Notes from Chris

Episode 712

Tracy Osborn initially pursued computer science back in college. She bailed out to avoid what felt like boring lectures and transferred into art and design. She was convinced her initial interest had been a simple mistake.

Still, a few years later she ended up running a business called WeddingLovely. It was a planning app for brides, and it reintroduced her to programming. While teaching herself Python in order to build the app, she noticed that most tutorials assumed she already had a grasp on programming tools and resources.

Dedicated to cracking the code, Tracy pushed through the challenges, past the theory and straight to the play by play ... and found the fun in coding. She also recognized a problem. Surely, there must be other would-be coders who were ready to create, if only they had a more friendly guide.

Feeling inspired, she ran with her new idea—and wrote the tutorial she wished she’d had for other right-brained designers with no back-end programming experience. She called her new venture Hello Web Books.

Researching formats, Tracy decided to package her just-what-you-need web app development blueprint as a book. She opted for self-publishing based on the track record of similar authors. She also knew she could more easily update the material if she published it on her own, and she could sell it in a variety of formats and for a range of prices.

Once the first book was done, she was hooked, and wanted to write more. She used a similar model of crowdfunding for the next two: an intermediate version of Hello Web App, and Hello Web Design.

For each of the three books she’s written so far, all tailored to designers and other non-programmers, it’s taken Tracy nine to twelve months of dedicated work. Even with her early Kickstarter success, she still doubted whether her work was wanted, never sure if each book would sell.

Despite those doubts, Tracy has knocked out four successful Kickstarter campaigns, refining her marketing and now experimenting with zines as a shorter format for quick learning on-the-go.

Tracy continues to offer physical books that readers can treasure. Before graduating to a drop-shipping warehouse from her initial closet full of book stock, she amused her local post office clerks. She was a frequent visitor, shipping single copies in between the yearly expedition to dispatch 300+ copies to eager Kickstarter supporters.

Tracy is now earning enough to live off of her side hustle. She’s letting her other business, the wedding app, fall by the wayside in order to pursue the bigger idea of practical programming for regular people.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Hello Web Books: If you're interested in learning how to code, head on over to Tracy's website to check out her books!
• WeddingLovely: Tracy's first app that helps others plan their wedding and helps them find wedding vendors

SEE ALSO:

• Engineer Reprograms Herself, Finds Confidence to Start Over: After two failed attempts, a software developer’s passion for web development puts her on the path to profit
• Database Expert Helps Students Solve Real Problems: She wanted to influence the next generation in her field. But after first teaching at a local university, this database consultant decided to design her own curriculum in the form of a book and online course
• Engineer Codes His Way To $3,700 Per Month: A South African engineer obsessed with efficiency uses the Internet of Things to create a reliable source of recurring revenue

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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