Hi all! I'm Ali Dauda Biu, a developer primarily interested in frontend development, particularly JavaScript (React, Next.js, TypeScript). Here's my journey into the world of programming.

The Early Days

My adventure with computers began at age 9, starting not with programming but with Corel Draw and the Microsoft Office package. At 14, I dabbled in networking (wish I'd paid more attention!), and at 15, I delved deeper into office applications. However, it wasn't until I was 17 that I got my first taste of programming with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript – though I didn't give it much attention at the time.

The University Years and The Startup Dream

University life brought a pivotal change. I met friends (Abdulmajid and Saqid) who shared my interest in programming. Inspired by the movie "The Social Network," we dove headfirst into web development.

Our first significant project was a website where students could access past exam questions. It was a hit, at one point receiving over 1,000 visitors a day. This early success was incredibly motivating and pushed us to dream bigger.

Emboldened by this success, we set our sights on creating a billion-dollar startup. We developed a mobile app called "Niche" using Flutter, thanks to the guidance of my teacher and mentor, Abdulbasit. While we managed to get over 600 downloads, we struggled to retain active users. However, we did receive our first review from Makeenafor this app (thank you so much for that review!), and we later became good friends. This experience taught us the crucial difference between downloads and engaged users, as well as the importance of user feedback.

We went on to create various other apps, but none took off as we'd hoped – partly because we didn't invest enough time in them.

The Web Developer Phase

In 2020, I conceptualized "MyShago," a simplified version of Shopify for small-scale business owners. I started building it with Flutter but soon realized it wasn't ideal for the web component. A Next.js tutorial by Fireship led me to pivot to using Next.js for the web part.

Interestingly, I had forgotten much of my JavaScript knowledge by this point. I managed to get things working without fully understanding the code – a testament to the "pre-ChatGPT" era of coding! Looking back at that code now, it's pretty awful, but hey, it worked!

The Reality of Making Money in Tech

For a long time, we believed that the only way to make money in tech was to build a successful startup, apply to Y Combinator, and secure investors. It wasn't until the post-COVID era that we realized you could earn a living by working as a developer.

Current Challenges and Future Direction

Now, I find myself at a crossroads. While I'm proud of my journey, I sometimes wonder if I would have developed stronger skills had I sought out work opportunities earlier. One of my current challenges is the constant switch between Flutter and React. This lack of focus might be hindering my growth, and I'm concerned about becoming a "jack of all trades, master of none."

What really annoys me is the occasional lack of motivation. It's frustrating to feel like I'm not making progress as quickly as I'd like, especially when I compare myself to others in the field.

Moving forward, I aim to specialize and deepen my expertise in one area, likely focusing on React and its ecosystem. I'm excited about the possibilities ahead and committed to continuous learning and improvement in my chosen field. To combat the motivation issues and accelerate my growth, I plan to:

1. Set smaller, achievable goals to build momentum
2. Connect with other developers for support and inspiration
3. Work on projects that genuinely excite me
4. Document my journey through regular blog posts
5. Share my work and projects openly to get feedback and build my portfolio

Documenting the Journey Ahead

I'm excited to announce that I'll be documenting my journey moving forward. Through regular blog posts, I plan to share:

• My learning process and the new skills I'm acquiring
• Projects I'm working on, including both personal projects and freelance work
• Challenges I face and how I overcome them
• Insights and tips I discover along the way
• My experiences with different technologies and tools in the frontend development world

By sharing my work and progress, I hope to accomplish several things:

1. Hold myself accountable to my learning and development goals
2. Connect with other developers and potentially find mentors
3. Help other aspiring developers who might be on a similar path
4. Build a portfolio that showcases my skills and growth over time

I invite you all to join me on this journey. Whether you're a fellow developer, a potential client, or just someone interested in the world of tech, I hope my posts will provide value and insight.

Thank you, everyone, for reading this far! I've been wanting to write this for a long time and I appreciate any feedback. Also, I'm open to freelancing gigs, so feel free to reach out if you need a dedicated frontend developer for your project.

Let's continue learning, growing, and building together in this exciting world of technology! Stay tuned for more posts coming soon.