3 years of creating independently
Failures, mistakes, and the little wins that kept me going
It’s that time of the year again.
I’ve been a free bird since May 1, 2021.
That’s two weeks after I decided to walk away from an extremely toxic job after spending 3.5 months in it. I haven’t told this story publicly – someday I will, not today. But that’s when I decided that I will never work for anyone else, even if that means making half of what I make in a job like that.
It’s been 3 years, and I’ve made precisely half of what I would have if I had continued that toxic job.
And I have 0 regrets.
3 years of working independently as a content creator (after 1 year of creating on the side) has taught me a lot.
Most of what I learned was a result of the failures and the mistakes rather than the little wins.
Let's start with mistakes:
- Overthinking everything
- Catering to multiple audiences instead of focusing on my ideal learner profile
- No clear path to monetization
- Obsessing over the little things that don't move the needle
- Worrying too much about aesthetics
- Worrying too much about the mechanics
- Running multiple projects at a time
- Instead of outsourcing to experts, hiring and training newbies
- Splitting time between being a creator and consulting with brands on their content and community efforts
- Convincing myself that being a creator + community builder isn't a sustainable path
And here are all the failed projects/experiments:
- A directory of data tools
- A podcast
- A marketplace to connect data brands with data content creators
- A job board for data brands to hire talent
- A community for anyone to get answers to their data questions
- A community for data content creators
I also dabbled with the idea of building a product to solve a problem that I really cared about but most people don't – such a waste of time and capacity.
All that said, it hasn't been all doom and gloom.
Here are things that did work:
- Serving my ideal learner profile – someone who uses data to grow a product
- Creating honest, accessible, and differentiated data content
- Sprinkling strong opinions, backed by experience
- Being selective about the brands I work with to stay true to my beliefs
- Embracing my strengths and letting go of things I don't enjoy doing
- Bringing people together in more ways than one
- All while having a little bit of fun
Now I'm doubling down on the things that did work, while continuing to experiment with small projects that deliver immediate value to my ILP (ideal learner profile).
If you have questions, I have answers so please feel free to ask me anything!