Pippin Wiliamson recently has shared his thoughts on how he’s managed to create a successful and growing WordPress Plugin business and how it’s becoming an even more viable model:
I have been doing WordPress plugin development as a business for about two years now. When I first started, by releasing my very first plugin on Code Canyon, it was very much a side project that brought in a little side residual income.
Today, I make 100% of my needed income and more off of plugin development.
The fact that he’s making 100% of his income is fantastic and is the dream of many startups, self-employed contractors, and entrepreneurs. But the most important reminder and thing to note for those that are considering this as a new avenue for their financial means in 2013 is factor of time.
You see, Pippin shares that he’s been doing this for two years and it can’t be overstated that building a business, even if it’s just yourself, is a marathon and much less of a sprint. The difficultly increases the moment your business grows or if you have more than one partner in the mix.
We know this for a fact here at WP Daily and 8BIT because we have 4 core partners and some staff that all have families and mortgages to pay. If it wasn’t for our marathon perspective then we would have quit a long time ago.
So as long as you maintain this healthy attitude then you probably have what it takes to make a go at a plugin business like Pippin has – and you could be on your way. I completely agree with him when he says that it’s a growing market and opportunity for entrepreneurial types:
Members of the WordPress community, developers and users alike, are really starting to embrace and get behind plugin-based businesses, both large and small, and this backing is providing a strong backbone for WordPress businesses to lean on.
WordPress plugins are transitioning from simple plugins that perform very minor tasks on a WordPress site, to plugins that provide an entire suite of highly refined features, such as e-commerce or membership systems.
A few additional things to consider as you get started (from one entrepreneur to another):
- Start simple, the more simple the better. Solve an immediate need for yourself and see if anyone else wants it. Dog-food it, as they say.
- You won’t get the price right the first time and that’s ok. You can pivot and change and you need to feel ok about that. Remember, you’re learning how to build not only a great product but also a great and sustainable business. This leads me to my next point…
- You will make mistakes. I’m sure Pippin has and every single entrepreneur and small business owner I know has as well. Raise your hand high and embrace falling on your face a few times.
- Enjoy it as much as you can. If you end up hating what you’re doing because of the time spent or the transition process then you can try to grin and bear it as much as possible or you can change things up. Don’t lose your passion for WordPress either!
I’d love to see the plugin marketplace grow like hotcakes this coming year – why not, right?
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