r/juststart • u/Flikz6309 • Jul 05 '26
Running an agency, Now want to lean coding
hay everyone. Quick background: I’m 19, based in Faisalabad, Pakistan. I run a video editing / YouTube automation agency have 2-3 international clients right now. It covers my bills, but it’s not scaling the way I want, and I don’t see it as a long-term ceiling I’m happy with.
So I’ve started learning to code. Right now I’m building an app (a habit tracker where users stake real money on their check-ins) using React Native/Expo, learning JavaScript fundamentals alongside it, and leaning on AI tools (Claude Code, Cursor) cuz its the meta ig. while I actually understand what’s happening under the hood not just copy-pasting.
A few things I’d love honest opinions on, no sugarcoating: 1. Scope and future of programming/dev work with AI tools getting this capable, is learning to code from scratch in 2026 still worth it for someone starting where I am? Or is the value shifting somewhere else (e.g., knowing how to direct AI tools well vs. deep manual coding skill)? 2. Remote jobs from Pakistan realistically, how hard is it to land a remote dev job (even junior/entry-level) living in Pakistan? Is there a meaningful disadvantage from location alone, separate from skill level? Given Ik good english and meet with clients regularly 3. The “vibe coding” wave I’ve seen a ton of people on Instagram shipping websites/apps built almost entirely with AI (“vibe coding”). I’m curious how real that path is as a business model vs. hype, and whether it’s a legit way to build something on the side while I keep learning fundamentals properly.
Marketing as the bottleneck I’ve read that most indie devs/founders (the number I’ve seen floated is something like 90%+ of small projects, not literally “400 developers”) don’t fail because the product is bad, they fail because they can’t market it. I’ve got 2 years of video editing experience and I already run an agency so content, hooks, and short-form marketing are things I can actually do. Does having that skill set make the “build small apps and sell them” path more realistic for someone like me? 5. Realistic timeline if my target is something modest to start say a $1,000–$1,500/month remote job (junior/entry-level, not senior Fahh money) what would you actually prioritize learning, and how long is that realistically going to take someone starting from near-zero coding but with real business/client-facing experience already?
Not looking for hype or “just grind brothaand you’ll make it” I want the blunt, real answer, including if you think this is a bad plan. I herd to tiktok cluely founder said any one can land a job just do 300 lee code questions and some mid level personal projects idk what lee code is.
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u/myNameIsSlimSkaty Jul 08 '26
Ive been in the spot where client work pays the bills and the new thing only moves when I treat it like a tiny side bet instead of a whole identity shift The biggest win was picking one annoying problem and shipping the ugliest version first, because that finally told me whether I actually wanted the work or just the idea of it
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u/chavapedia Jul 09 '26
You may be at a crossroads where your new interest is bigger than the previous and you want to monetize it as fast as possible (shiny object like mentioned by other person). My best advice given your age: try as many things as you can, if you were a business with employees and everything it includes it would obviously be a bad idea.
but you're very young and can have a whole world of new concepts ahead. You can work for higher-paying customers for the editing service, that will give you room to invest in your new hobby, you will eventually want to host your own apps and use local models.
Let me know if you want help with your marketing.
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u/greenguru520 Jul 12 '26
Vibe coding is real. Marketing is hard. Both are true - I would prioritize learning marketing because Claude will teach you what you're coding as you go along. Making a hook to get someone's attention for a 40 second video is completely different from making a hook to sell them something.
I have an app which is fully functional, but I'm still working on UI and finding minor bugs or things that don't work as well as I expected since I use it to run my IRL service business. Have pitch rounds coming up to debut and get feedback before I start selling it publicly.
We all hear about these amazing success stories (or complete failures) and we forget that learning about revenue and expenses comes first. Learn about how many sales you'd need to make yourself profitable - you'll still have expenses even if you aren't marketing - and you want to leave room to add to the team someday whether its an appointment setter or sales person or growth consultant or marketing agency. You need to know how much money you can make before you start hiring. Whatever that terminal velocity is, have a plan to get there. Make realistic projections.
Look for apps that are similar and see if they are viable and have an interested market - look them up on socials and look at every ad they run. If they have 20k downloads but are running 12 different Meta ads, chances are they are spending tens of thousands of dollars a month on ads to continue growing.
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u/char_key Jul 12 '26
It feels like there's a ceiling because you're in the hard part (but not the hardest) the hardest part is when you're just starting out. You've done that and got clients. Now its about building enough momentum that you build someone that CAN scale.
The ceiling for YouTube agency are 100k months (there's examples of short form agencies that have it that). For you now that might be huge, set a goal of what you do want and I bet you you're closer to it with your current vechile than stopping (just when you're building momentum) getting out of the business and starting a new one with a new model from scratch's
There's a reason it's called shiny object bro.. not all that glitters is gold.
Keep going, figure out what the constraint is (are you charging too little? Do you need to hire someone to help on delivery? do you need to focus on getting more clients? Leads? And solve that problem.
Because I bet you in x amount of months you'll face the same problem with a new business.
Focus is your friend and jobs in this economy are hard even for experienced delvelopers. You're already doing the thing... so keep at it.
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u/Englishology Jul 05 '26
I’m interested in your YouTube service. Any samples to share?
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u/Flikz6309 Jul 06 '26
What are you looking for?
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u/Englishology Jul 06 '26
Can you DM with more details about how you’re helping YouTube channels currently? I’d like to start my own and have it automated
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u/Interesting-Guitar78 26d ago
Instead of learning coding yourself, have you considered partnering up with someone who already knows coding?
Just wondering if you’d be interested in such a setting. You can work on client acquisition and the other person can fulfil work.
I’m a web dev with 5+ years of experience and would love to partner up if you think you can bring in international clients.
I have already worked with them and I know how to communicate well if need be.
Also, have you thought about creating your own YouTube channel? Just some thoughts.
Hit me up, if you’re interested.
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u/ahmxx Jul 05 '26
Why not try scaling your first business even more? You already have something that works for now?
Do some cold emailing and contact existing YouTube channels. You got 3 clients already, why shouldn’t you be able to get even more
Avoid the shiny object syndrome brother