Showing My Work #03: January Reflections and New Directions

Personal Notes

January flew by, and with it, some big lessons and even bigger shifts in my approach to building businesses. Here’s the TL;DR:

• I’m pivoting from improving test coverage on Geml to launching a new app.
• I’m reframing my mindset from “building” to “launching” (while still showing my work).
• I’m diving into rapid development tools to 10X my iteration speed.

Let’s break it down!

Switching Focus: From Test Coverage to Launching a New App

My January goal was to improve test coverage for Geml, my Flutter app. I had grand plans of meticulously testing a significant chunk of the codebase. Then, I stumbled upon a blog post that flipped my perspective.

The gist? If you’re a solopreneur working on an unproven app, obsessing over test coverage is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic—it’s not where your energy should go. Instead, focus on launching products with a high likelihood of success.

Cue some serious self-reflection. Over the past decade, I’ve built plenty of projects, but most of them fell into what I now call Tier III (highest risk) ideas—standalone products requiring complexity or network effects before they could even think about making money. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t exactly rake in the cash.

Here’s how I now categorize projects:
• Tier I (Lowest Risk): Products built within thriving ecosystems (e.g., Shopify, QuickBooks) with validated markets and easy distribution through app stores.
• Tier II (Medium Risk): Standalone products targeting existing markets with features simple enough for one person to build and monetize early.
• Tier III (Highest Risk): Standalone products requiring complexity or external dependencies (e.g., marketplaces or social networks).

Looking back, most of my projects were Tier III gambles. Lesson learned! Moving forward, I’m laser-focused on launching a Tier I product within the QuickBooks ecosystem—I’ve got solid contacts in the bookkeeping space, so it feels like the right move.

Reframing My Work: From Building to Launching

Another lightbulb moment this month: I’ve been doing this all backward. Historically, I’d build first and then think about launching. But now? Launching comes first.

Here’s how I define “launching”:
• Engaging your target audience early via platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube with content that educates, entertains, and inspires.
• Building buzz and honing your messaging before writing a single line of code.

Why launch early? It forces you to figure out where your audience hangs out before you invest time in development. Plus, it keeps you focused on delivering value from day one.

Here’s how my process has evolved:
1. Old Way: Build → Launch (eventually).
2. New Way: Launch → Build → Iterate → Launch again!

Launching isn’t just a step at the end—it’s now a first-class activity that drives everything else I do as a solopreneur.

Exploring Rapid Development Tools to 10X Velocity

After 30 years of coding, I’ve seen tools come and go—but AI-powered development tools have me genuinely excited (and maybe slightly terrified). Tools like V0 and Cursor are promising to act as junior coders or even pair programmers, and I’m eager to see if they can dramatically speed up my iteration cycles.

I’ll be experimenting with these tools in the coming weeks to understand their capabilities and limitations firsthand. Worst case? I learn something new about the tech landscape. Best case? My productivity skyrockets.

And yes, like many software engineers, I have mixed feelings about AI replacing jobs—but as they say, it’s not the technology that replaces you; it’s someone else using that technology better than you do.

What I’m Doing This Week

This week’s mission: get a local version of my new QuickBooks-focused app up and running with at least one core function implemented. Stay tuned for updates!

What Caught My Attention

This blog post by Vicki Boykis: You Can Just Hack on ATProto. It’s an insightful take on hacking platforms—definitely worth a read if you’re into tech tinkering!

January brought some big shifts in how I approach solopreneurship—and while change can feel daunting, it’s also exciting. Here’s to smarter launches, faster iterations, and showing my work every step of the way!