| raw | raw/how-i-replaced-my-9-5-with-a-side-project.md |
|---|---|
| url |
TL;DR
Ben Boz, a software developer, built Tech Lockdown, a content filtering platform that helps adults block websites and enforce healthy internet use. He grew the side project to $15,000/month MRR with 1,300 customers and successfully transitioned to full-time work after being laid off in 2023. His strategy relied on high-utility guides, early morning work habits, and building a pre-validated audience before launching.
The Founder’s Story
Ben Boz spent years building unsuccessful side projects while working a standard 9-to-5:
- Failed Attempt 1: A lead-generation platform for freelance developers. He became obsessive over colors, logos, and names, ignoring the business model and customer acquisition.
- Failed Attempt 2: A landing page builder. He overcomplicated the features and burned out before launching.
- Failed Attempt 3: Co-founded a web agency for 2.5 years, finding it a stressful, non-scalable grind.
In 2020, as remote work normalized and screen time skyrocketed, Ben built a custom internet guardrail system to manage his own habits. He documented his system in a YouTube video and a Reddit post. The overwhelming flood of consulting requests validated the idea.
In 2023, Ben was laid off from his corporate job. Rather than taking a W2 safety net, he decided to go all-in on Tech Lockdown, which was making $3,000/mo. Since the layoff, he scaled the business 5x.
Time Management for 9-to-5 Solopreneurs
Ben’s ability to grow a high-margin business alongside a full-time job relied on strict habits:
- High-Focus Morning Blocks: He woke up early, dedicating 5:30 to 8:30 AM to demanding development and engineering tasks.
- Low-Focus Evening Blocks: He reserved his evenings for marketing, writing, and administrative tasks that did not require intense mental clarity.
- Consistency over Multi-tasking: Solopreneurs must pick a single marketing channel they genuinely enjoy so it energizes rather than drains them. Ben selected content marketing.
Launch & Marketing Strategy
Tech Lockdown scaled through high-utility content and an audience-first philosophy:
- Audience-First Validation: Ben did not monetize for the first full year. He focused solely on publishing helpful guides and building a pre-qualified list of 20,000 newsletter contacts. He did not design a logo until he had a few hundred paying customers.
- Viral High-Utility Guides: His top acquisition asset is a highly detailed, step-by-step guide: “How to convert an iPhone into a dumb phone” (showing how to restrict Safari and block addictive apps). The article was read hundreds of thousands of times and shared extensively.
- Subtle Reddit Value Strategy: On Reddit, Ben avoided blatant self-promotion. Instead, he wrote high-value text posts explaining the entire step-by-step solution, adding a subtle reference link to his website/video at the end. This authentic format allowed his posts to hit the front pages of subreddits, driving organic traffic.
- Authentic Solopreneur Positioning: Rather than hiding behind a corporate “we” persona, Ben uses “I,” displays his face prominently, and owns the fact that he is a solo founder. This authenticity builds high trust compared to faceless corporate competitors.
Monetization & Pricing
- Trial & Pricing: The app offers a 14-day free trial. Subscriptions are structured at $15/month or $10/month billed annually.
- Retention: Because many users quit after a single month once a habit changes, Ben heavily optimizes for the annual subscription to secure higher LTV and cash flow upfront.
Tech Stack & Tools
- Frontend & App Framework: SvelteKit (chosen over React for fast, straightforward JavaScript execution)
- Database & Auth: Supabase (chosen for high speed and pre-built authentication, saving weeks of dev work)
- Hosting & CD: Vercel ($20/month for automated, continuous deployment)
- Email Infrastructure: Mailgun & Elastic Email (~$150/month to run a high-volume newsletter)
- AI Tooling: Google Gemini
- SEO & Keywords: Ahrefs (Light plan)
- Analytics: Plausible Analytics (monitored daily for traffic metrics)
Key Stats & Metrics
- Monthly Revenue: $15,000 MRR
- Paying Customers: 1,300
- Total Organic Traffic: 2M+ visitors over the last 2 years
- Mailing List Size: 20,000 contacts
- Profit Margins: 70%+
- Pre-Monetization Phase: 1 year of pure audience building
- Scale: 5x growth in revenue since leaving W2 employment in 2023
Related Frameworks & Playbooks
- micro-saas — Hyper-focused single-purpose SaaS and niche monopolies
- seo-growth — Search engine optimization, listicle hijacking, and pSEO
- launch-playbook — Repeatable launch frameworks, waitlist hacks, and sprints