Independent creators, up close

One person. One laptop. A real business.

SoloBiz follows independent creators around the world — their stories, their numbers, and the playbooks behind them.

Latest stories

Pat Flynn
Pat Flynn
Pat Flynn: How a Laid-Off Architect Turned $19.95 Study Notes into a $2M-a-Year Business
Laid off June 2008 · LEED guide Oct 2008: 309 copies, $7,906.55 in month one · Peak month $321,642 (Jul 2017) · 2017 revenue $2.17M · Sold SPI to Liz Wilcox Apr 2026

Pat Flynn was laid off in June 2008. Four months later, his $19.95 LEED study guide earned $7,906.55 — and the public income reports that followed built Smart Passive Income into a $2.17M-a-year business he sold in 2026.

Tiago Forte
Tiago Forte
Tiago Forte: How Building a Second Brain Became a $1.5M-a-Cohort Business
First-generation Californian · Chronic illness at 22 led to the Second Brain system · First cohort Jan 2017: 25 students · Biggest cohort: 1,000 students at $1,500 · Book sold 250,000 copies

Tiago Forte turned a chronic illness into Building a Second Brain — a note-taking system that grew from a $30 Skillshare class into five-week cohorts worth up to $1.5M each.

View all stories →

Latest columns

Substack and beehiiv
Hot Topics
Substack and beehiiv
Substack and beehiiv Open Podcast Ads: A New Income Stream for Solo Creators
Substack opened early access Oct 21, 2026 · beehiiv launched Oct 27, 2026 · No download minimum on beehiiv · Substack podcasters earn $200M+/yr from subscriptions · Host-read mid-roll ≈ $25–$40 CPM

Substack and beehiiv both launched podcast advertising within six days. Dynamic ad insertion, no download minimums, and real CPM math for solo creators.

View all columns →

SoloBiz is an independent publication about independent creators. We profile solopreneurs and indie makers — how they started, what they earn, and what actually worked.