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Justin Welsh

Solopreneur who passed $10M in revenue with a one-person business

About Justin Welsh

Justin Welsh is the best-known example of the modern solopreneur. After a decade as a sales executive at venture-backed health-tech startups, including Chief Revenue Officer at PatientPop, he burned out and in 2019 left to build a portfolio of one-person businesses.

He started by writing daily on LinkedIn, then on Twitter/X, offering consulting and turning what worked into digital products: The LinkedIn Operating System, The Content Operating System and later The Creator MBA. His weekly newsletter, originally The Saturday Solopreneur and now The Saturday Essay, reaches more than 200,000 readers.

In 2025 he reported that his business had crossed $10M in total revenue about five years and nine months after launch, with no employees and very high margins. He shares his systems, numbers and mistakes openly, and his content-first, productized approach has been copied by thousands of creators.

Products by Justin Welsh

The Saturday Essay logo

The Saturday Essay

justinwelsh.me

Weekly newsletter for people building one-person businesses, formerly The Saturday Solopreneur.

Revenue

Justin Welsh has publicly reported $10M+ total revenue (lifetime) (as of 2025). Source

Justin Welsh's journey, 2019โ€“20254 milestones ยท self-reported
  • Revenue (monthly, log scale)
  • Went full time
  • Launch / milestone
  • Started 2019
  1. 2019Went full time: Left his exec role to go solo
  2. 2025Launch: Published a 23-step breakdown of his journey to $10M
  3. 2025Milestone: Crossed $10M total revenue
  4. 2025Revenue: Revenue โ‰ˆ $145K/month (self-reported)โ‰ˆ $145K/mo justinwelsh.me

Timeline

  1. 2019 โ€” Left his executive role at PatientPop to start a one-person business.
  2. 2025 โ€” Published a 23-step breakdown of his journey to $10M, including the mistakes.
  3. 2025 โ€” Crossed $10M in total revenue as a solopreneur, about 5 years and 9 months after starting.

How Justin builds

  • Build a portfolio of one-person businesses designed around the life you want.
  • Create content consistently to build an audience, then productize what works.
  • Listen closely to your audience and build the products they ask for.
  • Keep costs and complexity low to protect high margins and free time.

Learn from Justin Welsh

Justin Welsh FAQ

Who is Justin Welsh?

Justin Welsh is a former startup sales executive who became a solopreneur in 2019 and built a one-person business around content, courses and his newsletter The Saturday Essay.

How much has Justin Welsh made?

In 2025 he reported that his one-person business had passed $10M in total revenue about five years and nine months after launch.

What courses does Justin Welsh sell?

His main products are The LinkedIn Operating System and The Content Operating System (each listed at $200), plus The Creator MBA.

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