University drop-out turned web developer, building Magic Pages, a Ghost CMS hosting service. On this blog I share insights from my entrepreneurial journey.
Yes. Tech is humbling. And a quick note before we start: this will be technical. The tl;dr: 🙃I spent a month figuring out a technical solution for Magic Pages and put it live for some of my customers today. Within an hour, it turned out that solution just didn&
Today I want to talk about the not-so-sexy part of running a business. The stuff that's often swept under the rug. Because it's not fun. And it actually eats up your revenue. I want to talk about the cost of scaling. About choosing your customers over
A few months ago I came across some social media posts talking about "faceless marketing". Building small brands and businesses without showing who you are. Without a connection to you as a founder. Without well…accountability. I dived a bit into that rabbit hole and well…apparently this
I am writing these lines from the balcony of a lovely little hotel, overlooking the lake of Kandy in Sri Lanka. I hear some birds, some crickets, and the bustling street beneath us. I still have the taste of the minty-fresh mocktail I had in my mouth. Life is good.
Last week, I sat down with my wife Mariia – a brilliant brand strategist. She is working on a new offer – personality unpacking for solopreneurs like myself. In its essence, I wanted her help with figuring out how I can combine my own interests and the needs in the market to
Around a year ago, my wife and I started looking for a new apartment in Berlin. We lived on 57m² (around 600 square feet), which included a small bedroom, a living room/kitchen, and a bathroom. Both of us worked from home – and fitting two workspaces into an already overcrowded
You know what's really odd? People starting software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses because they "want to be financially independent", "do what they want", or "make money while they sleep". I call bullshit on that. That rarely happens. Reality, in most cases, is the exact
Remember BFFs from high school? Best Friends Forever? Honestly, I never really got that concept. Probably, because I had very few friends in high school – let alone BFFs. It always felt a bit odd. What makes one friend better than others? What makes you think you're going to
So, this is going to be a nerdy post. But hey, I created this blog, so I can write about things that are on my mind, right? I'll try to break down concepts as best as I can, but you're warned – this can get technical. But
I have hit a wall. Full force. The last six weeks, I have spent on implementing a new pricing structure and customer portal for my Ghost CMS hosting provider, Magic Pages. Today was supposed to be the day. First testing of the new customer portal "in the wild"
I have started many side businesses in the past. Most of them (well, all of them, really) kind of flopped. Many years ago, there was an idea to do in-person WordPress coaching for business owners. Then some drop-shipping. A sightseeing-in-a-box experience I did with my wife and our best friend.
In summer of 2017 I sat in a hip and trendy hotel in downtown Vienna. I was excited and nervous. So were all the others in our group. All trying to make conversation. All trying to impress a group of people wearing t-shirts with Apple logos on them. Apple was
An exploration into the lifetime business model of my Ghost hosting service Magic Pages. Why it was the right decision, what struggles I encountered, and why it ultimately was a show-stopper for growth.
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So, blogging, hm? That's supposedly the new cool thing in 2024 – at least according to social media. Well, the thing is, I have entertained the idea of having a more personal blog for some weeks now. And today I just went for it. Hi, I am Jannis 👋. A