Build For Building's Sake

Probably my biggest goal for the last few years has been to launch a SaaS product, but it always felt too far away.

I thought I had to wait until I was older with more experience, or just until I had the “right” idea, then I’d go all in.

Creating a product feels more intense than a YouTube video, for example, so it’s easy to discount your abilities and push it to later.

I can’t pinpoint what shifted my beliefs around this, but over the last couple months I’ve shifted from waiting to build the perfect product to building A product.

I’ve started building for the sake of building.

For the sake of learning how to build.

When you build something without any strings attached, you learn how to build faster and enjoy it more.

The way I like to look at it is I’m simply training for the big game that comes later.

Consistently working on small side projects around wha you want to build in the future teaches you to get good at it.

I still don’t know what SaaS product I’ll build, but I’m creating a boilerplate for myself that’ll make my life easier when I do.

This has become both my favorite way to learn a new technology but also something I’ll thank myself for later down the line.

I spent about a month working on various systems in Unreal Engine 5 around movement and NPC dialogue that I’m now making use of for the vertical slice/demo of my first game idea.

Now that I have a vision for what I want that game to look like, I can work on the systems specific to the game rather than boilerplate every game needs.

If you’ve always dreamed about building some business, regardless of it’s similar to the ones I’ve described, just start building.

What I’ve now realized is better ideas tend to come when you’re actively trying new things.

You can only come across unique problems to solve when you explore your distinct combination of interests.

Things I’ve found interesting

links to valuable stuff I thought was worth sharing

Let's Talk Game Dev: With DevDuck - I've been watching DevDuck on YouTube document his indie game dev journey for a year or two and it was interesting to hear how he prevents burning out from working on his game for over 3 years.

How To Actually Achieve Your Goals in 2025 (Evidence-Based) - A simple but very actionable video to follow.

Fears to Fathom - Ironbark Lookout - I've had this game on my wishlist for a few months but I finally played it the other day. It's terrifying but the atmosphere is so good.

Nicelydone - I originally bought nicelydone earlier this year but I've started using it a lot more recently. I come here every time I need inspiration for a specific UI flow and it's saved a ton of time.

Have a great week.

Cole

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