My Solopreneur Journey: 6 lessons from building 6 projects, while nomading for 6 months

[icantusemyname]

In the end of May 2023, I boarded a one way plane to Costa Rica. A month before that, I quit my job after being burnt out. For the following 6 months, I’ve been nomading in Central America, without a job, living off savings. My plan? Build an online business.

Throughout these 6 months, I’ve launched 8 different products that can be categorized into 6 different categories, each of them had a different mindset. Fast-forward to today, my trip is over, and I’m analyzing everything I’ve learned from it.

And the first retrospective I did, are 6 lessons I’ve learned from building 6 products in 6 months—my solopreneur journey.

1. Lesson #1: Build it, and they will come—is a lie
2. Lesson #2: Don’t build communities
3. Lesson #3: Make sure to have a business plan
4. Lesson #4: If you don’t charge, you don’t make money
5. Lesson #5: Think about distribution
6. Lesson #6: You only fail when you quit, or in other words: consistency wins

I wrote a blog post that includes a detailed break-down of each lesson, while associating it to a particular product(s) that I built. Check it out: 6 lessons from building 6 projects, while nomading for 6 months. It even has a bonus 7th lesson.

 

[bellavoce7]

@icantusemyname Im planning my own sideproject and this article was very helpful. And nicely written! Thanks for sharing your experience

 

[icantusemyname]

@bellavoce7 Thank you!

I'm glad to hear it was helpful to you! Reach out to me, or follow on social networks, if you have questions. I'm excited to connect with other indie-hackers!

 

[bellavoce7]

@icantusemyname I sent you a message at LinkedIn

 

[camillallves1]

@icantusemyname Great write up. Are you only open to being a solopreneur? Happy to chat if you’re interested in building projects at large.

 

[icantusemyname]

@camillallves1 I have a freelance project, and starting full time job. I doubt I can commit to another large project, but feel free to hit me up on social media. I'm always happy to meet interesting people and discuss interesting ideas.

 

[lue]

@icantusemyname Could you shed some light on why you launched JustFax? I see a huge potential for this project via SEO. I just want to understand the motive, inspiration and backstory of that project because it wasn't mentioned in your articles.

 

[icantusemyname]

@lue I honestly don't remember the reason. I was walking one day in Mexico, and thought, "hey, why not build an online fax service". I did research afterward, including a provider to send the faxes and cost assessment, and launched the project after a few weeks of development.

I probably saw something, somewhere, related to fax. It's not a unique product, though.

 

[lue]

@icantusemyname I was surprised that many industries still use fax for security reasons. Some documents are very sensitive they have to go via secure routes.

 

[icantusemyname]

@lue Yes, fax is still in use, even though people think it is not