Diversifying Income As A Solopreneur

For the last two years, I've effectively been a solopreneur.

But, I'm not like most of the solopreneurs I see "growth hacking" on Twitter.

I'm not in my twenties. I don't work from a different AirBNB each week. I have plenty of responsibilities.

I have:

• 4 kids that like to eat, wear clothes, participate in sports.
• A mortgage on a house that is big enough for four kids and room for dad to work at home.
• A beautiful wife that likes beauty products and nice clothes.
  
  (As a husband I benefit indirectly from this, so I can't be one of those guys that complains about my wife's shopping habits -- within reason... honey I know you're reading this).

So how do I make all this work?

I'm not a very good developer.

I've got no training in graphic design.

I was never mentored by a master marketer that taught me the secrets to manipulate people.

The skills I have on the computer came out of necessity to pursue other things. I detail that in my post here.

The answer: Multiple revenue streams are the thing that's allowed me to continue to build my own path in life and still be a reliable provider for my family.

The rest of this newsletter will detail how I make money.

I provide support and hosting for websites.

Don't underestimate the value in being someone's "tech person". I focus on open source software like WordPress, Mautic, and Discourse. For example, I charge $199/month to support and host a WordPress website.

Average customer lifetime value is over $14k according to my stripe.

I run this business with limited software. Primary with a Gridpane and a Vultr account. I use ManyRequests to handle client messages & MainWP to update websites.

If you want to checkout my website support business, click here.

I do affiliate marketing (the right way).

In my opinion, when you're doing affiliate marketing right, you're just being honest about things you like (and dislike).

It's a game of patience and reliability. Don't go for a money grab; stay honest. Audiences are a lot smarter than people think.

Sometimes you get smash hits, like when I was one of the first affiliates for Jasper back in early 2021.

In fact, I was pestering their founder to start an affiliate program as soon as I tried the software. This affiliate program was basically responsible for me being able to be financially OK as I recovered from 2+ year bout of long covid.

Starting affiliate marketing is as easy as picking a niche and creating content (written, video, or audio).

Use your affiliate links with a link shortener, I use an open source tool called Kutt.it but there are a lot of options out there.

My peak of affiliate marketing was probably back in about 2020, when I did over $25K in commission in a single day.

It's not all good

The dark side of affiliate marketing basically just dishonesty. Companies will change platforms causing you to lose links -- or just under report conversions.

There is no ability to audit the attribution of an affiliate program, so this really is a trust based business.

Eventually, they'll either end their affiliate program or change the terms so that it is no longer profitable. For these reasons, you need to have a lot of resolve to do affiliate marketing as a primary source of income.

I do private coaching without giving up my calendar.

Some people don't want to hire me on a recurring basis to manage their website, but still want my help to go over their product launch, marketing funnel, or on-boarding flow.

The problem is, I hate meetings, because as you can see, I'm busy.

So the way I found to do coaching that seems to make everyone happy is to do 100% async. For this, I use a hosted platform called ClarityFlow.

You can send me a message on ClarityFlow here to see how it works.

This business was really easy to start, I just built a landing page. Whenever I get someone who emails me and asks for my help (which happens a fair bit thanks to my YouTube videos), I send them to the landing page to purchase some time. They either book with me, or I don't hear from them again!

They send me their problems via ClarityFlow and I respond within a couple of days. It's a great system. I actually think it's better for both parties, because when you're sending a video message to someone, you really think about what you want to say. You're more impactful than over Zoom.

So even if you're primarily a product creator or just extremely busy, consider adding asynchronous coaching. It's a great way to add income while saying connected to the people in the industry you're trying to serve.

I charge $160/hour for my private coaching and my clients have never once complained about my pricing.

I do video production for corporations.

I have been doing product demos for corporations for years. My earliest clients were companies like Brainstorm Force & SpinupWP.

A few weeks ago, I decided to take a page out of the DesignJoy playbook, and create an unlimited video creation service.

Once again, I started by building a landing page, following the DesignJoy layout quite closely. Then I made a offer to three companies that I'd like to work with, and sent them to the landing page.

One out of three said yes, and I've been creating videos for them every day since then!

This added an additional $7k/month to my income. I'd like to build this up to 2-3 clients total and then re-evaluate. I definitely will not be able to scale this without a team of editors, writers, and on-screen talent.

Payday from the first client was pretty exciting, as this not only represented that someone valued my video production skill enough to invest in me, but that I was able to create another profitable business – basically out of thin air.

Creating a high-ticket productized service isn't for everyone, but if you're currently working a job and you could change the job into a productized service... there is definitely something to this business model.

I recommend flowing Brett from DesignJoy on Twitter for some inspiration.

I create online courses

After creating tutorials for "free" for years on YouTube, I wanted to make content that didn't care about the algorithm. I wanted to go deep into a platform that I really love, and that's Ghost. A wonderful membership platform for content creators.

I made a course that is over 6 hours long where I show you how to setup a membership website and migrate away from WordPress, Patreon, Substack or whatever platform you're currently using and not 100% enjoying.

Course creation is truly where my heart is, because I get to combine everything I love. Entrepreneurship, video creation, teaching, & technology. When I go deep into a subject, I get rewarded by students enjoying the content more, not the content being buried on YouTube.

Creating a course is no easy feat, as I detail in my article my course creation workflow, but I plan to create many more courses (several are currently in production).

You can grab my first course for $100 off, right now. Save $100 on Ghost 5 Mastery

In Closing...

Being a solopreneur isn't just about "navigating the digital landscape" or "mastering new tools".

It's a blend of passion, resilience, continuous learning, and the deep desire to carve out one's own path.

As I balance the hats of a father, husband, coach, affiliate marketer, and more, I'm constantly reminded that success isn't measured by numbers alone but by the positive impact we make and the lives we touch.

As each week unfolds, I cherish the opportunities, learn from the challenges, and always strive to offer value.

Until next time, remember: your unique journey is your greatest asset. Keep pushing boundaries, and let's continue to grow together.

Best,
Dave