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.
Why AI-Written Emails Look Weird When You Paste Them (And the 60-Second Fix)
Stray asterisks, strange spacing, punctuation you didn't type: why AI drafts break in email, and the one-paste fix.
9 Signs a Text Message Is a Scam (Check Before You Click)
The nine tells that give away almost every scam text, and the free way to check a message before you click.
7 Free Browser Tools That Never Send Your Data to a Server
Tools that do the work on your device and send nothing anywhere. Seven free ones, five of which I built, disclosure inside.
12 Gift-Finding Tricks for People Who Are Impossible to Shop For
For the person who 'doesn't need anything': twelve tactics that actually surface gift ideas, before the season hits.
7 Things You Can Automate With Claude Skills (From Someone Selling Three)
Repeat instructions are a tax. Seven workflows worth turning into one-command skills, from a builder with three live.
11 Boring Businesses That Quietly Make Millions
No apps, no venture capital, no glamour: eleven business categories with a long record of quietly minting millionaires.
9 Podcast Guesting Mistakes That Get Your Pitch Deleted
Hosts delete most pitches in under ten seconds. The nine reasons why, from the side of the inbox that does the deleting.
7 Reasons Daily Games Like Wordle Are So Addictive (The Design Rules Behind the Habit)
One puzzle, one minute, millions of morning rituals: the seven mechanics that make daily games grip, decoded for builders.
10 Things Every Great B2B Case Study Includes (From 15 Years of Writing Them)
Most case studies are congratulations documents. The ten elements that make one actually sell, from fifteen years of writing them.
7 Pet Costs That Blindside New Owners (Do the Math Before the Adoption Photos)
The adoption fee is a down payment. Seven costs that ambush new pet owners, and the calculator math that prevents it.
Does AI Leave Hidden Watermarks in Your Text? What's Actually in There
Invisible characters, weird spaces, and formatting tells: what AI really leaves in your text, and how to strip it.
Week 18 Shipped: Case Study Works, Fifteen Years Finally Productized
The build from my real-world specialty: fixed prices, two-day drafts, and the biggest swing on the board.
Week 17 Shipped: Who's the Weirdo? (The Portfolio's First Game)
Five questions, one minute, every day. The first game on the board, and the first build that has to earn a habit.
Week 16 Shipped: Scammer Checker (and the Portfolio's First $499 Product)
A scam checker that refuses to guess, 20 guides on day one, and the first business-priced product on the board.
Week 16: Subscriber Number One
For fifteen weeks the subscriber count read zero. It doesn't anymore. This post is the promised remembering.
Week 15 Shipped: Boring Millionaires, the Record of Unglamorous Wealth
The database pick paid off: 33 sourced case studies of unsexy wealth, shipped on schedule. Week 12 is avenged.
How to Save Notes and Tasks From Claude Conversations (Before They Scroll Away)
The good stuff in your Claude chats keeps scrolling into the void. Four ways to keep it, ranked honestly.
What Are Claude Skills? A Plain-English Guide From Someone Selling Three
The plain-English guide to Claude skills, written by someone with three of them live and one that's earned money.
Week 14 Shipped: JotThread, the Capture Layer for Claude
The organization skill has a name. One command, one Markdown file you own, $29 once. Live now.
Week 14: Building a Claude Skill for Organization
This week's build is a Claude skill for organization. The name lands at ship. The thesis lands right here.
You're One Build Away: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Start Small
The tools finally caught up to your ideas. The honest, energizing case for starting your small thing now.
The Best Time to Follow a Success Story Is Before It Is One
Everyone reads success stories after the ending. The rare, valuable thing is watching one before.
Start Here: One Person, 52 Businesses, $1,000,000, All In Public
New here? This is the whole story in one page, and your invitation to watch the rest happen live.
Weeks 9-13: The Directory Ate August. So I Shipped Something Else.
Five quiet weeks, explained honestly: the dataset grind, August's first product money, and a new ship.
Week 8: The Next Build Is a Directory. Which One? Help Me Pick.
First revenue landed, the toolkit shipped on time, and this week's build is a directory with the niche still open.
Beehiiv Review (2026): Why My Newsletter Runs on It From Subscriber Zero
The platform pick behind SideRoad's newsletter, reviewed honestly from subscriber zero, tradeoffs included.
First Revenue: $33.81. Now Comes the Hard Part: Distribution.
The project's first money just landed. Small number, enormous signal, and the full distribution plan it kicks off.
Week 7: Building an ADD Toolkit
This week I am building for the forty-tabs-open brain. Small, forgiving tools for people who struggle with ADD. Ships Friday.
Niche Site vs Micro-SaaS: Which Should You Build First?
Content site or small software product? The honest comparison on money, timelines, and AI-era durability.
7 Mistakes Everyone Makes Building a SaaS With Claude (And the Fixes)
Vague prompts, skipped tests, runaway bills, lost context. The seven documented ways Claude builds go wrong, with fixes.
Free Tools Are the Best Marketing a Solo Builder Can Do
One small free tool can out-market fifty blog posts in 2026. The why, the how, and my own early numbers.
Week 6: The Week It Got Hard
Six weeks, eight builds, zero dollars. This is the post where I am honest about the grind.
Claude Built Your App. Why You Still Don't Have a Business.
The app works. The revenue is zero. Here is the gap nobody talks about, and the exact five pieces that close it.
Is Passive Income Real? What My $0 Dashboard Says So Far
Mostly no, partly yes. The honest anatomy of passive income, written at $0 and updated as the numbers move.
Claude vs ChatGPT for Building a Business: The 2026 Answer
The two jobs that decide a solo business are writing and building. Here is the honest 2026 comparison for founders.
The Claude Prompts That Actually Start Businesses (5 Jobs, 5 Patterns)
Five prompt jobs, five patterns. How to get validation, naming, copy, SEO, and launch posts out of Claude that are actually good.
How to Get Cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and Google AI: The AEO Playbook
AI answers eat clicks unless you are the source they cite. The seven concrete moves of AEO, from a practitioner.
Can a Non-Coder Build a Business With Claude Code? An Honest Answer
Non-coders are shipping real products with Claude Code. Here is the workflow that works and the limits nobody mentions.
SEO for a Brand-New Website: The Only 7 Things That Matter in the First 90 Days
Not a 200-point checklist. The seven moves that matter in the first 90 days, in the order to do them.
How to Build a Real Company With Claude (Not Just Another Demo)
The complete idea-to-revenue path using Claude at every stage, from someone who does it weekly.
How Long Until a New Website Gets Traffic? Real Numbers From Real Sites
Actual first-month numbers from my own new sites, plus the honest 2026 timeline from zero to real traffic.
How to Make Your First Dollar Online (No Audience Required)
You do not need followers to get paid. The ranked paths to dollar one, with the exact first moves.
How to Make Money With AI in 2026 (The Honest Version)
Four AI money models that work, three that mostly don't, and what the middle of the journey actually looks like.
Week 5: MarkUpTo Ships, but the Big One Slips
MarkUpTo ships and the streak survives, but AI Gift Pro slips. Also: Onerate got its first three leads.
9 One-Person Business Ideas That Actually Work in 2026
Nine models a single person can actually run, ranked by speed to first dollar, with the honest tradeoffs of each.
27 Micro-SaaS Ideas You Can Actually Build in a Week (2026)
Not another list of billion-dollar fantasies. 27 small, buildable, chargeable ideas, sorted by type, with who pays.
Why You Never Finish Your Side Projects (And How to Actually Ship One This Week)
The five reasons projects die in the middle, and the one-week loop that gets you past all of them.
Drowning in AI Build Tools? The Only 5 You Actually Need to Ship
Five jobs, one tool each. Why a boring fixed stack ships more than chasing the best tool.
Cursor vs Lovable vs Bolt: Which Should a Solo Builder Actually Use in 2026?
Which builder actually fits you, the real tradeoffs, and why the tool is only 20% of shipping.
SaaS Boilerplate vs a Full Ship System: What $249 Actually Gets You
A boilerplate accelerates the code. A ship system carries the whole path. Which one you need.
What Reddit Says About Why Founders Never Ship (and the Fixes That Hold Up)
The crowd's best shipping advice, grouped into themes and pressure-tested against what works.
You Built It. Nobody Came. How to Get Your First 100 Users
Why launches flop, which two channels to pick, and the unscalable move that gets real users.
Week 4: Two Ships in One Week, Including the Big One
TextScrubr and ShipWolf in one week. The system itself is now a product, and I am running on pure adrenaline.
Is Building in Public Actually Worth It? An Honest Look
The honest case for and against, the audience-is-not-market trap, and how to start if you're shy.
Reddit's Biggest Build-in-Public Questions, Answered
Thirteen honest answers to the questions people actually ask, plus a first-week plan.
The Fastest Way to Validate a Startup Idea Before You Build (No Code Needed)
Test demand in days, measure behavior not opinions, and dodge the false signals that fool you.
Is It Too Late to Build an AI App? What the "It's Saturated" Crowd Gets Wrong
Why the 'it's saturated' crowd is wrong, and how to find the unserved slices hiding in plain sight.
How to Build and Launch a Micro-SaaS in a Weekend (A Realistic Playbook)
Friday to Sunday, idea to live. The realistic plan, what to cut, and the mistakes that kill it.
Can't Code? Exactly How to Build Your First App With AI in 2026
The grounded, no-hype walkthrough for non-coders, plus what a realistic first build looks like.
What It Really Costs to Build an App With AI (Tokens, Tools, and Traps)
The real line items, why credit bills spiral, and the biggest hidden cost of all: not shipping.
Week 3: Onerate, My First Swing at Real Money
A service business with a $4,500 price tag. Different muscle, same week, still buzzing.
Building for Months and Made $0? The Real Reasons (and What to Change)
The reasons for zero, a fast gut check, and a two-week reset to your first dollar.
Shiny Object Syndrome Is Killing Your Startup. Here Is the Cure.
Why the new idea always wins, the real cost of switching, and three guardrails that make you finish.
How to Launch Your Product on Reddit Without Getting Banned
The value-first ratio, how to post a launch that lands, and how to recover if you got banned.
Are Prompt Packs Worth It? When a Prompt Library Beats Winging It
The honest case for and against paying for prompts, and how to build your own library.
The "Ship Something Every Week" Method: How Constraint Beats Motivation
Why a public weekly deadline beats willpower, and how to keep the streak when life interferes.
Idea to Launched: The Complete Solo Founder Checklist for 2026
Idea to launched in eight stages, the tool for each, and the trap that derails each one.
Who Should (and Shouldn't) Buy a Solo-Founder Launch Kit
An honest look at who a launch kit fits, who should skip it, and how to decide without regret.
Week 2: BJJMath Ships and a System Starts Forming
Second build, faster build. The loop is becoming a system, and I can feel it.
Where to Build in Public in 2026: X vs LinkedIn vs Reddit vs Your Own Site
What each platform is good and bad at, why an owned home base wins, and how to not burn out.
Why Calculators Are the Best SEO Bet I Know Right Now
AI answers are eating blog traffic. Calculators barely feel it. Here's why I'm building my businesses around them instead of articles.
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.
"I Can Just Figure It Out Myself": The Real Cost of DIY vs a Ship Kit
When DIY genuinely wins, the invisible tax of doing it yourself, and the math to decide honestly.
What Reddit Really Thinks About Making Money From Side Projects
The honest revenue picture, why the highlight reel lies, and a realistic first year.
Vibe Coding, Explained: How People Build Real Apps by Just Describing Them
What vibe coding actually is, how the loop works, the honest limits, and how to try one this week.
Week 1: The Clock Officially Starts
MyNubs is live, the machine works, and I am unreasonably excited about a pet calculator site.
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.