5 reflections reaching $300K+ in 2024

Hey there. Happy holidays! There’s only 1 day left before 2024 ends. I did some calculation before the year end. To my surprise, I passed $300K in revenue!

This year has been a whirlwind of learning about myself, both as a designer and as a founder. Here’s a quick look at what I accomplished with Studio Salt in 2024:

• Conducted 322 client meetings

• Gained 8,400+ followers on X  

• Hit $69K as the highest monthly revenue

• Earned over $300K in total revenue

What did I learn while starting a business on the side, raising two little kids, and eventually becoming a full-time founder? 

Here are five key reflections I’ll take with me into 2025.

1: Fear and limiting beliefs hold us back

I have always dreamed of building my own business. But I never took the leap as a full-time founder. It felt like too much risk, and I wasn’t sure if I could make a living for my family by running my own business.

Over the past 10 years of my career, I’ve done a lot of side hustling.

But I always felt ashamed of building a business on the side. I kept it a secret. I worried that my employers wouldn’t like it, my coworkers might gossip about it, and many people might think I wasn’t a dedicated worker.

Despite how much my heart was drawn to becoming a founder, and despite how well my side business was doing, I had limiting beliefs: It’s not right to do side businesses.

I thought everyone should be dedicated to doing one thing—either a full-time job or a full-time business.

A conversation with a life coach completely changed my perspective.

The life coach told me that everyone is trying to find their purpose and path. It’s okay to explore and try different things. She said I should be proud of always trying, share my story with others, and recognize that I’m on the right path, as evidenced by my business growth.

That conversation gave me the confidence to start writing and sharing on X (Twitter). That marked the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey in 2024!

2: Realize my super power and embrace it

As a driven person, I am very action-oriented and execute plans well. At one point, I was writing 3-4 long-form posts daily and attracting an audience quickly on X.

I assumed everyone could write consistently and always knew what to say.

But that wasn’t the case. Many people struggle with knowing where to start.

When I showed a friend on Twitter my Google Doc filled with over 200+ pages of writing, he said, “You are really disciplined and great at capturing your thoughts.”

That’s when I realized my superpower: execution. 

Whether it’s roasting landing pages, writing posts, responding to comments, or fulfilling a startup’s design requests, when I know something is working, I stick to it with speed and take action.

While serving startups, my execution ability became my superpower. I’ve taken on projects that startups’ internal teams couldn’t finish in weeks and completed them in just two days!

Of course, this comes at the cost of self-care and time with loved ones—something I am constantly trying to improve. In 2025, I want to create a model that works better for me.

3: Pushing ourself beyond our limit takes more than just discipline

Looking back, I probably accomplished more in 2024 than one person reasonably should. This includes raising two young kids, managing a 9-5 job, and mentoring a group of designers earlier in the year.

While I recognize my superpower is execution, I also know I need to improve in self-care, time management, and setting boundaries.

If someone asks me how I stay disciplined and find the time to do everything, I’d say it’s about leveraging external motivation since internal motivation is often limited.

For years, I dreamed of waking up at 5:00 a.m. to write like other successful founders, but I never had the motivation. However, in 2024, I managed to focus for 4-5 hours in the early morning thanks to:

• Feeding my baby early in the morning (which forced me to wake up)

• An engaged audience on social media (external drive)

• An active mind constantly generating ideas

These factors pushed me beyond my physical and mental limits in both design and writing.

But I don’t recommend this approach to most people. It’s neither healthy nor sustainable.

4: 80% efforts might be in vain, focus on the 20%

In 2024, my studio worked on many “cheap” design projects.

From free designs to $35 projects, from $140 to $350, and from $300/month to $1,299/month—these prices were far below what I earned in Silicon Valley with over a decade of experience.

At one point, I worked so much that my hand started hurting, requiring weekly acupuncture sessions to relieve the pain caused by excessive mouse and computer use.

2024 taught me that 80% of my efforts didn’t yield a return. Instead, 80% of my revenue came from VC-backed clients in my network—people who had long trusted and valued my skills.

As much as I want to serve bootstrapped founders with limited budgets and make quality design accessible, the cost is often too low to be worth it.

While I remain passionate about serving early-stage startups, finding the right projects with the right client profiles will be a major focus for me in 2025.

I’m learning that it’s okay to take breaks and spend a day with my kids if there are no new projects. In 2025, I want to focus on the 20% of clients that matter most and see where that takes me.

5. Craft matter in design, but selling is more important as a business

In 2024, I had 322 client calls, mostly with new prospects. Through these calls, I made many mistakes:

• Showing up without knowing how to pronounce a prospect’s name

• Being unprepared and knowing little about their product

• Seeming too eager to land new projects

• Not knowing what to say or how to comment

• Undervaluing my work and struggling to price projects

• Being too casual and failing to close deals

• Not knowing when or how to follow up

The list goes on. I learned so much through these calls!

As a designer-turned-entrepreneur, I leaned heavily on my design skills to speak for me. But knowing how much free design to provide, in what format, and how to guide the conversation is an art in itself.

After years in design, I’m confident tackling projects of any size or requirement. But in sales, I’m still a toddler, learning to build my system and voice.

Selling often holds creatives back. In 2025, I want to double down on improving my sales skills and make it another superpower as I continue building my studio for startups!

What’s your goal for 2025? Let’s connect on X and share with me your goal!

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