My 9 Sources of Income as a Solopreneur

Summary

Mark shares his entrepreneurial journey, from self-taught coding to building 20 profitable websites with a 90% profit margin and no employees. He details his initial struggles, including being fired from a software engineer job, which fueled his passion for programming. Mark's ventures include AI tools, productivity software, and a course, culminating in 'Ship Fast,' a template for rapid startup development. He also discusses monetization strategies and his love for Twitter, where he's been compensated for his contributions.

Takeaways

• 😀 Mark self-taught himself coding and landed a software engineer job, only to be fired after 5 months for being a mediocre programmer.
• 🛠️ Despite being fired, Mark discovered his love for programming, which he compares to building with Legos, allowing him to create useful things for others.
• 🌏 After losing his job, Mark moved to Bali and started building his own websites, beginning with a site that suggests movies based on the user's mood.
• 📈 Mark leveraged platforms like Product Hunt and Twitter to gain attention and build an audience, which helped him make friends and learn about monetizing websites.
• 🤖 He experimented with AI tools to create landing pages and other software, focusing on adding value that could be priced for revenue generation.
• 📚 Mark built an AI tool for language learning that generates workbooks based on user interests, like K-pop, to make language learning more engaging.
• 🔐 He created 'Viral Libot,' a messenger bot for escape room businesses to attract customers through interactive games and puzzles, offering discounts for solving them.
• 🛡️ Mark developed 'Buy Dispute,' a no-code tool to help developers avoid chargebacks and disputes from angry customers by setting automated rules to prevent suspicious actions.
• 🔗 He also built 'Indie Page,' a platform similar to a link tree for entrepreneurs to showcase their startups and connect with payment providers to display revenue.
• 🎬 Mark created a course using videos that embed his personality in famous scenes or movies to raise awareness during product launches, earning him additional income.
• 🚀 His most significant product is 'Ship Fast,' a code template designed to streamline the process of launching startups, which currently generates around $50,000 a month.
• 💰 Mark also earns income from Twitter for sharing content he loves, ranging from $150 to $400 a month.
• 🏆 He sold three startups on Acquire.com, a platform for buying and selling micro startups, demonstrating a path for those without ambitions to scale massively.
• 🎉 Mark has a newsletter called 'Just Ship It,' nearing 10,000 subscribers, where he shares his learnings without monetization intentions, and plans to take YouTube seriously to document his entrepreneurial journey for developers.

Q & A

What did Mark teach himself in the last three years?

Mark taught himself how to code over the last three years.

How did Mark initially get a software engineer job?

Mark got a software engineer job by applying on AngelList after learning to code through online resources like Udemy and YouTube videos.

Why was Mark fired from his first software engineer job?

Mark was fired because his employer realized he was a mediocre programmer.

What did Mark discover about himself after being fired from his job?

Mark discovered that he loved programming because it reminded him of building with Legos and allowed him to create useful things for others.

Where did Mark move to and why after being fired?

Mark moved to Bali to work on his own projects and build his own websites.

What was the concept of Mark's first website?

Mark's first website allowed users to find movies related to their current mood.

How did Mark grow his audience and make friends in the online community?

Mark grew his audience and made friends by sharing his work on platforms like Product Hunt and Twitter, where he engaged with people doing similar things.

What tools did Mark use to build his websites and software?

Mark used AI tools and other productivity tools to build his websites and software, allowing him to create landing pages and various applications without needing a large team.

What is the revenue Mark made in the last 30 days from his websites?

In the last 30 days, Mark made almost $60,000 from his websites.

Can you provide an example of one of Mark's successful projects?

One of Mark's successful projects is 'Ship Fast', a code template that helps to launch startups faster, which is making about $50,000 a month.

How does Mark monetize his Twitter presence?

Mark monetizes his Twitter presence by being paid between $150 to $400 a month for sharing content he loves, which aligns with his passion for the platform.

What platform did Mark use to sell three of his startups?

Mark used a platform called Acquire.com to sell three of his startups.

What is Mark's plan for his newsletter called 'Just Ship It'?

Mark has no intention to monetize 'Just Ship It'. He plans to continue sharing his learnings and insights with the subscribers.

How does Mark plan to share his entrepreneurial journey for developers?

Mark plans to take YouTube seriously this year, sharing everything he does and learns about entrepreneurship for developers.