16
4 Comments

My boring, simple, with clunky design directory of job boards passed $40k 💵 in revenue 🥳

My boring, simple, with clunky design directory of job boards JobBoardSearch 🔎 passed $40k 💵 in revenue 🥳

I didn't have the intention to monetize

But after 2 months online Pieter Levels sent me a DM saying "Start charging"
Pieter Levels DM

So I did!

I know it's not huge but it costs me less than $100/mo to run

Last month it passed $7k and I still can't believe it!

Built it using HTML, CSS, vanilla JavaScript (some jQuery), and PHP

Put it online after 5 hours of work because learned that StackOverflow Jobs shut down and people were asking for alternatives

How does it make money?

  • Sponsored job boards
  • Listing upgrades
  • Ad slots
  • CPC

Some stats 📊

  • 1.06M page views
  • 573k unique
  • 360k jobs / job boards link clicks
  • 7.4k Telegram mems
  • 7.7k Newsletter subs
  • 7.6k subreddit mems
  • 125 paid job boards / products
  • 3.3k Backlinks
  • 511 Referring domains

Some folks I got inspired from & why:

  1. From Pieter Levels learned to be pragmatic, to ship fast and improve later, building in public is win-win, not be afraid of failing.

His book "MAKE: learn to build profitable startups" is a must read

But most important: ship more 👇🏻

  1. From Phil who is the founder of a successful job board "4 day week", has grown his job seekers newsletter to 100k, and knows how to sell ad slots

If you run a job board from him you will learn how to monetize

Also, SEO for job boards he always shares great tips.

  1. From Marc Kohlbrugge it's the reason I started to be active on Twitter

The man is a shipping machine, is not afraid to start new projects using new tech, trial and error

And of course the founder of WIP, it is the reason for my boost in productivity and accountability

  1. From Arvid Kahl learned that costs 0 to be kind, encourage others, and that building in public is a win-win. Helping others is so powerful!

His list (Core Twitter Ideas) of 49 short videos on YT is so valuable

Learned about audiences from his book "The Embedded Entrepreneur"

  1. From Andrew Gazdecki I learned that is important to be humble, it doesn't matter if large or big account, reply to everyone, and be kind

The importance of storytelling, he is not only the CEO of Acquire (the best marketplace to buy or sell startups) but also a great storyteller

  1. Daniel Vassallo inspired me due to his portfolio of small bets strategy (Now I have 5 income streams).

To treat projects like cattle, not pets. When inspiration strikes work with high intensity otherwise take it easy.

He runs SmallBets: try making $1000 with a small project first

Super grateful to all who inspired me to achieve the $40k milestone 🙏🏻

And to everyone that keep mentioning JobBoardSearch 🔎

Thanks to all job board founders who listed on JobBoardSearch 🔎 even more to the ones who purchased a premium listing 😉

Any questions? Always happy to help 😀

posted to Icon for group Growth
Growth
on May 17, 2024
  1. 2

    Great story. Thanks for passing along the info you learned from others as well.

    1. 1

      Nice one, pleased to read :)

  2. 2

    The title of this post is to be one of the best I've seen on this site. It definitely got my attention.

    Congratulations, and a big thank you to Pieter Levels for telling you to start charging.

    1. 1

      Thanks a lot! Yes, I'm super grateful with him!

  3. 1

    This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

  4. 1

    This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

Trending on Indie Hackers
Priorities for launching a SaaS solo, with no budget User Avatar 173 comments I Rejected a $15K Acquisition Offer for My Multi-Agent IDE — Here's the Full Breakdown User Avatar 29 comments I built a tool directory that doesn't pretend every founder has the same needs User Avatar 25 comments 5 Books, Make Smarter User Avatar 10 comments Why founder-led outbound breaks the moment you try to delegate it User Avatar 7 comments I built a browser-based photo geotagging tool. What should I lead with? User Avatar 6 comments