[thread]
I've shared ZenMaid's revenue which looks impressive over time - but let's talk about *take home pay* so some of you guys get a more realistic picture of what it looks when you're _not_ a developer founder
(ie you're not the highest earning talent in your own company)
I've shared ZenMaid's revenue which looks impressive over time - but let's talk about *take home pay* so some of you guys get a more realistic picture of what it looks when you're _not_ a developer founder
(ie you're not the highest earning talent in your own company)
1st: I started @ZenMaid with my friend Arun as 50/50 partners
As the 1 doing the development his time was more valuable than mine for the first few years (it's evened out since)
Arun is no longer with the co but we're still best friends. Here's us lookin suave AF at my wedding
As the 1 doing the development his time was more valuable than mine for the first few years (it's evened out since)
Arun is no longer with the co but we're still best friends. Here's us lookin suave AF at my wedding
In 2013 we made $979 after making our first $1 in September (total rev numbers are from @stripe and MRR numbers from @ProfitWell)
We paid ourselves $0
We paid ourselves $0
That 'first dollar' we made was actually $250 - our first client, Chandra, agreed to $1000 for lifetime access paid over 4 months
Holy shit - they're on Twitter and follow me
@Sparkle_Center was the first @zenmaid client
More on magical first dollars:
theamaricandream.com/blog/dollar
Holy shit - they're on Twitter and follow me
@Sparkle_Center was the first @zenmaid client
More on magical first dollars:
theamaricandream.com/blog/dollar
Moving on:
In 2014 ZenMaid earned $20,833. Almost all of it went right back into the business, mainly for paid ads
That's right. We didn't have time to do much marketing ourselves so we paid for traffic from day 1
The only money we took out from the business was for sushi
👇
In 2014 ZenMaid earned $20,833. Almost all of it went right back into the business, mainly for paid ads
That's right. We didn't have time to do much marketing ourselves so we paid for traffic from day 1
The only money we took out from the business was for sushi
👇
ZenMaid sushi dinners are my favorite company tradition we have. Arun and I have celebrated our wins, some big and some little, by treating ourselves to dinner
We still do it to this day when we see each other. Here's us in BKK celebrating with my sister @Prigoose on the ZM dime
We still do it to this day when we see each other. Here's us in BKK celebrating with my sister @Prigoose on the ZM dime
In 2015 we earned $67,233 and I finally started paying myself $1000 a month in January
Like an arrogant prick that gave me the confidence to quit my job at @UserVoice and become a digital nomad
I left the US in April 2015 earning $1k per month with at least $10k cc debt
Like an arrogant prick that gave me the confidence to quit my job at @UserVoice and become a digital nomad
I left the US in April 2015 earning $1k per month with at least $10k cc debt
This was a conscious decision on our part to allow me to focus full time on selling ZenMaid
I was spending my days selling someone else's product (UV CEO @rrwhite who is one of my favorite human beings on the planet) and we thought selling our own made more long term sense (duh)
I was spending my days selling someone else's product (UV CEO @rrwhite who is one of my favorite human beings on the planet) and we thought selling our own made more long term sense (duh)
But $1000/mo doesn't take you too far, even when you can be anywhere, but it helped that I shared multiple expenses with my gf at the time @nevermindsheblockedmeonsocialmedia
We started in Asia and moved to Europe after a few months to cheaper places or where we could crash free
We started in Asia and moved to Europe after a few months to cheaper places or where we could crash free
Some time in late 2015 or early 2016 we bumped my take home pay to $1500
That raise made me feel richer than any paycheck I'd ever earned working for someone else
I felt baller AF in Thailand, on the level of @JohnnyFDK
That raise made me feel richer than any paycheck I'd ever earned working for someone else
I felt baller AF in Thailand, on the level of @JohnnyFDK
2016 was the first year we made over $100k as a business. Arun could have earned that as a developer when we launched in 2013.
So hopefully you're getting an idea of the risk/sacrifices we made to try to make this crazy dream a reality.
My take home was ~$18k for the year
So hopefully you're getting an idea of the risk/sacrifices we made to try to make this crazy dream a reality.
My take home was ~$18k for the year
In 2017 my take home pay was bumped to $2000/mo
We were not making a true business profit so when I say take home, I mean this is ALL I took home
The end of 2017 was our true put-up-or-shut-up moment when we f*cked up and lost 30% of our MRR over 6 mo
We were not making a true business profit so when I say take home, I mean this is ALL I took home
The end of 2017 was our true put-up-or-shut-up moment when we f*cked up and lost 30% of our MRR over 6 mo
Arun had recently left the company and we royally screwed up our communications regarding how that played into a new redesign we were rolling out
Luckily Arun stepped in to help save the day. He still had equity in the company and realized it was going to $0 if he didn't (lol)
Luckily Arun stepped in to help save the day. He still had equity in the company and realized it was going to $0 if he didn't (lol)
That entire shit show is a story for another Twitter thread or check out my interview on the Efficiency on Demand podcast
Monique was with me in Chiang Mai as I dealt with the fall out of this and we spoke last year about what I learned in hindsight
theamaricandream.com/blog/podcast-e…
Monique was with me in Chiang Mai as I dealt with the fall out of this and we spoke last year about what I learned in hindsight
theamaricandream.com/blog/podcast-e…
I think I forgot to note our 2017 revenue: $187,807
2018 was the first year that it began to look like it made actual *financial* sense to have started or stuck with ZenMaid
Took home $2400/mo then quickly bumped to $2800
As a nomad, I felt rich tho I was still paying off debt
2018 was the first year that it began to look like it made actual *financial* sense to have started or stuck with ZenMaid
Took home $2400/mo then quickly bumped to $2800
As a nomad, I felt rich tho I was still paying off debt
In 2018 we made almost $300k
I got questions about my pinned Tweet recently
"Why did you think about quitting before this if you guys were already making almost $200k a year?"
If only ...
$200k sounds nice but it's LOL when our take home is just $30k
I got questions about my pinned Tweet recently
"Why did you think about quitting before this if you guys were already making almost $200k a year?"
If only ...
$200k sounds nice but it's LOL when our take home is just $30k
Almost done, guys
2019: This is where all the hard work began to kick in
The flywheel was turning
We made $596k and my take home was tied to our revenue - Started the year around $3500/mo and ended it over $5k
At some point here I passed my SF salary
theamaricandream.com/blog/flywheels
2019: This is where all the hard work began to kick in
The flywheel was turning
We made $596k and my take home was tied to our revenue - Started the year around $3500/mo and ended it over $5k
At some point here I passed my SF salary
theamaricandream.com/blog/flywheels
2020: COVID wrecked us pretty hard (lost ~30% of our MRR over a terrifying 11 week period) but we've recovered
We'll break $1m ARR in Oct and my take home will finally be in the dev founder range of ~$8k (and increasing 5% each month)
But we also matured a lot as a biz so ...
We'll break $1m ARR in Oct and my take home will finally be in the dev founder range of ~$8k (and increasing 5% each month)
But we also matured a lot as a biz so ...
In addition to my salary, ZenMaid became a truly profitable business in Q2 of this year
Meaning I receive a quarterly profit check of a couple grand
(shout out to @MikeMichalowicz for the amazing Profit First book)
This also means I can step away from the biz and it'll pay me!
Meaning I receive a quarterly profit check of a couple grand
(shout out to @MikeMichalowicz for the amazing Profit First book)
This also means I can step away from the biz and it'll pay me!
So ... if you skim back through this tweet storm, the last 3 MIGHT make you jealous of my financial situation
The first 324 sound insane to most people.
The point, as is the point with many of my tweets, is to stick with it.
Don't give up.
My other point is that ...
The first 324 sound insane to most people.
The point, as is the point with many of my tweets, is to stick with it.
Don't give up.
My other point is that ...
My other point is that I've been ballin' since 2015, traveling to 31 countries while building a multi-million dollar business (barely)
If there's one thing I've learned from @tferriss it's this:
YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A MILLIONAIRE TO LIVE LIKE ONE
If there's one thing I've learned from @tferriss it's this:
YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A MILLIONAIRE TO LIVE LIKE ONE
Throwing in one more drone shot for shits and giggles (we don't use it enough)
That's my wife @FranCresswell - remember that shit show redesign fiasco from a few tweets back?
I met Fran in the middle of that and somehow presented myself well
That's my wife @FranCresswell - remember that shit show redesign fiasco from a few tweets back?
I met Fran in the middle of that and somehow presented myself well
If you enjoyed this tweetstorm and want more like it, that's too f*cking bad. I've only got one story like this to tell ;-)
Seriously though, jump on my email list if you're interested in SaaS, marketing, or becoming a big baller shot caller
theamaricandream.com
Seriously though, jump on my email list if you're interested in SaaS, marketing, or becoming a big baller shot caller
theamaricandream.com
And if the freedom part of all this jumped out to you specifically, check out the following article:
theamaricandream.com/blog/freedom-i…
Don't worry. I have absolutely nothing to sell you.
That's what @zenmaid is for 🤣
theamaricandream.com/blog/freedom-i…
Don't worry. I have absolutely nothing to sell you.
That's what @zenmaid is for 🤣
Oh shit - I almost forgot!
Full transparency: I'm STILL in credit card debt
I was within a few weeks of making my final payment when we decided to buy @BurnChurn from @KevinUnkrich (thanks Kev!)
TLDR Do as I say, not as I do
Full transparency: I'm STILL in credit card debt
I was within a few weeks of making my final payment when we decided to buy @BurnChurn from @KevinUnkrich (thanks Kev!)
TLDR Do as I say, not as I do
This entire journey is easier if you have great community
I've had the DC (@TropicalMBA) since 2015, a software support group called The Foundation (@danemaxwell), and most recently the Trends community from @TheHustle
Wish I'd had a community like @indiehackers earlier on!
I've had the DC (@TropicalMBA) since 2015, a software support group called The Foundation (@danemaxwell), and most recently the Trends community from @TheHustle
Wish I'd had a community like @indiehackers earlier on!
