Styled Kit.com Subscription Form

Join 72K+ business owners getting practical systems every Wednesday. Each framework includes everything you need to implement—no technical background required.

Get Battle-Tested AI Frameworks Weekly

I’m the founder of Full Focus and former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. When I learned AI without any technical background, I reclaimed 10 hours every week—time I now spend at the lake with my wife Gail instead of buried in busywork. My mission? To help overwhelmed business owners use AI to work less and achieve more, with frameworks that actually work.

Hey there, I'm Michael Hyatt

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Build Custom Software in Days, Not Months

3 DAYS AGO – 9 MIN READ

By Michael Hyatt

We spent $1 million and a full year trying to build an app. Today, I could build it myself in two weeks for a few hundred dollars. Here’s what changed—and why it matters to you.

Three years ago, we decided to create a Full Focus app—a digital version of the Full Focus Planner. We got super-excited about the possibility of taking our core product to the next level.

There was just one problem: None of us are software programmers.

So we did what any business would do. We hired an outside software development team. Each week or two, they’d send us a new build, and we’d meet to discuss the changes we wanted. It was a long, tedious process. Worse, we were burning through tens of thousands of dollars every single month.

Finally, after a full year—and over $1 million in development fees—we pulled the plug.

It just wasn’t worth it. Plus, our research on productivity and brain science kept pointing us back to analog solutions anyway. The Full Focus Planner we already had was the better option.

But here’s what haunts me about that experience: If we had access to the AI coding tools available today, I literally could have built that app myself in a week or two. Maybe 40 hours of my time and a few hundred dollars—versus a year and seven figures.

That’s not an exaggeration. That’s the reality of what’s now possible.

And if you’re a business owner with specialized expertise you want to monetize through a custom app, you’re probably facing the same frustration we did three years ago. You’ve got the vision. You’ve got the knowledge. You just don’t have the coding skills—or the budget—to make it happen.

Until now.

The barrier to building custom software isn’t technical anymore—it’s psychological. You already have the expertise your customers need; now AI gives you the tools to package it as software. Here are four reasons why vibe coding changes everything for business owners like you.

Reason #1: It Turns Your Knowledge Into Leverage

You’ve spent years building domain expertise in your field. That knowledge sits in your head, available only when you’re personally available. Every consulting call, every training session, every client interaction requires your direct involvement.

But what if you could package that expertise into software that works 24/7?

This isn’t theoretical. According to a 2025 study on software monetization, 80% of companies now offer AI-enabled products or features, recognizing that software allows businesses to scale their expertise beyond their personal capacity.¹ The shift is dramatic: businesses are rapidly adopting modern monetization models specifically to meet the growing market demand for expertise packaged as accessible tools.

Think about it. A restaurant consultant who’s helped dozens of owners optimize their operations could build an app that analyzes food costs and suggests menu pricing in real time. A fitness coach who’s developed a recovery protocol for injured athletes could create software that guides users through personalized rehabilitation programs.

The no-code market is projected to reach $187 billion by 2030,² but here’s what’s different about vibe coding: You’re not just using templates. You’re conversationally describing what you want, and AI builds it. You imagine it, describe it in plain language, and watch it come to life.

Your knowledge stops being limited by your time. It becomes leverage that scales infinitely.

IMPLEMENTATION KIT

The No Code App Builder Playbook

I’ve created a step-by-step playbook that walks you through building your first app from start to finish. You’ll also get a custom GPT that helps you create a Product Requirements Document so you’re crystal clear on what you’re building, plus a proven prompt for writing sales page copy to promote your app once it’s ready. Everything you need to build and launch your first app.

This Implementation Kit is only available to members. Already a member?
Log in here or click the button below.

Learn More About Insider+

Reason #2: It Cuts Your Time-to-Market by 90%

Traditional software development operates on a timeline measured in months or years. You scope the project, hire developers, iterate through builds, test functionality, fix bugs, repeat. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and by the time you launch, the market may have moved on.

Vibe coding flips this equation.

Recent data shows that no-code platforms reduce app development time by up to 90%.³ But AI-powered vibe coding takes it further. You’re not dragging and dropping pre-built components—you’re having a conversation about what you need, and AI generates custom solutions in real time.

Consider the numbers: 70% of new enterprise applications in 2025 use low-code or no-code technologies, up from less than 25% in 2020.⁴ The acceleration is real. Businesses recognize that speed matters more than perfection, and getting a working solution into customers’ hands quickly beats waiting for the “perfect” build that never ships.

My Full Focus app story proves this point. One year and a million dollars produced nothing we could use. Today, I could build a functional prototype in days, test it with real users, iterate based on feedback, and have a market-ready product in weeks.

That’s not cutting time by half. That’s cutting it by 90% or more. And in a competitive market, that speed advantage is everything.

Reason #3: It Eliminates the Developer Dependency Tax

Let’s talk about what I call the developer dependency tax—the hidden costs of relying on outside development teams.

First, there’s the financial cost. Our Full Focus app burned $1 million. Even smaller projects typically require $50,000-$200,000 in development fees, and maintenance costs never stop.

But the real tax isn’t just money. It’s control, speed, and clarity.

Every change requires explaining your vision to someone who doesn’t live in your business. Every iteration takes weeks. Every pivot means renegotiating scope and budget. You’re held hostage by someone else’s availability and understanding.

According to McKinsey research, 46% of companies now report significant productivity impact at scale from AI implementation, with many specifically citing reduced dependency on traditional development resources.⁵ The shift toward AI-powered development tools allows business owners to maintain direct control over their software products.

Vibe coding changes the power dynamic completely. You describe what you want. AI builds it. Something doesn’t work? You adjust your description and regenerate. No tickets, no sprints, no waiting for the next build.

You become self-reliant. And self-reliance means you can move at the speed of your vision, not someone else’s schedule.

Reason #4: It Positions You Ahead of the AI Adoption Curve

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: AI adoption is accelerating, and business owners are splitting into two camps—those who experiment early and those who wait until competitors force their hand.

Current data shows that 90% of software development professionals now use AI tools, up 14% from just 2023.⁶ The question isn’t whether AI will reshape your industry. The question is whether you’ll be leading that transformation or scrambling to catch up.

Building software with vibe coding does more than solve your immediate problem. It forces you to think systematically about your processes, clearly articulate your expertise, and experiment with AI in a low-risk, high-reward context.

Every app you build teaches you how to leverage AI better. Every iteration sharpens your ability to describe outcomes clearly. You’re not just creating a product—you’re developing a competitive advantage that compounds over time.

By 2025, 70% of new applications will use AI-enabled features.⁷ The businesses winning in this environment aren’t the ones with the biggest development budgets. They’re the ones whose leaders understand how to harness AI to package their expertise and serve customers in new ways.

You can wait for the market to force your hand. Or you can experiment now, while the cost is low and the competitive advantage is high.

The Bottom Line

Vibe coding represents a fundamental shift in who gets to build software. For the first time, your lack of technical training isn’t a barrier—it’s irrelevant.

You’ve got domain expertise. You’ve got customer problems you know how to solve. Now you’ve got the tools to package that knowledge into software that works whether you’re available or not.

By the way, this isn't theoretical for me. I’ve personally built three full-stack apps that I use daily. Two of them have real commercial potential. One is called Promptlee—a prompt management tool that helps me organize and deploy my best AI prompts across projects. I built it because I needed it, and now it's something I couldn't work without. If you're an Insider+ member, you can get Promptlee for free—I'll show you exactly how in this week's Implementation Kit.

The barriers aren’t technical anymore. They’re psychological. Can you imagine your expertise as software? Can you articulate what it should do? Can you experiment with something new?

If the answer is yes, then the only question left is what you’re going to build first.

What expertise could you package as software that would serve your customers even when you’re not available?

Comments

If you have a question about using AI to create custom apps, click here to send me an email. I read every one. Seriously. Your experiences help me write better content, and sometimes the best insights come from readers like you.

Transforming AI from noise to know-how,

P.S. Consider the AI Business Lab Mastermind: Running a $3M+ business? You’re past the startup chaos but not quite at autopilot. That’s exactly where AI changes everything. The AI Business Lab Mastermind isn’t another networking group—it’s a brain trust of leaders who are already implementing, not just ideating. We’re talking real numbers, real strategies, real results. If you’re tired of being the smartest person in the room, this is your new room. 👉🏼Learn more and apply here.