It’s officially been one year since I quit my corporate job.
In the last year, I’ve shipped 10 things on the internet:
- 5x directory websites
- SEO consulting service
- Youtube channel
- SYD Newsletter
- Free community for directory builders
- A SaaS (enrich.directory, co-built)
It wasn’t until 9 months into taking the leap (December 2024), that I earned more in a month than I did in a month at my full-time job.
This last month, I made double what I made in a month at my job.
As I reflect on the last year, there’s two big factors that I didn’t consider when first leaving my job.
I underestimated:
- The compounding affect of momentum
- How shipping would open opportunities to meet new people, forge new paths, and build the confidence needed to experiment with more businesses
Opportunities I Never Saw Coming
As you can tell from my list of 10 shipped projects, the latter half was only made possible because I randomly made a YouTube video that did unexpectedly well.
The only reason I started making YouTube videos around directories was because I had built my own portfolio of SEO optimized directories.
Had I never shipped directories, it wouldn’t have led to SEO consulting, which would’ve never led to being confident enough to make this video reacting to Greg Isenberg’s video.
I think you get the point.
It’s cliche, but I never expected anyone to be interested in directory content. I kinda just did it as an experiment.
This is all to say that if you’re also shipping projects on the internet, you truly don’t know what will occur afterwards – the people you meet and the opportunities that present themselves.
It’s easy-ish to gauge whether the project in front of you will be successful or not.
It’s impossible to gauge whether that project, despite it’s failure or success, will lead you down a completely different path to success.
A Lesson Learned Around Perfectionism
I spent the first 3 months, from March-May of 2024, obsessively working on a single directory 24/7. It was an unhealthy level of tunnel vision.
In retrospect, this was a mistake.
The directory performed pretty well (and continues to), but I fell into a common trap that reminds me of a time I met a successful restaurant owner, named Steve.
Steve told me one of his biggest mistakes was when he launched his first restaurant.
He spent an excessive amount of time and money making sure every detail from the kitchen to the seating area was “perfect”, hiring the upscale interior designer, opting for the nicest countertops and lighting equipment.
Everything had to be perfect.
Later when the restaurant opened, people flocked to the restaurant and it was a success!
But he quickly realized that no one cared about the tile that he used or the intricate lighting systems he installed. He could’ve achieved a similar ambience and customer experience with less money, time and effort than he put in.
This is how obsessive I was with my first directory after quitting my job.
I was blinded, in many ways, by self-imposed pressure that I gave myself to succeed quickly.
My Unsolicited Advice
(Another cliche incoming…)
My competitive edge is being overly intentional around providing as much value upfront as possible.
And as a reminder, you don’t get to decide what’s valuable to others.
I think a value-first approach combined with ordinary levels of skills (SEO in my case) and consistent execution is a winning formula and a massive competitive advantage.
Building is becoming easier every day, but even still, the number of people who are actually executing is still staggeringly low.
That’s why I don’t mind sharing every tip or tactic that’s worked for my directories on YouTube. I know that 95% of people who watch probably won’t be my competitors anyways.
So (in Dory’s voice) just keep shipping…just keep shipping…just keep shipping, shipping, shipping.
Best,
Frey
