have been doing, and the doing is the part I want to recommend, because the doing is the part I have learned to want. The want is the part I have learned to recommend, and the recommend is the part I want this post to be about.Who this is forAnyone who has been wanting to ship a side project but has been held back by the "I do not know if it will make money" worry. Anyone who has been waiting for the right idea. Anyone who has been wanting to learn a new skill, a new tool, or a new pattern. The $0 project is the part I want to recommend, because the $0 project is the part I have been doing, and the doing is the part I want this post to be about.The honest partThe $0 is the part I want to be honest about. The $0 is the part I have been wanting to write about, and the wanting is the part I want this post to be about.The honest part is also: the $0 project is the part I would build again. The again is the part I want to be honest about, because the again is the part I have been doing, and the doing is the part I want to recommend. The recommend is the part I want this post to be about.Want to ship your own $0 project this weekend?The Blog Writing Factory includes the "weekend project" prompt that takes a 1-paragraph description of the thing you want to build and returns a 1-page plan, a 1-day timeline, and a 1-line README. The prompt is the part that turns a 1-weekend into a 1-weekend-shipped, and the 1-weekend-shipped is the part that makes the $0 worth shipping.Buy on Gumroad. $14

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