Side Hustle Earning $20k a Month: Nothing is Impossible!

small team of Romanian developers has been promoting and advancing their startup, Creative Tim, since 2014. This startup has already been generating a monthly revenue of around $22,000, with a net profit of approximately $17,000 after deducting all taxes – quite impressive, right? Surprisingly, this startup is not the main focus of these individuals, and it has not required any significant capital investments throughout its existence. What has contributed to its remarkable success?

Idea

ne notable aspect of Creative Tim's approach to their brainchild is their desire to create a product "for themselves." In other words, the developers were interested in creating universal web products that could be used with their clients in the future. This effort led to the creation of powerful web design tools such as UI kits, plugins, templates, and admin dashboards. Initially, their work was challenging due to financial constraints. They even worked at Starbucks because they could not afford coworking space. Through their work, they realized the repetitive nature of inventing tools for each client's website, sparking the idea to create highly sought-after templates like calendars, registration windows, tooltips, and more.

Promotion

In the early days, apart from developing the platform, a significant amount of effort went into promoting it. With limited resources at Creative Tim, they took it upon themselves to market their brainchild through social media, design forums, and more. It took several months to gather a substantial audience interested in the project. The main challenge was communicating the value of their product to the end consumer. To address this, Creative Tim decided to develop a comprehensive solution for promoting business ideas, leading to the launch of the Get Shit Done Kit. An influential review on Designer News and exposure on Product Hunt marked a turning point for the project, significantly increasing its visibility and audience reach.

As the basic version of the platform was free, a PRO variant was released a few months later following its success. The PRO version, promoted through Bootstrap Expo, started generating a steady income. However, the developers encountered a new challenge – customers tend to forget about even very useful products over time. To tackle this, Creative Tim implemented a well-thought-out email marketing algorithm to retain its audience.

Marketing Strategies

Initially, Creative Tim's strategies focused on publications on specialized design resources. At that stage, the most effective strategies were newsletter features on Sidebar.io and reviews on ewebdesign.com. Collaboration with hackathons (developer forums) was identified as a promising path for future growth. This collaboration proved mutually beneficial – resources received licensed content from Creative Tim, while the startup gained additional exposure and access to a wider audience of designers.

As things progressed smoothly, the team decided to devote their time to the startup full-time. The project was engaging, impactful for the community, and most importantly, started generating a consistent high income; hence, shifting their focus seemed entirely justified.

How It Works

The core development idea at Creative Tim revolves around combining free applications with premium versions. Initially, free content is developed, attracting many designers due to its usefulness. Subsequently, designers are offered a set of paid features that are equally valuable. This includes additional modules, sections, and even ready-to-use resources. Currently, Creative Tim has launched eight such projects, each tailored to a specific audience, with premium versions priced between $20 and $600. This marketing model is termed Freemium – offering free applications with attractive premium options, promoted through external resources.

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