One-Person Business Examples
Examples the source uses to illustrate self-monetization and creator-led business.
Justin Welsh
Justin Welsh is presented as an executive who began sharing skills, opinions, and story through public writing before quitting outright. His audience grew from the value he shared. He then created consulting offers, worked with fewer people at higher value, and later packaged systems into self-paced products.
Source role: proves that public writing plus experience can become a one-person business built around life rather than life being built around business.
Dan Koe
The author presents his own path:
- observed early that the default school-job-retirement path was not for him;
- experimented with photography, web design, minimalist wallets, and other attempts;
- became good at failure over several years;
- took a web design job;
- created small websites and custom lead-generation flows for service businesses;
- left the job after client work grew;
- realized freelance work had become a new job;
- began writing posts, articles, newsletters, books, guides, and replies around his interests;
- built a paid community with articles, templates, and calls;
- evolved the business around writing and later a writing software/company.
Source role: shows the repeating problem-solution-next-problem cycle of self-monetization.
Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson is used as an example of someone whose story, knowledge, and mind are distributed through modern tools: books, public speaking, social media, education products, and media. The source's point is that depth and message can outweigh short-term marketing tactics.
Self-Solved Product Examples
The source gives non-information-product examples:
- blue-light glasses for migraine sufferers;
- cotton clothing for people concerned about polyester;
- sensitive-skin soap improved through horticulture and botanicals;
- planners refined from testing multiple planner systems;
- software that removes friction from the author's writing workflow.
Source role: self-monetization is not limited to teaching or writing. Old products plus story plus internet distribution can become differentiated if they solve a problem for similar people.