Lifelog

Here's a dopey idea:

**A micro-SaaS to help you regularly archive your favourite projects and websites in the [Wayback Machine](https://web.archive.org/).**

### The problem
This had happened to me before: I write blogs on platforms for a time (e.g. the now-defunct xanga.com). I stop blogging. I don't care about the blog. Platform shuts down. I lose all my writings. I start to care about the blog, but too late.

Another scenario: I wished I remembered to take screenshots of my earliest MVP versions of a website or app, so that I can look back and reminiscience, or share/tweet about it. But once past, you can't retrieve it, unless you roll back the website to that state. Or it's a project you're shutting down, or a domain you're giving up, but wished there was a way to reminiscience about it for free without needing to pay for domain or web hosting to keep the website up.

Third scenario: Maybe this isn't your own project but another website which you're a huge fan and want to archive it for memory's sake.

Right now, to archive it you got to go the the Wayback Machine website and paste the URL in to save it. Manually. I wished there's was a way to set and forget. Kind of like third party automated offsite backups of your database where you don't have to remember to do it.

### The solution
So what if there's a micro-SaaS that provides regular archive snapshots? Three pricing plans - daily ($10/m), weekly ($5/m) and monthly (Free). Login, pay and save the URL you want to archive, and forget. You get to toggle on or off a monthly email update of how many snapshots it captured.

### The tech stack
I could do the archiving manually at the start. So all I need for an MVP would be a landing page, payment link and a form. If I get more than 10 customers, then start creating automation around it. Apps like [Browserbear](https://www.browserbear.com/) and [Crontap](https://crontap.com/), or even Zapier, could be the services I use to build it quickly, rather than coding up my own.

*What do you think?*

Talked at a [Twitter Space](https://twitter.com/Christintweets/status/1664402831372349440) with Christin about the intersection of indie hacking, entrepreneurship and spiritual practice, mindfulness and growth.

Not something I talk about much, but definitely underlying all my actions and decisions on my indie journey:

- Having to unlearn unhelpful beliefs and narratives I have about the world and about myself. For example, unlearning my relationship with money, hard work. I've never had a 'job' that constantly challenged me and my belief system more. The personal growth is 1000x over the any valuation or revenue.

- Right livelihood and practising empathy and compassion in the workplace. This started from my last job as a designer in government, to bring about public policies and services that are more citizen-centered. At the root of that work is helping public officer generate empathy for citizens. I think I still bring some of that into my work in indie hacking, by having empathy for my customers and incorporating those insights into the features, during support requests.

- Marketing reframed as helping others succeed. I never liked marketing. But that's because I mistook bad actors and encounters in the past as the entire stage. Ever since trying it out and learning that I can do marketing if I do it as helping others succeed, as being helpful to a fault, as acts of kindness it all aligned inwardly. Practising generosity.

- Last but most important, is the daily mindfulness required to be building an audience and being online. [Mindful consumption is not just food but also food for the mind - media, conversations, people I follow](https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/the-5-mindfulness-trainings/). Practising loving speech and deep listening. Not engaging in toxic arguments with toxic people.

My practice ain't perfect, but I do hope to try everyday.

Today I woke to yet another sleep score in the 60% range, feeling groggy, unrested, grumpy, and wondering why I slept so late at 10:45pm. I was of course, doomscrolling on the phone waaay past bedtime.

*This needs to stop.*

My sleep's all over the place, and I've either been too tired, too stressed or too busy to do anything about it, fueling a vicious cycle of poor sleep, poor coping, poor bedtime sleep hygiene, which then results poorer sleep, poorer coping... you get the picture.

I need a sleep makeover.

I need to get back to the sleep routines where I woke up to 90+% sleep scores, feeling rested and ready. I've done it before. I know how to do it:

- last coffee at lunchtime
- topping back up my magnesium levels
- active movement throughout the day
- light or no dinner
- no phone screens after dinner
- bedtime at 9:30pm latest
- meditate before sleep
- keeping thermal comfort (20ºC)

So it's not a lack of knowledge but a lack of motivation. That's the problem with slumps – they suck the life and energy out of you and all the powerful habits that were easy before becomes hard now.

That's the only reason sleep is an infinite game. The infinite part isn't that the knowledge gets forgotten but life throws seasons at you where you might struggle with time, effort or discipline.

Those are the real challenges, and I have no ready answers on how to solve it, other than (try to) resolve the root issues, and after due diligence is done, we just have to wait it out till motivation returns.

Maybe the acknowledgement "This needs to stop" is the signal I need that it's now returned, or at least, returning...

For Side Project Weekend this week, I managed to fix a bunch of minor bugs on Lifelog. No new features.

- Fixed window jumping to bottom when typing a long post.
- Added auto-scroll down to keep typing input at vertical center of screen.
- Fixed position of snackbar editor blocking typing input of textarea.

From today's build sessions, I found myself pondering... *Is that it? Are these features all to it?* I think the initial burst of joy from building and launching anything at all, after a two-year hiatus, is now waning. I want to continue building on Side Project Weekends for sure, but I also want to be more intentional. I don't want to just build features willy-nilly, but features that will push the product ahead.

Because not all features are created equal.

And I feel the ones I've been building so far since I started Side Project Weekend were "quality of life improvements" as @therealbrandonwilson would say, and great fun to build, but doesn't push the envelope enough.

What would make Lifelog special or surprising?
What can people remember it by, other than just for daily writing?
Other than being a writing platform and community with streak counters, what else could it be?

Do I want it to be a habit building platform?
Or more for writing for the long game?
Or is it more social, about the community?

Many questions, no answers.

I've always said I wanted to pivot Lifelog. But to what... I don't know yet.

Perhaps the answers lie in how I use it, how the folks here currently use it, what makes them stay or come back time and again...

Time to rethink and research and re-explore!

Being an indie parent means we could never ship as fast as we expect ourselves to. This gets especially hard when you see other indies shipping their MVP in a weekend. Not withstanding they might be senior software engineers in their day job before, or have honed their coding skills and tech stack to the point that they can do that.

But assuming all things being equal, there's just no way for an indie parent to catch up, let's be honest.

And it's frustrating sometimes.

Because to compare is human. I want to acknowledge that inevitable aspect of life, not just on Twitter but in real life, even while I understand that comparison is the thief of joy. I don't want to make excuses for myself, but I also don't want to be unkind to myself either.

Sometimes I wish I can hear more from indie parents struggling to ship, yet shipping anyway.

Maybe it took them 10x longer.
Maybe they had to sacrifice their sanity and sleep more than they would like.
Maybe they never thought they could make it to the finish line.

But they did it, and that to me is more inspiring than hearing from the outliers.

As it is, being a parent is one of the hardest jobs in the world already. We don't need to feel worse for not being able to live up to our expectations of ourselves outside of that.

Let's normalise shipping slow, even while we want to ship fast. Let's affirm, but not make it an excuse.

Being an "indie hacker" is a label. But as with most labels, there's pitfalls of over-identifying with it, and the limiting beliefs/narratives that we unconsciously allow to live rent free in our heads.

One of the most common limiters is "I'm a builder". Most say that as self-defence on why they hate or struggle with marketing, why they build and don't share or distribute. But truth is, you can say to yourself "I'm a builder" but still get good enough at marketing to be dangerous.

Both can be true, not either/or.

It's a fine difference between affirming what's your core versus letting it become an excuse that limits you. Beliefs are like tools. And like every tool, first we shape our tools, then they shape us. The catch is to be self aware enough to stay as a master of the tool, not slave.

Other indie hacker limiters to be mindful of, and it's possible alternative perspectives:

- I hate receiving cold emails, so I don't send them (there's ethical, less slimey ways to send them that's valuable and engaging)
- Ads are annoying, so I don't use ads (Ads aren't annoying if they're what you're looking for)
- MRR is the one true revenue, all else doesn't count (Most businesses in the world are built on one-time payments)
- Focus only on one thing (Plenty of folks who did well juggling multiple projects)
- Do only multiple small bets (Plenty of folks who did well doing just one project)
- Build and they'll come (Thinking pure technical prowess is sufficient is a form of naive and elist narcissism)
- VCs are evil (I've seen startups like Carrd take do a hybrid, non-equity type of VC that doesn't affect how the founders run things and it's like the best of both worlds)
- Solo founder means working entirely alone (Who cares what solo means as long as it works for you?)
- It's faster if I do it myself than to delegate or outsource (Delegating or outsourcing takes more upfront effort setting up but pays for itself downstream)

*What other limters are there?*

It's my birthday month. As with personal tradition, no specific goals for birthday month. But I still want to set broad intentions on how I would want to go about celebrating this month of my birth. Just 2 things this month:

- Relax (different from rest)
- Recalibrate

I'll be busy with consulting in June. So the last thing I want on my birthday is to stress-rush around like a headless chicken juggling consulting, indie products and family. I've done enough of that in the past few months (and years). I want to be more directed and purposeful in starting my new birth year.

Mindfulness, essentially.

I miss that calm and centered self-assuredness. I want to get back to living that way. So first thing is to relaaaaaax. Not resting physically *per se*, because I'll still be busy with work, but to *stop*, inwardly. To relax I first have to stop.

Stop stress-rushing around mindlessly.
Stop feeling like I'm never enough.
Stop expecting more and more.
Stop wanting myself to stop.

Stop, so that I can let go, let loose, and let it relax.

Then I can recalibrate. I can come back to myself. No more feeling disembodied. Back to mindful presence. Mind and body aligned.

So that I can truly live. So that I celebrate this gift of yet another year of being alive and well.

Another year of life.

*Onwards to June!*

May metrics
- Current MRR (all from Lifelog): $109 (↑$10)
- One-off revenue: $974 (↑$67)
- Total revenue: $1083 (↑$77) 🎉🎉🎉
- Total costs = $190
- Total profit: $893 (↑$52) (excl. consulting revenue)
- Profit margin: 82%
- Tweet impressions: 982k
- Followers: 7066 (↑268) 🎉 Passed 7k followers!
- Emails: 216 (↑21) subscribers

Third month in a row where my revenue is above $1k (at $1061)! The thing about my revenue is... it's mostly based on one-time payments. So I never know if the next month's taking will be the same.

---

I've been in a slump for the past 2 months, and only just discovered a few days ago what's likely to be causing it. It's probably a [magnesium deficiency](https://golifelog.com/posts/mind-that-magnesium-1685414275146). Like what?! *I know right.* On this last day of May, I'm writing like that slump never happened. It's a weird feeling, to realise that in the end there's probably nothing broken about me or my mind, but just a chemical imbalance.

Which is perfect timing because things are starting to get real busy. My consulting projects are full-on now, and I'm working on 2 concurrently! Schedule's packed for the entire June, so no vacation even for the school holidays.

I started the month of may with the broad intention to follow my energy, to trust it. Looks like I couldn't be more wrong about the cause and solution. Now that I feel 'normal' again, and my energy and motivation levels slowly picking back up, I can

Onwards!

I just 'discovered' the link between magnesium deficiency and mental wellness, and it's mindblowing (to me). Tl;dr – low magnesium means low moods, as this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled [trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28241991/) concludes:

> "Daily consumption of 500 mg magnesium oxide tablets for ≥8 wk by depressed patients suffering from magnesium deficiency leads to improvements in depression status and magnesium levels. Therefore, assessment of the magnesium serum and resolving this deficiency positively influence the treatment of depressed patients."

I think it all started when I realised when I switch my daily magnesium supplement from magnesium citrate to magnesium L-threonate. I stupidly forgot to check the dosage levels, and the threonate version is three times lesser than the citrate one. I switched in Jan, and started to feel low moods by March. Maybe the deficiency needed time to build up, within 1-2 months. And with stress/anxiety triggers due to work in March, that brought about the low period. The real clicher was when when I upped my magnesium dosage recently upon realising my mistake. And almost immediately, my low moods disappeared. Like it never happened. I even tried to bring back some of those sad thoughts that circled in my mind, but nothing. So it's not emotional or psychological, not "something I need to work through".

Coincidence? A tiny possibility, but the personal observations, experience and studies seem to triangulate towards what this [article said](https://chandramd.com/magnesium-supplements-anxiety/):

> ...low magnesium levels have been linked with:
>
> - Higher levels of stress
> - Depression
> - Insomnia or sleep disturbances
> - Headaches or muscle pain/tightness
> - Fatigue
>
> Magnesium plays two important roles in the brain, which may contribute to these symptoms:
>
> - It blocks the activity of more stimulating neurotransmitters and binds to calming receptors, resulting in a more peaceful, resting state.
> - It helps to regulate the release of stress hormones like cortisol, acting like the brake on your body’s nervous system.

It really makes me wonder... is that why people love chocolate when they're sad? (Chocolate has high levels of magnesium). I've known my carnivore friends to mention that they would crave chocolate when they are low on magnesium.

That also made me think if my previous mild to moderate depressive episodes were due to undetected magnesium deficiencies! OMG was it all just a chemical imbalance? Generally I hate that perspective on mental health issues, but this might just be an exception to the rule...

*Mindblown.*

Next time you feel low, maybe try taking some dark chocolate, spinach, beans, cashews, or almonds. Who knows, it might just be a magnesium deficiency acting out, not a broken mind.

Coming full circle on my Twitter approach lately.

I used to schedule my tweets a few weeks ahead. And I'll sit down on Monday to write them all out in 1-2h. Just like any good content creator guru would advise. But since around the start of the year or thereabouts, after doing it for about 1-2 years, I got tired of it. It felt 'off'. It didn't align inwardly, didn't feel congruent to how I was protraying myself on Twitter versus how I truly felt on my indie journey. It felt forced, artificial. Even inauthentic sometimes. I was just "building an audience", not really building in public. I've now stopped doing that altogether, and instead just tweeted whatever I’m doing or thinking for the day. I'm having so much more fun chatting with other indie peers right now. I think engagement rate is better too. Or at least, the kind of engagement that I enjoy. And since the demise of all the Twitter tools I used to use, I'm even starting to consider not using any tool at all to auto-retweet my tweets, and instead just tweeting directly on the Twitter desktop app.

And I'm not alone. Just from this tweet by Jakob and the replies alone, I can confirm the shift in approach in many of the friends I interact with on Twitter:

> I’ve made the executive decision to start posting whatever whenever I feel like it. No strategy, no scheduling. Just raw thoughts. Let’s make Twitter fun again. – [@jakobgreenfeld](https://twitter.com/jakobgreenfeld/status/1662463404680814594)

I wonder what brought about this sea change. Maybe it's just fatigue at all the clickbait noise created by threadbois. All those templated tweets about"web3", "NFTs" and then now "ChatGPT". Or accounts weaponizing outrage for engagement.

Maybe with organic reach on Twitter being nerfed, people finally got cold-turkeyed from the dopamine addiction for followers and likes, and pivoted to what Twitter was originally for all along – connecting for fun, with cool people doing cool things.

For me, it's observing folks like @levelsio, @dannypostmaa and @tdinh_me do it. They don't retweet or seem to use Twitter scheduling tools. They just build cool stuff and tweet. The engagement will take care of itself if you're doing interesting things. In fact, Tony himself built a Twitter tool but he doesn't schedule anything at all:

> Highly recommend. Fun fact: even though I built @blackmagic_so, I have never used it (or any other app) to schedule my tweets 😂 – [@tdinh_me](https://twitter.com/tdinh_me/status/1662608639469981696)

Kinda reminds of of how drug dealers "don't get high off their own supply", but in a good way haha. But seriously though... seeing how they do it reminded me of my indie hacking roots, why I joined Twitter in the first place, why I want to build in public. Before I learned about building an audience, before the Twitter gurus spammed our timelines with "10 tips to get to 10k followers in 1 month".

I want to get back to that.

Full circle.

Is being associated as an "indie hacker/maker/dev" limiting?

Are there any limiters and limiting beliefs to being one that holds you back from getting the results you want?

Mike here started a great conversation about it:

> Just a feeling here, but, I bet if you remove the “indie” label/identity, you’d 10x your revenue. 🔥 – [@CSMikeCardona](https://twitter.com/CSMikeCardona/status/1662414161555628032)

And [Dominic](https://twitter.com/dqmonn/status/1662593406105780226) laid out a few which were hit the nail on the spot:

> Burning passion for developing product, but not distributing it.
> Small set of „approved“ growth channels (SEO, Twitter), long list of ones you would not use (Cold Mails, Partnerships, Lead Magnets)
> Only MRR / digital goods is „good money“
> Accepting when growth is slow (as opposed to solving it)
> Everything needs to be polished
> Everything needs to be shared
> Everything needs to be celebrated
> VC is the devil

Looking through the list, I'm thankful that many on that aren't huge problems for me by now, like the first one. I mean, I still have a burning passion for building yes. Give me building, any day. But I'm no longer opposed to doing it. Marketing was hard to unlearn and learn but it wasn't due to being indie, but more a learned reflex from growing up seeing slimey sales tactics. Don't seem to have problems doing marketing now. Still need to work on that impatience for results though.

But going back to the original question: Is being "indie" really limiting? I think some of those limiting beliefs aren't just confined to indie hackers. It's common for creators, entrepreneurs. We all got our own limiting beliefs, indie or not... We all come with our own sets of biases and beliefs, many which can help or hinder... or both! Depending on context. The ability to work hard is both a boon and a bane. Hard work is good when you're working on the right opportunity, bad when [you're digging on the wrong spot](https://golifelog.com/posts/working-hard-is-overrated-so-is-working-smart-1685086071076).

I'm not sure "indie" was limiting for me, even though I'm aware I had to unlearn many limiting beliefs conditioned through the years. It's just a convenient label to signal I'm part of a community, to connect with others here. In fact, been doing this way of working before "indie hacker" was even a thing! Back then we were just "self employed', "freelancer". The names change, but the beliefs we carry don't.

As [Paul G says, keeping your identity small](http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html) is the way.

Anytime you over-identified with something, that virtue just became a vice.

Lately I'm making all the rookie mistakes for my sleep. All over again.

I'm sleeping late, at 10pm or later. I'm not being disciplined about going to bed by 9.30pm, or even 8.30pm on some days to catch up on sleep. These days I catch up by waking late, by clocking my 5 sleep cycles. At least I try to even the sleep debt, but there's been downsides. The constant pendulum between waking at 4+am and 6_am screwed up my body clock. It's so terribly confused right now. Like how last night, I woke at 4am to go to the toilet, but was wide awake after, so decided to just wake and get to work.

Not just am I sleeping later, I'm also scrolling my phone, exposing myself to blue light and stimulating content right till the moment I sleep. It's a bit like revenge bedtime procrastination. I'm trying to fill some emptiness from the day.

I don't do sitting meditation as much at night now, preferring to just sleep. Nothing to help me settle my mind and calm tf down. I think not doing that makes me more prone to poor quality sleep.

In March and April I remembered not even exercising much. Being pretty much a chair potato. That, as well, didn't help with sleep.

And an even worse mistake – I started taking magnesium threonate over my previous magnesium citramate but stupidly forget to check the per serving dosage. The threonate version was *actually* 3 capsules per serving while the previous was 1 cap per serving. So I've been taking 3 times lesser magnesium for months without knowing. No wonder I've been getting occasional leg cramps at night! 😩

It's been a downhill spiral to the death of sleep lately.

I can say it's all due to stress, work, and care responsibilities. I can say it's due to burnout. Many reasons. But it's all still *on* me.

And only *I* can pick myself back up to frequent 90% scores again.

I've done it before. I can do it again.

Hard work is overrated.

It alone is not sufficient for success.

So is working smart. It alone isn't enough either.


You got great product-market fit? Awesome, but you can still fail. Just ask the many awesome Twitter tools that shut down when Twitter increased prices for their API.

Boatloads of capital? Hundreds of millions? Sorry, no gurantee of success.

Got lucky? Good for you, but no saying that the luck will hang around.

Even a combination of those factors—hard work, luck, capital, great product—won’t guarantee success.

*It’s necessary, but not sufficient.*

In Chinese there's a saying 天时地利人和 – a harmony of weather, timing, terrain, advantage, people. For sure it's an interplay of factors – good product, product-mkt fit, right timing/opportunity, resources, skills, cash, luck, etc etc.. How much of each depends on your circumstances. And hundreds of other factors that we cannot control. Even if you had it all, there's still many factors outside of one's control that brings success. So while it's necessary to do, it might not be sufficient.

So don't believe anyone who tries to give you a formula.

Some folks will get annoyed when they are told hard work is overrated. They often misunderstand. Hard work is necessary. You should still work hard. But it's an illusion that hard work alone will bring you to success – that's the key point here. Though just because hard work is overrated doesn't mean you can be lazy and wait for success to land on your lap. It won't happen either. I think it's good that people realise there's a nuance to what "hard work" truly means, and act accordingly. Most hold very simplistic, cause-and-effect notions of hard work. And get frustrated, drop out when it doesn't go according to that narrative.

I'm still unlearning this reflex after years of conditioning

I was intrigued by this tweet by [@tarasowski](https://twitter.com/tarasowski/status/1660903135227805698) about building a SaaS to $100 MRR and then selling it for $10k:

> How to make $10,000 in the next 4 weeks.
> 1. Build a SaaS
> 2. Bring it to $100 MRR
> 3. List on @acquiredotcom
> 4. Sell it for $10,000+
>
> I have done that, it works.

And obviously this was intriguing enough for others that that my [retweet](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1661154692427317249) blew up.

$20k in 4 weeks sounds like a good deal, no? Sounds like a lucrative opportunity. Of course, there’s no guarantee it can happen every month. The reality is that it is possible but *not commonplace* – this [Feb 2023 report](https://blog.acquire.com/acquire-com-biannual-acquisition-multiples-report-feb-2023/) shows SaaS are asking multiples at 2-3x revenue or 5x profit:


The way I see it, this could be a fun way for someone who's still looking for a main project to focus on, to try many different things first. For sure, this approach has trade-offs on opportunity cost and focus, so not ideal if you already got a good project going.

Or say if I build something but don't foresee a long term future with it, and want to sell. Maybe after building it I realised I'm not in love with the problem enough to do it long term... then selling for $20k after trying it out for 1 month sounds like a nice exit, yes?

Can also imagine that if someone is good at marketing and have good acumen at spotting opportunities, this might be a good way own a business already running on momentum and grow it multiple fold. What’s interesting is how someone could buy it at $10k, build it from $100 MRR to $100k MRR, and flip it for millions.

But the key draw for me is if I build something with the intention to sell it off, maybe new and different opportunities would open up, because I wouldn’t need to fall in love with the problem...

I’ve always judged product ideas on whether I’m in love with the problem, not whether the opportunity is there. I feel like I need to have that maker enjoyability aspect, otherwise I won’t last in the long term. But this got me thinking: Why do I need to always build something to own? Why do I need my products to be like my babies, or borrowing an analogy from @dvassallo, why treat them like pets instead of cattle? If I’m not obsessed with having to love a problem, maybe I can work on product ideas that are trending and is a good opportunity for a limited time, say 1-2 months, and flip it for a good multiple. I can live with 1-2 months! And in the process, I’d probably learn a lot too, work out my shipping muscles, and gain some followers for building in public. Rather than procrastinating and dwelling in abstract terms over which idea I should throw myself into and not ending up not acting at all…

The way I see it might work for me personally, is I don't know if it's a problem space that I'm interested in, but I saw a big opportunity and went for it. Build it out and grow it. Then could decide to sell if still not in love after 4 weeks, or if I start to like it, I can continue growing it. Previously I would have to just let it die if I didn't want to continue and it'll go to waste, or I continue grudgingly - either which are less than ideal.

Build to sell ≠ build to own.

They say, for entrepreneurship:

> Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Reminded me of this famous photo of Jeff Bezos building Amazon from ground zero, using a door as a desk.


So what exactly do I have to offer that can get me an extra $1000 per month? [Someone](https://twitter.com/deadcoder0904/status/1660660009854808064?s=20) suggested I do this:

> 1. write down all your skills.
> 2. see if you can provide a service using them where time = money
> 3. reach out to your network to see if anyone needs help with those skills.
> 4. charge >$250 so you need 4 people max.

Okay so here goes:

1. My skills: Design thinking, design research, coaching for design thinking, web design, web development, building simple apps, copywriting, social media marketing,

2. What can I offer:
- Design thinking, design research:
- [Doing] My design consultancy for government and non-profits.
- [Doing] Freelance in design research.
- [New] Advisory for scoping tenders for design services.
- Coaching for design thinking:
- [Doing] Training for organisations.
- [New] 1-on-1 coaching for folks in design industry.
- Web design &/or development:
- [Doing] Sweet Jam Sites (but wanted to shut it down previously).
- [New] Create niche websites - listing directories, Carrd sites
- [Doing] Building tech for good apps by applying for grants.
- [New] Build micro-SaaS as consulting?
- [New] Software consulting by building Carrd plugins?
- Copywriting & social media marketing:
- [New] Fiverr or Upwork writing gigs
- [New] Write technical or niche blog posts for creator/indie hacker/web dev/keto/sleep biohacking industry
- [New] Ghost-writing tweets or content?
- [New] Write social media content for technical or niche blog posts for creator/indie hacker/web dev/keto/sleep biohacking industry

3. Who I can reach out to:
- Design thinking, design research:
- Contacts in government and non-profits.
- Post on LinkedIn and Twitter about needing projects.
- Cold message contacts to ask if they have gigs.
- Market new offerings on social media.
- Coaching for design thinking:
- Cold outreach to organisations about design thinking coaching and training offerings.
- Post about 1-on-1 coaching for folks in design industry.
- Web design &/or development:
- Tweet about offer to create niche websites - listing directories, Carrd sites.
- Apply for new grants to build tech for good apps.
- Tweet about my new offering to build micro-SaaS as consulting
- Email to existing customers about software consulting by building Carrd plugins?
- Copywriting & social media marketing:
- Check out Fiverr or Upwork for writing gigs
- Cold outreach about writing technical or niche blog posts for creator/indie hacker/web dev/keto/sleep biohacking industry

4. Of all the ideas, I just need to get say 5 clients at $199 each. 5 does feel possible! Or:
- 1 client × $1000
- 2 clients × $500
- 4 clients × $250
- 5 clients × $199
- 10 clients × $99
- 20 clients × $50
- 50 clients × $20
- 100 clients × $10

*So what else can I look into that I can offer?*

I tweeted a [question](https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1660586164376436736?s=20):

> "Finances had been a bit tight recently. The fam could do with a bit more. Was thinking an extra $1k a month won't hurt – not too much that it’s overwhelming, but non-trivial enough that it requires some plotting. How would you go about it if you had to earn an extra $1k/m?"

And the tweet blew up. This is why I love the Twitter Maker community. Everyone wants to help out a fellow indie. I got a lot more ideas from it!

- **Upsell a premium service to past Carrd customers**, e.g. that unlimited support idea that I've held back. Since there's some ongoing relationship, and some indirect validation from the existing business, the barrier to buying is lower. To make it sustainable I got to limit the no. of customers, or scope down the kinds of tasks that can be requested. Imagine just a $199/month subscription service × 5 customers = $1000 more in the bank monthly.
- **Cross bundle with other creators**, anything that fits well together. Sell for 1 week/month, split revenue 3 ways.
- **Live Zoom course** for 2h every Saturday for 1 month on something I'm an expert in. $100/pax, for 10pax. Design thinking?
- **Micro-consulting**: Sell 1h of my time, to help someone with a topic that I'm an expert in. Revive superpeer.com/jasonleow.
- **Build plugins for up-and-coming platform Framer**. Repurpose my Carrd plugins for Framer?!
- Find a problem that someone is willing to pay $2k/m for and **outsource/drop service** it for $1k/m.
- Launch a **simple one-feature micro-SaaS** product.
- **Freelance**! Easiest and fastest.
- Unconsidered idea: **Food delivery.**
- Leverage geo-arbitrage and **move to a low cost country**. But difficult due to family and elderly parents.

So many cool ideas to consider! 🤔

Finances had been a bit tight recently. The fam could do with a bit more. Maybe $1k more per month is a good target – not too much to shoot for that's it's overwhelming or stressful, but not too insignificant either that it doesn't require some planning and concerted effort.

So here's me writing to brainstorm how to achieve that:

**Services**
– Services are the fastest way from idea to revenue. Minimal upfront effort, but lots of recurring effort. What skills do I have right now that I can immediately offer services for?
- Carrd-related services - unlimited design, installation, unlimited support
- Web design freelance gigs
- Conduct design thinking 101 workshops - remote? Face-to-face?
- Design thinking coaching for teams
- Remote gigs - RemoteOK, Upwork, Fiverr
- Drop services - Repackage niche gigs from Upwork/Fiverr, add my own spin and expertise, charge for more, e.g. UXStoryboard.

**Info products**
– Next to services, info products are the next easiest to get off the ground, and move to revenue. Some upfront effort, but minimal recurring effort (other than marketing). What's something I'm already an expert in and can talk for hours without preparation?
- Keto ebook
- 5am club/sleep biohacking directory
- Twitter hacks directory
- Carrd helpkit - a comprehensive support directory of just about anything Carrd-related
- Design sprint guide and workbook

**SaaS/Software**
– No immediate payoff, but could be complementary to the other ideas with more fast payoffs. Some types of software can be done quickly and flipped too. What ideas in the drawer have I kept that I can execute on right now?
- Build and launch more Carrd plugins.
- Build apps with intention to flip on microacquire.
- Buy an app on microacquire, reflipped it for more months later.
- Put Sheet2Bio on sale.
- Pivot Sheet2Bio to B2B to show charts and stats.
- Build niche websites that grows from SEO, monetized via ads.
- New product idea: Plugins marketplace for any website. Repurpose Carrd plugins to be suitable for any website.
- Design thinking micro-SaaS: Storyboarding, service blueprints, journey maps, personas, stakeholder maps, insight writing, HMW AI engine, ideation prompt engines,

**Ecommerce**
– Selling stuff online is a popular trick. What can I sell that works well with what I'm good at, in niches that I'm familiar with?
- Finally kickstart my single item ecommerce site in waiting - career conversation cards.
- Indie hacker swag store? Posters, memes, tshirts, mugs, stickers.
- Use Midjourney to make physical products or printables to sell on Etsy? Tarot cards, posters?

**Grants**
– There's funders who are keen to give you money. Who are these funders and what can I do to apply?
- Ask for money to build tech for good apps from local philanthropic grants - SGStrong, Lien Foundation
- Ask for government productivity grants for local SMEs

**Slash big item spends**
- We dropped plans for an overseas trip in June.
- No staycations for time being.
- Relook insurance payments.

*What else can I do to quickly earn $1k more per month?*