12-Year-Old Developer Pitches Websites to Local Businesses, Learns Sales Is Hard

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A 12-year-old self-taught developer recently attempted to earn money by building and selling websites to local businesses, moving beyond coding as a hobby. Noticing that many small businesses lacked a strong online presence, he created a generic demo site and began reaching out to electrical shops, car washes, and security companies with personalised messages. Most messages went unseen, but a local CCTV surveillance firm responded and asked him to send a custom sample. He built and deployed a mobile-friendly website for the business featuring service details, a gallery, and contact buttons, then shared the live link — and is now waiting for their response. Though no sale has been made yet, he says the experience taught him that selling and coding require entirely different skills, and that getting started with a simple demo beats waiting for a perfect product.

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