Reframe it. Don't look at it as a business failure. You wanted something to exist, and were willing to pay $x to make that happen. Hobbies don't have to generate income. It would be nice, but does it have to? If I pay $x,000 to go on a ski trip, I don't expect it to generate income for me somehow, so why should making PCBs or iOS apps be any different?
I understand your point, and, to be sure, it is just a hobby to me at this point—and I have no expectation of a hobby "making a profit". (To be sure iOS apps were a different story).
Paying artists though makes this hobby an even more expensive one. And as I am not making any money, it's not like I am robbing anyone… (Another way to look at it perhaps?)
