A Small System Takes Root

A small business idea turned into an Obon coding project: a decidedly unglamorous quotation system with plenty of room to grow. Building it has reminded me how much I enjoy making things rather than waiting for permission to explore an idea. It may be a very small start, but it feels like an important one.

A small business idea turned into an Obon coding project: a decidedly unglamorous quotation system with plenty of room to grow. Building it has reminded me how much I enjoy making things rather than waiting for permission to explore an idea. It may be a very small start, but it feels like an important one.

A bit of Obon tinkering.

I've been building a very boring quotation system using TypeScript, Next.js, Tailwind CSS, Firebase, Maps API, Claude API and various other whatnots I've picked up along the way.

And I mean very boring. It's a quotation system.

But that's also what makes it fun.

There's a surprising amount going on underneath something that sounds so mundane, and every time I get one part working I find another five things I could add, automate or make smarter. Lots of potential, endless rabbit holes, and plenty of learning.

I've also realised I really enjoy this kind of work.

As much as my day job involves dealing with people, given the choice I'd much rather disappear for a while and build something. Especially something that might eventually benefit me, rather than spending all my energy adding another decimal point to someone else's profit line.

This one started with a small business hint I happened to pick up.

I could've waited for someone to tell me what to do with it, put it into a deck, scheduled a meeting, discussed the meeting in another meeting...

Instead, I started building.

No idea yet how far it'll go, and right now it's hardly the next unicorn.

But it's mine to explore.

Small start, but an important one nonetheless.

*Photo by Gabriel Garcia Marengo on Unsplash

Hands Upon a New Tool ›