3 Essential Apps to Kickstart Your Development Journey

Chris Davis 0:10
We’re back with another episode of the All Systems Go podcast. I want to help you all out. I have been talking about the new era, automation 2.0.

Chris Davis 0:20
The new era of automation is the AI era and how automation has already prepared us those who automation service professionals and providers. You already have been leveraging it so you know the value. The true definition of automation is moving data, pushing pixels, right? Moving data between one platform to another is the truest form of automation and it is expressed in a variety of ways.

Chris Davis 0:50
And you have AI now that is a layer on top of that. So you use automation to create a organized data structure and make sure that your data continues to be moved effectively. And then AI is right on top of that, leveraging and at times controlling the automation now, telling it what to do. With that being said, I don’t know where AI is going, everyone.

Chris Davis 1:15
I hear all of these, these talk, these talks and these theories, and when you’re in groups with the nerds of the nerds, everybody has this perception that AI is going to be so widely adopted and. But before you know it, we’re not going to be typing anything. And I’m like, you guys are really out of touch because the average user is still using basic prompts in chat with ChatGPT. No, people are not building apps, people are not deploying agents, you know, and I’m, and I’m talking about technical folks.

Chris Davis 1:54
I run into technical folks who have never built an app with AI that they’ll maybe upload a spreadsheet, maybe they’ve built a custom GPT the most. They’ve done a project in Claude, maybe they’ve done some light design work, but usually they’re not leveraging AI beyond the basics. So then you’ve got these people that are like, oh, AI, in two months it’s going to be so advanced that anybody can use it. And that may be the case that it becomes so advanced anybody can use it doesn’t mean anybody’s going to use it because it’s still.

Chris Davis 2:25
If you listen to my previous episode, you still have to be smart and you still have to put in some effort. Just because one hour can produce 10 times the output as an hour did previous, it’s still an hour of your time. You get what I’m saying? So it’s not.

Chris Davis 2:46
Sometimes people just really oversimplify and in a grandiose way talk about how wonderful AI is. And I just like to make sure Everybody has a very objective and fair and balanced approach to it all, because there is a learning curve that I think the top 5% of power users are on and the rest of everybody is just still trying to figure out when to use Claude and When to use ChatGPT and what Gemini is. What Gronk? Who is that?

Chris Davis 3:23
What is that? Is that a new movie? Right. They’re trying to figure this all out, and that is not the average user.

Chris Davis 3:32
I just wanted to say that because I watch a lot of content and a lot of people are so used to doing some more deep and elaborate stuff with agents and AI, they think that that’s the common. The common user is not that. Hence today’s episode. I’ve shown you apps that I’ve built.

Chris Davis 3:52
In the previous episodes, I’ve talked about personal software, internal apps, the power of building your own platforms. Just the last episode we talked about platform building. Right? And I gave you warnings.

Chris Davis 4:06
Now I want to help kickstart your development career with AI, because one thing’s for sure, it’s not going anywhere. And you. These are what I call basics. If you do not have these basics, you are going to be left behind.

Chris Davis 4:24
You’re not left behind yet, but the time is coming fast that you will be okay. And the basics are, how do I use AI to produce internal platforms for my business that help it run better? I cannot tell you. I’ve not sold a single app that I have built for myself, but yet what I get paid in time, efficiency and savings, it’s worth its weight in gold.

Chris Davis 4:56
I’ve got so many processes that are now being executed by AI anyways, I don’t want to. That’s a whole nother episode. In fact, it’s not even an episode. That’s just what we talk about in the community weekly.

Chris Davis 5:11
But what I want to do here is help you get started. A lot. A lot of you are still trying to figure out what’s my first app because you’re thinking about SaaS. You’re still thinking about something you can build and sell.

Chris Davis 5:23
I’m trying to simplify things for you right now, all right? And this is the most simple I can make it. There are three fundamental apps that you can build right now and that rely on this premise. You’re already collecting the data that’s needed to build these apps.

Chris Davis 5:42
You’re just not using the best software to use the data. And that’s how the process gets simplified, is because I’m just improving what you’re already doing. I’m not asking you to do something new. All right, which now we can eliminate some variables and focus on the learning of using AI to code, which is a skill that you need.

Chris Davis 6:09
You need to have this skill. And the best way to develop the skill is by doing right. So the first app that you can build is identify a spreadsheet and replace it. Simple.

Chris Davis 6:27
Watch how simple this is. Take a spreadsheet that you use, that’s valuable. It can’t be something that you just throw away because you want to start using it so you can prompt AI on how to improve it. You go into that spreadsheet, whether it’s Excel, Google Sheet, whatever, I don’t care.

Chris Davis 6:46
Export it as a CSV. Okay? Take that CSV, import it into your LLM of choice. It could be Claude, it could be chat, doesn’t matter at this point.

Chris Davis 6:57
All right, What I want you to do is with that uploaded, then hit the dictation button in ChatGPT. I run my own dictation software. What is it? Join the community.

Chris Davis 7:11
You know all the software that I’m using. So I’ll hit the button and I’ll record. And what you’re going to do is looking at your spreadsheet. Remember, you’ve exported the CSV, you’ve uploaded it to the LLM, but you haven’t hit Enter yet because you’re going to add this narration and you’re just going to talk to and say, hey, I’m uploading a spreadsheet and I’m going to define how it works.

Chris Davis 7:32
I want you to review everything that I said, find ways to improve it, to remove, remove, remove. Good lord. Remove human input and make it work more effectively. For the output that I expressed, here’s the output.

Chris Davis 7:49
I use this spreadsheet for xyz and then you’re just going to go through it. You’re going to explain the columns, you’re going to explain the rows. And the reason you do that is to give AI as much context as possible. Lastly, I’m going to give you.

Chris Davis 8:03
This is what I was saying Claude to say, create a standalone artifact to serve as a mock up of what you will build that’s interactive, that I can test its functionality. That’s it. Welcome to your First App. Welcome to your First App.

Chris Davis 8:20
You hit Enter, come back in five minutes or so, put it on Opus 5.5 if you’re a pro user and you will come back to something that is almost a exact replica of your, of your spreadsheet, but it goes beyond it, it will be able to start to do more than you ever thought you could do with a spreadsheet. And it’s not more that you ever thought. It’s things that you wanted to do with a spreadsheet that didn’t work, but you didn’t want to take the time to figure out the formulas, the pivot tables, and how to format it.

Chris Davis 8:51
AI will do it for you. Right? And a bonus at the time of recording this, if you do it with ChatGPT, ChatGPT actually can publish to a domain and put a database back in. If that.

Chris Davis 9:06
If you don’t know what that means. Let me. Hold on. I gotta keep you guys fresh.

Chris Davis 9:10
You’ve gotta go back and listen to the episode that details where all of the parts of a app. Okay, which one is that? I can’t remember which one that is. I think it’s the episode that talks about how to build unlimited apps with AI without going broke.

Chris Davis 9:40
It will tell you the three parts. Front end, database, back end, and then an author. Right? So chatgpt at the time of recording this will simplify that and give you a backend so that you can take the app.

Chris Davis 9:56
That same prompt that I just said will work in ChatGPT. It gives you your. I think it’s a canvas, and it may be called a site. ChatGPT may call it a site.

Chris Davis 10:06
You then have a URL and you can share that. And you can allow other users to actually start using it because it has a backend where it can store the data and all of that. So you can get a fully functional app. You can migrate a spreadsheet to a fully functional app within 10 minutes.

Chris Davis 10:24
You have no excuse. Watch this. If it doesn’t work, just keep using the spreadsheet. Right.

Chris Davis 10:31
The next level would be. Okay, now that the spreadsheet is designed, it’s not tied into my data. Well, now you can start to explore MCP and other things that can now easily tie into your data and make that spreadsheet live. Right?

Chris Davis 10:47
So that’s the first step. All right? The next one is a database. And the reason why I say database, by the way, you’re going to use the same prompt.

Chris Davis 10:57
You’re going to go into your database, export a CSV and give it the same prompt. But what’s the difference with the database is that the software differs. Instead of Google Sheets or Excel, and it’s now airtable, SmartSuite, or any other database software out there, you hit export, go through how the database tables are structured, what the data is doing, allow it to produce the app. Now, here’s what’s interesting, doing it this way, it may still leverage your database structure and just give you a better ui.

Chris Davis 11:30
That’s how I started. I started improving the database structures of my existing databases. But what I found is that when I built the schema, the database schema is your columns and rows and all of that. When I built it myself, I did it for humans to use.

Chris Davis 11:49
And when I had AI redo my databases, I let it redo my data schema too. Because here’s what happened. I went from needing to control my schema and configure the custom fields and how they’re formatted because I was looking at it as a human, to letting AI do it. Because when AI does it, it doesn’t need to look like how it looks for mine, for me.

Chris Davis 12:14
So all of the apps that I use now, I don’t even look at the database back in. I don’t, I don’t use dropdowns and all of that. It’s. It’s really all text fields in date fields because the code that AI creates is going.

Chris Davis 12:29
Is that in. It’s the translation layer that takes that and displays it in the app the way that I need it to go. So I want to share that with you because it is an opportunity to free yourself from your human created configuration of the database and let AI come up with the best schema for it. In doing so, I will drop a name of a platform.

Chris Davis 12:59
All of my apps, none of them use Airtable anymore. There’s a ton of limitations that Airtable has with building apps that you own, right? List all of those if you’re curious. I’ll list those in the community when you join.

Chris Davis 13:14
But I now, because it’s more developer friendly for AI. Developer friendly is I now use Basero platform, it’s open source software or you can do the cloud version, it doesn’t matter. But I use Base Row to hold all of my backend database needs. I’ve got other databases though that I use depending on the app, right?

Chris Davis 13:39
But what I’m saying is take a database that you’re using, SmartSuite, Airtable, Smartsheets I think is another one. Any database export to CSV record, walking through the context of why you built it, what you’re looking to achieve and add this limitations, limitations that you would like removed and let it rebuild the schema, let it build the whole app for you. Right? That’s number two.

Chris Davis 14:06
These are easy. You already have the data, you’re already using the software. Number three is something that maybe is A little more complex, but not that much. But it’s, it’s a manager and it’s managing a process.

Chris Davis 14:26
And these usually are going to be scripts. And the thing that I love about scripts is that they can do things on your computer and on the, on online. They blend the world. And I’ll give you an example I have.

Chris Davis 14:46
After I record these podcasts, I export these MP3s to my desktop. That’s a process. The old version. I would then take this and upload it to, to my podcast RSS syndication software.

Chris Davis 15:03
And I would also upload it to get the trans transcriptions done, things like that. And I’m saying I, my podcast manager would do these things. Right? We had an entire sop.

Chris Davis 15:16
So the third app is your SOP replacement or not SOP replacement, your SOP executor. Right, that’s your third one. Because now you’re going to explain this process. You’re going to fire up Claude, whatever you want to fire up, you’re going to explain the process and say, how can I, how can I execute this with a local script that integrates with all of the online platforms?

Chris Davis 15:47
And here’s what I mean. I have a script now that when that file gets added to my desktop, it goes and it uploads it for me from that upload it then sends it and gets it transcribed from it being transcribed. It then sends both the transcription and the audio file to my podcast platform and my website and then reports back to me when it’s done. How did it know to do that?

Chris Davis 16:20
Because I have an sop. So you feed it your sop. You don’t feed it your CSV, you feed it your sop. Say, review this sop.

Chris Davis 16:28
I would like to automate as much of these steps as possible. What you might have to do is you might have to have it recommend software to replace to make sure that it can be as automated as possible. The key is I want the trigger to be local to my machine. For me, it’s when I name a file on my desktop, like if it’s a podcast, any, any mp3 file that has POD underscore at the beginning of it serves as a trigger and it fires off and does that entire process.

Chris Davis 17:05
It executes the entire process. Now, the reason why I said this one is a little leveled up in, in, in complexity is because you’re going to want to make sure that it gives. It understands your sop and then it recommends how you would execute your trigger. You may need additional software or it may just develop a script.

Chris Davis 17:29
That runs on your computer that says, hey, whenever you name a file, I’m going to look every hour, grab it, and do this thing. But those are three apps that you can be building for a year now. If you just focus on building those three apps, you’re going to get so good at coding with AI. You’re going to learn so much about the process.

Chris Davis 17:51
But better yet, your business is going to see an immediate impact and improvement, I guarantee you. Because I’ve got. I’ve done all three and continue to do all three. I’ve essentially broken down personal software and internal apps into three categories so that you can more easily get started.

Chris Davis 18:10
Because I can’t afford you sitting on the sideline on this. Do you understand? Build for you first and then see if you want to go and build for the world. But building for you is going to help you run your business in ways that you don’t realize are possible right now.

Chris Davis 18:30
And I’m saying that because it happened to me and I’m doing it for my clients. I’m talking about stuff that you didn’t even realize that you’re saying, oh, we can’t do that anymore. You just accepted it as a reality, is now possible. In fact, I think the next episode of the one after it, I’m talking about the power of revisiting old processes.

Chris Davis 18:57
It is paramount, it is critical to do that because the limitations of the past are not the limitations of the present. And you have to know that you can do much more now that you have these powers in your hand. And. And though I’m giving you, though, I would love for you to do all three.

Chris Davis 19:21
Just pick one. I think the spreadsheet is the easiest one. That’s what I started with, honestly. It was even a time, I think I mentioned this in a podcast where somebody sent me a spreadsheet and was like, hey, can you fill this out?

Chris Davis 19:32
You want you to be a judge for our competition. Fill it out. And I was looking at the spreadsheet like, that is so manual. I went in the club and said, hey, this is what they want me to do.

Chris Davis 19:42
I need it to be more visual, easy to see. And then I need my data input to be all on one screen. And it modified. It gave me a nice UI to interact with.

Chris Davis 19:53
And I said, you know what? Because I don’t like to adjust people’s process, I said, when I’m done with it, give me a button that I can click and just paste my answers into the spreadsheet that they gave me. It worked beautifully. Oh, My goodness.

Chris Davis 20:07
It went from overwhelming because nobody builds a spreadsheet the same, right? Everybody’s a different type of builder. It went from overwhelming to actually kind of entertaining and fun. So definitely start with a spreadsheet.

Chris Davis 20:20
Those of you who are leveled up and use airtable databases or other software, go ahead, export that out. And those of you who have really good sops of data processes that involve multiple platforms, definitely do the SOP executor. And if you’re a senior builder, meaning you’ve been building online for over five years or more, I want to invite you to my community because there are actually platforms that we suggest you use for housing your media files, transcribing if need be, and moving big data between platforms. There are softwares and platforms that make that a lot easier.

Chris Davis 21:16
It only matters, though. Once you’ve been building for a while, if you’re new, anything could do for you. You’re like, I don’t care. Just I got it done.

Chris Davis 21:24
Look at that. Look at what an agent can do. I’m talking about people who care about the quality of the output and the efficiency of the process. Even though an agent is executing it.

Chris Davis 21:34
Join the community. It’s free. Ask away. We will share every platform, every tool, every process.

Chris Davis 21:41
You do not have to go at this alone. In fact, the reason why you’re probably overwhelmed and haven’t started building these apps for your business is because you think you have to figure it all out. There’s a lot, there’s a ton we’ve already figured out. There’s just a ton of us figuring things out daily.

Chris Davis 22:01
I’m reporting what I learned from my clients and the teams that I lead. So are other people, what they’re building, what clients. We’re not sharing proprietary information. We’re sharing the findings that make better builders and help you build faster.

Chris Davis 22:19
It is at no cost. I can’t think of anywhere that you can go to get that targeted output. Because I’ll be honest, YouTube has a bunch of good information and a whole bunch of terrible information. And you don’t know what what is which until you implement it.

Chris Davis 22:36
When I was learning how to code with AI, I have found engineers. I found people who claim they had built systems that amassed millions. And when I tried what they did, the way that they said it, it didn’t work for me. Some of it did, but most of it did not.

Chris Davis 22:53
I found my way. And the way that I approach it is scalable across all levels of acumen. You do not have to be the smartest, the sharpest Knife in the drawer. How about that?

Chris Davis 23:11
To produce outputs that would appear as if you’re the sharpest knife in the drawer. So that invitation stands at any time. Excuse me. We’re ready to welcome you in with open arms, share freely, give you whatever you need to go about your journey as quickly as possible so you can be more effective, more efficient, and more profitable.

Chris Davis 23:39
All right, your homework. Do not let this episode fall on deaf ears. If you’re working out, if you’re driving, if you’re walking your dog, whatever, the first thing you need to do when you get back is, at minimum, export that CSV. At minimum, just export it and say, all right, when I have time, I’m going to upload it.

Chris Davis 24:01
If you have 10 minutes, just export it, dictate, talk what it does, hit enter, then leave. Go get in the shower. Go do what you. Go play a game, go make dinner.

Chris Davis 24:11
Go respond to that email. When you come back, you have the app waiting for you. Trust me, it will work. It will be just the beginning.

Chris Davis 24:21
And as you do this, more and more you will. It’s not that you won’t be left behind. You’ll be living on the cutting edge and your business will be transformed because of it. All right, so hopefully that was helpful to get you all started.

Chris Davis 24:38
If it was, report back, let me know. Some of you send me messages on social media, some of you send me emails, and best of all, some of you join the community and let me know there. But either way, let me know. I want to make sure that you all are getting what you need from this valuable asset and resource called my podcast.

Chris Davis 24:57
So until next time I see you all online, automate responsibly, my friends.