Almost There! DIY Next.js E-commerce

I recently made a post about how I was pissed about integrating with a zombie SaaS. I'm still butthurt about that but I've moved on and plowed my efforts into re-doing the integration using Stripe Checkout, and it's looking great! The project is circling the drain and I'm busy procrastinating the last important features before I give it live stripe keys and let it take real money from people.

One of the things I struggled a lot with was Tailwind CSS. Not that it's particularly difficult, just the process of "thinking in tailwind" and being able to look at a set of attributes and work out what was going on without too much tabbing back to the docs. It feels good to enjoy a state of flow again. Next.js is still new to me too, but it feels intuitive and has been enjoyable to work with so far. The only things I'm not thrilled with are the <Image> tag and the page.jsx thing, but otherwise its been smooth sailing. I'm actually BUILDING stuff not writhing in mud trying to call it interpretive dance.

It's been a few years since I really enjoyed software development, and the current project I'm working on has really relit the fire, and reminded me of the warmth and joy that I feel from creating things. I don't wanna count my chickens before they hatch (site launch) but I think I still got it. I believe I can do it. I think being able to believe my goal is possible is something that I've emotionally had to work towards. I don't know if I didn't feel worthy of success or why I felt I didn't deserve it... but it's time to step up and grab it instead of waiting for it to fall off the tree.

I cannot advise people to do as I did and a say "fuck it, I'll build it myself." If you do though, make sure you take the time to do it right. Make your effort worthwhile. Treat it like a real, serious project and stop adding dumb features to it. Launch it ASAP. Make sure everything is MVP, you can iterate after launch.

Don't let that stop you from doing the necessary work. People will try to get you to take shortcuts because they don't understand your vision. My solution will provide a sustainable indie business that I can nurture on the side while I keep doing my day job. I am THANKFUL as hell to have a good job that's allowing me to practice my skills.

If I could show me today to me about three or four years ago, I would not have believed the success and upward trajectory possible. If you are struggling, or feel like you have failed and can't possibly come back... I don't know if you can but I did. I hope you don't give up.