[PaulCarrack]

Most people I know who take on side projects do them because they enjoy solving problems. They find them enjoyable, and to many, side projects are like taking a vacation. I wouldn't pay someone to take a vacation for me, that's nonsensical and defeats the purpose of the vacation.

Why would you pay someone to do something you enjoy doing, so you don't have to do (any/some/all) of it? What kind of side projects are we talking about here?

[hyperhello]

In my case I wanted a particular piece of software that I had visualized. I found someone and agreed on a price, and provided what we needed to collaborate, and watched the progress. He accepted critical feedback and did a good job. That software has been adapted and ported to more platforms since. The effect was to compress my time and energy invested, and I paid with money earned from my full time job.

I’m still glad I did it. It’s okay to farm out the intensive work and savor the fun bits yourself. There are people waiting to do this for cash.

[satvikpendem]

There are two sorts of projects (or in general, people): artisans, and entrepreneurs. The latter see code as a means to an end, possibly monetized, and the former see code as the end in itself.