HobbyScool didn’t start with a master plan. It started with a domain name, a lot of curiosity, and a slow realization that I wanted to build something that could live beyond me. This is a candid look at how that evolved into a public $1M experiment — and what thinking about sellability actually changes.

Killing something that failed is easy. This one was working, and I stopped it anyway. Here's what four months of one person's time actually cost.

Some weeks the Stripe notifications keep coming and some weeks you check whether the checkout is broken. That is not a broken business. It is pieces that were never connected to each other.

Courses, templates, a coaching package, a membership. Plenty of offers and no path through them. Here is the hour-long audit that shows you which stage is empty and what the next quarter is for.

In September 2025, our HobbyScool brand hosted one of its biggest events yet: The Art of Handmade Summit. Nearly 18,000 people attended, generating $39,041 in revenue and $22,341 in profit. In this post, I’ll share a snapshot of what worked, what didn’t, and why summits have become the growth engine behind HobbyScool. For the full funnel breakdown and all the behind-the-scenes lessons, head over to my Substack.

Most entrepreneurs focus on sales. I’m focused on value. The $1M HobbyScool Experiment is my plan to grow a creative brand into a sellable business by 2027.

I set a goal to grow HobbyScool into a $1M, sellable brand. Instead of keeping my notes in private spreadsheets, I’m documenting the process on Substack. Here’s why this platform is perfect for building in public — and what creators can learn about using Substack the right way.

Last night, I got one of those emails every business owner dreads: an angry unsubscribe. Here’s how I turned that sting into a powerful reminder that unsubscribes aren’t failure—they’re proof your marketing is working.