How I Went From Building for Clients to Building for Myself (And Why You Should Too)

For years, I built other people’s dreams.
Fancy apps, dashboards, CRMs, websites, you name it.
But not once did I ask, “Yo Abhishek, what do you want to build?”

Plot twist: I finally did. And everything changed.
Here’s the story of how I went from client meetings and Figma handoffs to launching my own products and falling in love with the process again.

💼 The Client Life: Deadlines, Scope Creep & Pixels That Lied

Let’s be real. Building for clients is great.
You learn deadlines. You learn communication. You build thick skin.
But you also learn:

• The pain of 7 rounds of feedback for a button color

• That “just a small change” is code for “we’re pivoting”

• And that you're often a coder, therapist, and UI wizard all at once

I’ve worked on everything — eComm sites, fitness apps, astrology platforms, and even emergency alert systems for the government.
But somewhere in between Jira tickets and client calls, I started asking:

What if I built something that didn’t need approval from anyone?
No client. No pitch deck. Just me, code, and a little delulu.

🧠 The Shift: From Service to Self-Driven

It started small. A thought:
"What if I made a mobile app that helps people schedule local service pros like maids, drivers, or yoga teachers?"

I didn’t pitch it.
I didn’t design a landing page first.
I just built a waitlist form, spoke to 15 real people, and bam — DigiNaam was born.

No meetings. No scope creep.
Just validation, excitement, and a late-night dopamine rush from pushing something I believed in.

💸 The Money Question: Can It Replace Client Income?

Let’s address the elephant in the codebase:
"Can building your own thing pay your bills?"

Short answer: Not immediately.
But it can pay your freedom tax.

Long answer:

• Sell templates (hello CodeCanyon 👋)

• Create SaaS micro-tools

• Build & flip MVPs

• Offer lifetime deals on Gumroad

• Launch niche apps and test ideas for fun

Your first launch might flop.
Your second might get 2 users.
Your third? Might just replace a retainer client.

And that’s when it clicks.
You’re not just a dev anymore — you’re a creator, founder, builder, dreamer.

🧩 Why Every Developer Should Try This (At Least Once)

• You reclaim creative freedom

• You learn what you love building

• You get to fail forward — in your own way

• You gain clarity on what kind of clients/projects you want (or don’t)

And honestly?
It’s fun. Like that late-night pizza and shipping v1.0 kind of fun.

💬 Final Thoughts From a Developer Who's Been There

I’m still building for clients.
Still paying bills. Still running NimbleCodeLabs.
But I also carve out time every week to build for me.

Sometimes it’s a product idea.
Sometimes it’s a blog (like this one).
Sometimes it’s just a weird UI concept I want to try.

But every time?
It feels like I’m watering a little plant in my soul 🌱

So if you’re a dev, designer, or digital builder stuck in the loop of “work → deliver → repeat” —
Try building something just for you.
You might just find a version of yourself you forgot existed.

Want to start your own build-for-yourself journey?
Let’s talk. I love helping devs go from “client brain” to “founder mode.”
And hey, if nothing else — we’ll vibe over code and coffee ☕💻