Congratulations on deciding to build a Windows app or game! We will get into making it a successful business in the next part. But let’s start by analyzing your motivation. Understanding what was the main driver behind your decision is very important to structure your business model and strategy. Let’s cover four typical scenarios that led developers into launching Visual Studio, Unity, etc. and coming back to the tool until they have a product ready for the prime time in the Store.

Making apps as a hobby

Quite often our primary occupation is not directly related to building mobile apps or games, but we still have an interest in trying the new mobile tech. We are happy with what we do during the day, happy with the paycheck, and have no intention of changing careers to become an indie app developer. However, making apps or games is what we enjoy in the spare time.

Does this description match you? If so, it also hints at your optimal business model and monetization strategy – enjoy doing what you like to do and forget about all the business stuff (unless that is your hobby too). Trying to make a few bucks on the side without investing significant time and attention into the business side is a sure way to make no money and starting to hate your own hobby.

You will be much happier doing what you like to do and ignoring all the other things.

Apps as a résumé

You may dream of a career as an app or game developer, or may already have one, but can’t put any of the work on your résumé because of NDAs or other things. Making your own apps in your free time is a great way to get a new dream job.

@MarkXA quite probably. Ideally, my perfect ROI would be a job offer 😉

— Scott Lovegrove (@scottisafool) November 17, 2012

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Your goal is to show your skills to as many potential employers as possible. What’s the main obstacle to doing this? Monetization! When building apps to beef up your chances of getting a perfect job offer, you don’t want anything to stand in the way of potential employer seeing the manifestation of your skills.

On the other hand, you want to invest some time into attracting as many eyeballs to your work as you can. One of them could be your next awesome boss!

Happy to report that my first day at Microsoft went well 🙂

— Scott Lovegrove (@scottisafool) May 13, 2013

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Building apps for clients

Are you looking to break out as a trustworthy contractor building apps for other people? Releasing your own apps is as great a way of attracting potential clients as it is for finding jobs.

When we set out to build AppRaisin we were looking for someone to help us work on the app, especially in the UX department. Naturally, we thought about the other apps we’ve used and liked and the people who built them. That’s how LazyWormApps (the team behind Tweetro and Metrotube) came out on top of our potential partner list and the rest is history. We are happy with the results of their work and, I believe, they are happy with us as a client.

The scope of the effort you put into monetization of your own apps depends on the type of contracts you want to get. Developers looking to sell their technical proficiency should forgo any monetization activities in order to maximize exposure. On the other hand, if you are trying to become a one-stop-shop for your clients, you may want to have a showcase to demonstrate your abilities in the app business department.

Apps are my business!

You are the person this book is for! While all the other developers can benefit from most of the future chapters in one way or the other, you are the one who should be able to get some value from every one of them.

We will discuss ways to monetize and promote your apps and games throughout this book, but let’s start by talking about your attitude in the next chapter…

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This post is part of the series and an upcoming ebook on the business side of Windows 10 apps. If you are a successful Windows app or game developer, or you’ve learned a valuable lesson from your app business misgivings, the whole community would appreciate your input! Please, get in touch and contribute a chapter or an aside. Thank you!