I really enjoyed reading your story. I had similar experiences with my side project as well.
In my case, I tried to take on the behemoth that is Intuit. I spent 2 years working on the same side project. In my third year, I decided to quit my job and focus on it fulltime. Six months into working on my startup I realized that I made the mistake of trying to pick a fight with Intuit since the product that I was building was too much for me to handle.
I decided to switch course and focus on niche products for the Mac App Store. Two months after my pivot, I was making a few thousand a month from my apps. I've since accepted fulltime employment and am continuing to work on my Mac Apps as they are still generating the same amount of money.
From this experience I learned its best to focus on a niche market if you are a one man band. I think your failure was because your focus was too wide. Perhaps for your next project, you should consider focusing on a niche market.
In my case, I tried to take on the behemoth that is Intuit. I spent 2 years working on the same side project. In my third year, I decided to quit my job and focus on it fulltime. Six months into working on my startup I realized that I made the mistake of trying to pick a fight with Intuit since the product that I was building was too much for me to handle.
I decided to switch course and focus on niche products for the Mac App Store. Two months after my pivot, I was making a few thousand a month from my apps. I've since accepted fulltime employment and am continuing to work on my Mac Apps as they are still generating the same amount of money.
From this experience I learned its best to focus on a niche market if you are a one man band. I think your failure was because your focus was too wide. Perhaps for your next project, you should consider focusing on a niche market.
Good luck.