I lost 2 online businesses—because I didn’t own my audience

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Hey friend,

Let me tell you a quick story about how two of my businesses got wiped out—and what finally clicked after.

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It started in 2020

That was the year I made my very first dollar online.

The platform? Redbubble.
The model? Simple.

All I had to do was upload designs. Redbubble handled the marketing, shipping, and customer service. I just took a cut of the profits.

If you’re wondering, this business model is called Print-on-Demand.

It wasn’t massive, but it was steady—$100 to $1,000/month in passive income.
A solid side hustle.

Until it wasn’t.

One day, I gave my girlfriend access to the account (completely innocently), and boom—suspended.
Just like that.

I panicked.
Appealed.
Waited.

Then the automated email came in:

That was it.
Years of passive income, gone in a moment.
And I had no way to reach the people who had bought from me.
Because I never owned the audience.

Fast forward to 2022

This time, I went bigger. I created two blogs I was really proud of:

• BirdingOutdoors (birdwatching hobby)

  

• JustJooz (tech content)

  

I wrote over 100 articles, completely on my own, over two years.

It was working. The sites were growing.
I even started imagining a potential $50K exit.

Then came the 2023 Google Helpful Content Update.
Traffic dropped by 80% overnight.

My heart sank.
It felt like I was on a rollercoaster with the seatbelt cut.

That’s when I learned my biggest lesson:

I needed an asset I could control.
So I pivoted.

I built my first lead magnet

(Shoutout to my girlfriend who helped me design it!)

I started learning email marketing from scratch.
It wasn’t glamorous. It wasn’t easy.

But I finally started growing a list.

I’ve written over 100 posts since.
I’ve only missed 2 weeks of sending emails (because, you know… life).

And now, my LinkedIn is growing.
A new revenue stream is born.
And I finally feel like I’m building something sustainable.

Today, I hit publish inside my email platform (Beehiiv)...
And 8,000+ of you get it instantly.

No algorithm. No middleman.
Just me sending you love letters… I mean emails!

That’s the power of an algorithm-proof business.

And I want that for you, too.

If you’ve felt the sting of algorithm changes…
Or you want to build a sustainable business…

Just hit reply and say “interested.”
Let’s work together to get that done for you.

PS. You’ve read to the end. Here’s a handwritten note I only want to share to my most dedicated subbies: