Detours

My ideas have ideas. And then those ideas have grandbaby ideas. I call it my overactive brain syndrome. I’ll be trying to sleep, and my brain is planning another project, another business, another thing I wish existed. But something changed when I realized I could start building those ideas. I’m Angie Norris, and this is Side Hustle GPS. Today, we’re stopping in Tech Junction to explore Small Custom Software Tools. And for our hundredth episode, I get to share the story of how this very experience came to life. But first, let me take you back to a training I did for the Chamber of Commerce in Fenton, Missouri. I demonstrated how to use Bolt.new to create a mortgage calculator for someone sitting in the room. We built a working example and customized it around what she wanted. She was blown away by how quickly an idea could become something useful for her business. That’s what makes this opportunity exciting. You can help someone create a small tool that solves a particular problem. A calculator. A tracker. A directory. A simple way to organize information or guide someone through a decision. And that brings me to Side Hustle GPS. When I started preparing my presentation for AI Marketing World, I had no intention of building software. I wanted a leave-behind. Something free that people could explore after my talk. Something valuable enough that they would keep coming back to it. I pictured an interactive map with ten regions and a hundred side hustle possibilities. A journey that could help someone find a route that fit their life. I tried using other tools to bring that vision together, but the experience wasn’t quite what I wanted. And then I thought, “Why don’t I just build it?” So I turned to Replit and ChatGPT. Or Chatty G, as I like to call it. I’d already had so many conversations about my ideas that I had a lot of context to work from. Over a week or two, we worked through what the experience should do, how people would move through it, and what would make it useful. And the idea became something I could actually share. If you’re listening to this through Side Hustle GPS, you’re experiencing part of that vision right now. That makes me proud. It started with wanting to help people see what was possible. And you can offer that kind of help to someone else. Talk to a business owner about a task they repeat or a problem their customers face. Then explore whether a small custom tool could make it easier. You can use AI to help define the requirements, draft code, explain unfamiliar steps, and work through improvements. Your part is understanding the problem, checking the result, and making sure the tool works for the people who need it. Start with a manageable scope. Test the calculations, buttons, and saved information. Understand the ongoing costs and who will handle updates. You can charge for a defined project and agree separately on future support. Your first money move? Find one person with one recurring problem. Sketch the simplest useful tool, build a first version with sample information, and let them try it. Their feedback gives you something concrete to improve—and a starting point for a paid offer. Explore Small Custom Software Tools in Tech Junction at SideHustleGPS.com. And as we reach the end of this hundred-episode road trip, I want you to remember something. You don’t have to try every route. Choose one that interests you. Find someone it could help. Take your first money move. Thank you for traveling with me. Keep dreaming big. Your idea deserves a first version.