A One Man Company
A personal journey of building a one-person business, developing a unique value system, and maintaining authenticity while navigating the professional world.
A one man company
Since 2016, this particular verse has resonated with me more and more. Today, I'd like to share the mindset I've developed while building products from the age of 19 until now — a continuous, iterative process that underwent significant refinement.
During my school years, whenever someone asked me what I wanted to become, I would give a different answer each time. I even considered becoming a postman as a career option. This flexibility was only possible because my parents never pressured me to focus on a single path or channel my energy in a specific direction. I was like a free bird, but this freedom came at a cost.
If I were to describe my late teenage years and early twenties, they were a period during which I constructed my own value system through many failures (learnings from it), and some successes I experienced during that time.
Currently, I am reading "The Minimalist Entrepreneur," a book that closely aligns with the values I hold today as a creator and problem solver. It emphasizes the less glamorous and unsexy approach to building products and solving problems. This resonated with me and inspired me to share my journey in a world often obsessed with credentials, a world where I struggled to find my place.
"Painters need brushes. Writers need pencils. Creators need businesses."
- The minimalist entrepreneur
In a world where many aspire to work for prestigious companies, I found myself to be the most valuable asset. While founders often viewed employees as resources, I saw myself as a human being first, willing to offer my skills as a service to those companies—not merely as another resource. I sold my skills, but they didn't define my entirety.
I believe this is what it means to be "a one man company," a complete product in oneself, with the skills provided based on market demand rather than to compensate for inner insecurities.
Throughout my career, I resisted proving my worth through credentials because I lacked them. It might seem paradoxical, but I'm sharing the mindset I had to adopt when there was no data sample to guide me. Instead, I cut to the chase and asked potential collaborators what they wanted to achieve. I proposed, "Let's conduct a small experiment together for a week to demonstrate that I can deliver the work you need." Most of the time, the answer was yes, and I delved into the task, delivering what I promised. Payment was only requested upon completion of the work, with no obligation otherwise.
This approach was my way of sidestepping competition and forging my own path in a world often fixated on credentials. It allowed me to maintain a horizontal work-related relationship rather than a vertical one. I never took on work simply because "someone said so" without expressing my opinions.
I aspire for my work to serve as my credential, without it defining my entire identity as a human being. I want to enjoy life in a way that allows me to connect with people from all walks of life, regardless of their social class.
I've observed that many people who attain prestigious credentials in their lives often realize they'll never have to engage in lower-tier jobs, which lead them to become oblivious to the lives of those who do such work. Consequently, they lose their ability to relate to and feel empathy towards those individuals.
I vividly remember a time during my college years when my mom asked me to take on odd jobs to earn extra pocket money. At that time, I didn't possess many skills (aside from knowing how to code in C++), so I approached the newspaper seller and obtained his contact information. I was ready to start delivering newspapers for a meager monthly wage of 900/-.
I still believe that if I don't work hard or create something of value, I could find myself in a situation like that again—feeling the same sense of helplessness due to lacking credentials.
So, when I witness a newspaper delivery person tossing papers early in the morning, I see only a thin line separating them from me. When I spot a factory worker walking alongside the road with a lunchbox, I see my mother. When I encounter someone teaching in the evening, I see my sister.
Today, I've come to appreciate this perspective as one of the most beautiful aspects of my life, and I wouldn't want to lose it. It keeps me grounded, humble, and empathetic towards all segments of our society.
"The world desperately needs the solutions that only entrepreneurs can provide. Everyday problems are all around us, but they are often hidden from the view of the silicon valley software engineers and Ivy League overachievers who have been anointed as our entrepreneurial class. We need the help of entrepreneurs from every part of the planet and every stratum of society. It's down to individual creators and entrepreneurs to set better goals for ourselves and our businesses. After all, problems don't solve themselves. People do."
— The minimalist entrepreneur
While navigating my career with this approach, I prioritized optimizing for revenue, specifically my income and the cash I had on hand. I understood that until the money hits your account, it's not truly yours; it's merely a verbal promise that can be broken under various circumstances. This concept became crystal clear to me as I built products and provided teaching services to my peers and college students.
However, when I transitioned to being an employee, especially in my second job, things became a bit blurry. On the 1st of every month, a paycheck magically appeared in my account, regardless of the quantity or quality of the work I delivered. It felt like a rewarding culmination of my hard work, until one fateful day when the markets crashed, and the product we were building seemed to lack a real use case. The founders of the company didn't feel connected to the product either. It was at that moment I realized that the rules of the wilderness were still the same, but the monthly salary was more like a mirage, designed to make you comfortable and forget your potential share in creating long-term wealth.
The first service I provided in Android app development was for 6,000 (INR), where I created a small app for a friend. That number has continued to grow every year of my life, with the highest income exceeding 50 lakhs (INR) in a single year, all while working in Indian startups. I'm planning to write another blog to share how I managed to earn such money right out of college, how I secured projects, the work I was involved in, the challenges I faced, and the enjoyment I derived from it.
I am documenting all these experiences to provide a reference for others who come from similar backgrounds and possess similar skillsets. My goal is to ensure that you never feel inferior to anyone as long as you're putting in hard work and striving to improve yourself.
Remember, every good thing in your life and your family's life will come true; it's just a matter of "when," not "if." So, don't lose hope, dedicate the hours, build your skills, and let your work speak for itself. Even if you face rejection (which is inevitable), view it as a redirection towards the right network and circle where you will be appreciated for being yourself.
My next milestone is to consistently achieve an annual revenue of 1 crore (INR), and I'm actively working on the strategies to get there. I'll keep you updated on this journey through this newsletter, which I plan to write more consistently by posting one blog in every 7-10 days. I'll share both the highs and lows, as well as the processes and steps I'm taking to reach that goal.