How to Learn Programming and Marketing Skills Without Spending a Fortune

Hey there! I'm Philipp, founder of Reruption and host of the #buildinpublic podcast. Today, I'm gonna share some hard-earned wisdom about learning programming and marketing skills without breaking the bank. And trust me, as someone who's built PostFlow from scratch using AI, I know a thing or two about learning these skills the practical way.

Skip the Theory, Start Building

Here's the thing - I've never completed a programming course successfully. And you know what? That's totally fine! Theory can be a real pain in the ass (pardon my French). Instead:

Jump straight into ChatGPT
Have a simple project idea (even if it's just a calculator)
Start building and learning as you go

The ChatGPT Approach

When I was building PostFlow (my content creation and scheduling tool), I didn't start with complex algorithms. Start small:

Ask ChatGPT to help you build something simple
Study the code it gives you
Gradually increase complexity
Learn from real examples

Marketing on a Shoestring Budget

Facebook Ads for Beginners

Start with just 5 bucks! Seriously, that's all you need to:

Learn the basics of ad targeting
Understand how traffic flows to your website
Get familiar with important KPIs

Finding Your Audience

This is something I learned while building Reruption and working with enterprise clients - knowing where your audience hangs out is crucial. They might be on:

LinkedIn
Meta
TikTok
Google

Pro tip: Google still offers that sweet 100€ bonus when you deposit your first 100€ for ads. That's free money for experimenting!

Customer Research That Actually Works

LinkedIn cold outreach is my absolute favorite (and I've tried pretty much everything while building PostFlow). Why?

Direct feedback from potential customers
Immediate reality check on your ideas
Raw, unfiltered responses

The Platform Strategy

Here's a simple three-step approach:

Find where your customers hang out
Learn the content rules of that platform
Start engaging with paid advertising

A Personal Note

Living between Mallorca and Stuttgart has taught me that location doesn't matter when learning these skills. What matters is taking action. Whether you're coding from a beach or a basement, the principles remain the same.

Speaking of taking action - if you're struggling with content creation and scheduling (like I did before building PostFlow), you might want to check out how PostFlow can help. It analyzes your video content and generates platform-specific posts automatically. The first 30 scheduled pieces are free - just saying! 😉

Remember, the key isn't knowing everything - it's about starting somewhere and learning as you go. That's exactly how I built my consultancy Reruption and how I help enterprises explore new business models today.

Now get out there and start building something! And if you mess up? Well, that's just part of the fun. Trust me, I've had my fair share of "learning experiences" while building in public on my podcast.

Got questions? Hit me up on LinkedIn - I'm always down to chat about building cool stuff with AI and growing businesses!