Surviving as a ‘solopreneur’

I am still a solopreneur. Not successful by society’s standards. Will not be showing you a way to earn 100 000k/month, will not be selling you a course.

I think the reality is a lot harder and bleaker than the influencer would like you to know. But it is a big BUT. I believe that everyone should have a side hustle with potential. The main reason is to have a sense of independence. It gives you an immense boost of self-confidence and self-belief. That will be projected into your daily life, your outlook, and your look. Of course, you can get this from your job, too, but do I need to explain here why you should not identify with your job?

For me personally, besides its psychological benefits, there were some other, no less significant. I learnt new skills (that I could utilize at work), I grew in terms of my interests, and I stayed creative. Being creative is a big one for me. It makes me feel more alive, and it is a great feeling.

I think most of us start for financial reasons. And yes, it is important. Just now, I had a few deposits to my account from something I worked on several years ago. Will it buy me a new house – no 🙂 Is it money that adds up? Yes.

So if you are reading this, still undecided, please go for it. Even if you fail, you can start again: even if it takes years, it will be a great platform for you to build and grow. Even if it does not bring you the money you expect, when you look back, you will see that it was worth it.

If you have already started, hopefully you agree with me. And btw what is your experience with solopreneurship? Any regrets?

My advice:

1. Start

2. Try different things

3. don’t throw all your money into it

4. Learn new skills to improve it

5. Motivate yourself (watch or listen to people who made it)

6. Think long term

Have a great Q4, dear friends 🙂

Current trend? Hunger for freshness.

I have observed something interesting.

And that goes for all my social media/side-businesses. A completely new thing, previously unseen by the algorithm, is rewarded instantly.

What I mean by this. I have automated my work and shrunk it into a number of templates that I tweak here and there. And the growth was small or minimal. I thought that it is just what it is. But the other day, I decided to create a completely new post, from scratch, no AI involved. Just for the sheer joy of creating (I know, right? Don’t laugh 🙂

Something unexpected happened. Impressions were up the next day; actually, they almost doubled. I was gobsmacked. O.K., maybe I am onto something. I am going to try this also in places that are ‘stale,’ and I am just on autopilot there. Let’s see if it works there. The only exception seems to be YouTube, I think it has an algo that is different from others. It basically does not care if you create something from scratch that has not been seen before; the algo is not impressed 🙂

I hope you all are doing well in this strange world, and keep on going, dear friends ☺️ (also, if you have a moment, share your experience; have you noticed the same thing?)

When everything is slow

So summers for me are always slow. I do not complain about it. I enjoy this time in a way. I am free. On holidays. Don’t have to run around sorting out a million things.

This year was pretty brutal in terms of revenue. Everything that has been taking off or started to take off has slowed down. So if you are experiencing the same thing, you are not alone. If you are doing great, good for you 🙂

My KDP income shrank to double digits. There are many reasons for that. But the main one that put me off was an email that said that I had used some photos that are not mine, and someone else is claiming them. That really shocked me, I was extra careful about that and only used Shutterstock pics to be safe, and yet. I did reach out to Shutterstock, and they were very helpful. Thankfully, I had the purchase and image ID number information. That cleared it pretty quickly. I don’t know if the person who claimed it was his photo was legit. I never contacted him and only communicated with Amazon. Amazon froze my account in the meantime for several weeks. Was I worried? No. I knew I had done no wrong. Was I angry? Yes, you bet. I knew I just had to wait for everything to blow over. Soon enough, it did. The account was reinstated, and only the product with the image that was disputed stayed shelved. After all this, only an unpleasant aftertaste was left. I have no interest in growing on that platform, and basically not doing anything with it for now.

My Etsy shops are not doing great. I do get visits only thanks to social media and some limited advertisements. I scaled down the Etsy Ads, and it resulted in fewer visits/orders. The digital products suffered the most; there is almost no organic exposure on Etsy at the moment. Will I close my shops? No. I give them more love than my Amazon accounts. Love it more because the products are closer to my heart. But yes, Etsy sales are not phenomenal either.

As I mentioned, on social media, the organic reach has halved, and I have a really hard time getting it to the previous levels. It might be because of the AI influx, it might not. I have noticed that all platforms, including YouTube, aggressively push their own “promote” button. And that does not work for me, as I am holding on to using ads. My experience is that ads help, but it is not a save-all. If you start using them, the platform will always push you to keep on using them. And for me personally, ads mostly increased visits/likes, but not the sales as such. I know that there are many methods for using ads, but I am not that sophisticated in marketing, even after all those years. I think, if I worked in a corporation and was “trained” there, I would be better at advertising, or perhaps not 🙂

What am I doing now? Well, I am carrying on with my solopreneurship because I worked on it for so long, I still enjoy it, and I have not gotten to the point where I think it is completely pointless. At this point, it is not bringing me the retirement I was hoping for when I started many years ago.

I always end with some action points in my posts, but honestly, this list might seem a bit lame to you 🙂

  1. Looking at everything that is still working, double down on that
  2. Cutting out anything that is not effective (ads, platforms that are failing)
  3. Simplifying systems, posting less, being more targeted
  4. Doing less. Yes, doing less. Having had burnouts before, I have learnt my lesson.
  5. Building community

So that is all for today, dear friends 🙂

Toxic people will always be toxic, so just carry on with your own journey, regardless

And what about them? This might be a very unusual post, but it might be useful to someone who is like me.

I was always torn between two feelings with regard to social media:

I disliked the fact that people I do not particularly like, and they don’t like me, will be looking at my social media for different reasons – boredom or curiosity (the better reason), hunger for information, a reason to have more information (although useless – hahaha), having a laugh (not too bad), or a reason to dislike me even more. Partly, it is my mistake, I do not share my private life unless I trust someone. I basically keep to myself, and I understand that people will wonder – what is she up to? What is she hiding, right? And the truth is – nothing. I just don’t like to trumpet everything to everyone 🙂 So yes, this feeling always stopped me from going full-on with media. I am aware that there are people who, no matter what you do, will find a reason to dislike you or even hate. So that is one feeling I have. On the other hand…

I always loved sharing my writing and thoughts, especially with people who are on the same wavelength. It is a magical feeling, something deeply human about it. And this is what social media can do. It is its good side, so to speak. You find your peeps even if you thought there couldn’t be anyone who would be like the same thing or be interested in the same stuff. So this feeling reeled me in and eventually won. Because I am an optimist by nature, I believe that you will connect with more people who are good rather than with people who are not particularly nice.

(These times are quite chaotic, and there are times when I wonder if there is a point to social media at all. It has been so divisive and dividing recently, rather than connecting and warm.)

But if I am looking at social without any emotion, just with pure logic, did it help me in any way to advance? And the answer will have to be, yes. It enabled me to pursue my hobbies, turning them into mini-businesses. It helped me to learn and grow. And, I did connect with some lovely people.

On the other hand, it also ate up so much of my free time. I will never get that back (I am limiting my time in a more efficient way now). And it did make people laugh behind my back (but so what, right?), people judging, feeding their curiosity, and whatever.

In all, however, the positives outweigh the negatives. I am carrying on with it all. It is a part of my social story now. Digital footprint, if you like. Documenting how one person is building a one-person business. If nothing else, isn’t that enough? It is for me. I know that now.

I hope this will help you to keep on going, especially if you have similar thoughts to mine.

Have a great spring, dear friends, and make it a productive one 🙂

P.S. This topic is a very popular one. It definitely brings in lots of traffic, but what does that mean? Does it mean that there are so many toxic people around us that people need to read about it? That is sad. But for me personally, I am done with this topic.

Also, I forgot to write one important thing that might make you feel a little bit better – and this is based on my lived experience:- toxic people are not happy people, they will constantly compare and compete (and that is exhausting), their lives are never what they present to outside world, and lastly, I realised that I would never want their life, no matter how successful they look 🙂

Create and find your tribe, even in the unsettled times

Let’s not go all doom and think about what the real point is in creating today. The times are really strange, to say the least. Not mentioning the AI, the society’s ethos in general is simply weird. Many things we hear and see seem unreal.

Is there any point to creating a one-person business in these post-modern times? To put it simply, I think we should not give up. But we likely have to pivot, reframe, transform, and even drop certain aspects of our creative process. What can be offered to society today?

I think there is going to be a great hunger for anything that is human-produced, that is genuine, not faultless, built on lived experience. Can you address the problems of modern life and offer a viable solution? The problems I see around and that need to be addressed are plenty, for example, feeling of isolation, loneliness, no agency, and no meaning. You can still build your one-person business if you offer strategies that solve these issues or if you can lead individuals/communities in a meaningful way. You can still build your one-person business if you provide an explanation of the changing world, help to make sense out of it, and show how to live in it in a meaningful way.

The world of work is changing; there is no doubt. The one-person business model is changing with it. I do not have a crystal ball, but what is still valuable is our specific lived experience, specific story, and perspective. So let’s go with that until the fog lifts, and we can see more clearly.

One thing I have to mention here. You have to look after yourself. You need to continue building yourself up – your energy, physical health, and mental health. It is the cornerstone of a one-person business now AND in the future.

Have a great week, dear friends 🙂

P. S. Some ideas and current topics:

  1. Human-to-human connections
  2. Information overload
  3. Simplifying life
  4. Lack of focus
  5. Short memory span
  6. Polarization/Disharmony
  7. Tiredness, burnout
  8. Inability to think critically
  9. Lack of leadership
  10. Moral compass

P.S. July 2026 – I have found that getting together a group of people with the same interest, or similar issues, can be very beneficial for mental health and problem-solving. I think this is one of the ‘forgotten’ solutions in a time when most people are mostly just with their phones or a small group of people they did not choose. If you have a group you choose, based on a common, let’s call it a ‘common vibe’, and solving problems or bouncing off ideas in that safe group is greatly beneficial. Simple exchange of ideas and solutions. Social media originally claimed to do this, but lost its way; we all know it. If you struggle, see if you can find your tribe, you might be pleasantly surprised.

My Q4 and going forward

In my past posts, I have been complaining about my low sales during Q4, while everyone else is having the best time of the year. This time, it’s different. No, my sales did not skyrocket, but I am choosing a different mindset. No more moaning (yes, I could do that and start with how AI messed up everything for me) and no more being the “victim” (the algorithm does not like me, stuff).

I suppose I am growing up. Realising a few things about solopreneurship.

  1. Yes, it is very “solo”. You have to do everything yourself.
  2. It is slow, very slow.
  3. You need to learn all the time.
  4. You need to adapt all the time.
  5. You need to persist, be consistent, and show up again and again.
  6. You are the main motivator, investor, and auditor.
  7. It is not “one job”, but several bundled up and done together.
  8. You will not see any reward for a long time (or at least it feels like a long time for you)

So, after several years, I have made some small breakthroughs. I have got consistent traffic (albeit small) to my Etsy shops and Social media, and I have made some sales in Q4. Yes, it is a trickle. But where there is a trickle, there can be a stream. This year, I have been focusing mainly on setting systems and collecting data. That should be a good and healthy springboard to 2026.

Also, if you know me by now, I do have a shiny object syndrome, and I am constantly testing new things on the side. It keeps the boring and mundane more exciting. I am seriously looking into Facebook, which I have been rejecting and avoiding religiously for many years (my mindset stopped me there), and I will give more time to Substack as it has so much potential, especially for local community building. Did try Threads briefly, but will probably give them a miss, as I feel that most of it is just shouting into the void.

The steps I will be focusing more on are as follows:

  1. Following the data from Q4, doubling down on what worked.
  2. Simplifying processes, are the systems working?
  3. Can I use AI and where to save my time?
  4. Trying Facebook/Substack, while dropping Threads
  5. Prioritizing my health, doing less if possible.

I hope you all will have a fabulous 2026, dear friends, and that you will stay on the solopreneur journey 🙂

P.S. This blog is still going to be about the same thing. A super ordinary person, trying to become independent and self-employed based on what can be learned from mostly freely available resources. Is it achievable? And will I find out the answer in 2026? 🙂

Update – July 2026, still have not achieved my goals :), not giving up, staying optimistic but not naive. And I do still love Q4, it does not bring millions, but indicates what works and where to double down (and which way to carry on).

Just waiting for the current Q4. Excited as always. I do see an uptake if I compare my first and last. It is very slow – snail slow so to speak. About doubling down: it does not always work. Variations of my best-sellers never shine as well as the best-seller. What works better is using only parts or components of the best-seller in a new product. So yes, success does leave clues, but cloning is not the way. At least not for me. It seems that the algorithm gives you a certain bandwidth, but will not want to promote the same or similiar looking product. I call it “the algo gets tired of it.” Its hunger for freshness will beat anything else (unless you are running expensive ads, of course).

Why mistakes are good

I know, it is getting boring – AI this and AI that. But I hope you remember my argument why being human online is important. And I have a little proof to back it up today.

It happened to me on three platforms, within a span of a few months. I was invited to be a part of a smaller community, or I was asked to take part in beta testing. Namely, these platforms are Etsy, Pinterest, and Canva. I have been using all of them for years.

Do I have any advantages because of that? To be honest, no. At least not at the moment, but I can tell that big platforms want to connect with real people and create little communities that they can rely on. Maybe a shift?

So I hope this little post motivates you to keep on going, just as wonderful and just as human you are….

How I do it:

  1. I basically write as I speak. Using Grammarly here and there.
  2. I do not aim for perfection.
  3. I write about my own experience.
  4. I use my own thoughts and ideas, not ChatGPT
  5. I am legit and truthful across the platforms (often confused with authenticity)

Have a great autumn, dear friends 🎃

Is the solo-preneur route still worth it?

So many things have happened since my last post. And it really felt glum.

Not only AI creations everywhere, but also tariffs, the cost of living, and blah, blah, blah. I was really feeling that there is no point continuing the solo entrepreneur way, no matter how glamorous it sounds 🙂 My social media presence was stagnant across the board, probably the lowest it has been.

So, what is the situation now? It is getting better; views and visits have increased slightly, but that is to be expected, as autumn has always been my best season.

I am going to restructure my media, staying faithful to Pinterest and YouTube, and doing very little on Instagram.

Pinterest – not growing, there was a significant dip, but it is getting better now, so I am keeping it

YouTube – I realised a long time ago that it pays very little in my niche, but the real value is brand awareness and links to the shop/services, so yes, I am keeping it

Instagram – is the weakest link, very little value for me personally, I know some people swear by it

The time and energy I save by this, I will redirect to Facebook. Yes, Facebook. I just want to try to see if I can really reach my target audience there.

And Substack. I heard a lot about it. I like the community aspect of it. It seems to be less toxic than other media, and it will push me to write more regularly.

But to answer the question above, for me at the moment, I am grateful to have a job that I enjoy and that gives me time to build my side hustle. I have accepted that I might be one of the people who tried to be an entrepreneur but never achieved it. Something is comforting in this knowledge. Will I keep on trying? Of course, I will.

Have a great autumn, dear friends 🍀

Is there any point in staying creative?

I have been asking myself this. I have lost many views on Pinterest and YouTube since my last post. The accounts are literally getting choked by the amount of “other content” that appeared in massive amounts. So what am I doing about that? Let’s call it weathering out the storm.

For my mental health’s sake, I look at my analytics only once a day, usually in the morning. I keep on with my posting schedule – for the sake of consistency, but I streamlined it a bit. I do not give it more time than before, actually, I give it a little be less of my time. I changed a few things – from generic to super specific and very authentic.

The data is still not in, so I cannot tell at this point if it is working. I am spending more time on AI – educating myself as much as I can (but not becoming sick of it). And looking for ways to automate what I can. My main question is: What is the advantage of these times? Not many people are able to give me a clear picture. Usually, it is just a fragment of their view and their reality. But it does seem that the internet as we know it is changing.

I am relying on something that always worked for me – creativity, authenticity, directness, and a small circle of friends/community members. Is this a good strategy? Ask me in five years 🙂

What I am doing now:

  1. Revising my goals
  2. Streamlining/changing social media (Substack maybe?)
  3. Figuring out how to use AI in my systems
  4. Learning more about AI and how it disrupts the internet world

Have a great summer, dear friends 🍀

“Do What You Can” Strategy

Recently, I have been overwhelmed more than ever. Yes, it is caused by the AI avalanche, and I have written about it in my previous post. And will not mention it here again. It’s more about the feeling I have when summer creeps in, seeing everyone on holiday, chilling, and relaxing. It is the time when I recap the Q1 and Q2 (they are almost always slow and laborious). I always try to figure out what I am doing wrong and what I can do better, and it is always about doing more. And that is exhausting.

Recently, I have had enough posts and videos coming across my desktop with titles like these: Do less, to achieve more! Discover the slow-living lifestyle! Stop trying so hard! So I thought to myself, why don’t I try, at least for a while, to do less? I do not have to be on every social media ten times a day, I do not have to have ten research tools, and I do not have to have a new product every week.

I am not embracing the slow living lifestyle, yet, or hiring a van and going off to the mountains, no. But what I am doing is reducing the clutter, streamlining, and sticking to a very simple process. Actually, creating processes and structures that are basic and not overbloated – and take less time. So that is my summer plan. I call it “Do what you can strategy” while staying sane, not burning out, and fairly happy. Is it too much to ask? There is a fear, I admit that by doing that, I will miss something, I do not know what it is exactly, just feels strange. I somehow feel guilty by doing less…

And yes, it is nothing new. The saying: work smarter, not harder, comes to mind. We all have heard it. But how? I am doing this in my typical amateurish way:

  1. Looking at everything, every task I do regularly.
  2. Can I simplify it somehow?
  3. Can I drop it completely?
  4. Making a new visual workflow based on those three points above.
  5. Putting a time limit on the new tasks/assigning a day
  6. Reducing posting frequency on SM

Questions I have: Will this change anything? How will it show on my results? I am giving it 3 months, which will get me through Q3, and then I can decide for Q4 if I am going to stay with it or go back to my old ways.

So that is my summer, dear friends. I hope you all are having an awesome time and getting closer to your successful solopreneur dream 🙂