Whether you’re a beginning coder ready to make a name for yourself in the industry or a veteran coder looking to leap into a new pursuit, understanding effective ways to start a new business is valuable.
Even with all the grit and motivation in the world, not knowing where to start can halt your dreams of having a small business.
Fortunately, having some inspiration can make starting a profitable business far more accessible.
You can take these ideas and roll with them or use them as a jumping-off point to brainstorm your unique ideas to make money coding.
However you decide to use them, these coding business-venture ideas will surely get your creative and entrepreneurial juices flowing.
Here are five lucrative small business ideas for coders.
App Development Business
Web and mobile applications have become staples in the lives of millions of people worldwide. The possibilities are endless, from apps that help people figure out what song is playing in a coffee shop to apps that help writers improve their vocabulary.
Given your broad range of possibilities when creating an app, this can be a fantastic way to branch out and explore small business opportunities as a coder.
However, there are many different ways to approach an app development business. One way is by starting a company that helps other businesses develop apps. This means creating a wide variety of apps for many different clients with changing needs.
Another avenue you could take is creating your app and monetizing it somehow. For some app developers, this is done by charging users for the app. For others, this is done by releasing an app for free and charging advertisers fees for ads displayed on an app.
Ultimately, app creators can monetize their creations in various ways.
For both of these paths to creating an app development business, you must have the skills and discipline to create apps from start to finish. Creating apps is incredibly difficult, and not everyone is cut out for this type of business.
This being the case, being honest about your abilities before beginning is essential.
Beyond being difficult, starting an app development business can also be expensive—especially if you plan on hiring help. To lessen the burden of start-up and operating costs, it’s worth looking into small business grants at the local and national levels.
However, though the barrier to entry for this type of work may be high, it can also be incredibly lucrative.
You can command impressive rates to create apps for other businesses. Conversely, if you create your app, you have the potential to grow your product and make a significant amount of money.
Also Read: 20 Best Software Development Companies In Dallas
Web Development Business
Web development is an approachable field for coders of many different backgrounds. It can be incredibly welcoming for those new to coding since most coders know how to develop websites. In addition, the market for web development is vast as almost all businesses now require a website to keep up with the times.
Essentially, a web development business means you and your team, if you have one, will build and maintain websites for various clients. Often, web development businesses seek clients needing ongoing help with their websites. This gives web development businesses some security, as they will have ongoing jobs and projects from clients.
Before actually embarking on this specific small business journey, clarifying a few key points is essential. One crucial aspect to decide is what kind of businesses you want to target.
It could be influencers looking to build their first websites, e-commerce websites, or possibly even small businesses. You and your team will require different skills to decide on the type of consumers you want to target.
Because you need specific skills to kick off your web development business, it’s essential that you either learn these skills or enlist the help of other professionals with specific expertise.
Failing to do so could be catastrophic for your business. Specifically, failing to perform your business’s duties correctly could give you a bad reputation in your space and make it challenging to attract clients.
After deciding which types of consumers you’ll be marketing to as a small business owner, it’s time to devise a marketing plan. This includes all the tactics you intend to use to attract clients to your business.
If you have many contacts in various industries, your marketing tactics may be as simple as reaching out to others in your network.
However, most beginning coding entrepreneurs need more effective tactics to attract clients.
Some powerful techniques you can use to start attracting clients to your business include:
Building your portfolio: Often, clients won’t be thrilled about the idea of hiring a web developer without any prior experience. It would be best to have a portfolio of work to show potential clients to quell these doubts.
To build your portfolio, you may want to start by doing some pro-bono work for businesses.
Advertising to your target audience: Digital ads can be an incredibly effective way for you to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey and attract clients. However, it’s important to remember who your target audience is when disseminating these ads.
As such, it can help advertise on websites, web pages, podcasts, or videos your target audience will likely see.
Utilize SEO best practices: For many potential clients looking for a web developer, a search engine will be their first stop. This means you should do everything possible to ensure your business is on the first page of results.
Unfortunately, purchasing search engine ads can be costly. However, organic SEO tactics, such as keywords in web copy and blogs, can be incredibly effective.
Additionally, contacting reputable SEO agencies to get local SEO services can further optimize your online presence.
Also Read: 12 Interesting Facts About Software Developers
Coding Bootcamp or Classes
In today’s increasingly digital world, many entrepreneurs create online classes to build wealth and pursue their dream of growing a business. As a coder, you have a specialized and in-demand skillset to share with consumers.
To share your skills with others, there are several routes you can take. One route is to start online courses. When creating online courses, you have the option to pre-record them or conduct them in real-time. In addition, you can choose any number of coding topics to share with consumers.
For example, if you’re an adept Python coder, you can have a class on Python. Conversely, you can have classes on how to perform specific coding tasks, such as web development. Whichever route you choose, you must be well-versed in the subject you’re teaching.
For many entrepreneurs, pre-recorded classes are a fantastic way to start an eLearning business. This is because you can free up more time for marketing and growing your business rather than having to teach classes regularly.
However, before charging a significant amount for pre-recorded classes, you must ensure you’ve workshopped your course and remedied any mistakes not to provide consumers with excessive refunds.
If you’re genuinely committed to starting an eLearning business on coding, you may want to explore bootcamps.
Typically, coding bootcamps are in-depth courses that allow students to develop a specific coding skill in a few months to a year.
Often, coding bootcamps must be taught live and will require that you’re adept at teaching a class of many students.
Ultimately, teaching a coding-related subject online can be very lucrative and rewarding. As such, if you’re a coder looking to enter the small business world, this could be an incredibly compelling place to start.
Also Read: 13 Top Benefits Of Computer Programming
Coding Consultant
Believe it or not, many businesses out there need the expert help of a coding consultant. What’s impressive about consulting businesses is that almost all businesses now have an online presence. Consequently, there’s a vast number of consumers that could be potential clients for your coding consultancy enterprise.
Consulting is an excellent exploration route if you intend to have a one-person small business. You can market your business on your own while also providing consultancy services to various businesses.
Coding consultants provide services such as creating, troubleshooting, changing, and maintaining various programs. As with most other businesses, searching for clients requiring ongoing services is often prudent rather than completing only one project.
It’s important to note that enlisting clients, especially ongoing clients, won’t always be accessible initially. Like many other client-based businesses, having a solid network can significantly simplify this task.
However, while this can be a barrier at first, working on a contract or consultancy basis can mean you can command a premium for your services since you’re not a full-time employee.
Beyond making a higher per-project or hourly rate as a consultant, you’ll also be able to command higher rates for projects with short deadlines. For many businesses, this is one of the main reasons that coding consultants are sought after.
Though there are many perks to having a coding consultancy business, it also requires highly developed expertise. Clients will need you to solve a range of coding tasks and challenges. As such, you must have the skill set to solve various programming problems.
It can also be wise to find a niche for your consultancy. For example, e-commerce is a fantastic niche that you can focus on in your consultancy business.
E-commerce is a prevalent business practice in today’s rapidly evolving and increasingly digital world. As a result, many businesses need help sorting out kinks on their e-commerce platforms.
However, whether or not you decide to explore a specific niche in your coding consultancy business is up to you. Ultimately, only you can honestly assess your capabilities and the heights your new entrepreneurial venture can reach.
Also Read: 7 Best Free Coding Software for Kids
Creating a Coding Blog or Website
Creating a popular blog or website can be incredibly lucrative if one takes the proper steps to monetize their project. If you’re looking for a way to branch out and create your own business as a coder, creating a coding website or blog can be a fun and fulfilling way to do so.
As a coder, you have specialized knowledge and unique insights into coding. As a result, you can share information that many others in the coding community may find helpful or entertaining. In addition, there are many different ways that you can approach the task of creating a coding blog or news website.
Suppose you find yourself interested in a specific coding topic, such as innovations in space, artificial intelligence, or the experience of working as a coder. In that case, you can dedicate your blog or website to this topic. Hopefully, if others are interested in the topic, you can grow your audience and monetize your project significantly.
Testing your idea is essential before investing considerable time, money, and effort into growing your blog or website. This means conducting market research to ensure that there’s an audience for your idea.
To do this, you can explore other similar blogs or websites. If there are people out there with significant audiences doing similar things, you probably have an idea that has the potential to grow.
Conversely, performing other forms of market research, such as surveys, can also help you gauge if there’s an audience for your blog or website. Creating a blog or website can ultimately be a lucrative small business, but it’s not always as clear-cut as other coding small businesses.
This being the case, you must be committed to your vision and growing your blog or website before committing to this path as an entrepreneur.
Also Read: 60 Best and Funny Java Programming Memes
You Can Explore Entrepreneurial Paths as a Coder
While you may feel trapped in your role as a coder, the truth is that you have a unique and specialized skillset that you can channel into a new business venture.
From starting a web development business to creating eLearning materials to sell to consumers, you have endless options as a coder entrepreneur.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how you want to pursue a life of small business ownership and capitalize on the coding skills it took you years to develop.
