Looking Back Without Looking Backwards
I've been building websites, software and online businesses for more than twenty-five years.
During that time, the internet has reinvented itself several times.
Websites became online stores.
Search engines transformed how people discovered businesses.
Social media changed marketing.
Smartphones changed how we use the internet.
Now AI is changing how we create.
On the surface, each chapter of my career looks completely different.
Looking back, though, I realised the questions I've been asking haven't really changed at all.
The Technology Kept Changing
I've worked through several very different eras of the internet.
I've built early websites.
I've experimented with print-on-demand.
I've built affiliate websites.
I've run coupon websites.
I've spent years learning search engine optimisation.
I've built automation tools to remove repetitive work.
Today I'm using AI, creating TikTok Shop content and building Loyalty.
If you only looked at the projects themselves, they might seem completely unrelated.
To me, they all feel like part of the same journey.
The Questions Never Really Changed
Although the technology has evolved dramatically, I keep finding myself asking the same questions.
- How can this be made simpler?
- How can technology remove repetitive work?
- How can I create something that's genuinely useful?
- How can I compete with businesses much larger than mine?
Those questions have quietly shaped almost every project I've worked on.
Sometimes the answer has been software.
Sometimes it's been automation.
Sometimes it's been a better user experience.
More recently, it's been AI.
The tools change.
The thought process stays surprisingly familiar.
I've Never Been Interested in Chasing Trends
People sometimes assume that because I've worked across so many different areas, I've simply jumped from one trend to the next.
It hasn't felt like that to me.
I've never been particularly interested in technology for its own sake.
What excites me is what technology makes possible.
Every time a new platform or tool appears, I find myself asking the same thing.
Can this solve a problem better than the old way?
If the answer is yes, I want to understand it.
If it can help people or remove unnecessary work, I want to build with it.
Learning Through Real Projects
One thing I've realised is that almost everything I've learned has come from building real businesses rather than reading about them.
Some ideas worked.
Some didn't.
Some turned into businesses that lasted for years.
Others taught me valuable lessons before quietly disappearing.
I don't regret any of them.
Every project added another piece to the puzzle and influenced the way I approached the next one.
Why I'm Writing These Stories
That's really what this series is about.
It's not intended to be a complete autobiography.
It's also not another collection of generic business advice.
Instead, I want to document the projects I've built, the decisions I made, the mistakes I made and the lessons each one taught me.
Some stories will be about websites.
Others will be about automation, AI, affiliate marketing, TikTok Shop or Loyalty.
Each one represents a different stage of the journey.
Each one helped shape the way I think today.
The Common Thread
Looking back over twenty-five years, I don't think the businesses are what connect the story.
The curiosity is.
The desire to understand how something works.
The instinct to simplify complicated processes.
The habit of building systems instead of repeating the same task over and over again.
Those ideas appear again and again, regardless of the technology I'm using.
What Comes Next
Over the coming months, I'll be exploring these stories one by one.
Some will look back at projects that shaped the way I think.
Others will follow the products I'm building today.
My hope is that, taken together, they'll show that while the internet changes incredibly quickly, the principles behind building useful things are often much more timeless than they first appear.