Howdy Reader! I was glad to have my daughter home for Thanksgiving. She's a double major in writing and biology. She's set to graduate in 2027. If the headlines I've been reading are true, it's not going to be easy for her to find a job. The path I took to get my job was way different than what she'll need to do, I'm convinced. I'm also convinced that having a following, a community, and a brand will be more important than ever. Being on a creative journey isn't just for career people looking...
2 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! I've posted this a few times on Reddit. Here's the gist. You don't pay anything until you sell. All it takes is time to build a product that solves a particular problem. Get the information for the product in Google Docs. Build a community on the social platform of your choice (Threads, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit). List the product on Gumroad (costs nothing until you sell, then 10% + processor fees when it does). Use Stripe or PayPal as your payment processor. Build an email list...
3 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! The right tools are crucial for any successful creator. They have to pull their weight, though. Otherwise, they're just expenses that drain your will to create. I've been letting some tools do that to me for years. I let them hit my credit card without using them to earn. Going into next year, though, the tools I pay for will pull their weight. They'll more than pay for themselves, individually. The ones that don't? Away they go. Let's grow together! ~ John When you're up for...
4 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! Whatever your goals, and wherever you are in pursuing them ... ... you're exactly where you are meant to be. And that's something to be thankful about. ~ John When you're up for it, here are some other ways I can help you: Follow me on Threads and tag me there with a question about building your online presence Check out my other writing on my blog or on Medium Learn from my current side hustle challenges on Substack Note: Some links in this email may be affiliate links, and I...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! I've mentioned 750Words.com before. It's an online site to support a daily writing habit. I had been transferring my words into my notes app Obsidian from there. Thing is, I wasn't consistent. I'd forget and before too long it would be a couple weeks' worth of journaling I would transfer over. So, I flipped it. I started in Obsidian, and transferred the notes into 750Words. I still get the insights from 750Words, and I still get the bragging rights for my 231-day streak. But now...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! Tie goes to our church. He can crochet a frog in 15 minutes, start to finish. I visited his booth at a craft fair this weekend. I got something for my daughter. Oh ... did I mention Tie's twelve years old? His mom told me that he made over $400 that weekend. He's self-taught. Learns through YouTube. What can you learn to do to earn money on the side? Let's grow together! ~ John When you're up for it, here are some other ways I can help you: Follow me on Threads and tag me there...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! This is something that I need to grow out a little bit, but I'll share the premise with you. You probably know that you can save bookmarks to websites in your browser. You also might know that you can arrange bookmarks into folders (at least on Chrome). I have a number of collections of bookmarks that I display in the Bookmarks Bar, right under where I type the website address. By right-clicking on the folder, I can open all of the tabs at once. In this way, I can quickly review...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! Thanks for allowing me to share my insights with you. I appreciate it very much! Have a nice weekend and let's grow together! ~ John When you're up for it, here are some other ways I can help you: Follow me on Threads and tag me there with a question about building your online presence Check out my other writing on my blog or on Medium Learn from my current side hustle challenges on Substack Note: Some links in this email may be affiliate links, and I may earn a commission at no...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Howdy Reader! I have a freelance newsletter client. It's a weekly newsletter I put together for him. He reached out to me because he's got so much work, he needs to delegate. It's a great position to be in. One of my measures of success for this arrangement is that I save him time. He's buying his time back by paying me to write his newsletter. If I'm not saving him time, I'm not earning my keep. For a bit, I was concerned because he was rewriting a lot of what I gave him. I got feedback and...
11 days ago • 1 min read