u/breadislifeee

Over the past few months, I decided to experiment with a couple of side projects to see how small streams of passive income could fit into my life without interfering with my main job. One project was a mobile app for reading novels, and the other was a dropshipping store.

The novel app was my first foray into digital content. I wanted to see if I could turn casual readers into paying users. The strategy was straightforward: offer free content with an option to unlock more chapters through a small payment. Initially, I wasn’t sure how well people would convert, but the app has started to bring in a small trickle of income. It’s not life-changing, but the feedback has been encouraging, and I’ve learned a lot about user engagement and retention in the process.

For the dropshipping project, I explored several suppliers and eventually settled on one that seemed reliable by using tools to compare options. I set up a basic store around their products. Sales haven’t been huge, but the store is already producing a bit of revenue. What I like about this setup is that it’s mostly hands-off once orders are placed, so it doesn’t interfere with my main work.

Both projects are still small, and the income they generate is modest, but that’s exactly what I was aiming for. I wasn’t looking to replace my main job or make a fortune overnight. Instead, these experiments have been about learning, testing ideas, and gradually building small revenue streams that could grow over time. It’s satisfying to see even minor earnings come in without adding stress, and it gives me confidence to explore more side projects in the future.

I’d love to hear from others who have tried similar experiments. How do you decide which side projects are worth your time, and how do you balance learning from them while keeping your main career on track?

I run a tiny ecommerce agency with just me and a designer, and lately I’ve been getting really frustrated with the platforms we use.

Shopify feels like I build everything and then disappear. Clients take over right away, the partner fees barely add up to anything meaningful, and most of the credit ends up going to Shopify. Webflow is fine for landing pages, but it starts hitting limits once you need to manage larger product catalogs or more complex ecommerce workflows.

On top of building the actual stores, I also have to help clients manage suppliers through sourceready, track product info, and make sure inventory and pricing stay accurate. That part creates a lot of extra work, and most platforms don’t really help much with it. It’s not just about the website. A lot of the real work is keeping product data organized and consistent, especially when every client sources products differently.

I’m starting to wonder if building my own platform from scratch would be cheaper long term, or if there’s a better tool out there that I haven’t found yet.

Has anyone here tried alternatives that actually let agencies control the brand, build recurring revenue, and not feel like you’re just building on someone else’s platform every time?

Been spending more evenings outside lately, so getting the mosquito netting installed on our gazebo moved way up the priority list once the bugs started coming out. The gazebo itself went up fine, but the netting turned into its own little project. Ours is one of the Costway hardtop models where the mesh feeds through tracks around all four sides. Sounded straightforward in theory. In reality, i spent a good amount of time fighting twisted mesh, hooks popping out, and one panel that somehow ended up backwards without me noticing until way too late 🙃

What helped most was stretching the netting out flat on the ground first instead of trying to untangle it while standing on a ladder. Also learned pretty quickly this goes way smoother with two people. One feeding the hooks through the track, the other guiding the mesh so it doesn't bunch up halfway.Finally got everything hanging right yesterday evening. Sat out there afterward listening to the frogs and crickets without getting swarmed for once, which honestly made the whole frustrating install feel worth it.

I (28F) have a coworker (30F) whose style I’ve always admired. She dresses in a way that feels polished but effortless, and I once complimented her outfit and asked where she usually shops. She mentioned a few brands, including Few Moda, COS, and Reformation.

After that, I browsed some of those sites on my own and ended up buying a few pieces. I wasn’t trying to copy her exact outfits, just exploring brands she recommended because I liked the style. The issue is that one of the dresses I bought turned out to be the same one she owns. I had never seen her wear it before, so I genuinely didn’t know.

A few days ago, we both wore the same dress to work. It was awkward, and I got the impression she thought I was copying her, especially since I had asked her where she shops. She didn’t directly say anything, but her reaction made me feel self-conscious.

Should I avoid wearing clothes from brands she mentioned, or am I overthinking this?

TL;DR:
Bought clothes from brands my coworker recommended and accidentally wore the same dress as her to work. She seemed annoyed, and I’m wondering if I should avoid those brands or if I’m overthinking it.