​Realized I was building without validating now reworking before development stage

I have been working on a digital product idea on the side and recently had to pause after realizing I was moving too quickly into features without clearly defining the problem or target user.

Background for context

Available capital is around 1k to 2k for initial development

Non technical background but familiar with product thinking and basic workflows

Looking to build an online product not a physical business

No prior startup experience

After stepping back and restructuring the idea more properly, including working through some frameworks from the book I have an app idea, I am now at the stage where development could begin.

However this is my first time moving into that phase so I am considering hiring instead of trying to build everything myself.

For those who have gone through this process

How did you validate that your idea was ready for development

At what point did you decide to hire versus continue refining

Any advice on avoiding early mistakes at this stage would be helpful