How Dan Koe Built a $10K/Month Solo Business (and Beyond!)

In this week’s newsletter, we’ll explore how Dan Koe started and break down the steps that led him to build his one-person business into a thriving venture.

Ready to see the journey? Let’s jump in! :)

What is Dan Koe known for?

Daniel Koenigslieb (known professionally as Dan Koe) is a writer, creator, and digital entrepreneur known for his deep takes on philosophy, productivity, and the creator economy.
He’s the mind behind The Koe Letter, one of the fastest-growing newsletters on creativity and online income.

Currently, he runs a multi-million-dollar one-person business built on writing, digital products, and community. But his journey started much smaller: at a desk, freelancing for clients and trying (and failing) multiple online ideas before finding what stuck.

Before the Numbers
Step 1: Learn, Fail, and Freelance

It all started when Dan was 16 years old, and he was obsessed with the gym. He and his friend started uploading YouTube videos in the gym. But eventhough they were having fun, 6 months into it they didn’t generate a penny from it, so the first side hustle died pretty quickly.

Then he started to learn skills that he thought he could monetize, like photoshop editing.

He started uploading his photoshop edits to Instagram and grew his account to 2000 followers. He could’ve sold some courses but he didn’t at that time.

But one day he ran out of ideas and was tired of spending 3-6 hours on it (can you relate to this to some extent?).

Dan switched majors 4-5 times, just didn’t know what to do.

He got a 9-5 job, but outside of it, he dedicated time to build his website development skills, because he thought he could get some freelancing gigs and even get a normal job in case he “didn’t make it”.

Then he experimented with side hustles like dropshipping and agency work, most of which failed. At the same time, he was honing his copywriting and web design skills, he even learned about Facebook ads.

Sadly (or not so much, because everything happens for a good reason), he wasn't making a CENT online, in his own words:

• I was about $8000+ in credit card debt

• I was about $20k in debt from school loans

• I was making chump change at my part time job

• I was absolutely fucked (or so I thought)

Until he applied and got a job in web development alongside with a freelancer gig, and 7 months after that, he decided to quit the full time job to finally work as a freelancer. He didn’t have an employer anymore and could work for himself. He made it!

After that he started to explore and learn more about the Twitter (X) algorithm.

Takeaway: Failure is just a synonym of learning. It teaches what people actually pay for and which skills are worth mastering.

Step 2: Build an Audience Around Your Thoughts

Dan began sharing short insights on Instagram and Twitter (X). They were ideas about purpose, productivity, and digital leverage. He posted 3 times a day on X.
This time, instead of selling early, he focused on writing consistently and testing ideas that resonated.
Takeaway: Start by documenting and sharing what you’re learning. A small but engaged audience beats a large, quiet one.

Step 3: Turn Skills Into Digital Products

Dan quickly noticed that people began asking for deeper guidance, so he packaged his methods into low-cost products like:

• Modern Money (how to create websites and build an audience),

• The 2-Hour Writer,

• Digital Economics, and

• the Modern Mastery HQ membership.

Note that these offers came directly from what his followers asked for.
Takeaway: Don’t guess. Let your audience tell you what to sell, then make it simple and repeatable.

Step 4: Scale with Systems, Not Hustle

Koe’s system: Koe writes one long newsletter per week and repurposes it into multiple posts, videos, and tweets, a “content system that runs like a machine”.
Takeaway: A single strong idea can fuel your entire content engine. Repurpose smarter, not harder.

How much does Dan Koe make?

According to his own site and recent interviews:

• In 2022, he made about $800,000 writing two hours per day.

• By 2023, his one-person business grew to roughly $2.5 million in annual revenue.

His income now comes mainly from his digital courses, newsletter sponsorships, and his membership program.

What books does Dan Koe recommend?

Here are a few titles he credits for shaping his thinking:

1. The Art of Impossible - Steven Kotler

2. Flow - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

3. Awareness - Anthony De Mello

4. The Kybalion - The Three Initiates

5. The Way of the Superior Man - David Deida

He’s also the author of The Art of Focus, a book that distills what he’s learned about creativity, meaning, and building a life that actually feels good.

🧩 Wrapping It Up: The Power of Sharing while you Build

Dan’s story isn’t about hacks, it’s about intention and iteration.
He didn’t start with millions of followers; he started with curiosity and a laptop.
The formula is simple: Learn → Share → Listen → Build → Repeat.

That's a wrap on this week's newsletter! We hope you found these insights from Dan Koe's journey inspiring and actionable.

Wanna learn more about another entrepeneur? Just reply to this email!

Until next time, keep building! 🚀