[tornadofart]

Teaching was mentioned and is always great.

Or: You could build an app which does something useful for small businesses who can't afford and need full ERP systems.

Small businesses don't have a good process automation and stuff like "Scanning an document into a directory which triggers a python script which sends an email to someone" is a quick win.

There was a HN post about someone who built a simple invoicing app that she hosted on her own server, in the cloud or "on premise" on a raspberry pi. IIRC it was all open source and she made good money off of it.

To answer your question about creative content, the creative business is tough. It's kind of a winner-takes-all market. I am fairly creative myself and play a music instrument on semi pro level, but the competition is massive and some people have just godlike talent + years of skill honing and outshine everyone else. No one is going to buy your art if they can buy the art of someone who is doing the same thing as you but with better skills. And there's all the stuff about being dependent feom platforms such as youtube or steam who can cancel you or change revenue models... I wish you success, but I won't bet on it. It's about finding a niche and an audience and that takes years of eating the sh*t sandwich.

[arkitaip]

The problem is that small businesses that are ready to invest in any custom IT are very few and far between. People will literally spend hours every day doing menaial data processing instead of paying 50 dollars for an app that does the same work in minutes. You really need to focus on the sales aspect of the business and establish a very efficient lead pipeline, preferably one where you get recurring income from subscribers.

[tornadofart]

You won't be welcomed everywhere with open arms, sure.

Though I do know a few independent contractors who cater to small businesses and are doing fine, that's why I suggested the idea.