The Journal
Playbooks from building in public
No-hype, field-tested guides on building online businesses with AI, growing an audience, and earning your first revenue. One new post a week — written from the actual trenches.
How to Build a Calculator Website That Actually Ranks
The exact playbook I used for MyNubs and BJJMath — picking the calculators, building them fast, and making them rank.
Programmatic SEO, Explained Without the Hype
It sounds technical and a little scammy. It's neither. The plain version of programmatic SEO — and the line that gets you penalized.
How to Get Traffic From Reddit Without Getting Banned
Reddit sends real traffic and AI engines cite it constantly. It'll also ban you in an hour. Here's how to do it without torching your account.
How to Find Low-Competition Keywords Without Paying for a Tool
You don't need a $99/month SEO tool to find keywords a new site can actually rank for. Here's the free way I do it.
Free Tools Are a Growth Strategy, Not a Side Project
A free calculator or tool can out-perform a year of blog posts. Why tool-led growth works — and how to start with just one.
How to Build a Landing Page That Converts (Without a Designer)
The anatomy of a page that sells, the tools that do the heavy lifting, and how to validate it — no design skills required.
I Spent a Month Building With AI App Builders. Here's What Actually Ships.
Lovable, Bolt, Cursor, v0, Emergent — I ran them through real builds, not demos. What shipped, what broke, and the one I kept.
The Dark Side of Vibe Coding
The demos look effortless. Then you try to ship to real people. The parts of “anyone can build an app” nobody puts in the thread.
Is SEO Dead? What “GEO” Actually Means If You're Small
AI answers are eating clicks and everyone's selling you a new acronym. What's real, what's hype, and what a small site should actually do.
How to Create Content With AI That Actually Pulls in Traffic
Two AI-powered engines that pull real traffic without being on camera: faceless video and free interactive tools.
How to Turn Your Side Hustle Into a Real Business
The signs it's time, the boring stuff that matters, and how to make your first hire — without formalizing too early.
What Is Building in Public? A Plain-English Guide for 2026
Sharing the journey openly — wins, revenue, and flops. What it really is, why it works, and how to start.
How to Build an Online Business With AI in 2026 (Honest Guide)
A no-hype, step-by-step path from idea to first paying customer — using AI to move faster, not to fake it.
The Best AI Tools for Solo Founders in 2026 (My Actual Stack)
The real stack I use to ship a business a week solo — building, writing, design, and launch. No paid placements.
How to Make Your First $1,000 Online (A Realistic Roadmap)
Why the first dollar is the hardest, the fastest paths, and the exact steps to your first $1,000 online.
How to Ship a Product in 7 Days (My Weekly Build Process)
The exact day-by-day system I use to take a product from idea to launched in one week, every week.
11 AI Side Hustle Ideas You Can Actually Start This Weekend
Eleven realistic AI side hustles you can start this weekend — no audience needed, with the first-customer move for each.
How to Validate a Business Idea in a Weekend (Before You Build)
A weekend method to test demand before you build — the signals that actually predict sales, and the ones to ignore.
Is Building in Public Dead? An Honest Look at What Still Works
Saturated and over — or just maturing? An honest look at what changed, what still works, and how to do it well now.
How to Get Your First 100 Subscribers (With No Audience)
From zero to 100 subscribers: why email beats followers, where the first ones come from, and how to keep them.
SEO for Founders: How to Get Your First Organic Traffic
Plain-English SEO for solo builders: how to find keywords you can actually rank for and earn your first organic visitors.