threetincans

No. 0->100 is not easy (I know from my own experience), but it is a realistic goal and you can get there slowly. Adding even one user every weekday, you will get to 100 in six months. But, and this is a big one, if you support your users well, you will get referrals -- which is the best way to grow.

My whole point is to go for recurring revenues, and, aim for slow, sustainable growth. If you want to go for 10K users, you will need funding. And, that will be a much, much riskier path.

No. 1 is the easiest. See my more detailed comment below.

Remote freelance work is a race to the bottom. A better way to earn some extra money is to build a small service (SAAS) like OLark, or, Launchrock, and charge $10/month. Support your customers with a passion, add customers slowly, and before you know it, you will have 100 customers. That will earn you $12K every year forever. It is far better than doing odd programming jobs for others, there is no capital required, and, it is a far more certain way to make extra money than developing an App for iOS or Android.