Make money doing the work you believe in
I added more than $10k in ARR to my Substack this month.
I reached the next level of Bestseller and got my orange badge.
It’s now a $50k/year recurring revenue - only from paid subscriptions.
And $240k/year in total when I add all of the other sales I make.
It’s a six-figure business I run entirely on the side of my job.
It might look like a great success.
Easy for me, not for most people - I do sales and marketing at work.
It’s not.
It took me almost two years to get here.
And I started with zero external audience or email list.
My social media accounts barely have 500 followers.
I had zero experience in online writing.
Just my boring corporate style no one wanted to read.
I barely knew how to use AI.
I learned everything on the go.
And it was all messy.
I probably changed my about page more than 10 times.
My Notes barely passed 20 likes, for months.
I wanted to quit every time my growth charts flattened as I watched others explode.
I almost did one time.
“It doesn’t work for me” I thought.
“I have my job, I can quit”
But that’s a lie.
An excuse most people tell themselves.
You’ll never be free on a salary designed to be intentionally low.
Just enough to cover your monthly expenses, but never to build financial freedom.
It’s a false feeling of “security”.
As you grow older you’ll see it more clearly.
People should use it to build something on their own.
Not to consume it.
So I didn’t quit.
I just kept pushing.
I kept looking for the way to make this work.
Even when it felt impossible.
Even when I had to write at night.
Even when I had to skip dinner.
Even with my dog begging to take her out for a walk.
I just kept pushing.
Until I finally figured it out.
And I started growing with 100+ paid subscribers per month.
Making $20k a month in total revenue.
And it all boils down to three things:
Make sure you grow new subscribers.
Make sure you convert them to buyers.
Make sure you show up for your buyers.
But above all, it’s the mindset:
to stay when things are tough and slow.
to keep pushing when it feels impossible.
to know that quitting is the only possible failure.
And to focus on finding a way even if you have no clue what that is.
It’s there.
You just don’t see it yet.
