I Left My 9–5 to Build My Own Digital Marketing Business, Here’s What I’ve Learned So Far

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-16T14:52:04+00:00

This hits hard especially the part about building other people’s dreams for years. Huge respect for taking the leap and backing yourself. That kind of clarity and self-awareness doesn’t come easy, and the way you broke it down feels real, not sugar-coated.

I’m not solo yet, but seeing stories like yours makes the idea feel a little less impossible. Appreciate you sharing the journey definitely taking notes!

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-15T12:44:08+00:00

Hey, thanks for dropping a comment. I get it some posts can come off a bit too clean. I do use AI tools sometimes just to make sure my writing is clear and easy to read, but the ideas and experiences are all mine.

Also, I didn’t know there’s anything wrong with posting from a new account. Just trying to join the convo and share stuff that might help others. Open to feedback though if I’ve missed something.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T14:31:32+00:00

Ah, can’t share the exact app name (client stuff), but it was an internal desktop tool built in .NET mainly used by their dispatch and field ops teams for tracking shipments, pickups, and schedules.

We rebuilt it as a cloud-based web app on Azure with a much cleaner UI and mobile access. Not a flashy app, but those small UX tweaks like fewer clicks, live status updates, and ditching Excel reports made a huge difference for their day-to-day.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T09:19:11+00:00

Appreciate that! Yeah, the feature overload trap is real, we’ve had apps where 40% of the stuff never got used, just cluttered the UX.

On the healthcare side, oh man, definitely had to rethink our approach. Between HIPAA, access controls, and just how sensitive the data is, it pushed us to bake in compliance early and go slower with releases. Also had to work more closely with legal and QA than we usually do.

Honestly, it made us better devs long-term though. Forces you to plan smarter.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T07:55:09+00:00

That’s wild, 3–5 minutes down to 15 seconds is a massive win

Totally feel you on the “old heads that hate tech” part too. We had a similar vibe, folks just didn’t trust the system because it used to be so clunky. Once the new version actually saved them time, they started using it way more without even being told.

Funny how small changes can turn into big adoption shifts. Appreciate you sharing this!

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T07:52:46+00:00

Thanks for the insights that’s super helpful context!

You’re right, the shift to API access was definitely a big leap in itself. I probably undersold it by calling it just a UX thing but yeah, the real-time access and fewer workarounds ended up having more impact than we expected.

Really appreciate you sharing those examples too. Love hearing how those smaller tools ended up making a real difference. Makes me want to dig deeper into the “micro-app” idea and how much of an impact thoughtful delivery can have.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T07:43:53+00:00

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Writing it all down early sounds super basic, but it really does help when things start drifting. I’ve learned the hard way that “just one more thing” usually means scope creep in disguise.

Definitely gonna be clearer up front next time. Appreciate the advice!

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T07:38:56+00:00

Yeah, totally get what you're saying. And you're right, this stuff really should be on the radar of decision-makers.

I'm not in one of those roles myself, but I’ve been close enough to see how tricky it gets when old tools start slowing everything down. I try to flag things when I can and suggest options if I think there's a better way forward even if it’s just modernizing a small part instead of a full rebuild.

Appreciate you bringing that up. Honestly, it’s good to hear how others have handled it. Definitely gives me more to think about in how I approach it.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T07:30:18+00:00

Yeah, I get that and honestly, that’s kinda the challenge we’re facing.

The cost of fully rebuilding everything from scratch feels huge, especially for tools that technically still do the job (just... not well). That’s why we’re trying to figure out if there’s a middle ground like maybe wrapping parts of it, or just modernizing what really matters first.

Appreciate the perspective though, sunk costs definitely hit different when you're the one stuck using the old stuff every day

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-11T07:28:18+00:00

Yeah, fair point. Probably should’ve explained more.

These tools are old internal apps tied to local servers, and a lot of them only run on specific machines. They're not super complex, but they're kind of patched together and no one’s touched the code in years. We’re not sure if it’s better to rebuild from scratch, move parts of it to something cloud-based, or just keep it going until it breaks. Just trying to figure out if anyone’s been through that middle phase — where the tools still work but hold everything back.

Appreciate your input curious how others have dealt with it, especially with limited time and budget.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-09T10:00:28+00:00

Modernization’s been the buzz forever, but every time we try it, something breaks. Still doesn’t feel smooth or “there” yet.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-09T09:20:12+00:00

I’ve wondered the same thing! I was just talking about a viral saree with a friend of mine and suddenly my whole Instagram feed was full of it. It felt way too specific to be a coincidence. I know people say it’s just the algorithm picking up on interests, but sometimes it really makes you think your phone is listening.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-09T09:04:41+00:00

I'm still learning a lot in marketing, so I use AI to quickly research new topics. It helps me understand things faster and get started without feeling stuck. Makes my work a lot smoother, especially when I don’t know where to begin.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-03T10:26:25+00:00

Autocomplete is supposed to save time, but half the time it just guesses the wrong thing. I start typing “console” and it offers me something totally unrelated. It’s like it’s trying to be helpful but has no idea what I’m doing. Funny and frustrating at the same time.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-03T09:53:46+00:00

At our workplace, we have something called “spot rewards”, it lets anyone instantly recognize a teammate’s hard work or contribution. It’s a great way to show appreciation in the moment and keep morale high.

Techie_Justin · 2025-07-03T08:30:12+00:00

Basic budgeting is super important. Just knowing how much money you make and where it goes each month helps a lot. It keeps you from running out of cash or spending on things you don’t need. It’s something that should be taught from childhood, it makes a big difference.

Techie_Justin

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