Chapter 64: What I Wish Someone Told Me a Year Ago

In December I was back in San Diego after a year away.

I caught up with a number of friends, and most were curious about what I was doing. But one conversation stuck with me.

A buddy of mine has been through the ringer. Performed well at every company he's worked for, but laid off three times in five years.

Different companies, same story. Restructuring. Acquisition. Budget cuts.

Each time, he did everything right and still got the axe.

He was fed up. Not just with the job market, but with the whole setup.

Going into an office. Doing work he didn't love. No guarantee that on any random Tuesday he wouldn't get pulled into a conference room and told his role had been "made redundant."

He wanted out. But what he really wanted was control over his life.

So he'd been brainstorming. And the ideas came pouring out.

A marketplace for local services. A way to rent out people's backyards. Getting athletes to post training plans he'd create for them.

I listened to all of it. And what I'm about to share with you is what I told him.

Because that conversation made me realize how many people are probably in a similar spot. 

They've performed well in traditional jobs, but they're fed up with the lack of control.

They want out, but they're not sure where to start.

So if any of that sounds familiar, this letter is for you. 

In 2021, Naval posted this tweet:

Five years later, it's never been more true.

But most people misunderstand what that means.

They think it's about becoming an influencer, dancing on TikTok, or chasing followers.

It's not.

The creator economy, at its core, is about one thing: the ability to take ownership over how you earn, what you build, and how you spend your time.

No boss to approve your work. No gatekeeper to let you in. No institution to validate you.

Just you, creating something valuable, and using the internet to connect with people who need it.

To be clear, this isn’t about making content for content’s sake.

It's about using content to create a business. 

Because if you want to leave the default path, unless you have a trust fund, you need a way to make money. Which means you need to sell things.

And there are really only four ways to do that: cold outreach, your network, paid ads, or content.

For most people starting from zero, content is the best path.

It costs nothing to start and it scales.

The same time it takes to make a video that reaches 100 people is the same time it takes to make one that reaches 100,000. 

The input is identical. The potential leverage is not.

And unlike cold outreach or ads, content compounds. 

Every piece you publish is an asset that keeps working while you sleep.

The point isn't to "become a creator."

The point is to take ownership over your life.

Content is simply the vehicle.

Let me tell you how this played out for me.

When I made the leap, I was in beginner hell. Stuck. Making content but not sure where it was going. No offer. No confidence. Just experimenting, trying to find my footing.

I questioned everything. Was this the right path? Was I wasting my time? Should I just go back to what I knew?

Then I made a few videos about marketing ideas. Nothing fancy. Just sharing what I was thinking about.

Three founders reached out wanting to talk.

I didn't even have anything to sell them. I wasn't even sure I could actually help them. But the content reached the right people. Quickly.

That was the moment everything shifted.

Not because I suddenly had a business. (I didn't have anything to sell them, remember?)

But because I realized what I could do with content.

No one hired me. No one promoted me. No one gave me a platform. I just packaged up my ideas, shared them, and the right people found me.

I decided to actually work with these people. I did it for free at first. I created a rough outline, shared everything I knew, and gave them tactical advice.

They got results. Which gave me the confidence to start charging. And that became the foundation of my business.

So if you're in a similar spot — fed up, looking for a way out, and not sure where to start — here's the path I'd recommend:

Phase 1: Pick a service and offer it. Forget the marketplace idea. Forget the app. Start with a done-for-you service. Yes, you're trading time for money. That's how you learn what people actually value enough to pay for. (And it's much easier to get one person to pay you $3-5k than 500 people to pay you $10)

Phase 2: Get results. Work with anyone who will hire you. Even for free at first. If you’ve never done what you’re offering before you need to prove you can actually help. Social proof is the most important at this point. Nothing else matters if you can't get results. The results unlock everything else.

Phase 3: Make content about what you're learning. Pick one platform. Package your lessons, your process, your observations into content your ideal customer would save or share. You're not trying to go viral. You're trying to become visible to the right people.

Phase 4: Keep going until you hit capacity. More content, more clients, more results. You'll notice patterns. Which clients you love. Which problems you're best at solving. You only get this clarity from being in the arena.

Once you're at capacity, you can hire, shift your model, or productize what you've learned. But that's down the road. The first four phases are what matter now.

Most people want the clever idea. The unique angle. The shortcut that lets them skip the unglamorous parts.

But the unglamorous parts are where you become the person who can do this.

My friend wanted a marketplace idea because it felt big. It felt like a "real" business. But he was focused on the wrong thing.

Your goal out the gate isn't to find the perfect idea. It's to take ownership over your life.

To wake up and know that your ability to earn, to create, and to live on your own terms doesn't depend on any single person's decision.

That's the real unlock.

If this resonates, and you've been stuck at the "I don't know what to post” stage, this might be the push you need.

On Tuesday I’m kicking off a small cohort of founders, freelancers, and brand builders who want to start down this path.

Over 30 days, you'll go from "I don't know what to post" to confidently creating and publishing short-form videos with a clear strategy, a repeatable system, and direct feedback from me on everything you make.

This isn't really about content. It's about taking ownership over your life.

If you want in, you can join here.

— Dodds