Month one of building in public, and what it actually cost me
The honest version of starting a one-person business in Europe — the numbers, the doubt, and the one habit that kept me shipping.
20 May 2026
Everyone shares the dashboard screenshot. Almost no one shares the Tuesday afternoon where you refresh analytics for the eighth time and the number hasn’t moved.
This is the version with both.
The setup
One person. One laptop. A domain bought on impulse and a vague conviction that the European solo scene deserved better than recycled American advice.
What the first month actually looked like
- Hours in: more than I’d admit to a client.
- Revenue: the kind of number you round up to feel better.
- Doubt: daily, usually around 3pm.
Building in public isn’t a growth hack. It’s an accountability contract you sign with strangers, and it works precisely because backing out is embarrassing.
The one habit that held
Ship something small before noon. Not perfect — visible. A paragraph, a fix, a reply. Momentum compounds in a one-person business because there’s no one else to create it.
More on the tools side of this in the reviews.