Interview with Justin - The $1.7M One-Person Business

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Learn his strategies for social media growth, content creation, and running a business on just $620/month in this in-depth interview

Introduction

Pat Walls: Justin built his online business to $1.7 million a year working only five hours a day. The crazy part? He runs it all by himself.

Justin: I don't have any employees.

Pat Walls: What's even more insane is the story of why he decided to quit his job to do this.

Justin: Screaming, crying, hallucinating - didn't know what was happening.

Pat Walls: In this episode, we met up in downtown New York City, and he showed me exactly how he makes millions of dollars with zero employees.

Justin: Last year, my business did about $1.7 million, and this year I anticipate that it'll do around $2.5 million.

Pat Walls: He also told me the secrets to getting hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Justin: It's not as complex as a lot of folks might assume that it is.

Pat Walls: And how he runs his entire business on less than $700 a month.

Justin: The total cost of my business is about $620 a month.

Pat Walls: This interview is a masterclass on how to build a multi-million dollar one-person business from scratch. I'm Pat Walls, and this is Starter Story.

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How Justin Makes Money

Pat Walls: Justin, can you explain to the audience exactly what you do and how you make money?

Justin: The easiest way to describe it is I have a portfolio of products that I sell. My main portfolio is what you would call online courses or information products. I sell two of those - one on how to use LinkedIn effectively to build a business and the other on how to build your own content system.

A secondary way I make money is through my newsletter, which is approaching 100,000 subscribers. I sell sponsorships to companies that want to get in front of their ideal customers - who happen to be my readership.

A third way is a subscription email I send out, where every month subscribers get an email from me with copywriting techniques for writing better copy on social media.

All in all, everything I do is based on knowledge. I most commonly refer to myself as a knowledge entrepreneur.

Pat Walls: Based on all these products, how much money do you make total?

Justin: Last year, my business did about $1.7 million, and this year I anticipate it'll do around $2.5 million.

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How He Makes $1.7M with No Employees

Pat Walls: It's hard for some people to comprehend that you - just one person, no team - can make $1.7 million a year. How is that even possible?

Justin: The most important thing is committing to getting on social media, choosing a topic you're passionate about, really educating yourself on it, and then writing consistently about it every single day on multiple platforms - sometimes two to three times per day.

If you have a million followers and just 1% or 2% of them buy a product you offer at a few hundred dollars, suddenly this becomes relatively possible.

When you add tools, systems, and processes, it becomes significantly easier. You can't just wake up every day and say, What do I do on Monday? What do I do on Tuesday?

When I wake up, I know exactly what I'm doing. I use publishing tools for social media, Notion to stay organized, and Trello to move projects forward. These are the things I leverage regularly for my business.

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Justin's Background & Burnout in Tech

Pat Walls: I know you have a unique background. Can you tell me about what you were doing before this and how you got here?

Justin: Prior to going online and building a business, I was in technology. I ended up at a small tech firm in New York called Zachdo. I was successful early on and spent five years there, eventually reporting to the CEO.

At 33, I landed my first executive role as VP of Sales. I was the only salesperson at a company with no revenue, but I expected to do $1–3 million in ARR. Instead, I hired a great team, things went my way, and the company grew to $50 million in recurring revenue in four and a half years.

The problem? I spent ten consecutive years in high-anxiety, high-stress environments - cutthroat culture, intense board meetings, constant targets. Eventually, I burned out.

It all culminated in a massive panic attack on December 16, 2018. I thought I was dying. My fingers went numb, I got confused, I was on all fours - screaming, crying, hallucinating. My wife called 911. The EMTs told me I wasn't dying, and it subsided over the next few hours.

That was the end of my career in tech. That's how I ended up trying to build my own thing on social media.

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Running a Business on $620/Month

Pat Walls:

I know you run a one-person business, so you can't spend too much. What do you spend money on?

Justin: Mostly software. I keep my software stack lean.

I use Kajabi - an all-in-one marketing and website solution for solopreneurs. That's my biggest expense at $399 a month. The total cost of my business is about $620 per month.

I also use Testimonial, Taplio, Hypefury, and other publishing tools. I don't spend money on paid ads, and I don't have any employees. I rarely work with freelancers or contractors. Almost everything I invest in is software that makes creating content easier because my business is content-driven.

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Marketing Strategy & Growing to Millions of Followers

Pat Walls: You've reached millions, potentially billions, of impressions on social media and sold millions in courses. What's your marketing strategy?

Justin: It's not as complex as people think. My strategy is content-driven.

I post on LinkedIn and Twitter two to three times a day. My approach has three parts:

Discovery - Getting in front of new people.

Trust - Showing people how my brain works through long-form content like my newsletter and website articles.

Conversion - Presenting an offer without pressure.

People discover me on social media, read my long-form content, and if they find value, they buy my courses. That's my funnel.

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Content Creation & Idea Generation

Pat Walls: You post a ton of content. How do you come up with so many ideas?

Justin: I get ideas from everywhere - aggregator newsletters, YouTube, popular videos, podcasts, walks, and daily experiences.

I always take notes on my phone. If you let an idea slip by without writing it down, you'll forget it.

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A Day in Justin's Life

Pat Walls: What does a typical day look like for you?

Justin: I wake up around 5:30–6:30 AM.

8:15 AM - I post content on LinkedIn and Twitter.

8:15–9:15 AM - Engage with my audience.

9:30–11:00 AM - Gym with my wife.

12:00–4:00 PM - Focused work.

Each day has a theme:

Monday - Newsletter writing.

Tuesday-Thursday - Content creation.

Friday - Strategic projects and networking.

How to Get Started & Justin's Advice

Pat Walls: You've built this business quickly. How do you level up so fast?

Justin: I'm a hypothesis-driven creator. I test things, see what works, double down, and eliminate what doesn't.

Pat Walls: What advice do you have for someone who wants to build a brand and sell products online?

Justin: The best advice? Start.

People want to learn everything before starting. But starting teaches you 100x more than any book or podcast. Your journey will be different from mine, so just start, learn, and try.

Final Thoughts

Pat Walls: That's great. Thank you!

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