Celebrate Small Wins and Keep Your Momentum Going

Side projects can feel like a long, lonely road.

Especially when sales aren’t rolling in. Without that big payoff, it’s easy to lose sight of progress.

But here’s the secret: progress isn’t always measured in revenue.

You can keep your dopamine levels high with micro-notifications and maintain motivation. Here’s how I’m doing it 👇️ 

When Sales Are Slow, Micro Wins Matter

It’s a familiar scene for indie hackers and startup founders: you pour your heart into building something meaningful, but if you don’t see those sales, it can feel like you’re standing still.

Sure, sales matter. But keeping your sanity and motivation intact is just as crucial. Without that surge of positive feedback, the daily grind becomes a challenge.

What if you could trick your brain into celebrating progress even when you’re not yet making money?

Enter micro wins.

Instead of waiting for a sale notification, create notifications for smaller tasks in your startup: a signup, a key action, anything that shows you created some value to someone.

I started doing this with Chage. Every time someone signs up, I get a notification and an instant dopamine hit.

There’s no revenue? Yes, but it still gives me a dopamine hit and motivates me to keep going.

Moving Goalposts

The cool thing is this can be dynamic as you grow.

If users are signing up every second, you might shift focus to conversion rates.

Are single sales too much? Aim for a daily goal and so on.

The only important thing is this should serve as motivation to keep going. As a way to say “You’re doing a good job, keep going”

How Can You Create This Notifications

There are a ton of ways to do this, but a free one is to use Discord. It takes 5 minutes to setup:

• Create a Discord Webhook: In your Discord server, go to Server Settings > Integrations and click Create Webhook. Choose the channel where you’d like to receive updates, give your webhook a name, and hit Save Changes.

• Connect Your Project: Use your project’s backend (or a free tool like Zapier if you prefer) to send a POST request to the webhook URL every time a key event—such as a new signup—occurs.

• Enjoy the Dopamine Hit: Now, each time a signup happens, you get an instant notification in Discord. It’s a small win in real time that reminds you that people are engaging with your work.

This approach not only gives you a quick boost of motivation but also keeps you connected to your users and builds confidence in your progress.

The Takeaway

Sales are important, but the journey of building a startup is made up of many small victories. Whether it’s a waitlist signup or a full registration, each notification is proof that you’re moving in the right direction. So next time you’re feeling stuck, remember: celebrate every little win. They’re the stepping stones that lead to bigger successes.

Keep pushing forward—and let those micro-wins keep the momentum alive!