My Biggest Lesson Doing a $10K in 30 Days Challenge

2 pointsmichepriest3y ago4 comments

After getting laid off for the third time I decided I had enough of building other people’s dreams. I was going to go out on my own. The problem was I didn’t know what to build.

After a year of learning to build no-code apps, produce podcasts, create online courses, ebooks, e-commerce, and even learning how to create illustrations I was nowhere close to figuring it out.

Many solopreneurs want the autonomy of being self-employed, but the ramp up is brutal. I decided to do a $10K in 30 days challenge to see if I could figure it out.

It’s day 29. I’m at $3,646.57 with $23K in the pipeline. Two major meetings got rescheduled. It’ll take a miracle to make it, but with the internet you never know.

My strategy (below is my Hail Mary):

Come up with a variety of products/services at varying price points. I asked, what if I sold:

1 - $10K item (corporate workshop), 10 - $1K items (illustration packs), 100 - $100 items (info products/courses/coaching snacks), 1000 - $10 items (e-commerce)

Get the word out through sales (reach out to 50 people/week), social media, and podcasts

What actually happened:

50 outreaches/week was too many. 20/week is intense but doable

Launched 7 products (find most on Gumroad under michepriest)

Dropped the ball on podcasts

I sold a mix of everything except the corporate workshops.

My biggest lesson:

Reaching out to 100 people led to opportunities I could never have imagined.

1 potential license deal for my micro-coaching service Unstuck in 15 where I get people unstuck with 3 questions in 15 minutes

1 pack of Unstuck in 15 gift certificates for corporate gifts

3 collaborations for online courses

1 illustration pack which could end up being a long term contract

1 Upwork gig consulting on two AI products

Second biggest lesson:

Put as many buy button on the internet as possible and have big ticket items

Bonus: I learned what I want to offer that people actually want, who I want to serve, and got over my fear of publishing.

My Hail Mary:

Reach out to 100 connections in one day with an offer I believe they will find valuable

If you have any ideas for how I can earn $6,353.43 in sales in one day, I’m all ears. Whether I hit the target or not doesn’t matter. I’ve already won, but it would be fun to do so.

4 comments

_the_inflator3y ago

I wish you good luck with your services. However, "where I get people unstuck with 3 questions in 15 minutes" sounds brutally fishy. Psychologists struggle with this for decades, and it is evidence based work they do. ;)

michepriestOP3y ago

Thank you. I’m happy to share more information. It’s a framework that’s been developing organically tying in my work/life experience and masters research.

There are 3 ways people get stuck. 1. Trying to force an outcome on one solution. 2. Thinking in the binary with option A and option B. 3. Too many options.

Once the pathway to being stuck is identified, there are 5 categories of questions that get people unstuck. 1) Widen the lens - explore all of the options 2) Missing data - people can get stuck when they don’t have enough information about their options 3) Risks - When people know their options and the details but haven’t considered all of the risks 4) External factors - usually disagreeing with an authority figure such as investors, stakeholders or parents and partners 5) Internal factors such as lacking confidence

The constraints of 3 questions and 15 minutes forces me to ask high caliber questions. I don’t need to know the answer. I just need to figure out the questions to ask. You may not reach a decision, but you will have clarity on the next steps

groffee3y ago

It's bad enough seeing this kind of spam on Twitter, we don't need it here too.

michepriestOP3y ago

It’s an experiment. Many people are trying to figure out a way to make a living that doesn’t require giving our time away to someone else. As much as I’m sharing ideas, I’m looking for ideas for how to stay self employed longer so I can support and be there for my family. My mom lost my dad, and my children lost their dad. No employer would have given me/will give me the time off I need

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

My Biggest Lesson Doing a $10K in 30 Days Challenge

2 pointsmichepriest3y ago4 comments

After getting laid off for the third time I decided I had enough of building other people’s dreams. I was going to go out on my own. The problem was I didn’t know what to build.

After a year of learning to build no-code apps, produce podcasts, create online courses, ebooks, e-commerce, and even learning how to create illustrations I was nowhere close to figuring it out.

Many solopreneurs want the autonomy of being self-employed, but the ramp up is brutal. I decided to do a $10K in 30 days challenge to see if I could figure it out.

It’s day 29. I’m at $3,646.57 with $23K in the pipeline. Two major meetings got rescheduled. It’ll take a miracle to make it, but with the internet you never know.

My strategy (below is my Hail Mary):

Come up with a variety of products/services at varying price points. I asked, what if I sold:

1 - $10K item (corporate workshop), 10 - $1K items (illustration packs), 100 - $100 items (info products/courses/coaching snacks), 1000 - $10 items (e-commerce)

Get the word out through sales (reach out to 50 people/week), social media, and podcasts

What actually happened:

50 outreaches/week was too many. 20/week is intense but doable

Launched 7 products (find most on Gumroad under michepriest)

Dropped the ball on podcasts

I sold a mix of everything except the corporate workshops.

My biggest lesson:

Reaching out to 100 people led to opportunities I could never have imagined.

1 potential license deal for my micro-coaching service Unstuck in 15 where I get people unstuck with 3 questions in 15 minutes

1 pack of Unstuck in 15 gift certificates for corporate gifts

3 collaborations for online courses

1 illustration pack which could end up being a long term contract

1 Upwork gig consulting on two AI products

Second biggest lesson:

Put as many buy button on the internet as possible and have big ticket items

Bonus: I learned what I want to offer that people actually want, who I want to serve, and got over my fear of publishing.

My Hail Mary:

Reach out to 100 connections in one day with an offer I believe they will find valuable

If you have any ideas for how I can earn $6,353.43 in sales in one day, I’m all ears. Whether I hit the target or not doesn’t matter. I’ve already won, but it would be fun to do so.

4 comments

_the_inflator3y ago

michepriestOP3y ago

Thank you. I’m happy to share more information. It’s a framework that’s been developing organically tying in my work/life experience and masters research.

There are 3 ways people get stuck. 1. Trying to force an outcome on one solution. 2. Thinking in the binary with option A and option B. 3. Too many options.

groffee3y ago

It's bad enough seeing this kind of spam on Twitter, we don't need it here too.

michepriestOP3y ago

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse