Issue #6 · Ten Years of Making Money on the Internet

January 6, 2023: Greetings from my beautiful rooftop workspace in Puerto Escondido, Mexico! This is where I’ve been spending the majority of my time the past month (when I’m not playing beach volleyball or stuffing my face with fish tacos). I’ve totally hit the accommodation jackpot this go-around (especially compared to last year’s AC-less, summer-camp-glamping-style cabin). I get to call this incredible place home for three more months, and I’m just feeling really at ease being here.

Today I have a ✨big announcement✨ of what I'm doing with my life in 2023.

I know, I know, I’m a few days late. But I’ve come prepared with a list of half-assed excuses — hear me out:

On New Year’s Day, I was nursing a hangover appropriate for any 33.5 year old that stayed out ‘til 5am (oopsie daisies!) — I was mindlessly scrolling social media feeling like every single post was mocking me and my splitting headache with #hustleporn, ambitious goal setting and super aspirational New Year’s resolooshes — so I decided to rebel against all of it and mostly be a waste of life for the first few days of the year. I took some time to actually rest, watch some Netflix, eat lots of tacos and hang at the beach. It’s been quite a departure from the “new year, new me” approach that I usually take come every January 1, but I’m hoping that being a bit more realistic will help me actually achieve some big goals this year. Slow and steady, slow and steady. 🏁 🐢

Plus, it wasn’t totally my hungover fault, since like clockwork, within the first few working hours of the new year (after a slew of new remote workers came into town) the WiFi in Puerto went out, completely derailing my next attempt at productivity. Frustration aside, it actually made me smile after dealing with the hordes of holiday crowds that were making things feel just a bit too Tulum-y for my liking the week prior. Starlink be damned, Puerto is definitely still good ol’ primitive Puerto.

One final excuse: Last week I also dealt with a major personal life curveball — sometimes the timing of life just doesn’t align with round number calendar dates, and that’s okay. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyway, on to my announcement:

This February will mark five years of freelancing full-time. Five whole years! Miserable-Cubicle-Emily™ would be so proud if she could see that stunning rooftop workspace I’m working from now.

That being said, I’ve decided to take a break from the hamster wheel that is trading hours for random design projects. Don’t get me wrong, freelancing has been the absolute best decision of my professional life, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with some reaaally cool clients. But when you work independently, you have to be hyperaware of when to give yourself a promotion, a raise, or in my case, a mini-sabbatical. So last month, I gave notice to my two biggest clients that I’d no longer be available to work for them in 2023, in order to free up time to dive into my own independent projects.

Because here’s something most people don’t know about me: Even before I began freelancing, I’ve had a revolving door of random online side hustles. In fact, I made my first dollar on the internet in 2013 — yes, two thousand and thirteen… TEN YEARS AGO! Here’s proof:

Unfortunately, I’ve been pretty much dicking around since then, starting and stopping things, getting distracted by life, jumping back and forth between projects and generally just being a massive sucker to Side Project Shiny Object Syndrome (SPSOS, self-diagnosed). But enough is enough — this is the year that I turn these “just for fun cute lil' projects" into actual livable, sustainable income. Because if you can make $1 on the internet, you can make $100k.

For me, the timing is everything: I’ve saved up a few pennies, I’m living in a pretty cheap place, I’ve just put a temporary pause on traveling, and I’ve never been more motivated to never do another job interview again. I’m hardcore on the “creator economy” bandwagon, and truly believe that this is the golden age for solopreneurs and launching independent projects, especially for those who #buildinpublic. And I’m not going totally rogue — as a small safety net and to extend my runway, I’ve kept two small freelance clients so that I’ll still have some income trickling in (at least enough to cover rent and my fish taco obsession for the first few months, and I’ll re-evaluate things come June-ish).

My current projects are all “inventory-free” e-commerce shops (I ❤️ Shopify), that sell a variety of things I’ve designed. I officially launched Backstory Map Co. in November, and Tidy Plans just last week (both to very little fanfare and promotion, but obviously that’s going to change). I also plan on revamping Project: Soul Food over the next few months, and the wheels have already begun to turn on the theme/niche for [Untitled Store #4] — though that will likely be a Q3 thing.

I’m also going to continue to write this newsletter totally just for funsies — in fact, if you read the last issue (#5: The Modern-Day Mission Trip), you might better understand why I’m taking this sudden travel hiatus and attempting to build a mini e-commerce empire. After all, there isn’t that much to do in Puerto Escondido (that's a good thing in my book), so I’m officially declaring this my latest mission. Worst case, I gave it real shot and I’ll go back to freelancing in a few months.

Anyway, thanks for being here and following along on this adventure with me. This newsletter admittedly feels a bit narcissistic and the imposter syndrome too real at times. But, at the advice of a friend I shall “carry on with the blind confidence of a 25 year-old white male”, which ironically is the demographic that makes up a lot of the Indie Hacker crowd so… off I go! 📈 🆙 🚀

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PS: I’d love to hear what you thought about this post. If this landed in your inbox, just hit reply! Or if you’re reading this online, send me an email at [email protected] and I pinky promise I’ll reply back.

Here’s a list of every issue if you want to keep reading!

• Issue #16: Embracing the Blank Canvas [Sep 2023]

• Issue #15: In Pursuit of an Endless Summer [Aug 2023]

• Issue #14: Follow Me to Weird Places [Jul 2023]

• Issue #13: Self-Inflicted Social Overload [Jul 2023]

• Issue #12: Schlepping It 🎒 [Jun 2023]

• Issue #11: Finding My “Next Thing” [Jun 2023]

• Issue #10: Book the Damn Flight and Just Go [May 2023]

• Issue #9: Choosing Your Own Life Adventure [May 2023]

• Issue #8: Eat, Sleep, Write, Repeat [May 2023]

• Issue #7: My First Month of Indie Making: An Honest Review [Feb 2023]

• Issue #6: Ten Years of Making Money on the Internet [Jan 2023]

• Issue #5: The Modern-Day Mission Trip [Dec 2022]

• Issue #4: Ready, FIRE!, Aim [Nov 2022]

• Issue #3: A New City Every Month: An Experiment in Change [Aug 2022]

• Issue #2: Defining My North Star as a Nomad [Dec 2021]

• Issue #1: One Year on the Road: Looking Back [Oct 2021]