This is a guest post by Benny Hsu, a change maker in the $100 Change program.
What’s a business you can enter that has 400 million credit cards on files, has paid $5 billion to developers, and allows you to sell to 155 countries with just an extra click of your mouse?
It’s the app business. Specifically Apple’s iOS, which includes the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. And it’s still growing.
People think it’s too late to enter the app business, but people forget that the Apple app store is only four years old! How long has internet marketing been around? Much longer than that, yet we still see people creating products, starting blogs and succeeding.
I’m an app entrepreneur. I’ve developed two apps so far, Photo 365 and Gratitude Journal 365.
Before August 10th, 2011, I hadn’t earned a single penny, but had Photo 365 ready for sale. In just 30 days, I earned $32,865.21 while having my app featured by Apple as App of the Week.
To date, I’ve earned $63,680 total from the sales of my two apps. A life changing amount for me.
All my work is outsourced and that’s what’s been able to allow me to create this location independent business.
Not an Overnight Success
I’ve tried so many times to make money online. Ever since I read the 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, I’ve wanted to create a location independent business. One that would earn me money whether I was working, playing, or sleeping.
Each attempt I failed and brought me more self doubt that I could do this. It wasn’t a total failure though. What I learned was what I didn’t like to do. That allowed me to focus on looking for opportunities that I did.
For the past 10 years, my 9-5 job was everything I didn’t want in life. My ideal life isn’t working nights, weekends, and holidays in the restaurant business.
One night I finally decided to make a change. It was after another stressful night of work. I wanted to cry in the car, but I was too tired and upset at myself because I had felt like this countless nights. I decided that night to make a change. I wrote a note to myself when I got home and taped it on the wall.
A Truly Mobile Business
That day I decided to take action to change my life.
This time instead of finding a new career and fit my lifestyle around it, I had to determine the lifestyle I wanted and find a career that would allow it.
I gravitated back to the internet. I had an idea for an iPhone app, but thought I had to know how to code to develop it. I picked up books and looked at online courses, but I didn’t have years to wait and learn it all.
Then I learned about outsourcing. I could hire people to develop my app idea? This was my answer! I moved forward with confidence that I could do this.
My first app, Photo 365, was supposed to take two months, but ended up taking seven months. I didn’t panic. I didn’t lose my patience. I just wanted to make sure it was done right.
The patience paid off because the very first weekend, I had earned over $1,000! I spent $1,900 for the development so I almost made back my investment! But after the weekend, sales started declining and I thought my app would get lost in the app store.
To my surprise, that following Thursday, my app got featured as one of the New and Noteworthy apps! That shows up on the front page of the App store. Sales went way up.
Then, in just my third week, came the best endorsement any app could get, and that was being featured as Apple’s App of the Week! Every day that week felt like Christmas. I couldn’t wait to go to sleep so I could wake up and check my daily sales.
Those first 30 days, I earned a unbelievable $32,865.21. All from a 99 cent app.
That app changed my life.
It started as a side project and turned into a business.
I’ll be honest, it hasn’t all been stress free. With any new business there will be ups and downs. I had to learn quickly because of this sudden success.
A year later, I’ve learned so much and feel much more comfortable about the app business.
All I need is my laptop and iPhone and access to the internet. This year I’ve traveled to Taipei, took a 10 day trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and island hopped around Hawaii. I’ve been able to run my business from those places.
Though I put in a lot of work before my apps are ready for sale and monitor my apps daily, I’m making sales no matter what I’m doing. I love it that way.
I started as a guy who didn’t know what outsourcing was to now helping others develop their own iOS app.
Though I blog about personal development, I’ve been known as the “app blogger”, which is a title I’m more than happy to have.
I’ve decided to take all my knowledge and create a comprehensive course on developing and outsourcing an iPhone app.
It’s called App Academy and I’m excited to help others who have this dream of developing an app and getting into this amazing business.
This business has changed my life, and I hope I can help others do the same thing.
About the author:
Benny Hsu is a blogger and app entrepreneur. He’s developed Photo 365 and just released Gratitude Journal 365. His upcoming course, App Academy, will take you step-by-step on how to developer and outsource your iPhone or iPad app. He also blogs at Get Busy Living, where he writes about living life now, so you do not regret it later.
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