Uncomfortable version: my paid newsletter still isn't the business. Local freelance clients pay most of the bills in reais, newsletter revenue is dollars but small. I tried batching client work Monday to Wednesday, newsletter Thursday and Friday. By Thursday I'm behind on revisions and the newsletter turns into a chore. I can't add more hours; I'm the delivery. So: do I keep both products and accept slow growth, or cut client work and take the income hit until the newsletter finds a niche?
Solved
One pair of hands, two products. Do I kill one?
What a useful answer should help achieve
A clear rule for deciding whether to keep both products or commit to one, without losing income I can't replace yet.
Already tried
Batching client work Monday–Wednesday and newsletter Thursday–Friday; the boundary collapsed by Thursday.
Constraints and unknowns
Every deliverable depends on my hours; no team and no newsletter niche yet.
Freelance Designer · paid newsletter · Established Solo · This snapshot stays with the question when the author updates their profile.5 replies
Audience: Public. Replies follow this audience.
Accepted answer
0Divya BanerjeeSpeaker & Author · group programmeIndia·Scaling·6d ago
You've already named the real constraint: delivery is you. That means it isn't two products, it's one capacity. Work out what the newsletter would need to earn per hour to replace client work. If the number isn't reachable yet, keep both but shrink the lower-margin one.
Why the asker chose this: This is the one I am acting on — thank you.
0Omondi KimaniSpeaker & Author · group programmeKenya·Early Revenue·6d ago
Before cutting anything: which one has repeat buyers?
0Felix RichterHR Consultant · retainer consultingGermany·Early Revenue·6d ago
Portfolio risk is fixed by more products, not fewer. Add a low-ticket course.
0Marcus AshworthReal Estate Educator · Subject-Matter ExpertsUnited Kingdom·Scaling·6d ago
More offers didn't diversify for me; it just split attention. Revenue moved when I cut one.
0Elias FischerMusic Teacher · membershipGermany·Early Revenue·6d ago
You're solving the wrong problem. Recurring revenue kills the portfolio question. I moved to a monthly membership because one-off design and newsletter were two audiences. One fee, one product, no agonising.
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