10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going Solo

I launched my first solo project at 2 AM on a Tuesday, convinced I'd built something perfect.

Three weeks later, I had zero users and a codebase so over-engineered I couldn't add features without breaking something.

That was three years ago.

Since then, I've shipped products that actually work, learned to stop sabotaging myself, and figured out what separates solo developers who ship from those who burn out.

Here are the 10 things I wish someone had told me before I started building alone.

1. Ship Imperfect Products (Perfectionism Kills Projects)

Your first version doesn't need to be beautiful.

I spent four months building a task management app with custom animations, dark mode, keyboard shortcuts, and a settings page with 30 options. I was so proud of the polish. Then I showed it to potential users.

Nobody cared about the animations.

They wanted one feature I hadn't built recurring tasks. All those months perfecting the UI, and I'd missed the core functionality people actually needed.

Here's what I learned..

Ship when it works, not when it's perfect. Your first users will tell you what actually matters. Everything else is just you procrastinating under the guise of "quality."

I now follow the "embarrassment threshold" rule if I'm slightly embarrassed to show it, it's ready to ship. If I'm proud of how polished it is, I've waited too long.

2. Automate Ruthlessly (Don't Repeat Manual Work)

If you do something manually more than twice, automate it.

I used to deploy my apps by SSH-ing into my server, pulling from Git, restarting services, and checking logs. Every deploy took 15 minutes of my full attention. I did this 3-4 times a week.

That's an hour per week babysitting deployments.

Then I spent two hours setting up a GitHub Actions workflow. Now I push to main and deployment happens automatically. I get a Slack notification when it's done.

The math is simple..

Two hours of automation work saved me 50+ hours in the first year alone. That's time I spent building features instead of copying and pasting terminal commands.

Here's what I automate now..

• Deployments (GitHub Actions)
• Database backups (cron jobs)
• Dependency updates (Dependabot)
• SSL certificate renewals (Let's Encrypt + Certbot)
• Error monitoring (Sentry)

If it's predictable, it should be automated.

3. Scope Small, Iterate Fast

Your MVP is probably still too big.

I tried to build a "complete" project management tool as my second solo product. I planned features for teams, file uploads, time tracking, reporting, integrations. I estimated 3 months to launch.

Six months later, I was still building.

I finally killed the project and started over with a radically smaller scope a simple deadline tracker with just a list view and email reminders. I built it in 10 days and got it in front of users.

That tiny version taught me more in one week than six months of building in isolation.

Here's the lesson..

Cut your MVP in half. Then cut it in half again. You're not building the final product you're building the smallest thing that lets you test your core assumption.

I now use the "weekend test" if I can't build a rough version in a weekend, the scope is too big. Break it down until it fits.

4. Use Boring Technology

The newest framework is not your friend.

I rewrote an entire project in a trendy new JavaScript framework because I wanted to "learn something modern." The framework was still in beta. The ecosystem was immature. Documentation was incomplete.

I spent three weeks fighting tooling issues and hunting down bugs that had nothing to do with my actual product. Then the framework released a breaking change in a minor version update.

I reverted to vanilla Django and PostgreSQL and shipped the feature in four days.

Here's what I use now..

Technologies that are boring, well-documented, and have been around for 10+ years. Django or Rails. PostgreSQL. Simple hosting like Railway or Render. Stripe for payments. Boring tools that just work.

Your competitive advantage is not your tech stack. It's shipping features while other developers are debugging their bleeding-edge setup.

Choose proven over trendy.

5. Don't Optimize Prematurely

You don't have a scaling problem. You have a user problem.

I spent two days optimizing database queries for an app that had 50 users. I added caching, database indexes, and rewrote my ORM queries to be "more efficient."

The app went from loading in 200ms to loading in 180ms.

Nobody noticed.

Those two days could have been spent adding the feature my users were actually requesting export to CSV. Instead, I optimized for problems I didn't have.

Here's the truth..

Most performance issues don't matter until you have thousands of users. And if you're lucky enough to get thousands of users, you can hire someone to help optimize then.

Your job as a solo developer is to build something people want, not to build the most optimized version of something nobody uses.

I now follow this rule no optimization until I can measure the problem. If page load isn't noticeably slow and users aren't complaining, it's not a problem yet.

Build features. Optimize later.

6. Track Your Time (You Have Less Than You Think)

You're working more and accomplishing less than you realize.

I used to "work all day" on my projects. I'd sit down at 9 AM and look up at 6 PM feeling productive. But I couldn't tell you what I'd actually shipped.

Then I started tracking my time with Toggl.

Turns out I was spending less than 3 hours per day on actual coding. The rest was Slack, email, Twitter, "research," and context switching between tasks.

Here's what changed..

I started time-boxing my work two 90-minute blocks of focused coding per day. No distractions. No browsing. Just building.

In those 3 hours of focused work, I shipped more than I used to in entire days of "working."

The lesson is simple time is your only asset as a solo developer. If you don't know where it's going, you're probably wasting most of it.

Track it. You'll be shocked by the results.

7. Build What You'd Use (Scratch Your Own Itch)

The best products solve problems you actually have.

I tried to build a social media scheduling tool because I read it was a "hot market." The problem? I didn't use social media for business. I had no idea what features mattered or what pain points were real.

I built what I thought marketers wanted based on competitor research. The product felt generic because it was I was guessing instead of knowing.

Then I built a simple deployment dashboard because I was tired of checking five different services to see if my apps were running. I knew exactly what I needed because I was the user.

That tool got traction because it solved a real problem I understood deeply.

Here's why this matters..

When you're solving your own problem, you don't need to guess at features. You know what's essential and what's bloat. You know when something feels clunky because you feel it.

You're also your own best first user. If it doesn't work for you, it won't work for anyone.

Build tools you'd pay for. You'll build better products and stay motivated longer.

8. Take Breaks (Burnout Is Real)

You can't sprint forever.

I once worked 14 days straight on a project because I was "so close" to finishing a feature. I worked through weekends, stayed up late, skipped the gym. I thought I was being productive.

On day 15, I woke up and couldn't bring myself to open my laptop.

I'd hit a wall. Not because the work was hard, but because I'd drained myself completely. I took a week off to recover, which meant I actually lost time compared to just working normal hours.

Here's what I do now..

I take Saturdays off completely. No code, no Slack, no "just checking" my projects. I go outside. I read fiction. I do anything that's not work.

Sunday is for planning the week, not building.

This routine has made me more productive, not less. I come back Monday with energy and clarity instead of dragging myself through another week half-burned out.

Your brain needs rest to do good work. Respect that or pay the price later.

9. Learn to Say No (To Features, Opportunities, Distractions)

Every yes is a no to something else.

A user once asked me to add Slack integration to my app. It sounded reasonable. I estimated it would take "a few hours."

Three days later, I was debugging OAuth flows and webhook handlers. The feature worked, but it delayed my actual priority improving onboarding, which was where 80% of users were dropping off.

I shipped the Slack integration to five users. I could have fixed onboarding and retained 50+ users instead.

Here's the lesson..

You have limited time. Every feature you build is time you're not spending on something else. Choose carefully.

I now keep a "not now" list. When someone requests a feature, I add it to the list. If five people ask for the same thing, it gets prioritized. If it stays on the list for three months with no additional requests, I delete it.

Most feature requests are one-off asks that don't matter to your broader user base.

Say no to the distractions. Protect your time for what actually moves the needle.

10. Celebrate Small Wins (Motivation Compounds)

Momentum matters more than you think.

When you're building alone, there's no team to celebrate with. No manager to say "good job." No coworkers to share wins with.

It's easy to finish a feature, merge the PR, and immediately move to the next thing without acknowledging what you just did.

I used to do this constantly. I'd ship something, feel nothing, and wonder why I was losing motivation.

Here's what I changed..

I started keeping a "done" list. Every time I ship something even small things like fixing a bug or improving documentation I write it down.

On Friday afternoons, I review the week's "done" list. Some weeks it's 10 items. Some weeks it's two. But seeing the progress written out makes it real.

I also share wins publicly on Twitter, even if they're tiny. "Fixed the bug that was breaking mobile navigation" might seem insignificant, but writing it down and sharing it makes it feel like progress.

Progress creates motivation. Motivation creates more progress.

Celebrate the small stuff. It's how you stay in the game long enough to reach the big stuff.

What You Should Do Next

Here's what actually matters..

• Ship before you're ready your first version should make you slightly uncomfortable
• Automate anything you do more than twice your time is worth more than manual work
• Cut your scope in half if it takes longer than a weekend to prototype, it's too big
• Use boring technology proven tools beat trendy frameworks every time
• Track your time you're probably working less than you think
• Build for yourself first solve your own problems and you'll build better products
• Take real breaks burnout doesn't make you productive, it makes you quit
• Say no ruthlessly protect your time for what actually matters
• Write down what you ship small wins compound into big progress

Start here..

Pick one thing from this list and do it this week. Not all ten just one.

If you're drowning in manual deployment work, spend two hours setting up automation.

If you're stuck perfecting a feature, ship what you have today and iterate based on feedback.

If you haven't taken a real break in months, block off next Saturday and don't touch your laptop.

Progress compounds. Start small. Ship often. Take care of yourself.

That's how you build alone without burning out.