I Make $150K/Month From 20 Apps

How Katie Built 19 Apps Generating $1.8 Million Annually

Introduction to Katie's Journey

• Over the past decade, 20 different apps have been developed, with Katie building a portfolio of 19 apps that collectively generate $1.8 million annually.

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of diversifying app portfolios, contrasting it with founders who focus on a single product.

• The episode will explore how Katie built her software products and provide insights into finding the right first app idea.

Key to Success: Rapid Development

• A significant factor in Katie's success is her ability to quickly find ideas, build them, and ship them efficiently.

Overview of Apps and Revenue

• Katie Keith discusses managing a remote team that created 20 apps generating $1.8 million yearly.

• Out of the 20 apps, 19 are WordPress plugins while one is a Shopify app; these plugins add specific functionalities to websites.

• Revenue breakdown shows an average monthly income of about $150,000 across all plugins, with total sales reaching $9.8 million over the business's lifetime.

Finding App Ideas

• The initial plugin idea stemmed from online research rather than brainstorming multiple concepts; they focused on user needs identified through forums.

• Their first plugin was based on popular demand for protecting WooCommerce categories; subsequent ideas emerged organically from customer feedback.

Growth Strategies

• Most customers come from organic search due to identifying market gaps early on; initial marketing involved publishing blog posts and tutorials related to their plugins.

How to Build a Successful Plugin Business

The Journey of Building Unique Products

• The speaker shares their experience with WooCommerce, highlighting the importance of having a unique idea that helped them rank high on Google and achieve initial sales quickly.

• Katie's success story is mentioned, generating $1.8 million annually from 19 plugins, illustrating the potential scale of plugin businesses.

Navigating Compliance Challenges

• As businesses grow, compliance issues like SOC 2 and ISO 27001 arise, which can hinder closing enterprise deals.

• Delve is introduced as an AI-native compliance platform designed for startups, offering quick support and comprehensive services to ease compliance burdens.

Strategies for Product Portfolio Growth

• The discussion shifts to the strategy behind managing multiple products; cross-promotion among closely related plugins enhances sales opportunities.

• Specific tactics are shared: upselling related plugins post-purchase and targeted email campaigns during events like Black Friday maximize customer engagement.

Effective Marketing Techniques

• Emphasis is placed on segmenting customer lists to recommend relevant products based on previous purchases, increasing conversion rates.

• Continuous reminders through banners and settings pages help keep complementary products in customers' minds.

Future Playbook for Building Software Products

• If starting over today, the speaker would focus on familiar areas to leverage existing knowledge for product development.

• A multi-step approach is outlined: generate several product ideas simultaneously while prioritizing those with overlapping markets for effective cross-promotion.

• Launching one product at a time allows for focused marketing efforts and user feedback integration before expanding the portfolio further.

Product Strategy and Business Insights

Multi-Product Strategy

• The speaker discusses a multi-product strategy, emphasizing the importance of having multiple products that generate revenue without overextending resources.

• Acknowledgment of successful individuals like John Rush who utilize cross-selling strategies across their product lines, indicating a trend in effective business practices.

Technology Stack for Business Operations

• The speaker outlines their tech stack, highlighting tools such as ClickUp for project management and GitHub for source code storage.

• Mention of using Zapier for automation and WordPress with specific plugins like Easy Digital Downloads to manage e-commerce functionalities.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• The speaker advises young entrepreneurs to take action by launching their first product, stressing that real opportunities arise from experience and feedback.

• Emphasis on learning from initial failures, which can lead to future successes through customer insights and feature requests.

Reflections on Business Strategies

• Discussion about the benefits of not putting all efforts into one product but diversifying offerings to mitigate risks.

• Insight into how advancements in AI have changed the landscape of software development, making it easier to create multiple products without extensive engineering teams.

Key Takeaways from Interviews

• Reiteration of the importance of building apps tailored to specific customer needs rather than creating monolithic applications that may overwhelm users.

• Encouragement for entrepreneurs to focus on developing one solid idea before expanding into additional projects, reinforcing the notion that ideas will flow once initial work is completed.