I spent 10 years building to my first €10,000 month, then realized I’d built a prison that paid well
After a decade of freelancing, I hit my first €10,000 month. A number I’d been chasing since I started. The “you’ve made it” milestone.
I should have been celebrating. Instead, I felt trapped.
I’d optimized for revenue, not freedom.
More money meant more clients. More clients meant more meetings, more deadlines, more context-switching. My brain (whether it’s ADHD, introversion, or just how I’m wired) was screaming that this wasn’t sustainable.
Every business coach tells you the same thing: “Scale your agency. Hire people. Systematize.”
But I don’t want to manage people. I don’t want more meetings. I don’t want to be “always on.”
The service business model doesn’t work for how my brain operates.
I need deep, uninterrupted focus to do my best work. But client work is the opposite – constant interruptions, urgent requests, hand-holding. And that’s just doing the actual work. That’s not even mentioning having to look for and sell to new clients on an ongoing basis.
I can handle 5 projects max before I start procrastinating and feeling overwhelmed. That’s my ceiling. And 5 projects at sustainable rates is not the kind of money that builds real wealth or freedom. I basically created a job for myself.
Freelancing has given me time freedom in a way that traditional employment never could. I can go to the gym when I want to and I can spend time with my family and I don’t have to commute.
I worked so hard to get to this point and realized that this just isn’t how my brain works optimally. Juggling deadlines for clients, keeping up with different projects at the same time, managing scope creep, and managing life isn’t working optimally. And I’m an optimizer.
So I’m doing something different.
I’m transitioning from service work to product income, building it to work WITH my brain, not against it:
- No weekly content calendars – I work in hyperfocus sprints (2-3 weeks intense work, then rest)
- No personal branding – Building under a brand name/publication model
- No networking events – Using written content and research only
- No “always on” hustle – Sprint → Create → Distribute → Rest → Repeat
I’m building research products and guides that I can create during hyperfocus periods, then sell while I rest. Products that scale without my direct time.
I’m documenting the whole journey:
- The systems that work for brains like mine
- The transition strategy (keeping income while building)
- The tools I’ve built (daily dashboard, workflows, etc.)
- The mistakes I’m making in real-time
I’m not claiming to have “made it.” I’m literally in the middle of this transition right now. But I’ve learned a lot in 10 years and I’m sharing it.
I’m creating a comprehensive guide on this transition—the systems, the tools, the strategy.
The guide covers the sprint-based work system, how to keep income stable during the transition, the dashboard and workflows I use daily, the product creation process during hyperfocus, and real numbers with real mistakes.
Launching early 2026.
If you’re stuck in the same service trap, sign up below. I’ll share the journey and let you know when it’s ready.
Photo by Jaredd Craig
