Why building custom apps for businesses is a great idea

Every business has quirks. The CRM doesn’t quite fit, the booking tool can’t handle edge cases, the dashboard doesn’t show the metric that actually matters. That’s where custom apps come in. Build something that matches the workflow exactly, and suddenly the business runs smoother—and pays you for it.

The demand for this is massive. The custom software development market is projected to reach $184.6 billion by 2031, growing at 22% CAGR. From 2025–2029 alone, the market is expected to expand by another $53.7 billion, with small and mid-sized businesses driving much of that growth. Companies aren’t just curious about these apps—they are budgeting for them.

So how do you go from idea to a real business app? The workflow looks something like this:

Identify the problem. Talk to owners, managers, or staff. Look for repetitive tasks, disconnected data sources, or bottlenecks that slow revenue.

Sketch the flow. Map the user journey in a wireframing tool (or on paper). Define one primary flow and focus only on must-have features for version one.

Pick a stack. Use React, Vue, or Svelte on the frontend; Node.js, Django, or FastAPI on the backend; PostgreSQL, Firebase, or Supabase for data. Deploy on Vercel, AWS, or DigitalOcean. If speed matters more than raw control, a low-code framework like Retool, Appsmith, or Bubble can help you ship faster.

Build iteratively. Ship an early version, gather feedback, refine. Resist the urge to polish before validation.

Deploy and maintain. Automate deployments with CI/CD, add monitoring and error tracking, and document everything to keep clients onboarded and happy.

The types of apps businesses pay for are often surprisingly simple. A salon booking app with staff scheduling, reminders, and payments. An e-commerce dashboard pulling live sales and inventory from multiple channels. A lightweight CRM for agencies that integrates with Slack and email. A workflow automation tool for approvals, expense tracking, or campaign launches.

Once you have something working, monetization is straightforward. Subscription SaaS is the most common, but one-time licenses, tiered plans, and paid add-ons like integrations or custom setup are all viable.

Consider a quick example. A developer builds a booking app for a local salon. It starts with staff scheduling, payments, and reminders. They make it configurable so it can be branded and tailored to different businesses. They sell it to 10 salons and generate a few thousand dollars in monthly recurring revenue. With 100 salons, it becomes a full product business.

Custom apps sit in the sweet spot between solving real-world pain points and creating recurring developer income. Businesses are actively seeking these solutions, the market is growing fast, and the barrier to entry is lower than ever. If you can ship, listen to users, and iterate, there’s no better time to build.