He made $10K from his hustles in 3 years and he's completely fine with it.

Chris started in 2020.

Built his first side project while working his day job.

Made $50 a month.

Everyone told him to focus on one thing.

Pick a winner.

Double down.

He ignored them.

Instead he built 6 different projects over the next 3 years.

A GitHub alternative called Gitea Hosting for $24/month.

Two iPhone apps that barely made anything.

A music generator.

Another music generator.

A downloadable game template for $20.

He mixed MRR with one-time purchases.

Kept his day job.

Worked part-time on everything.

He admits he had "shiny object syndrome."

Jumping from project to project instead of focusing.

(this gives me hope honestly, i jump around a lot)

By July 2023 he was making $835 a month.

That's about $10K a year.

Three years of work for ten grand.

Then someone left a comment.

"Bro you wasted 3 years for $10K? My cousin makes that in a week doing dropshipping."

Here's what Chris said back.

To make $10K a year passively at 4% interest, you need $250K sitting in a bank account.

So in 3 years, working part-time, he essentially created $250K worth of value.

Plus he learned how to code, how to ship products, how to get customers.

And unlike ecom founders doing $50K months with 15% margins who have to restart every month, his customers stick around.

Some for years.

His revenue compounds.

And he has a TRULY PASSIVE INCOME.

Here's what Chris did differently:

• Built 6 projects instead of "focusing" on one

• Celebrated $10K ARR when everyone called it failing

• Mixed MRR with one-time purchases instead of picking one model

• Worked part-time instead of quitting his job to "go all in"

• Saw $10 MRR as progress toward $100, not embarrassment

The result after 3 years:

• $10K ARR ($835/month)

• Covers server costs, Netflix, groceries

• Passive income (not trading hours for dollars)

• 3 years of skills he'll use forever

• Multiple income streams

• Predictable cash flow that compounds monthly

Today his Gitea Hosting customers pay him $24 every single month without him doing anything.

That $50/month from 2020 is now $835/month in 2023.

And it's still growing.

Because he didn't quit when everyone said he was wasting his time.

Three lessons:

1. Small MRR is a ladder

$10/month leads to $100/month leads to $1,000/month. Chris started at $50 in 2020. Most founders quit at $50 because it doesn't feel like progress.

2. MRR compounds, revenue resets

Ecom founders doing $100K months start from zero every month. SaaS founders stack revenue. Your worst month becomes your new baseline.

3. Part-time beats desperation

Chris kept his job and built on the side. Three years of runway because he wasn't betting everything on month 6.

If you're sitting at $0-500/month wondering if you should quit or keep building, you can book your audit call here.

I'll tell you if your product needs work, your positioning is off, or you’re letting your MRR leak through because your first five minutes isn’t seductive enough.

P.S. Most founders look at $10K ARR after 3 years and call it failure.

Chris reframed it as $250K in passive value. Fast isn't always better.

Cheers,

Arunima