In 2018, I was begging on the streets of Nigeria, going days without eating.
By 2022, I had a room and a laptop, and I was still stuck. Off the streets, but nowhere near free. Freelancing for pennies. Distracted. Directionless.
So I made one decision. I sold my phone, cut every distraction I couldn't control, went off social media, and went all in on email marketing. Nothing left to scroll. All I'm left with is just the work. One month later, I earned $2,000. Three months later, I'd made more than the previous three years combined.
That's not a motivational story, it might sound so, but it's a systems story. I didn't need more talent or more tools. I needed fewer distractions and something repeatable.
I turned that skill into a Top Rated Upwork profile with a 100% Job Success Score and 100+ projects. Then I noticed something uncomfortable: I was building systems for everyone but myself.
So I built my own. WritePat, an AI-assisted platform that turns newsletters into platform-native posts, took me 22 days. Alone, with no team and no outside funding. The email skill that pulled me out of that room is the same one paying for the build.
Why do it alone? Because it's the only way to know the system works: if it holds up with one person and one room, it'll hold up for you.
Why document all of it? Because most people don't have a skill problem. They have a focus problem and a system problem. Fix those two, and the results follow. I'd rather show you how than tell you to hustle.
This newsletter, The Solo Stack, is where I share the build in real time: the tools I use, the systems that work, the things that break. No hype, no highlight reel. Some weeks it's a win. Some weeks it's a lesson I paid for. Either way, you get the real version.
Every Saturday, I send one email on how it's going, so you can build yours faster. If you're building something on your own, you're in the right place.
I write about how one person builds a business that doesn't fall apart. Most advice on this is hype or hindsight, written by people who've forgotten what the first year felt like. I'm still in it, so you get the version with the mess left in.
Every Saturday I take one of these and show you how it actually went, wins and misses included. Take what's useful and build yours.
Sharing the honest journey from zero to something. Over 700 already subscribed.
One email every Saturday. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
