easychen/lean-side-bussiness

This repository is a free online book written in Chinese, aimed at programmers who want to build a side business alongside their main job. The title translates roughly to "Lean Side Business: How Programmers Can Elegantly Build a Side Business." It was written in December 2020 and is organized as a structured guide with chapters and sub-chapters, each stored as a separate Markdown file. The content covers why side businesses matter for career flexibility and financial resilience, then walks through practical approaches. Early chapters discuss core assets a programmer already has (skills, network, knowledge) and how to use limited spare time well. Later chapters cover different types of side income: selling time in chunks (consulting or tutoring), building passive income through digital assets, creating paid video courses or written columns, and developing independent software products. A significant portion of the book focuses on a process the author calls the "lean side business" flow, adapted from lean startup principles used in the software industry. It applies that build-measure-learn thinking to side projects: testing demand before investing heavily, iterating based on feedback, and keeping overhead low. Practical sections include designing a business model canvas for a side project, building a minimum viable product, handling user feedback, and anti-piracy strategies for digital content creators. The README links to a companion project called "One-Person Business Methodology v2.0," a follow-up book the author recommends reading after this one. There is no software to install or run. The repository is a reading resource, available online through a linked website.