Whenever there is a lull in client work I am quick to get my SaaS head on and work on internal projects. While everyone wants their SaaS project to become a hit, in reality, there is probably only a very small chance your SaaS platform gets any sort of traction.
While I'd love them to make lots of money I think of them differently. I build SaaS platforms to solve a problem and learn about new technologies and trends at the same time.
Case in point, some years ago while I was building websites using WordPress I got fed up with the constant updates, hacking attempts and general slowness of the sites - yes, I do use caching but that runs into loads of other issues. So I built my very own custom PHP-based CMS and while very simple at the start (built primarily to be fast and SEO optimised), I continually added features to it based on what the next client project required.
Clients could get new features added either at full price (and it was just available to them) OR they could get a discount and the new feature would be available to everyone on the CMS - a win/win/win situation for me, the client and the other clients.
The CMS platform is still used today and has:
Great performance
SEO optimised from the ground up
Multi-language support
Form builder
Plugin support
Automated SSL management for their own domain
While it didn't become a money-making hit, it allowed me to build sites quickly and easily and therefore saving me time and earning me more money in the long term. So all in all, a massive win for me.
A client project just got approved and needs to get scheduled so my SaaS hat needs to come off and my client hat needs to be put back on.
I'll be back...