Could your business be the next Instagram? Everyone has at least a few favorite smartphone apps they use daily. Maybe your next business idea could be one of those apps.

Creating a mobile application can be a great way to make money.

PROS:

  • There’s a lot of potential to make money. Mobile apps are popular, and many businesses want to reach their customers on their smartphones.
  • There’s not much competition in this field. Almost everyone uses mobile apps. But most people don’t want to build their own app, even if it would help their business.
  • Learning about mobile apps is a flexible skill that you can use in different industries, whether you decide to continue working for yourself or for another company.

CONS:

  • Preparing for this work can be time-consuming, especially if you want to learn how to code before starting this business.
  • You might have to spend some money before you make money for things like coding lessons, app building templates, etc.

How to get started:

NOTE: Before you start your business, you should read the page on this website entitled “things to think about before you get started.” After you have taken the preliminary steps for starting any business, you can take the specific steps outlined below.

One great thing about having a mobile app business is you have a few choices for getting started. You could:

  • Create a mobile app to provide more services to customers for your own current business.
  • Start a mobile app development company to create your own mobile app.
  • Build business apps for other companies.

If you want to develop a mobile app to expand your current business, check out two of our previous blog posts about mobile apps:

Now, let’s focus on your other two choices: creating mobile apps to start your own business or to help other businesses. If your app idea is your reason for starting your own mobile app development company, take some time to learn about your potential customers. Ask your questions like “Who will my mobile app help? What do these customers need or want?” This will help you learn whether your app could be profitable.

After learning about potential customers, your next step is to think about learning how to code. Luckily, you don’t have to go to school to learn coding. There are some great online sites that teach coding, such as Code Academy. Some of these online coding programs are even offered for free.

If you’re interested in creating business apps for other companies, you can simply use app development software and this will help you create mobile apps quickly, so you can start promoting your services to different companies. Some app building sites and tools make it clear what they do in their different names. This includes “TheAppBuilder”, “AppMachine”, “AppMakr”, and “BiznessApps”.

How much to charge:

There are different ways for mobile app developers to make money. An entrepreneur starting his or her own mobile app development company can earn money, even if they create a free app. You could use:

  • Advertising: video, incentives, display ads and banners
  • Email marketing
  • Sponsorships
  • Subscriptions
  • In-app purchases
  • Physical purchases and merchandise
  • Affiliate income and referral marketing
  • A free trial period of your app with a paid upgrade option

Freelancers who create business apps can simply charge their clients for building an app. A beginning or junior-level freelance mobile app developer can charge between $40 – $80 per hour for their services, according to the website codementor.io.

Take it to the next level:

Consider your marketing skills. If you’re comfortable with marketing your services, you can also be a mobile app consultant. This would allow you to make more money by walking your clients through the entire mobile app development process which includes:

  • coming up with the best app idea for your client
  • building the app
  • doing routine maintenance to ensure the app runs smoothly.

Photo by William Hook on Unsplash