My long-term goal is time and location freedom.

This is the reason why I started an online side hustle and started scaling my one-person mini-business.

People say that in the beginning, you have to put in more work. But with AI and other tools available, I want to put the time constraint as early as now.

I want to prove it’s possible to work 2 hours daily and scale to 6 figures.

Why 2 hours?

I work 8 hours every day at 9-5.

My commute time is 45 minutes.

I take an hour to get ready.

I spoil myself by:

• Taking a walk outside.

• Meditating

• Exercising

If building a 6 figure side hustle would stop me from doing these (even though temporarily) I don’t want it.

Here’s the strategy I’m sticking to until the end of the year (I’ll update you with results throughout 2024):

2 hours of foundational tasks on Mondays

Every week, I block two hours to schedule 21-35 tweets.

I schedule these to 3-5 tweets per day on Hypefury.

Why is this important?

It helps me gather data. First off, it would be a complete waste of time if I was doing the wrong thing. The only way for me to know what works is by listening to data. Posting short-form content helps me use minimal time while experimenting with what works. Having 35 tweets at the end of the week lets me analyze my analytics and figure out what resonated with my audience.

It makes it easier to generate long-form content. Once I know what resonated with my audience, I can just expand my tweets into longer articles. In Ship30for30, we call this the “lean writing”. At the end of the week, I check my analytics, pick the best-performing tweets, and then expand by adding stories, frameworks, more insights, etc.

It helps me reach more people. Without an audience, it would be impossible to scale to 6 figures. By posting more content (again, the shorter, the faster, and easier), I can attract more people who are interested in the same things as me. Twitter algorithm is tricky so volume is always the answer.

It helps me generate more ideas. Lastly, creativity is a muscle. The more short content you write, the more ideas come to you. I keep a list of my ideas in Apple Notes. This lets me catch ideas during my walks or whenever I’m doing something throughout the day. By the time it’s time to sit down and write, ideas start pouring in.

If you are starting and have limited time, I recommend this strategy:

• Write tweets every week for 2 hours

• Engage for 15 minutes daily on Twitter

This should get the ball rolling.

2 hours of lever-moving task on Fridays

One of my biggest mistakes was not starting my newsletter earlier.

By sending a weekly newsletter, I gain the trust of my loyal readers. This is where I share personal frameworks that worked, products and tools I believe in, and get answers from the right people so I can help them better.

there is a lot of noise on Twitter. even though I have 2k followers, most of them don’t read my posts. This means they are not the kind of people I can help.

My newsletter subscribers tell a different story. Through my newsletter, I can have affiliate earnings when I share the products that worked for me. I can sell the products that I believe in. I can ask help what else they need help with so I can create valuable products and services.

The people from my email list are the ones I need to take care of.

They are the potential buyers so I need to provide value as much as I can.

I started my newsletter in November.

Every Friday, I sit down and write a short letter. On Saturdays, I edit and refine it, then schedule it for publishing on Sunday morning. My platform of choice is Beehiiv.

Another reason why having a newsletter is important is because social media algorithm always changes. They can also take out social media platforms in a snap of a finger. And if that happens, my business will die.

Having an email list will put you in a safe place

If you are starting, I recommend collecting emails starting on Day 1.

I did this by extracting my Medium subscribers and creating a free Gumroad product.

2 hours of client work and building products every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

I used to spend the rest of my days dealing with clients - ghostwriting, taking coaching calls, and sending cold DMs.

At the start of 2024, I started shifting gears. I now use this time to work on 6-week projects.

This is usually building a specific product.

In the last few weeks, I used my time to write more long-form posts. I took a new writing course because I wanted to practice creating more engaging content. This would help me market build a bigger audience and market my products better once they are available.

I’ve been using this time to write Medium articles and long-form Twitter posts. I then repurpose this content as applicable.

2 hours of weekly check every Sunday.

Sunday is my rest day.

I try not to work during this time. Yet, it doesn’t feel write when I don’t write a single day. So I write in my journal instead. Then from my journal, I write down ideas and plan the week.

If I don’t plan the week, the rest of the days become a disaster. I wouldn’t know what to do for the whole week.

When I know what to do, I know I have to go to bed on time and rise with a purpose.

I know my approach is never perfect.

The only way I can grow my business is to become brutally honest during my weekly checks.

For example, I used to do client work but realized it’s not the kind of thing I enjoy the most.

It feels more like another 9-5 job for me. Other people’s deadlines stress me out. Getting ready for calls makes me anxious.

During my weekly checks, I review what I worked on. I analyze how I feel doing my tasks and if I need/want to keep doing them. I reflect on whether I need to start doing new things or keep my old ways.

By building products and learning how to sell, I make my time more enjoyable. The problem is I have no previous experience doing this, so I’d have to keep experimenting again. Hopefully, I’ll be able to share with you what works. If I can, I can help you save time and energy.

So stay tuned for my results this year.

That’s it for today.

Hope you’re having a wonderful Sunday!

-M

PS. I’m building a new product about finding your niche. I’m giving away FREE access to my newsletter subscribers.

If you are interested, reply NICHE to this email.