Monday Morning Back on it!

The Final Push: Embracing My MVP and Letting Go. 

OK... so, I can’t change my live site right now. Why? Because I spent the last four days trying to set up a dev site, thinking it would make everything foolproof. Guess what? I did not pick the simplest route. 🙈

Oh no, I went all in—a whole new deployment, separate PostgreSQL database, reCAPTCHA settings, the works! All this effort, just so I could supposedly go, “Oh, yep, that’s working,” and push it to the live site. But now, here I am, with everything still tangled and stuck, and all I want to do is update an SEO description that somehow ended up with Google Fonts links in it. (Is that why the post has 195 views? Definitely not ready for actual viewers yet!)

More coffee, please!

In hindsight, I probably should have just created a new dev branch. It would have been simpler, less time-consuming, and saved me a lot of frustration. Lesson learned: Simplicity really is a coder’s best friend.

So here I am, pulling myself out of this self-made pickle. I’ve been told that an entire new deployment and database might be a bit of overkill… and I agree. Time to streamline, pull back, and create a workflow that’s simpler and has less room for error.

Why I’m Scared to Launch

The truth is, I’ve realized the biggest obstacle to launching isn’t the code, the setup, or even the banner I couldn’t get to work. It’s me. The entire ethos of development is to get your MVP—Minimum Viable Product—out there. But as much as I want real users (and not just bots) to see my site, I keep adding extra features, complicating things that don’t need to be complicated. Why?

Because I’m scared.

I’m scared of being judged, scared it will flop, scared people won’t like it. And yes, I know that’s all normal and valid. But here’s what else I know: I’ve poured my heart, my time, and my soul into learning and building this. It’s taken blood, sweat, and probably way too much caffeine. This site isn’t just a project; it’s a piece of my journey, a testament to everything I’ve learned and achieved.

If I’ve learned anything along the way, it’s this: the outcome doesn’t matter as much as the process. I’ve built this from scratch. I’ve wrestled with every bug, every bot, and every SEO quirk. I’ve overcome challenges I didn’t think I could handle. And now, it’s time to let it go, to put it out there, and see what comes next.

Done is Better Than Perfect

So, here’s the plan. Tomorrow, I’m going to tweak a couple of button styles and forms. And then that’s it. No more features, no more tweaks. It’s time to launch.

Done is better than perfect. This site doesn’t have to be everything I’ve ever dreamed of on Day 1. It’s going to grow and evolve, and so will I. The brave thing isn’t making it perfect; it’s hitting “publish” even when I know it isn’t.

A New Chapter Begins

This launch marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life, a chapter filled with possibility, growth, and, I hope, a community of like-minded coders who get it. People who know what it’s like to wrestle with code at 2 a.m., to overthink every detail, to put everything they have into something that’s all their own.

Thank you to everyone who’s been here for the journey so far. If you’re reading this, you’re part of it, and I’m grateful for your support. Here’s to launching, to letting go, and to embracing whatever comes next.

Tomorrow, it’s out there. And whatever happens, I know one thing: I did this. And if I can do this, I can do anything.