This time next year I'd like to make $2k/mo in side income. I have a passion for software, can fix electronics, and have a solid social presence. How would you go about it?

I'm currently a full-time software engineer with the goal of starting up a viable side business. I've tried in the past a few different ventures (b2c SaaS, freelance, furniture flipping, photography) but none have panned out as well as I would have liked. I feel like I'm kind of always at the tail end of hype trains on their way out.

Over the last few years though I have made a pretty solid social following from a few projects I've randomly released and talked about. I have a YT channel and Twitter following of about 40k combined, but the income from that is < $100/mo.

I'm happy with my current job, but am wanting to purchase a house soon and an extra $2k/mo by this time next year would make it much easier to hit that goal. It would also be nice to diversify my income and start being more self-reliant.

I've narrowed down to two things that I'm both passionate and knowledgeable about:

Software development

I have a stellar 10-year record of creating solutions for businesses that need software created or refactored, as well as a slew of open source projects I've been a contributor to. I'm thinking I could charge a flat fee for MVP development, or build projects that I could license businesses to use via SaaS or self-hosted.

But, I'm worried about the state of software development. Companies are tightening their purse strings for new developers and the rise of AI means that a lot of folks are reaching for vibe coding -vs- hiring outside help to develop custom solutions. Makes me nervous about the future and scalability of this.

Electronics repair

I've been a tinkerer most of my life and have helped family and friends repair computers, phones, game consoles, stereos, radios, and even small appliances like stand mixers or blenders. There seems to be a pretty solid need for reliable folks in my area to do work like this. I'm thinking of items that can be dropped off to me and fixed in my spare time, I wouldn't have the availability to go to people's homes.

However, I'm unsure that there would be enough demand for people who want their items repaired instead of just replacing them. When all is said and done, charging someone $200 for a screen replacement, I feel like they'd rather just get a new cheap laptop.