From Side Hustle to Payday How I Earned My First $100

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the author decided to utilize the extra time by learning the MERN stack, a powerful web development suite. Inspired to apply their knowledge, they built an IP Logger, a tool that captures visitor's IP addresses and details upon clicking a generated link. After completing the project, the author made it publicly available on GitHub. Weeks later, they received a notification from a user requesting a feature to record the time and date of link clicks. Motivated by this request, the author added the feature and further assisted the user in hosting the project on their virtual machine. In return, the user offered $100 for the author's help, marking the author's first earnings from a personal project. This experience emphasized the value of practical skills and the importance of sharing one's work with the world. The author found it to be the beginning of a new chapter, proving that even during challenging times, creativity and dedication can lead to meaningful achievements.