Do not commission development—build it yourself in Codex or Claude Code
37 episodes in 12 months · 41 total · first in April 2024
Not being a programmer, I build websites, CRM, analytics and infrastructure myself through Codex and Claude Code. My website was made entirely by me and the editorial team, without a single programmer. What used to take a team and months now takes hours or days.
So do not write an abstract spec for a contractor—open Codex or Claude Code and do it yourself. Simple things get done so fast that not trying is a mistake for any entrepreneur, marketer or manager.
Happening now. I already work this way: my website was made entirely by me and the editorial team without a single programmer (No. 148, August 2026), and in No. 159 (September 2026) I advise moving 50–70% of work tasks into Codex.
Where to start
Take one of your routine tasks and build a tool for it in Codex or Claude Code.
Before writing a spec for a contractor, try doing it yourself: a website, a CRM, a report, an internal service.
This is not about huge systems: you cannot rebuild the whole Amazon or Ozon admin panel this way, but a single feature, a standalone system or a small app—you can.
“…but to make a separate function, or make some separate, a separate card, or make, well, a separate independent system, or even a small application, like I made an app for Mac, for the connection sensor.”
When I said it
Quotes
“Tanya, I think the first programmer he hires in his life won't be a real one but exactly this kind of AI one.”
“I can do exactly the same myself. Let's put it this way, honestly. I can open it up and write and publish this whole site completely myself, with all the details, features, nuances and everything else.”
“And my whole current site runs in a system in which I've never had a single programmer. It's all made by me and my editorial team…”
“Why do I recommend to all viewers to use Codex or Claude? Because simple things get done just like that. But when you're doing complex, serious things, then, of course, a huge number of problems begin.”