[Update #5] User dashboard modules built. Payment integration hit a snag

This morning, I shared my plan for the day.

So how did it go?

Quite a few things on the user dashboard module got done today. Not all, but it is moving in the right direction. However, ran into a few roadblocks in the payment integration process.

User management module

I have used Firebase authentication in past, and have been fairly happy with it. So that's what I decided to go ahead with this time as well.
I am not, however, using third party authentication models - Twitter, Google, Github etc. - as of now, but I have used them in past and it's a fairly straightforward process.

I decided to go ahead with the plain and simple "email/password" route, without passwordless signin links (something like the one medium.com uses).
Firebase Authentication does support passwordless signin link, but intend to keep things super simple at this stage

Ran into problems with database

Since I was using Firebase Auth already, using their nosql Firestore also seemed like a no-brainer. But due to some reason it was simply not working.

I kept on getting an error that there is no Firebase app initialised -- which was clearly not the case since the auth part was working perfectly on the same page

After trying to figure out the error for some time, I decided to not waste any more time on it, and moved on to using Mongodb Atlas as the database.

💡 I have encountered compatibility issues with particular versions of Firebase's npm module in past, and since I am still using Nuxt 2, it is extremely likely that the conflict is somewhere there. But, figuring the right module version out, or using the "compat" version seemed like more trouble than its worth - specially since my primary objective for using Firebase - the auth component - was working as expected. So, decided to simply move on for the time being.

Made some of the basic API endpoints for user actions

So now, the user can add a new help center, make changes to its settings, add branding and SEO elements to it.

Although at this stage, the system will not be having the option to add team members to your workspace or individual help centers, that is something customers are probably going to ask for.

So, the help centers being added do have that hidden functionality partly built already. Just the basic stuff. How different team members and roles will operate, access the help centers etc.

💡 Since it is a B2B product, team management aspects are going to be absolutely needed for any enterprise customers. But once again, right now, I am at the 0 - 1 stage of the journey. So decided to put a pin in it.

What's pending on this front?
A couple of more API endpoints may need to be made. Will see the need of it once I start building the frontend day after tomorrow, and integrating the API endpoints made today into the dashboard.

The problem with LemonSqueezy

This was 100% my bad, not the fault of LemonSqueezy - which by the looks of it is a fairly easy to use product.
I hadn't done enough research on LemonSqueezy, so I assumed the onboarding process would be just as smooth as Stripe's.

Spoiler: It isn't. At least for new customers like myself.

When you use Stripe, they ask for a lot of details to activate payments on your profile, and then you are all set. LS will take a couple of days to process my request for activation of the store.

I am assuming I would run into some issues here. They will probably ask for a few more documents etc. since the request process was much less intensive than I have come to expect (from using Stripe).

I had already spent some time going through the documentation, but when I noticed this 2 day hold thing, I stopped.

I do want to use LS, but not at the risk of delaying the public launch. So if LS doesn't work out, I'll just set up the familiar Stripe - for time being at least, and migrate to LS later.

One additional benefit of using LS

So, I want to use LS because of the whole Merchant on record thing. But using it means I would also be able to offer an affiliate program right away. Yayy to that LS!

But, in all seriousness, easy peasy this wasn't.

What's in store tomorrow?

Today was product, so tomorrow would be marketing and sales.
I'll probably get started with content marketing action items tomorrow. Not much, but basic keyword research and identifying some topics I would likely be creating content on. So that will keep me occupied for a good chunk of the day.

And then, there would be cold emails, DMs and InMails again tomorrow. Which means hunting for businesses, finding out the people in charge and connecting with them.

I haven't set up any CRM for the sales stuff so far, but I probably should. Would help me with follow-ups. Let me sleep on it and then decide.

I intend to share my daily progress building the business here. If you have any feedback, advice or suggestions on how I can improve my process, I'll very much appreciate it.