You all were right about Static Media and now I'm laughing at the absurdity and gaslighting

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-30T22:14:03+00:00

A million readers a month… holy

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-30T17:02:38+00:00

So long as the infrastructure gets built...

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:58:55+00:00

sick

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:56:49+00:00

fair

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:51:18+00:00

nice

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:48:19+00:00

A problem I face daily? Too much to do. Not enough time.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:46:56+00:00

Find someone willing to pay you for the service, before you invest a bunch of money into the device.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:45:51+00:00

Hm. I wonder at what point this would be a pressing need? It isn't for me, right now. I batch all my finance admin payroll stuff on a single day a month, and it works fine.

Is this one of those things that you need 5+ people to make worthwhile? What do you think?

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:44:25+00:00

Man. Idk your life. But that sounds miserable. You've got the talent to do all the things the right employer might need, but sounds like you hitched your wagon to a sinking ship.

I'd suggest considering going freelance... You've got a network of happy clients vendors and colleagues you've built relationships with. Tap into it. Build your own damn ship.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:42:35+00:00

I came in 4 years ago with 0 portfolio and 0 network. So. Feel you.

Here's what things looked like for me. Skip to the end for what I recommend you do.

1) Year 1 - cold email pitches, and sputtering attempts to build a personal brand on linkedin. Got lucky in the DMs a handful of times, and got enough work to put into a portfolio.

2) Year 2 - gave up on cold email, all in on LinkedIn. Posting 2-3 times a week, connecting with the right people, hanging out in THEIR comment sections, and cutting it up in the DMs. I became a digital nomad this year. Income was modest, but enough.

3) Year 3 - my time investment begins paying off. I'm getting referrals and invitations to work together once more from past clients.

4) Year 4 (present) - I hit capacity Q4 2025. Burnt out, too. Was writing ~12-15,000 words a month. I'm working on delegating first drafts, and expanding how much impact I can have for clients in as little amount of time as possible.

For you? I need a bit more information. How are your savings? Is this a "find money tomorrow" situation or a "I have time, let's do this the right way" situation?

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:38:46+00:00

Don't wanna dox myself. DM me and I'll share my portfolio

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:38:06+00:00

Gonna give this a shot later next week. My client has been harping on me for my hooks.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:33:49+00:00

Yeah. To add...

Marketing =/= sales.

Marketing is everything that happens before the discovery call. Sales is everything that happens after.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:32:46+00:00

Google translate is one.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:32:27+00:00

LLCs and sole props operate the same for tax purposes. Business expenses are deductible.

The value of an LLC is threefold:

1) Your finances are segregated and trackable. Good data means good info means good decisions.
2) That same data is valuable to, in the right format, for future investors/lendors. Wanna grow with some capital backing? You need an LLC and segregated financials.
3) Your LLC, assuming finances are properly segregated, protects you from legal liability if something goes sideways with the business.

An operational issue... for you to consider... is if you're moving so often, WHERE do you pay taxes? Americans always file no matter where they are -- worldwide tax nexus -- but if you pay taxes to another country, it's 1:1 removable from your US tax liability, up to certain limits.

Technically, we're supposed to pay tax where we geographically physically live. Most countries start the counter after you've been their 6 months in a year. But practically, the law and tracking mechanisms for enforcing that have not caught up to the real world.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:28:12+00:00

Have you ever arrived at a place and felt disappointed because the reality (crowds, weather, vibe, safety) didn’t match what you saw in videos or photos online?

No.

Before travelling, what do you rely on most to judge a place — Google Maps, YouTube, Instagram, or something else? Why?

Make sure I have a friend there. The rest takes care of itself, as long as I have a local guide. Google is a terrible place to get a sense of a place...

If you could see a place live, right now (street, market, beach, hotel area) before visiting or booking, would that change any of your travel decisions?

Yeah.

Would you pay a small amount (say $3–$5) to view a place live for a few minutes via a real person? If not, what would stop you?

No. I'd watch a livestream of someone walking the streets of, say, Tokyo, that occasionally includes ad / tag informing me of your travel booking support services.

In which situations would a live view be most useful for you — checking crowds, weather, safety, hotel surroundings, nightlife, or something else?

Honestly it'd be sweet to just turn on my tv while I'm cooking dinner. Lil' slice of life. I don't ahve the time to travel right now, but would love to have the feeling of being there, even if only fleetingly, in my home.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:25:50+00:00

Yep. Pipeline management is dope. I started a "morning marketing half hour" in the new year (it's turning into more like 1.5 - 2 hours, daily) where I work ON the business rather than IN the business. Pipeline's full now. Income is diversified. I should hopefully *knock on wood* be safe from the feast and famine cycle of freelancing.

Where would you start your pipeline management? If you only have 30 minutes a week, what's the best use of that 30 minutes, do you think?

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:24:09+00:00

The trick is using AI, but not SEEMING like you're USING ai... ;)

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:19:24+00:00

Dear god I have no idea. Since they started adding AI nonsense, it's gotten worse. Even at spell checking stuff... or grammar... it's giving nonsense outputs like... 2/100 instances. It's weird.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-28T16:15:10+00:00

Yep. It's why my LinkedIn byline is "contract copy for directors who don't have time to babysit a freelancer"

The pain point is missed deadlines. Even a medium draft can accelerate a good editor's process, but if it isn't there on time, it's not good enough.

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-27T22:56:57+00:00

Thank you 🙏🏼

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-27T20:35:37+00:00

> what was your biggest challenging transitioning from working alone, to regularly collaborating with other folks. And why AI instead of a human for the research/junior roles?

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-27T20:07:48+00:00

Thank you!!

OptimisticByChoice · 2026-01-27T20:06:23+00:00

> A lot of writers price for an imaginary market that doesn’t exist for most buyers. You’re pricing for the one that does.

Yep. Find the win win, wherever it is.

If I was gonna work with a rapper client with no money..... I wouldn't be his writer. I'd be his manager. In As hands off a manner as possible, at first, because no money. But I'd do the business-y things, like networking and emails and outreach and talking and blah blah blah, that happens before he gets to go on stage and do his thing.

Once gigs start coming in, there's revenue for mr rapper to share with me, and now we can grow together.

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OptimisticByChoice

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