[Sapph]

I think the beauty of side projects is it's a low pressure way for people to put their idea out in the world and see what happens. Only difference between a hobby and side project is most side projects start off with a slightly more defined potential to monetize it.

And if the project pans out, great! If not, hopefully the side project was you doing something you love anyway so you still had fun and gained a lot of experience.

The fact it's now easier (cheaper startup costs for many types of work) to start side projects is a boon for the rest of us. It means every once in a while, someone who would never had considered starting a biz right away but would create something for fun may end up bringing a truly valuable product or service to the world.

I started my biz (http://www.artofemails.com) as a side project. I think seeing it as a side project in the very beginning freed me from feeling I had to do market validation and the whole launch a biz laundry list to just put it (in my case sales email templates) out there. Once it was up and I got really positive feedback, that's when I committed to growing it as a fully fledged business.