Year 1 as an independent journalist: What worked, and what didn’t

You’re not crazy. You can fly by the seat of your pants. ✈️

How do I know?

I did it in 2025 — my first year as a solopreneur. 💡

Some things worked. Some didn’t.

👉 Volume created clarity. I distributed a ton of content across all platforms. What landed? Newsletters and podcasts. Almost all my Year 1 wins came from those two.

And that’s where my focus will go in Year 2.

👉 Starting the “Oklahoma Memo” newsletter was tied for the smartest move I made in 2025. (OklahomaMemo dot com)

Nearly 1,000 subscribers in 11 months. ~60% open rate. ~12% CTR.
Social reach north of 20,000.

👉 Tied with that?
Answering a contract ad in February from Local Media Association.

Wonderful organization, tremendous purpose, great people, and super impressive membership. Doing that work helped me stay afloat and kept me connected to local news.

Starting the “Keep It Local” podcast for LMA cemented my interest in that medium.

👉 LinkedIn helped build an audience — but didn’t lead directly to sales.

90% of my new business didn’t come from any single platform. People usually said the same thing: “Ryan, I kind of see you everywhere.”

👉 Groups, masterminds, Discords?

Time thieves. If you go solo, protect your time ferociously and unapologetically.

👉 You do need to find a way to get out of the house, though. Like, daily. I didn’t do a good job of that in Year 1.

👉 Making friends with local PR agencies = VERY helpful. They’re like the facilitators for everything that happens in your community.

👉 Multiple small income streams was the strategy, and it mostly worked.

I didn’t break revenue records in Year 1 — but I built a baseline and a much clearer offer (see above). ~80% of the small streams should grow in Year 2, and my big offer is coming into focus.

👉 Money tip: outsource your books.

I chose Lettuce Financial. Big fan of theirs. Super smart idea of theirs to build this FinTech business, and their customer service is ridiculously good. Not an ad.

If you’re choosing to go solo in 2026, you can do it even if you have no idea what you’re doing. You’ll need a ton of patience and a willingness to work harder than you ever have before.

As you go…
✅ Be hyper self-aware.
✅ Be brutally honest with yourself.
✅ Just keep swimming no matter what.

That’s it. You’ll do great.