When to Quit Your Side Project (and When Not To)

The honest gut-check

Every side project hits the swamp. It starts shiny, then turns into chores and question marks. Should you push a little longer? Or cut the line and swim to shore?

Here’s a simple, slightly opinionated way to read the signals—so you’re not quitting too early or clinging for too long.

A quick contract with yourself

Before anything else, write this down (yes, actually write it): what “progress” means for the next 6 weeks.

• One metric you own (not vanity): signups, weekly active users, MRR, retention, demos booked.
• A minimum line in the sand: e.g., +25 WAUs, +5 paid, 20% 4-week retention, 5 qualified conversations.
• Two experiments you’ll ship no matter what.

Now you have something to measure against, not just vibes and caffeine.

Green lights: keep pushing if…

• Pull is increasing. DMs, forwards, replies. People show up uninvited. Even a trickle counts if it’s compounding week over week.
• Retention isn’t amazing yet, but it’s improving. Day 7 retention inching up? Fewer users ghosting after first use? That’s momentum talking.
• Someone paid you. Or tried to. Money is a loud signal. Ten bucks from a stranger is worth a hundred compliments from friends.
• Sales loops are shortening. Conversations move from “what is this?” to “how do we try it?” in fewer messages.
• You keep getting the same request. Annoying? Sure. But repeated pain is roadmap gold.

Micro rule: if two of those are trending up for three straight weeks, you’re not done here.

Yellow lights: consider a pivot if…

• People “love the idea” but don’t use it. Or they try once, then disappear like it’s a gym membership.
• You’re solving three different problems for three different audiences. That’s… three projects.
• Growth only happens when you scream. Ads stop? Growth stops. Might be a channel problem. Might be a product one.
• Support tickets beg for a different product than the one you want to build. (Ouch.)

Micro rule: if activation is okay but retention is meh, pivot the promise—not the core—first. Reframe the positioning, tighten the ICP, ship one strong “aha” path. Then re-measure.

Red lights: it might be time to quit (for now)

• Flat for 8–12 weeks on your primary metric despite shipping real experiments. Not tiny tweaks—real tries.
• You avoid working on it even after rest. Be honest: you don’t like the customers, the problem, or the loop.
• Churn > new. Every step forward is erased next week.
• You’re making “grand rewrite” plans to avoid talking to users. (Been there. Didn’t help.)
• The best-case path still doesn’t excite you. Future you is rolling their eyes.

Micro rule: set “kill criteria” up front. If X doesn’t happen by Y, you pause or stop. Saves you from sunk-cost theater.

The sanity math

• Time runway: how many focused hours can you invest weekly for the next 6 weeks? Be specific.
• Money runway: what’s the cost to hit your next learning milestone? Not “to success”—to the next clear answer.
• Optionality: if you stop now, does that unlock something higher-odds? A better distribution channel, a clearer niche, a partner?

If the math says you’re starving both the project and yourself, pick one to feed. Ideally you.

Experiments that actually move the needle

When in doubt, ship experiments that reduce uncertainty, not just add features.

• Price test: put the price on the page. Let folks self-qualify.
• Narrow ICP: pick one use case, one segment. Say no to the rest for two weeks.
• Onboarding: remove one step. Add one in-product nudge at the moment of need.
• Distribution: one guest post, one podcast cameo, one partner email. Quality > scattershot.

And if content is your bet, it’s a long game. No sugarcoating. If you care about search, learn how to rank competitive keywords. Unsexy, but it compounds while you sleep.

Pivot vs. persevere (quick map)

• Keep going: more people are arriving, a few are paying, retention inches up, and conversations feel warmer. Feels like work—but the flywheel is trying to spin.
• Pivot: activation yes, retention no; interest yes, money no. Change the promise, audience, or channel—one at a time.
• Quit: no movement after real attempts; you dread it; future potential doesn’t light you up. Archive with notes. Future you might revive it with a clearer angle.

How to quit without burning the value

• Write a short post-mortem for yourself. What worked. What didn’t. What you’d try first if you came back.
• Open-source a piece. Or ship a tiny template/productized asset from the parts.
• Email users to say thanks and point them to alternatives. Classy. Also: people remember.
• Park the domain, keep the repo. You’re not deleting the idea—just taking its batteries out.

Permission to pause

There’s a weird shame around stopping. Don’t buy it. Projects are reps. Reps build taste. Taste finds winners.

You’re not a quitter if you walk away from a dead end. You’re a builder saving your energy for a path that pays you back.

A tiny ritual (6 weeks)

• Week 0: define progress, set kill criteria, pick two experiments.
• Week 3: midpoint review. If nothing moved, pivot the promise. Hard.
• Week 6: decide. Double down, pivot again, or pause. Decide with your calendar and wallet, not your ego.

You can do a lot in 6 focused weeks. You can also waste six months without decisions. Ask me how I know.

Final note

If you’re on the fence, pick a path that increases surface area for luck: talk to more users, narrow your promise, ship faster, and measure less stuff—but measure it weekly.

And hey—if you want daily, practical, indie-friendly tactics that actually ship (and occasionally kick you in the shins when you need it), come hang out at Indie10k.