Would I use this?

An unusual criteria for most people, but something that I think is vital for side projects. By their very nature the time you have to work on an side projects is limited at best. Building something that you would use give you a leg up on understanding the users needs, and desires for the project. You’ll spend far less time talking to people to extract requirements, and more time building a project that matches the users needs.

Do I know people that would use this?

You can’t be the only person to use the project. Do you know other people that would use it? It’s great to have a few trusted people that you can reach out too, for early feedback and testing. You can be a little too close to the project to identify problems, so getting early feedback can be key to keeping the project on track.

Do I know places where people who would use this hangout?

If you plan on building out the user base and grow your project, you need to be able to reach large numbers of users. Where does your target audience hangout, can you reach them there (in a free or affordable way?) If you can’t reach your target users, then it might not be worth building the project at all.

Does anything similar exist?

Competition, despite what you think, always exists. Competition isn’t a bad thing, quite the opposite. If someone out there is solving the exact same problem, in exactly the same way, targeting the exact same users, that is a bad thing. Adjust any one of those items though and you still have a viable project on your hands.

Competition is also a way to test if there is a market for your project. If others are already serving users like your targets, making money, then you could be able too as well!

How long will it take me to build and launch it? (Cost?)

I like to put a time box on my side project builds. Two weeks! Yeah that’s not very long, but long enough to build an MVP. Two weeks might not be long enough for you, but whatever the time limit, make sure you set one and be firm on meeting it.

I find when projects take longer than my target, there are other reasons that perhaps lead me to ending the project.

Outside of my time, a good domain, and a little bit of hosting, I typically don’t spend much money on the projects. You may need to some money on data, or other services. Be careful to wait until the you really need to buy before moving forward. Especially if the build is going to take a while.

How much time (money) will it take to run and maintain this?

If this is a side project, and won’t be your full time job right away, you have to be careful that the project doesn’t take too much time or money to run it once it’s live. You’ll still need time to do your real job, and pay the bills.

It’s can be fun while you’re making a project, easy to find the time to work on it, but once the project is live, will still find it fun and easy during the “maintenance” phase. As you build the project, think about what tasks can be automated, to save you time later on.

Will this generate revenue?

How are you going to make money from the project? Being the next Facebook isn’t easy and won’t make you money for a few years at best. If you want this project to be your next full time job, it should make money very early on, ideally from the day you launch. It won’t make a lot of money, but you have prove that it can, and grow it slowly but surely.