My Story (Day 3)
Made more progress today on CSRF protection—starting to feel like I’ve locked in a good pattern I can reuse throughout a lot of my app. It’s one of those things that feels like a small detail but matters a ton when it comes to security and scale. There’s still more to do, but it’s coming together.
I meant to get more done last night, but sleep caught up with me. I work early in the mornings, and I’m often up late coding after the kids go to bed, so every now and then I just need a night to reset.
For those who are new here: I’m building a web application called BenMakesDataEasy. It’s a tool that helps Power BI developers, analysts, and admins get visibility and control over their Power BI ecosystem—search across all datasets, find refresh failures, surface unused objects, track who has access to what, and way more. The goal is to take a lot of the manual, technical grunt work out of the process and make it easier for teams to manage their data work with confidence—especially people who aren’t deep in the weeds with code.
I'm also starting to look into what I need to do to get listed on the Microsoft Store. Just beginning to explore it, but it’s exciting to even be thinking in that direction.
Honestly, the hardest part of all of this hasn’t been the code—it’s been the marketing. Building something useful is one thing. Getting people to notice and care? Whole different beast. It’s made me realize how important strong networks are. The people you know—and the people who know what you're building—can make a huge difference.
Outside of work, today is a mix of burning brush and keeping an eye on a bunch of kittens we just found on the property. Not sure if they’re strays or what, but the kids are absolutely hoping we bring them in. So that might be part of the story soon too.
Every step forward counts—even the small ones. Whether it’s writing one more route, fixing one bug, or just catching up on sleep so you can go again tomorrow, it all adds up. Keep building, keep dreaming, and don’t let slow days fool you—progress is still progress.
#MyStory #BuildInPublic #PowerBI #WebAppDev #StartupLife #FounderJourney #KeepGoing
My Story (Day 2)
Still grinding on BenMakesDataEasy. Today I’ve been working on adding CSRF protection—tightening up security and learning a ton as I go. It’s one of those behind-the-scenes pieces that nobody sees but makes everything safer and more solid.
The weather’s finally starting to turn, and it’s been nice to step outside and get some spring chores done. I live in a small cabin in the woods, and there’s always something to fix, clean, or organize this time of year.
Honestly, I love my setup. It’s quiet, simple, and gives me the freedom to build without distractions. Just me, my ideas, and a whole lot of determination. I’ve learned that when you care about something enough, you find a way through—even when you’re tired, stuck, or overwhelmed.
Big win last weekend: I officially registered my LLC. So yeah—it’s real now. I’ve got a business. That felt like crossing an invisible line from “project” to “mission.” I’m in this for the long haul.
Someday, I’d love to get the app certified by Microsoft. That’s a big hill to climb, but I’m up for it. Every little improvement, every bug fix, every new feature gets me a step closer.
This build is teaching me way more than just tech. It’s teaching me grit, patience, focus—and how to keep showing up even when no one’s watching yet.
If you’re out there building something, dreaming something, or just trying to figure things out—I get it. Keep going. You never know what’s on the other side of that next step.
More tomorrow.