Product managers – when was the last time you got your hands dirty and built something with your hand?
If you’re an accomplished PM, chances are you’re so busy, and also surrounded by talented engineers who can build pretty much anything based on your PRD. As a result it might have been some time since you built something on your own.
But building can be fun and rewarding, especially for PMs. The more you build, the more fresh product ideas and inspirations you might get. Ironically, your personal side project might just make you a more capable PM in your day job.
Building doesn’t have to be involving a 6 month project to build a fully functioning app. You can build a Figma mockup, a Bubble site, a quick local LLM installation and prompting, or a Poe custom bot. Or even completely non-tech “products” like a Substack newsletter or a Kajabi course could be a legit form of building, IMO. The point is to conceive someting, put in the time start to finish, and launch it – with your hands, not with your words.