build medium projects
Side projects are presented as a way to express your creativity and ultimately, "escape the rat race". Many people don't view side projects seriously until they start making life-changing money.
I feel this perception shoves side projects into a box. There's so much more to them than being another source of income. They don't have to be big massive projects that disrupt an industry.
They are better off being medium projects. Medium projects are small enough to be run by one person, but big enough to provide enough support to continue working on it.
Projects that are too big often get grabbed or copied by the big corps. Projects that are too small have lower levels of motivation to continue going. Medium projects have a set of metrics, and they don't try to maximise everything.
I aim for my next side project to be a medium one. Something that I can do in a month, something that can generate some income, but not a lot. Something tangible, really.