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🚀 $300K Nick Buzz, Micropreneur Mastery & Phoenician Trade Secrets

Weekly #077 | Lessons from building in public

Author

George Samuels
November 20th, 2023

Introducing Nick Buzz

Nick — the founder of MoveVirtual.co and Baked.Design and known mostly by his name @MrNick_Buzz on Twitter/X — embarked on a journey from a secure job at Meta and Netflix to the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship. His indie story is a testament to the courage and resilience required to transition from a high-paying job to the uncertainties of building startups (or what we like to call, “micro empires”). Originating from a background with tech giants, Nick's experience is rich with insights for aspiring micropreneurs.

📊 Biz Breakdown

Nick has successfully launched several ventures, including MoveVirtual.co, which provides off-shore growth assistants, and Baked.Design, a design studio. Both which fall under his own Personal Holding Company (PHC).

MoveVirtual.co achieved $50,000 in revenue within four months and $10,400 MRR with 13 customers. Baked.Design initially offered free design services, later transitioning to a paid model, generating over $23,000MR in revenue.

In June of 2023, Nick shared his PHC stats:

Just last month (Oct 2023), Nick had his first $104,000 month:

For Baked Design, Nick is focused on the following:

These businesses exemplify a lean, scalable approach to business, leveraging minimal resources for maximum impact. A great example of micropreneurship and “micro-empire” building in the making.

đŸ«‚Â Team Secrets

Nick runs Baked Design with Alex Szczurek (@aliszu), a UX designer he met on Twitter/X. The two of them have been able to hit $30K MRR together within 3 months working together.

However, it is known that MoveVirtual.co utilizes off-shore growth assistants, indicating a lean, flexible team structure that supports scaling without massive overhead.

This approach allows for efficient resource management and adaptability in a dynamic business environment.

📈 Rising Trend

A prominent trend in Nick's entrepreneurial journey is the concept of "Build In Public." This approach involves openly sharing the process of building a business, including successes, failures, and behind-the-scenes insights. It fosters a transparent and engaging relationship with the community and potential customers.

For instance, Nick used design roasting on Twitter to grow his presence and establish credibility within the indie hacking community, effectively utilizing the "Build In Public" strategy to launch Indie Design Kit, Get Baked, and Baked Studio.

This method not only creates a loyal following but also allows for real-time feedback and community-driven development, crucial for micropreneurs in today's highly connected world.

🔑 3 Key Lessons

"On one hand, I lost access to a $350k salary, stocks, medical, and perks at Meta, but on the other hand, I have this new opportunity to build exciting stuff and be my own boss."

Nick, Founder of MoveVirtual and BakedDesign

  1. Focus on Customer Experience: Nick’s strategy of working closely with customers and providing value beyond their expectations has been key to his success, leading to substantial word-of-mouth advertising.

  2. Lean and Agile Approach: Nick's businesses were started with minimal initial investment, focusing on quickly launching MVPs and evolving them based on customer feedback. This lean and agile approach is crucial for micropreneurs managing limited resources.

  3. Utilizing Offshore Talent and PHCs: Nick demonstrates how leveraging off-shore talent can significantly reduce expenses while maintaining quality. Additionally, the concept of Personal Holding Companies (PHCs) can be relevant here.

While not explicitly discussed by Nick, PHCs can be a strategic approach for micropreneurs to manage and consolidate income streams from various ventures, offering tax and financial management benefits. An area we’ll talk about more in the future.

🏰 Historical Links

Phoenician trade routes across the Mediterranean

Nick's business practices resembles the ancient Phoenician city-states trading model. The Phoenicians, known for their vast Mediterranean trading networks and entrepreneurial skills, used limited resources to establish a wide range of trade relations, similar to Nick's use of minimal upfront capital and diverse ventures. His strategy of engaging in various businesses, learning from each, and applying those lessons to new ventures echoes the adaptability and versatility of the Phoenicians in their trading empire.

🧰 Tools

Here are some of Nick’s fave tools:

  • Framer — one of the more popular web-design tools, similar to Figma

  • Notion — for all knowledge base management

  • Canva — graphic design elements

  • GIFstat — turn your stats into animated gifs

  • X/Twitter — for all of Nick’s direct marketing

And here are some others:

đŸ«”Â What This Means For You

For micropreneurs, Nick's journey highlights the importance of agility, customer focus, and innovative resource management. These principles can guide you in navigating the challenges of scaling your business while maintaining a lean operation.

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