🎄 Merry Christmas, Friends!
I hope you had a good time during the Christmas Holidays!
My Christmas was kind of a "Trouble in Paradise."
For the last ten days, I have had severe technical issues across all of my websites. The problem was caused by my hosting provider, Bluehost (already ex-hosting provider). They've decided to migrate my whole account to a new server, and it was supposed to be even a faster one. However, this is an excellent example of why you need to test things in small batches before making changes to the entire production line.
I wasn't the only one affected by this migration. I've spent hours chatting with Bluehost's agents, only to tell me that they are monitoring the problem, but they don't know when the performance issue will be resolved.
Okay. F*CK that. I've lost $$$ during the last ten days. I did what I had to do. Namecheap migrated my whole account from Bluehost for free. And I cannot be more than happy. Excellent support, cheaper service, and better performance.
Today I feel like I can finally relax a bit and not worry about first-world problems such as my websites. But this is a lesson to learn. I've been too slow to make the switch and too generous in trusting big-money corporation's words (Bluehost).
🥴 When You Have Too Many Things on Your Shoulders, You Get the B's
Last week, I told you that I am selling two of my niche websites. The one is a direct sell (which means a closed deal), the other one is listed for selling (because it is priced higher). I haven't finalized the deals, so I'll talk about details and numbers when the money arrives in my bank account.
But today, I want to tell you why I leaped.
Last week, I read Matthew McConaughey's book Greenlights (the book is excellent; he writes poetry and makes you think about what authentic living means). So, as I was reading, this paragraph really got under my skin:
And I've realized that currently, I am making B's. And I don't want my projects that way. I have too many projects which I can't let go of unless they are not mine.
Furthermore, Matthew's words brought back the story of how I started with niche sites.
My first sabbatical was at the age of 25-26, and I quit my corporate job to work only on one website, which wasn't making any money. Within six months of focused work only on that one website, I hit $10K/month income (that website is milaonsupplements.com, but today, it doesn't generate the cash, as recently, I completely pivoted content and structure).
So, I was capable of having A's. But not while working on 10 projects. And since I want to dabble into creating my own SaaS business, I needed to "clean the house."
This is my process of eliminating the B's and creating my A's.
💻 1 Year of Indie Hacking
I completely forgot that this month I am closing my first year as an indie hacker.
What can I say?
I wouldn't change a thing about my current lifestyle. For my 31 years on this planet, I did well in life. I'm not a millionaire. But I never wanted to be one. I've always chased the freedom, not solely the cash.
I've chased mornings without the rush.
I've chased mornings with warm coffee, warm books, and warm love.
I've chased free afternoons for the fresh air coming from the mountains I visit.
And I've chased free evenings to give the people I've lost.
This year, I've found all the things I've once chased. I hope I'll never lose them again. 🙏
✍️ Posts and Essays Recap
For all new newsletter members, I've sent my better essays at the begging of launching it. If you haven't read them yet, here is a recap:
Essays:
- A Short Essay on the Importance of Creating Today
- How I Won the Lottery Without Getting Lucky
- The Chicken Story [Short Story on Grit]
- The 2 Thing That Life Doesn’t Tolerate [Personal Story]
SEO & Marketing:
- How I Bent Gmail’s Hard Look into a Soft Kanban Board [Perhaps, out of Jealously]
- 7 Habit-Changing Lessons I’ve Learned by Being Exposed to Kanban Culture
- 1st Place Advice: How to Launch Your Product on Product Hunt
- Why Startups Should Start with SEO from Day 1 [Case Study]
- My Niche Website Projects Explained [Hardly]
- [Ahrefs+Airtable Tutorial] How to Find Long-Tail Keywords in Under 3 Minutes
- How to Use Fiverr for Link Building [Tutorial]
Interesting Stuff I've Read
Finally, some good content entered my email last week. Here is the best stuff I've read:
- LinkedIn Organic Playbook: I am not a big fan of LinkedIn, but to be honest, the post's reach numbers are very high. And this playbook explains how to acquire customers through LinkedIn. I enjoyed the bites.
- Squad Wealth: Taylor Pearson shared this article in his newsletter. This is truly an essay on the role of small groups (squads) in the current economy and society. I can relate. I've always been part of the squad, rather than the herd.
- The Lunch Money Stack: A SaaS Solopreneur's Toolkit. This is a must toolkit for any newbie building a SaaS business. This guide gives you at least a basic idea of what you need to learn when making your first app or product.
Well, I guess this is the last newsletter for 2020. I wish you an awe New Year's Eve! Cheers to a better 2021! 🥃
Own your future, Friends!
Mila 💌
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