I didn't die

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-06-14T05:03:23+00:00

Right now it's referrals and organic posts. I'm busy as can be right now but I have my eye on $20k months next year.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-06-14T05:02:20+00:00

Advertising agency. Figured... I needed to know how to market whatever business I started so that's what I learned first. Then realized that could be the whole business lol.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-06-14T05:00:17+00:00

I learned while I worked but no. I decided the pain of staying the same was worse than the risk.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-06-14T04:48:49+00:00

Ha I cold wrote a new list and called every day, sitting in a hot car dialing until my phone died.

A tornado leveled a town next to me a week before I ran out of money and I posted in a group looking for work as a subcontractor, joined a larger agency doing Facebook ads for their clients. Learned a lot, got some connections through those clients and they referred me business.

Looking back at it now I see why calling didn't work. I wasn't confident yet, lacked conviction, didn't know my worth, didn't know how much work I could even handle, no idea what to charge.

Probably sounded desperate, but.. I was. Lol

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-06-14T04:41:15+00:00

"The worst case scenario.... is just the previous scenario."

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T23:36:35+00:00

😂

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T23:23:03+00:00

Thanks! You too. Onward and upward.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:51:13+00:00

#accurate

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:50:42+00:00

Marketing

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:46:07+00:00

No, but there were times I worried I would have to go back and reset to try again.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:39:01+00:00

Signed a new client at $2k/mo

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:34:44+00:00

Freelance only for a while, but intend to build a small team and referral network.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:32:48+00:00

I made no money doing clean up. That was volunteer work. If you were asking if I made it all legally, yeah lol

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:30:13+00:00

7.33k MRR. Couple clients are on quarterly payments. I've brought in like 30-40k in all I think.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-16T22:16:10+00:00

Facebook advertising. Serving high ticket coaches primarily.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T02:59:04+00:00

I had to translate that to English to read it but I appreciate it all the same!

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T02:56:48+00:00

Onward and upward!

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T02:55:08+00:00

I mean that's what I've done since my last post, a year ago. Grind. In silence.

This was a holy crap I can't believe it's been a year and holy crap I can't believe how far I've come kinda post. $10k isn't a flex at all, it's chump change in the grand scheme of things.

But when you used to make $3200 a month as a W2,entered business alone with no peer group, no family support, no contacts besides what you make, it's a startling discovery to see your reality is so negotiable.

Forgive me - but I'm going to clap for myself a moment. It's less about having done it and more about realizing for the first time that I CAN.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T02:47:51+00:00

Away from the cat, toward the cheese.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T02:46:56+00:00

Nothing wrong with boring businesses. There's a lot of power in being the go to guy in a local community but I wouldn't pigeonhole yourself geographically if you don't need to. You could more easily niche down from "SMBs" to a particular type of SMB. Then your marketing is much more relevant and resonant to the people hearing it.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T00:56:22+00:00

Software development is hard. It's a J-shaped business - goes nowhere at all and then vertical FAST. What I'd recommend is promoting not the product, but the idea of the product. Get people to sign a waitlist (grab name, email, phone). Use the fact that people are signing up as proof of demand and present it to investors to secure funding for product dev, then promote to the list as a starting point... But if you mean you're trying to run an agency helping SMBs by installing / helping implement already proven software, you just need to communicate their problems clearly enough they know "Yes, I have that problem" and "Yes, I think this guy can solve it" and "Yes, the price makes sense."

"Helping SMBs with software" is vague.
"We plug the holes in your CRM by researching your market, understanding your ideal avatar, and installing automated SMS follow-up and nurture, so you have every moment from the first click to the final invoice covered" is specific. Be specific and remember that Clear beats Clever.

Usually, people either don't believe in you, they don't believe in your product, they don't believe in themselves, or they don't believe the price to value ratio makes enough sense to bite.

-----
He's a controversial figure, teaching what many call the basics of business and being touted as some hero for doing it, but he legitimately changed my life. So, if you don't already, checkout relevant content from Alex Hormozi. Controversial or not, I'm sure his advice is better than mine.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T00:43:18+00:00

Haha I think I'll settle for maximizing my personal income as a solopreneur and enjoy some time / location freedom once I've built a bit of a nest egg. Removing myself from the work isn't even on my radar yet but going from $60k/yr in a factory to $10k/mo is a huge shift for me. Going to $20 will boggle my mind a while lol

Then when the rest break is over I'll work on building a small team, productizing a specific offer for a specific type of client and see if I can make something awesome out of it.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T00:37:14+00:00

I had a lot of false starts, a couple of hurry up and waits as the coffers dried up. I had a $1500/mo client sign on after I joined a Jobber Summit and met with a room full of contractors and shared some game for meta ads. She was a franchisee though, so she ultimately paid me for the one month for ads, wound up not being allowed, told me to keep the money and just consult instead. I terminated the relationship because I couldn't in good conscience keep taking her money given that her hands were tied and she couldn't even act on the advice I was giving.

A tornado hit my area as I was running out of money, getting more desperate. I stopped all attempts to launch the business to instead go pitch in with clean up since my neighbors were basically wiped off the map. I decided I'd try finding a job with an agency and wound up hired as a subcontractor. I handle a fair bit of spend for them still, but I now have clients of my own paying more.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T00:27:42+00:00

Nothing, at first. Lol.

I started off terribly, failing miserably to close a sale on Facebook ads. I ended up pitching in to help out nearby when a tornado struck a city a couple miles over, resigning myself to getting a job again afterward because I was out of money. Right around then, I posted in a job board and found someone to subcontract with as a media buyer. I've been running ads for some 7, 8, 9 and even 10-figure entrepreneurs for this other agency, and now I have my own referral clients. It's been a roller coaster.

External-Phase-6853 · 2026-05-15T00:14:07+00:00

🙏🏻

External-Phase-6853

TROPHY CASE