A while ago, I found out I had about a couple of months of consulting work left with my primary client. By the time I found out that it wasn’t actually the case, I'd already started refactoring my entire business. Honestly? Best scare I've had in years.
Let me back up.
In a recent newsletter email, I mentioned my steady US work might dry up. That worried me more than I let on. The backups I'd been "working on" weren't nearly ready, my last course launch sold exactly 3 copies (I published the full autopsy ), and I'd just spent a month in France feeling stuck, unable to move forward on anything.
The break itself was worth it: cutting off from everything in July, a family trip to Italy… highly recommended. But when I got back at the end of July, the math was simple: maybe a month of consulting left, then I'd need new clients or new revenue.
We have runway, but I wasn't going to sit around burning it.
Here's something I've learned about myself: my best ideas only show up when my back is against the wall. When things are comfortable, I coast. When they're not… I finally start seeing what's wrong.
And the first thing I saw was YouTube.
I've spent a stupid number of hours this past year on my channel, Tibo Denz, where I learn things, build things, and take on slightly insane challenges. Nothing to do with software (except the ESP32 code inside my Factorio build ). I finally nearly got monetized, passing 1,000 subs and getting close to 4,000 watch hours. But total revenue so far? $6 in affiliate sales.
The hourly rate on that "business" is abysmal.
BUT. I love it. It's the long-term play and I'm not stopping. It’s also opening opportunities I never dreamed of. But I just had to be honest with myself: I can only afford to pour hours into it when I know work is coming, else the stress just kills my creativity. So it went to the back of the line while I fixed two other things.
Thing one: Azky Consulting .
I took the thing I'm actually good at, software consulting, and packaged it so I could find new clients without billing hourly this time. That meant productized services: One page, four offers.
That's the whole company.
I'll write a dedicated breakdown soon, because pricing judgment instead of hours deserves its own article. I’m collecting testimonials and got my first client booked for next week. Hopefully, that goes well.
Thing two: Finally figuring out Devmystify.
Since reviving Devmystify last year, I tried to make it about everything. Tutorials, AI workflows, career tips. I didn't want to let go of the technical roots… so we kept publishing tutorials, and built a technical AI course... which didn't do very well.
That forced the realization: you guys don't need more tutorials. You can already build, AI made sure of that, and you can ask Claude for everything you don’t know yet.
But one thing that’s harder to learn with AI is the business half.
Don’t get me wrong, you can definitely pick up some useful knowledge from LLMs, but starting a business is about more than following predefined steps. It’s about accountability and understanding human beings. What to build, who it's for, how to get paid for it. That's the one direction where I actually have receipts, so that's the direction I want to take Devmystify towards… Which meant a complete rebrand with a clear promise: helping developers start businesses.
And then, the twist.
Last week, my US client told me the steady work is… continuing after all. The wave I'd been sprinting away from turned out to be fake.
I'm keeping everything the scare built anyway. The consulting practice is packaged and Devmystify finally knows what it is. The machine exists now, and next time the wave might be real.
If your only plan is "hope the work keeps coming" like me, you don't have a plan…. You have hope.
One more thing, and it's the part I'm most nervous about.
I'm building something I've never done before: a cohort. Live, eight weeks, a small group of developers.
It's called Full Stack Founder, and the promise is simple: you pick your path (consulting, digital products, or SaaS), and by week 8 your offer is live and in front of real buyers, hopefully making money outside your full-time job.
Weekly deliverables, real volume floors, group calls, two private 1-on-1s with me, and me in the room the whole way. It's the thing I wish existed when I was writing tutorials into the void hoping something would stick.
I'm not opening it yet. I want to run the first one small, with the right people in the room, so I'm not setting a date until the waitlist is ready. Your numbers get published on the site, wins and zeros, receipts culture from day one.
If you're unhappy with your current job or salary, or you've been thinking about starting a side business, get on the list. You'll be first in line, with first pick of the seats, when it opens.
If you’re unhappy with your current job or salary, or have been thinking about starting a side business, this is the perfect opportunity. Don't wait for the scare like I did.
