I used to think building software required finding the right developer.

What a nightmare that was.

You post on Upwork. Get 47 proposals from people who clearly didn't read your requirements. Interview a few. Pick one. Then spend months explaining what you want while they drain your bank account.

It's like finding a mechanic, except the mechanic keeps charging you month after month for the same car.

The Gatekeeper Problem

Developers became gatekeepers. They controlled access to technology solutions.

Need a simple business tool? That'll be $100,000 and six months.

Want to modify how it works? Another $15,000 and three weeks.

Oh, you want it to actually match what you asked for? Let's schedule a call to discuss scope creep.

The line used to be, “If you’re building custom software, you’re losing.”

Most business owners just gave up. Stuck with clunky off-the-shelf solutions that never quite fit their needs.

The AI Revolution

Then AI changed everything.

I can now build functional business applications in hours, not months. Tools that solve specific problems for my business, exactly how I want them to work.

No more explaining my vision to someone who doesn't understand my industry. No more compromising on features because "that would be expensive to build."

I describe what I need. AI builds it. Done.

The Democracy of Creation

This isn't just about me. AI is democratizing software creation.

The same thing happened to news when the internet arrived. Suddenly anyone could publish. The gatekeepers became irrelevant.

Now it's happening to software development. The gatekeepers are about to become irrelevant.

What I've Built

In the past few weeks, I've created:

• Employee review automation that records conversations and generates performance evaluations

• Interactive content tools that turn blog posts into lite web apps

• SOP evaluation systems that analyze your processes against best practices

• Custom dashboards that show exactly what I need to see

Each one solves a specific problem in my business. Each one would have cost thousands through traditional development.

Total cost: My monthly AI subscriptions and some hosting fees. Maybe $100-200 total.

The 50% Time Savings

A few issues with this vision still remain. When you want to build a suite of apps, include encrypted databases, and get single sign on working across it all, you still need a developer.

But with me building prototypes I save 50-60% of the developer’s time.

Instead of me trying to explain what I want and him guessing, I show him exactly what I need. He makes it production-ready, secure, and scalable.

But honestly? Soon I won't need him for that either.

I won’t go as far as to say developers will go away.

There are still issues with scaling AI code and architecture but the use cases are going to narrow and the dollars required will plummet.

Why You Should Start Now

You have about six to twelve months before everyone figures this out.

Right now, you can build solutions your competitors can't imagine. Custom tools that give you real advantages.

But once everyone can do this, those advantages disappear. You'll be back to competing on the same playing field.

What to Build First

Start with your biggest frustration. That manual process you do every week. That report you wish existed. That simple tool that would save your team hours.

Don't try to build the next Salesforce. Build something that solves one specific problem really well.

The Mindset Shift

Stop thinking "I need to hire someone to build that."

Start thinking "I need to spend a weekend learning to build that myself."

The tools exist. The AI is ready to help. The only question is whether you're ready to stop being dependent on gatekeepers.

The Coming Change

This is bigger than just software. AI is eliminating gatekeepers across knowledge industries.

Lawyers, accountants, consultants, designers – anyone whose main value was controlling access to specialized knowledge.

The knowledge is becoming accessible. The tools are becoming available.

The question isn't whether this will happen. It's whether you'll be a creator or still dependent on gatekeepers when it does.

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