I am not a designer. But shipping a small apparel brand taught me more about product than any side project with a database ever did.
Print-on-demand removes every excuse: no stock, no logistics, no capital. What remains is the hard part — a brand people quietly love, a catalog with a point of view, and the patience to iterate in public.
checklist: [x] brand set [x] first 6 designs [ ] marketplace listings [ ] receipt transparency page
The developer's advantage: your storefront, your analytics, your automation are free. The craft you rent is design taste — and that, it turns out, is trainable.
Sell one thing you would wear yourself. Then listen.