Users are important but are not necessarily customers, business serve customers at a profit, businesses that don’t make a profit are hobbies.
Users, Businesses, and Hobbies
I will often hear folks say, “I think I can get a lot of users. I know that there is a market for this.”
I worry because a market requires customers, not just users: you can tell who your customer is because they pay for your product or service.
When you say to yourself, “There is a market there,” you need to identify who the customer is. The customer is the person or firm you are serving and the one who pays you.
The IRS defines businesses without profits as hobbies.
If you have no revenue, it’s very difficult to make a profit.
There is nothing wrong with a hobby, but you should consider if that is what you want to spend time on.
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