October Wrap-Up: Highs, Lows, and Every Lesson in Between

Most days, I dive in early—emails first, then straight into the code. And let me tell you, recently, these first few hours of the day have become my power hours, a huge change from a few weeks ago when mid-morning was my least productive. But productivity is a necessity lately, with a to-do list that feels endless.

Today began with a 10 a.m. Zoom with the Rebel School, tackling confidence and motivation. These areas are often a struggle for small business owners, especially when you’re going at it alone.

Here’s a confession: right now, my motivation comes more from things I don’t want to happen, rather than from a big vision of fame and fortune.

My current goal is simple - keep things ticking along, bring my work to a level where it’s sustainable, and build a steady income. There’s real pressure here; I’m feeding a family and navigating this digital world solo, fuelled by nothing but my own determination.

But even if the pressure is on, I’m learning that motivation doesn’t always have to be grand - it just has to be real.

With that mindset, I jumped into my favourite project this afternoon, only to find it wasn’t my favourite any more.

I’d shared the site link to my peers earlier, feeling pretty confident everything was working smoothly. But as soon as I shared the link, I thought I'd just check... one more time... and I started hitting a glitch - a reminder that even the most thorough testing can miss something.

As I dug deeper, I found that my bot-watching setup, which had been helping me spot spam and ensure security, was now clashing with Cloudflare. Turns out, Heroku and Cloudflare have very specific configuration needs, and if you’re not careful, they’ll trip each other up.

So, today’s progress included a lot of code deletion, silently shaking my head at the screen, lots and lots of coffee and a fair bit of backtracking - a constant theme lately.

Every feature added seems to bring new challenges, and I’m learning to value smaller, more manageable steps. It’s become clear that in coding, “less is more” isn’t just a saying; it’s a survival tactic.

I may be slow-rolling improvements, but despite the frustrations, I do know that every tweak, every removed line of code, and every mini-breakthrough is leading me toward a more resilient site.

Reflecting on this month, I realize it’s been a journey of refining and letting go. October began with my final project submission, the last course hackathon, and I also managed to squeeze in a two-week in-person course on starting a business with no money.

That course was jam packed with small, actionable tips, and I met some incredible, motivated people all trying to make their dreams a reality.

Balancing it all was chaotic, but now things are settling down, I’m ready to focus on my own goals - growing this business, connecting with my audience, and building something that works.

What’s Next? So, here we are at the end of October, and if you’re still reading, why not join the journey with me? Register for an account (Good luck 😂), leave a comment, or contact me personally - I’d love to hear from you.

Every visitor, every piece of feedback, and every new connection makes this project worth the work.

As we head into November, I’m looking forward to more breakthroughs, even if they come with setbacks. Here’s to building, one line of code at a time, and knowing that every challenge brings me one step closer to a site I’m proud to share.