The solution to both your problems is the same: advertising your product (either that financial widget or yourself). If you learnt to advertise yourself effect

The solution to both your problems is the same: advertising your product (either that financial widget or yourself). If you learnt to advertise yourself effectively, getting a job as a self taught developer should be a breeze. Conversely, if you learnt to advertise your financial widget so that it paid you a full-time salary, you could effectively hire yourself and continue building more products.