user experience
Posted on Become a Better Developer

User Experience Design For Developers

User experience design (UX) is a hot topic these days.  Everyone is getting on board with the idea that UX is key to the success of products and sites.  Therefore, we should look for ways to help craft that experience throughout the SDLC.  Also, we can all contribute to this essential facet of software development.  User experience is not just for the graphic designers on our team. User Experience Design is a Team Effort We all know that there are people best suited to designing the application experience.  They understand things like compatible colors, which fonts work best, and much more.  However, all of us can work to make the best design possible.  We all have been users of some... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Passive Income Approaches

Turn Your Hobby Into Passive Income

One of the best ways to generate a passive income stream is to profit from what you already do.  We have looked at a couple of ways to do this.  However, a hobby may be the best of these options.  We are essentially taking what we do for fun and turning it into a way to make money.  This discussion is not just about loving your job. It is about getting paid for the things you love to do. A Hobby Is Fun We have hobbies for many reasons.  One of the essential reasons for a hobby is that it “makes us happy.”  It may be that we do these things to reduce stress or find solitude, but even in... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Passive Income Approaches

Producing One-Time Content For Passive Income

We have looked at regular content like blogs and podcasts for passive income.  However, there are better options for passive income that are one-time content products.  These include things like books, instructional videos, white papers, and more.  These products are excellent options since they provide recurring revenue from a single push to create it. One-Time Content Takes On Going Effort One-time is a description for the creation of the content alone.  It is not a way to describe the effort required to keep that income rolling in.  The good news is that the work to keep things going is often small and can provide a sizable return on a few hours of work.  The content itself is key to how... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Passive Income Approaches

Side Hustle To Passive Income

A side hustle is an excellent way to improve your income.  However, that word “hustle” implies that it is anything but passive.  While that may be the case when you start, there is a path to passive income from many side hustle jobs.  You need to take advantage of automation and outsourcing. The Manual Side Hustle We almost always start with a manual side hustle.  That is the nature of such a venture.  We want to generate revenue quickly and are happy to trade sweat for dollars.  Thus, we jump in and spend little time planning our approach.  This phase is all about the hustle and quick victories.  In fact, we typically start with precisely the opposite mindset from a... Read more

avoid design mistakes
Posted on Become a Better Developer

Patterns within Anti-Patterns – Avoid Design Mistakes

The recent podcast season on anti-patterns turned out to be very informative.  We saw some patterns emerge as each anti-pattern was reviewed and the core issues highlighted.  Each of these can help us avoid design mistakes that lead to an anti-pattern.  That led to this presentation on patterns within anti-patterns.  There are a few over-arching themes to anti-patterns that can point us to being better in every facet of development. No Surprises The three main areas that can push us into an anti-pattern are common sense issues.  For example, we look at problems around communication.  While that may not seem a way to avoid design mistakes, it sure can hinder the proper implementation.  We can see that even the best... Read more

develpreneur podcast
Posted on Passive Income Approaches

Micro investing in Real Estate

Real estate is an area where many investors make their money.  However, in the past, it has required a sizable investment to get started.  That is no longer the case.  We now have sites that we can visit that help us use the concept of crowdsourcing to buy into a piece of a real estate transaction.  Now that we can start small, it makes sense to look at this as a way to save, invest, and earn a passive income from those savings. Traditional Real Estate Investments There are a few ways to make money from real estate.  We can buy, hold, and then sell at a higher price as the holding becomes more valuable.  On the other hand, we... Read more