Have you ever thought that unemployment could be the beginning of a new chapter in your life? Can you jump from zero income to a stable income of $45,000 per month in two years? Tony D.’s story will reveal the possibilities for you.
On the first day of unemployment, Tony D. decided to work for himself. This decision allowed him to experience unprecedented freedom. In the past two years, he has successfully created four products and accumulated 97,000 followers on Twitter. Today, his total revenue from all products reaches $45,000 per month, with profit margins as high as 90%.
But all this is not easy. Tony D.'s journey has been filled with challenges and twists and turns. Before starting his independent development journey, he was a software engineer with 7 years of experience. His skill set spans front-end, back-end, mobile app development, and even some UX/UI design. These skills became the cornerstone of his subsequent success.
The COVID-19 outbreak has given Tony D. more time and opportunity to pursue his passion. Inspired by the Indy Hackers website and successful independent developers, he began building his own software product. Although his first project—a log viewer Mac OS application—failed, he didn't give up.
Instead, he learned from his failures and built his second app, Du Tooth, faster. This app bundles all common development tools into a unified interface and can work offline on Mac OS. The success of Du Tooth brought Tony D. his first Internet income and gained him attention on Hacker News and Product Hunt.
However, Tony D. realized that it was impossible to obtain sustained income solely by relying on traffic from apps and websites. So, he began to look for other distribution channels and tried various methods, such as Google paid advertising, SEO articles, sponsorship, etc. But eventually, he found a more effective way to build his personal brand on Twitter.
By producing interesting content, connecting with others, and sharing his experiences and insights, Tony D. has managed to attract a large following. His Twitter strategy not only helped him gain more exposure and attention, but also drove consistent traffic to his products.
As the number of fans grew, Tony D. began to try more business models. He created Black Magic - a web application that offers a subscription pricing model and offers recurring revenue. When he approached 1,000 Twitter followers, he used a small script to display a progress bar around his profile picture to celebrate and attract more engagement. People liked the idea so much that he turned the script into a web app and added a subscription fee.
The success of Black Magic gave Tony D. hope. He quit his full-time job to devote himself full-time to his independent development career. He continues to improve the product, add new features, and gain more users through Twitter. By August 2021, his monthly income has reached US$300, and his active users have reached 1,500.
However, just as his career was booming, changes to the Twitter API posed a huge challenge to him. He was forced to either close Black Magic or sell it. Eventually, he sold Black Magic for $128,000. Although it was a difficult decision, Tony D. didn't give up.
A few months later, he started developing a new product—Tapping Mind. This is a better UI application built using ChatGPT API. He gained a lot of attention and revenue within just a few days of posting. Today, Tapping Mind has become his main focus and continues to bring him a steady income.
Looking back on his own experience, Tony D. said: "I would like to take this opportunity to review my experience, hoping it will be helpful to those who want to be their own boss." His story tells us that as long as there is determination, skills and persistence, If you work hard, you may realize your dreams and achieve success.
Finally, if you are also interested in independent development or are looking for inspiration and motivation, you may wish to follow Tony D.'s Twitter account and his products. Maybe you can find your own inspiration and opportunities from his experience.
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