Side Project Hustle

Side Project Hustle is a CodingCat.dev podcast episode featuring Brad Garropy alongside Alex Patterson and Brittney Postma focused on GitHub, CSS. We sit down with Brad Garropy to talk about how he got started in web development. We also discuss how creating and maintaining side projects can help you get a full time job. 1.32 - Side Project Hustle: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-32-side-project-hustle 00:08 - Intro
00:55 - Brad Garropy Intro
01:25 - How did you get started in Web Dev?
02:50 - Background
04:00 - Side Projects to get hired
04:48 - What types of projects?
06:15 - Switching from backend to frontend mindset
08:25 - Frameworks
09: Watch the full video breakdown on YouTube or explore the architectural notes, chapters, and official documentation links below.

Questions

1. How did you get your start in Web Development?
2. Did building side projects help you get your job at Adobe?
3. What did you learn most from building side projects?
   1. Which side project did you learn the most from?
4. Can you talk a little about your Muphy app and how you built it?
5. You also maintain a npm-package called hue-sdk, what does that involve?
6. So, with all these side projects and a full time job, why did you want to start the Web Dev Weekly Podcast?
7. How has social media helped you along the way?
8. Aside: using GitHub Actions. How do you use GitHub actions to improve your workflow?

Technical Overview: Side Project Hustle

1.32 - Side Project Hustle: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-32-side-project-hustle 00:08 - Intro
00:55 - Brad Garropy Intro
01:25 - How did you get started in Web Dev?
02:50 - Background
04:00 - Side Projects to get hired
04:48 - What types of projects?
06:15 - Switching from backend to frontend mindset
08:25 - Frameworks
09:

When applying the concepts from Side Project Hustle in a production codebase, teams working with GitHub, CSS should align their implementation with the GitHub Documentation (Pull requests, GitHub Actions CI/CD, and repository security). Structuring your workflow around repeatable patterns, automated verification, and clear separation of concerns helps prevent regressions as your application scales.

Key Engineering Takeaways

• Core Topic Focus: Practical strategies for GitHub, CSS covered in "Side Project Hustle" (We sit down with Brad Garropy to talk about how he got started in web development. We also discuss how creating and maintaining side projects can help you get a full time job.).
• Production Implementation: Combine the architectural patterns demonstrated in this podcast with the official GitHub Documentation for type safety, performance, and long-term maintainability.
• Hands-On Video Walkthrough: Follow along with the live coding demos and discussion on YouTube (Side Project Hustle) and subscribe to CodingCat.dev on YouTube for weekly deep dives.

Video Chapters & Timestamps

Jump directly to any segment of Side Project Hustle on YouTube using the timestamped chapters below:

• 00:00: Intro
• 00:00: Brad Garropy Intro
• 00:00: How did you get started in Web Dev?
• 00:00: Background
• 00:00: Side Projects to get hired
• 00:00: What types of projects?
• 00:00: Switching from backend to frontend mindset
• 00:00: Frameworks
• 00:00: Muphy (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bradgarropy.murphy.twa)
• 00:00: Make money off side projects
• 00:00: Adobe job
• 00:00: Learning in Public
• 00:00: Motivation to learn the next thing
• 00:00: When to jump on a new tech train
• 00:00: Why start a podcast?
• 00:00: WebDev Weekly (https://webdevweekly.captivate.fm)
• 00:00: Social Media opportunities
• 00:00: Take opportunities if you are able
• 00:00: Community
• 00:00: Time Management

Resources, Links & Official Documentation

• Watch on YouTube: Side Project Hustle Full Video (plus Subscribe to CodingCat.dev)
• :47 - Muphy (): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bradgarropy.murphy.twa
• :50 - WebDev Weekly (): https://webdevweekly.captivate.fm
• :00: https://bradgarropy.com
• :15: https://twitch.tv/bradgarropy
• :40 - Brad - GoXLR (): https://www.amazon.com/GoXLR-Mixer-Sampler-Voice-Streamers/dp/B07JKNG4NV
• :55 - Brittney - HSL color theming (): https://una.im/css-color-theming/
• :42 - Brittney - Startup - (): https://www.netflix.com/title/80154285
• :13 - Alex - Green Screen - (): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KYSTPYL/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&aaxitk=8a5ec57a57c6ef74f3f8098ecbed6daa&hsa_cr_id=4152130130301&pd_rd_plhdr=t&pd_rd_r=e59daebb-ea45-470a-b43a-af8151b949c9&pd_rd_w=HKx0T&pd_rd_wg=2Yjzs&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_mcd_asin_0_title
• :05 - Alex - The Nevers ()": https://www.hbomax.com/grw-nev
• Show Pick: Nice Green Screen (picked by Alex Patterson)
• Show Pick: The Nevers (picked by Alex Patterson)
• Show Pick: HSL color theming with CSS variables (picked by Brittney Postma)
• Show Pick: IFTTT (picked by Brittney Postma)
• Show Pick: TC Helicon GoXLR (picked by Brad Garropy)
• Brad Garropy Guest Profile & Episodes on CodingCat.dev
• Brad Garropy on GitHub
• GitHub Documentation: Pull requests, GitHub Actions CI/CD, and repository security
• MDN CSS Reference: Modern layout, Grid, Flexbox, animations, and cascade layers

Related CodingCat.dev Tutorials & Podcast Episodes

• Open Source Svelte Magic: Melting Minds through Melt UI!: Thomas teaches Brittney and Alex how to use Melt and how Runes can be used to improve builders.
• Creative Coding to Boost your Skills: Brittney sits down with Jhey Tompkins and talks about how to be creative while improving your skills.
• Crossover for Compressed.fm and CodingCat.dev: We did a fun mashup with James Q Quick and Amy Dutton (selfteachme) from Compressed.fm. We touch a lot on our background and how to become a T shaped or broken ...

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are the main takeaways from Side Project Hustle?

We sit down with Brad Garropy to talk about how he got started in web development. We also discuss how creating and maintaining side projects can help you get a full time job. 1.32 - Side Project Hustle: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/1-32-side-project-hustle 00:08 - Intro
00:55 - Brad Garropy Intro
01:25 - How did you get started in Web Dev?
02:50 - Background
04:00 - Side Projects to get hired
04:48 - What types of projects?
06:15 - Switching from backend to frontend mindset
08:25 - Frameworks
09: Throughout this podcast, Brad Garropy breaks down real-world implementation details for GitHub, CSS so developers can apply these patterns directly in production.

How do you implement GitHub best practices in production?

When adopting GitHub and CSS in a production stack, start by validating your configuration against the GitHub Documentation (Pull requests, GitHub Actions CI/CD, and repository security). Focus on incremental adoption, automated testing, and observability so your team can measure performance and developer velocity improvements at each stage.

Where can I watch the full Side Project Hustle walkthrough and find related code resources?

You can watch the complete video session for Side Project Hustle on the CodingCat.dev YouTube channel. For a deeper dive into GitHub, check out our related guide: Open Source Svelte Magic: Melting Minds through Melt UI!.