Building your own internal tool feels good. You can shape it around your workflow, and getting the first version running gives you a very clear sense of progress.
Then you have to maintain it.
I've been writing software for years, and I still know how much time a seemingly straightforward app can take. Getting help with the code still leaves you responsible for the application, its data and what happens when something fails.
I spoke to a finance founder who had built a content solution, then moved to Clipflow. The comparison that interested me was how much work had gone into solving a problem outside the core business. The founder wanted to make content, but had also taken on building the infrastructure for it.
You can make that choice deliberately. There are reasons to build something specific. But include the ongoing work in the decision, along with the initial excitement of creating it.
A company focused on that product spends its time maintaining it and hearing feedback from different customers. If you're building it only for yourself, you're taking on those jobs alongside the business you actually run.
For an agency making content for clients, time spent maintaining a custom portal is time you need to account for. It may be worthwhile. It may also be a fairly expensive way to avoid another subscription.
I'd start by asking what the tool lets the business do, and who is responsible for it after the first version. If the answer is always you, make sure you want that job as well.
