 Welcome to Start It Up. Remember the time when you had to sit down in front of a computer screen to send an important email? Seems like a long time ago, right? With smartphones becoming easily accessible, it was only a matter of time before everyone rushed from the dot-com to building apps for these new devices. For any simple need, one can find numerous apps out there today. There are individuals and studios coming up with novel ideas to stay ahead of the game in what is already hyper competitive. But ever wondered how these little things come to be? Well, the first step to figure out what the app's purpose is going to be. With so many out there, it is important that your app, even if it solves a problem that already has solutions, is different. For example, you may want to make a new picture editing app. There is going to be a lot of competition, no matter how well you make it. Look at the competing apps and see if yours is actually adding any value. If it doesn't, you go back to the drawing board. After you're done figuring out what your app is going to do, you need to choose a platform for your app. That is, whether you want it to work on Android or iOS. There are other operating systems as well, but these are the two most widely used ones. Considering that app development needs coding, you better learn programming languages necessary to build one before you set foot. You can also hire a coder to do it for you, but then the costs go up significantly. The programming language for iOS is Objective-C and C, while for Android it is Java. Now that the basic questions are out of the way, here's what you should follow towards developing your first mobile app. Well, browse to the respective app stores and get a deeper understanding of what you wish to solve. Thorough research is a must. Make a list of all the functionalities your app would have. Going back to the picture editor example, you could want an option to crop, an option to improve brightness and a few preset filters. Jot them all down, design how each of your app's functionalities will work and how the end user will interact. Coding, the obvious next step. Test your app as a user and also get a select few to use it. Get feedback and improve till the end product works fine. This step is necessary to get rid of bugs. Now put it out there on whichever platform you built it for. The process to get listed on Google Play Store is faster and easier than on the Apple App Store. Making an app is time-taking but if you are already a developer with the know-how of necessary programming languages, it doesn't cost you much to make a basic one. First, you need a good internet connection which will cost you up to Rs. 1,000. Now to get your apps listed on the Google Store, you just need to pay a one-time fee of $25. While for Apple, well surprise, surprise, you will be charged $100 a year. Do not forget that in rupee terms, how much you shell out will depend on the rupee-dollar exchange rate at that point in time. If you build an app that doesn't need the internet for any of its functionalities to work, it means you do not really need to rent out storage space on the cloud. If the user does, however, need to use the internet for certain tasks, you might need to pay up a little for cloud. Cloud storage can cost as little as $5 a month. Now that you are done making and paying for your app, it is time to monetize. One of the most common ways to monetize apps is in-app ads. If you are new to the business, remember not to bombard your user with ads because there are plenty available in the sea and they could just switch over if they have a problem. Another way of monetizing is in-app purchases. You could keep some functionalities free and once you have a loyal user base, see if a few exclusive paid features can make them pay. Subscriptions or completely paid apps are also popular but you need to really be offering something different to get people to buy it. For more such business ideas, log on to www.entrepreneur.com