Cindy's Newsletter # 7- Is a Micro SaaS portoflio realistic?
Some back-of-napkin math on the viability of a SaaS portolio.
I’ve been doing some back-of-napkin math on my micro Saas Etsy sales ideas. I know that I want to go ahead if only for the learning, but I was wondering about the financial viability of the whole thing.
Looking at the big picture, I most likely won’t be able to make a living for a single application of that size. Also, I’m expecting than more than 10 apps would be too much mental space even if they are on the back burner; there is a minimum level of app maintenance/upgrading involved.
Realistically I’m probably going to have one or two big hits and many duds, but I can eventually get rid of the low performers.
Given that number of applications, if I want a portfolio that’s worth the effort to me, I need to be aiming for at least 500$-1000$ monthly revenue for each application.
With some quick math, here is how it could look like for one user (which would probably be one Etsy shop in my case):
2$ a month = 250 users for 500$, or 500 users for 1000$
5$ a month = 100 users for 500$, or 200 users for 1000$
I also had a quick look at applications for sale on MicroAcquire, and I think I could feasibly get 4000$-5000$ out of an app of that size if I have a few users and want to get it out of my portfolio. That’s not a plan to make a lot of money and I wouldn’t code just to sell, but this sounds decent.
Finally, I think I can get a first version out in a full-time week (so about 2 months or so at my speed 😅), which makes it a reasonable amount of time given my hourly rate and the expected profit. The whole thing seems doable and the napkin math works out, so let’s try that out!
Projects updates
I’ve been doing some garden planning so I know how much seedlings I’ll need to start in the next few months. I’ve also been cleaning up some seeds I’ve saved; most of them were already done and it the shop, but I had a few that I did not intend to sell that were not yet done.
Programming-wise, I’ve been wrapping up a small Kotlin app contract I was working on. I’ll have more time for my micro SaaS app after this: I intend to keep my schedule lighter for a month or two except maybe a few writing contracts.
Feeling of the week
Still going strong according to the plan, I’ve not added any project in the last week!
Ways I can help you
I can write blog articles for you on technical subjects around web development and mobile development. I can also write about hobby-level Arduino, 3D printing and home automation subjects.
Get your cozy, made-to-fit wool socks at https://manibas.com!
For my Canadian friends, I have a nano business selling seeds from my garden at https://sentiersperdus.net/en. Sorry, due to various phytosanitary concerns, it’s hard to ship those outside Canada