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What is this?
It's a free online book by Easy Chen, 'Lean Side Business' (精益副业), on how programmers can elegantly build a side business. It extends his earlier 'How Programmers Make Pocket Money' and adapts the lean startup process specifically for side projects.
It's a free online book by Easy Chen, 'Lean Side Business' (精益副业), on how programmers can elegantly build a side business. It extends his earlier 'How Programmers Make Pocket Money' and adapts the lean startup process specifically for side projects.Is this a piece of software, or something I read?Something you read — it's a book, completed in December 2020, published as a repo you read in the browser through the online reading link. There is no code to run and nothing to install.
Something you read — it's a book, completed in December 2020, published as a repo you read in the browser through the online reading link. There is no code to run and nothing to install.How do I read it, and where should I start?Open the online reading link in the README and read it in your browser for free. The author suggests reading his newer 'One-Person Company Methodology 2.0' first (released under CC-BY-NC-SA), then this book; the text itself opens with why side businesses matter and which career paths exist.
Open the online reading link in the README and read it in your browser for free. The author suggests reading his newer 'One-Person Company Methodology 2.0' first (released under CC-BY-NC-SA), then this book; the text itself opens with why side businesses matter and which career paths exist.Any catches before I dive in?The book is in Chinese with no English version mentioned, it was finished in December 2020 so tool specifics may have aged, and the author says he may later merge it with his one-person-company methodology into a single system.
The book is in Chinese with no English version mentioned, it was finished in December 2020 so tool specifics may have aged, and the author says he may later merge it with his one-person-company methodology into a single system.Is it written for programmers with full-time jobs?Yes — it targets programmers who want income beyond their salary. It frames the side business around your core resources and strengths, selling your 'time slices', and building assets that earn passively, all alongside a day job.
Yes — it targets programmers who want income beyond their salary. It frames the side business around your core resources and strengths, selling your 'time slices', and building assets that earn passively, all alongside a day job.What does the book actually cover?Part one covers foundations: why a side business matters, career quadrants, core resources and strengths, selling time slices, and building assets and passive income — including monetizing knowledge via paid video courses, paid columns, paid communities, publishing, your own products, and open-source-plus-paid models. Part two is hands-on: a lean indie-development case study and a guide to monetizing online courses.
Part one covers foundations: why a side business matters, career quadrants, core resources and strengths, selling time slices, and building assets and passive income — including monetizing knowledge via paid video courses, paid columns, paid communities, publishing, your own products, and open-source-plus-paid models. Part two is hands-on: a lean indie-development case study and a guide to monetizing online courses.What is the 'lean side business' process?It's the lean startup loop tuned for side projects: sketch a business model canvas, build a minimum viable product, and push toward product-market fit, then optimize growth with a 2A3R funnel. The book walks through it twice — once for an indie app and once for an online course.
It's the lean startup loop tuned for side projects: sketch a business model canvas, build a minimum viable product, and push toward product-market fit, then optimize growth with a 2A3R funnel. The book walks through it twice — once for an indie app and once for an online course.What is 福利单词 (Welfare Words)?It's the author's own vocabulary-learning app, used as the worked example for indie development: defining user personas and scenarios, designing the UI in Adobe XD, wiring up personal payment collection, gathering feedback via 兔小巢, and optimizing growth with the 2A3R funnel.
It's the author's own vocabulary-learning app, used as the worked example for indie development: defining user personas and scenarios, designing the UI in Adobe XD, wiring up personal payment collection, gathering feedback via 兔小巢, and optimizing growth with the 2A3R funnel.How does it suggest earning from online courses?Pick a topic direction, design the course's business model, analyze the market, and validate demand with a presale before recording. It then covers the common segment types — slides, screen recordings, on-camera and virtual-avatar lessons — basic video editing, audio cleanup and subtitles, anti-piracy, and combining courses with indie products as a dual-engine side business.
Pick a topic direction, design the course's business model, analyze the market, and validate demand with a presale before recording. It then covers the common segment types — slides, screen recordings, on-camera and virtual-avatar lessons — basic video editing, audio cleanup and subtitles, anti-piracy, and combining courses with indie products as a dual-engine side business.