My 2026 Goals: Going All In as a Solo Developer

I don't do things halfway.

It's been almost two years now that I've gone all in on this solo developer path. Building products, learning new technologies, figuring out marketing, managing social media, handling deployment. All of it, by myself.

2026 is when it pays off. That's the plan anyway.

Here's everything I'm aiming for.

The Mindset: All In or Nothing

Some people dabble. They work on side projects when they feel like it. Take breaks for months. Come back occasionally.

That's not me.

When I commit to something, I commit completely. I don't half-ass projects. I don't give up when it gets hard. I've been building consistently for almost two years now, and nothing is going to stop that momentum.

Here's what I know for certain..

The road is long. The work is hard. There are no shortcuts. But I know my goals. I know the direction. And I'm going to stick to it no matter what.

That's not motivational fluff. That's just how I operate.

Q1: Apatero Monetization

Apatero is live. The platform works. People can use it.

Now it needs to make money.

This is priority number one for early 2026. Not because money is everything, but because sustainable projects need revenue. I can't keep building forever on pure willpower. At some point, the things I create need to support themselves.

What "monetization" actually means..

Getting paying users. Real people who find enough value in Apatero that they're willing to pay for it. Even if it's just a handful at first. Even if it's not enough to quit my day job. Revenue is validation.

What I need to figure out..

• Pricing that makes sense
• Payment integration
• The value proposition that makes people convert
• Marketing that reaches the right audience

This is new territory for me. I've built products before, but turning them into businesses is a different skill. 2026 is when I learn it.

Q1-Q2: Life OS Completion

Life OS is the project I'm most personally invested in.

A privacy-first productivity system. Journal, tasks, calendar, contacts. All running locally, all encrypted, with a local AI that can search my data without sending anything to the cloud.

The technical decision I'm still wrestling with..

Currently built with Tauri (Rust backend). But I'm seriously considering switching to Wails (Go backend). Same concept, different language.

The argument for switching: I want to get good at Go. Learning both Go and Rust simultaneously spreads me too thin. If I'm going to invest in a systems language, Go is more relevant to the backend work I want to do.

Either way, by mid-2026, Life OS should be functional and usable. Something I actually use daily, not just a project I'm always "working on."

Throughout 2026: Go Mastery

This is the year I get genuinely good at Go.

Not "I followed a tutorial" good. Not "I can copy-paste from Stack Overflow" good. Actually competent. The kind of competence where I can walk into an interview for a Go role and feel confident.

How I'm getting there..

Building Rembiti with Go for the backend. No AI assistance. Every line of code written and understood by me. It's slower, but the learning sticks.

Maybe picking up more Go projects throughout the year. The more real problems I solve in Go, the better I get.

The goal by summer 2026..

Interview-ready for Go positions. Comfortable with the language, the ecosystem, the patterns. Able to discuss tradeoffs and make architectural decisions without constantly Googling.

That's the bar.

Ongoing: Mobile Apps Ship

I have two mobile projects in development.

Rembiti - Birthday reminder app with contact notes and message templates. Go backend, React Native frontend.

Travel Tracker - App for couples to track everywhere they've been together. Countries and cities, shared between partners.

The minimum viable goal..

At least one of these ships to the App Store in 2026.

Not "almost finished." Not "in beta." Actually published, actually downloadable, actually usable by real people.

I've never shipped a mobile app to the App Store before. That changes this year.

Dream Goal: Backend/DevOps Role

By the end of 2026, I want to be confidently applying for backend positions.

Not frontend. Not full-stack-but-mostly-frontend. Actual backend work. Go, microservices, infrastructure, devops-adjacent stuff.

Why this direction..

I like backend work. I like thinking about systems, data flow, performance, reliability. I like the devops side of things. Deployment, containers, monitoring, infrastructure.

The frontend work I've done has been fine, but it's not where my passion is. 2026 is about leaning into what I actually enjoy.

What "confidently applying" means..

Not just sending resumes and hoping. Actually having the skills that match the job descriptions. Being able to talk about Go, Docker, microservices patterns, deployment strategies. Having projects that demonstrate I know what I'm doing.

By end of 2026, that's where I want to be.

Secret Goal: The Farming Game

Okay, this probably isn't happening in 2026.

But I have this vision of a cozy farming game. Something relaxing, with simple graphics, where you grow crops and build a little community. I bought Godot courses. I bought assets. The vision is there.

Time isn't.

With all the other projects I'm working on, game dev is a luxury I can't afford right now. But it's on the list. Maybe late 2026. Maybe 2027. Eventually.

A guy can dream.

The Reality of Solo Development

Being a solo developer means wearing every hat.

I don't just write code. I also have to..

Manage social media. Building in public means actually being public. Posting updates, engaging with people, building an audience. I use N8N to automate some of this, but it still takes time and energy.

Learn marketing. Nobody finds your product if you don't tell them about it. Paid ads, SEO, content marketing. All new skills I'm developing alongside the technical work.

Handle deployment and infrastructure. No DevOps team. Just me and Docker. I've learned a lot about deploying without a team, but there's always more to figure out.

Do customer support. When users have problems, I'm the one who fixes them. When something breaks, I'm the one who gets the message.

It's a lot. I won't pretend otherwise.

But that's the trade-off of going solo. You control everything, which means you do everything.

The Minimum Viable 2026

If 2026 goes perfectly, I hit all my goals. Apatero makes money, Life OS is complete, I ship a mobile app, I land a backend role.

But let's be realistic. Not everything goes perfectly.

The minimum I'd be satisfied with..

1. Apatero has paying users. Even a few. Revenue validates the product.
2. One app ships to the App Store. Either Rembiti or the Travel Tracker. Proof I can ship mobile.

That's it. Those two things.

Everything else is bonus. Nice to have. But if I achieve just those two milestones, 2026 is a success.

Why I Won't Quit

Some people might read this and think "that's a lot of goals" or "what if it doesn't work out?"

Here's the thing..

I've already committed. Almost two years of consistent effort. I'm not stopping now.

Nothing is going to break me. Not slow progress. Not setbacks. Not the inevitable moments of doubt.

I know the road ahead. I know it's hard. I know some things won't work out. But I also know that persistence beats talent. That showing up consistently is the only real strategy.

2026 is just another year of showing up.

What This Blog Is For

Part of going all in is building in public.

This blog exists to document the journey. The wins, the failures, the lessons. If you're on a similar path, maybe something here helps. If not, at least there's a record of what I tried.

I'll be posting updates on all these goals throughout the year. Project progress, what I'm learning, what's working and what isn't.

If you want to follow along..

The posts will be here. The journey continues.

Let's see what 2026 brings.

FAQ

What if Apatero doesn't make money?

Then I learn why and adjust. Failure is information. But I'd rather fail trying than never try at all.

Why Go instead of other backend languages?

It's simple, fast, has great concurrency, and is in demand. Plus I genuinely enjoy writing it. That matters for long-term motivation.

How do you stay motivated working alone?

Building things I actually want to use. Having public accountability through this blog. And honestly, just not giving myself the option to quit.

What's your biggest fear for 2026?

Spreading myself too thin and making mediocre progress on everything instead of great progress on a few things. That's why I defined minimum viable goals.

Any advice for others setting goals?

Be specific. "Get better at coding" isn't a goal. "Ship one mobile app to the App Store" is. You need to know what done looks like.