4 Year Update:

Hey IH, yesterday was exactly 4 years since I quit my job to go solo.

This website was the number 1 resource for learning and inspiration when I was starting out.. So I thought I'd share all the different projects I've tried so far and what I've learned from them -

Here's every project I've tried (and mostly failed at) since then:

1. Product/Marketing Consulting - Good for a start, but didn't enjoy it much, stopped after a client offered me to be his co-founder

2. Freelance copywriting - Wrote a few landing pages, product pages, sales emails. Could never build a repeatable funnel

3. Twitter Ghostwriting - Enjoyed it at first, had a sort of a funnel (via Twitter) but started hating it after working with a few obnoxious clients

4. Info Products - E-Books, Courses, Templates (around 15 different products) - Made some money, stopped after I realised its way harder to build a recurring revenue product business out of it. Most info product sellers are actually making money via coaching/consulting/teaching others how to make info products. Its an MLM

5. Paid Newsletter - I wanted to be the Ben Thompson of the indie world. Failed miserably, could never figure out the right model - what should be behind the paywall and what should be free. Skill issue

6. Free Newsletter - Love writing and researching for it. Amazing learning experience for me, also source of all my business insights and ideas. Makes some money via sponsorships now, which is good.

7. Founder Coaching - Never enjoyed it, did after a few people asked for it. Realised that most people fail not because of knowledge but because of internal drive. And a coach can't ignite that drive. If I keep charging I'll feel like a cheat. (Now I do it for free as part of my community membership coz I know the members are driven)

8. AI Micro SaaS (Elephas) - My most successful bet yet - Puts food on the table for me and our team of 6. Bootstrapped, profitable, continuously growing and evolving.. we're just getting started

9. Community/Mastermind/Mafia - My most fulfilling project.. working closely with indie founders, folks pursuing alternate ways to make a living. This is what I care about a lot.. this is why I quit my job 4 years ago.. fed up of the corporate grind and not interested in the VC grind. Makes some money but its mostly about the vibes..

10. Job Board - Had a great start, then tapered off. Couldn't find enough motivation/energy required to make a marketplace type project work. But not given up on yet, just put it on hold for now

11. Directory - Same as Job Board.. very excited in the beginning, then paused it and put on hold for now.

12. Faceless YouTube Channel - It was fun - doing the research and writing scripts and trying to game the YT algorithm.. but the AI tools weren't good enough back then (2024) and I had no funnel/business model around it.. hoping for YT revenue is not a strategy, gave up.

13. Amazon FBA - 1 month distraction exploring E-Com, didn't enjoy it, gave up after a few sales, too much effort. Moving bits is easier than moving atoms

14. SEO Agency (in stealth) - Good for cashflow, great for working with friends and helping them grow their businesses. Not good for scalability 😅

15. YouTube Analytics SaaS (in stealth) - Very early days, still refining the product, partnering with 2 amazing friends on this project. We have some traffic, some trials, lots of feedback, but no revenue yet.. Will share more details soon...

After all this its a surprise really that I'm making any money and able to make a living on the internet.

Can't believe its been 4 years.. haven't touched my 2 year runway that I started with, only added some more money to it.

Last year I helped my wife quit her job and start her business as well.

And as a family we also started a non-profit helping the elderly see again via cataract surgeries.. such a fulfilling project..

I know all of this feels like a lot and the sane advise is to double down and focus on just 1 thing. But I was a corporate slave for 11 years before this.. Doing the same thing every day, all day, all the time..

I love the freedom I have now to explore my curiosity, go in deep rabbit holes, make mistakes, learning from them and then try something new.. "fuck around and find out" as they say..

Thank you for reading 🙏
Cheers