Being rich was never the goal.
Freedom and fulfillment are. But $1M as a solopreneur? Hell yeah!
85% is profit. 19% went to taxes. It took 7 years, 2 burnouts, and 1 depression.
I could talk about what I learned, but my blog is for that. And Starter Story made a video about the journey.
Instead, I want to write about what it means for us — Solopreneurs — who organize our lives around work, not the other way around.
The Solopreneur Niche
When I started in 2017, there were three alternatives to employment:
- Wear suits and please VC for a 0.00001% chance to build a unicorn
- Open a restaurant with your parent’s legacy
- Dropshipping
Unless you were a Hacker News reader, you would have missed the startup counterculture movement.
Guys like Patrick McKenzie and Pieter Levels building tiny startups in public while traveling the world.
It’s a Dead-End
I live where I want. I don’t have to ask for permission to take time off. And I can prioritize other parts of my life like sleeping, surfing, and spending time with my wife.
Solopreneurship is addictive. Once you crack the money code, there’s no turning back.
It’s not surprising this new startup wave is spreading fast. COVID was a catalyst.
“The Bubble is About to Burst”
Some are skeptics and think we’ve reached the peak. I believe the opposite.
OK, let’s be honest: You won’t get a TechCrunch article for building startups from Bali. That period is over.
But solopreneurship is just getting started.
- AI makes everything easier: It writes my code, improves my broken English, and brainstorms video ideas for my YouTube channel.
- Niche businesses are exploding: AI apps, one-person design agencies, newsletters… Just look at the IndiePage Leaderboard.
- The wave is reaching the masses: Solopreneurs’ stories are popping up everywhere on YouTube now. The move is about to go mainstream.
Out of 7 years of entrepreneurship, I was crippled with self-doubt for 6 years.
But there is a bright future ahead for those who don’t quit. Ignore the skeptics, we are just getting started.
I root for you
— James
P.S. When in doubt, refer to Naval “Learn to sell, learn to build, if you can do both, you will be unstoppable”.
P.S.S. I built this Twitter Revenue Bot last week and it has 502 followers.
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