It’s late 2012.
I just turned 30 and sold my house.
A giant weight had lifted off my shoulders, and for the first time in a long time, my mind was sharp, and I was thinking clearly.
My interest in entrepreneurship and internet business was at an all-time high.
Even though I had been podcasting for several years at that point, I hadn’t made friends with the idea of focusing on one thing just yet, so I decided to try my hand at a few projects to see what might resonate with me and the world.
I’ve shared in podcast interviews that I started about a dozen niche sites around this time.
So, here are some of the projects I was working on from about 2013 to 2016.
Amass A Fortune
Many of us one day hope to become wealthy.
So, I thought to myself, what if I documented and shared my journey towards becoming wealthy?
What if I tried a bunch of things and shared what worked and what didn’t?
That was the concept behind Amass A Fortune.
When I searched for the domain name AmassAFortune.com, I noticed it was available, so I jumped right on it and established a website.
When all was said and done, I ended up publishing 50+ blog posts.
What was it?
I called it a “personal finance” blog, but that isn’t quite accurate because that has certain connotations in the financial world.
It was more like a blog about earning and managing money on your path to becoming wealthy.
Why did you quit?
Basically, I just ran out of time and energy to work on it.
It was a good idea and I had fun with it.
I even interviewed a friend of mine in the financial industry and recorded a few podcast episodes for the site.
It had potential, but it wasn’t growing in a hurry, so I gave it a pass.
AS Movies & Games
AS Movies & Games has its roots in a YouTube channel I started in 2009.
At the time, personalities like the Angry Video Game Nerd and Spoony were all the rage, and I wanted in.
I wanted to establish myself as a personality in the reviewer/critic space, and at one point, even applied to be a Channel Awesome content creator (for various reasons, I’m glad that didn’t work out).
Later, I started a website for AS Movies & Games, which can still be found at ArcticSunburn.com.
I posted game and movie reviews as well as some of my artwork in the form of illustrations.
What was it?
A video game and movie review website.
The YouTube channel got some traction too.
Why did you quit?
Again, it was a fun project but the tricky part was monetization.
Obviously, the main way people make money in this space is with native YouTube ads, but you need a lot of traffic to make it work, and I didn’t know how to monetize videos with copyrighted footage.
I tried ads and affiliate marketing on the website, but that didn’t amount to much either.
Basically, it was a ton of work in a competitive market and getting a following proved challenging.
Compuxor
I had honesty reached a point of “enough already” when I launched Compuxor – I had probably launched every other niche site on this list by the time I went live with it.
But when I heard entrepreneur Glen Allsopp talk about the success of sites like Distractify, I couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities.
My love of satirical media stemmed from some of my own creative work – I used to bring a binder full of paper to church to write and draw on.
I had a friend who started collaborating with me and before long we were writing rap songs and making satirical newsletters.
And, I was also aware of sites like The Onion, which had rewarded me with some laughs.
So, I thought there might be an opportunity to bring my own brand of humor to the web and profit from it.
Eventually, it evolved and I started collaborating on videos with one of my best friends, Karlo Keet, of Catstar Images.
The best way to see what we’re up is to subscribe and keep an eye on our Compuxor YouTube channel.
What was it?
A satirical digital media website.
We made articles, podcast episodes and videos.
Why did you quit?
Compuxor hasn’t officially ended, but it’s fair to say it’s been on an extended hiatus.
Interestingly, I do have some plans for Compuxor in 2020.
We need to rebuild our website, so the best place to find us right now is on our YouTube channel.
Music Entrepreneur Book
After launching The New Music Industry: Adapting, Growing, and Thriving in The Information Age, I started exploring different ways of promoting it.
So, I registered MusicEntrepreneurBook.com, set up the website and launched The New Music Industry Podcast.
In the end, it didn’t make any sense to have the podcast on a separate domain.
What was it?
A site promoting my first book.
The podcast was used to draw more attention to it.
Why did you quit?
I kept the domain, because I can always redirect it to a page on Music Entrepreneur HQ promoting any of my books.
But I figured I would combine Music Entrepreneur Book and Music Entrepreneur HQ, so that one site would get more SEO juice.
Music Entrepreneur HQ
As noted earlier, my interest in business was at an all-time high when I launched Music Entrepreneur HQ.
Although some people were talking about the connection between music and business, when I was getting started, no one had quite made the leap to “music entrepreneurship” just yet.
I’m not sure when Tommy Darker wrote The Rise of the Musicpreneur, but I’m almost certain it came after I made this connection in 2011.
Well, screw it, who needs the credit anyway?
I could see that music entrepreneurship was the way forward for musicians and I wanted to start spreading that message right away.
I am elated that the idea has spread far and wide and “music entrepreneur” is now a term that shows up in everyday, ordinary conversation.
What was it?
What it was and what it still is, is a resource for ambitious independent musicians and music entrepreneurs.
Why did you quit?
I didn’t – Music Entrepreneur HQ is still very much alive and it’s my primary business venture right now.
But it’s fair to say it evolved.
At first, it was just a podcast here on DavidAndrewWiebe.com.
When it became David Andrew Wiebe Interviews and Music Business Podcast, I gave it its own space on the website.
Then it became DAWCast: Music Entrepreneurship, so I moved it to its own domain.
I rebranded around 2014 and made it The Music Entrepreneur.
Finally, I moved everything over to its current home in 2016 and renamed it Music Entrepreneur HQ.
Music Entrepreneur News
As with other projects on this list, I started Music Entrepreneur News because I wasn’t getting traction with Music Entrepreneur HQ.
So, I figured I would experiment with a different business model on a separate website.
Have you noticed how easily I used to get sidetracked yet?
What was it?
A link shortening service for Music Entrepreneur HQ.
It was also a blog that republished posts from Music Entrepreneur HQ.
It had some original content in the form of unique blog posts, press releases and so on too.
Why did you quit?
Oddly, Music Entrepreneur News lives on – but it doesn’t have its own domain name anymore.
It’s just a web 2.0 blog on Blogger now.
Honestly, it was just another example of me getting carried away with my ideas, starting way too many projects.
Necktie Musician
People just didn’t seem to be connecting with The Music Entrepreneur brand, and it was frustrating.
So, I started thinking about business/website names that might resonate better with people.
That’s how I came up with Necktie Musician and registered NecktieMusician.com.
I seem to recall publishing a few blog posts on the platform before making it into a giant landing page intended to capture email addresses and convert readers into customers.
What was it?
I guess it had a couple of iterations, but it was basically just a long form landing page at the end of the day.
Why did you quit?
It took a while, but eventually I found some traction with Music Entrepreneur HQ, so Necktie Musician became superfluous.
Outsource Blog Content
In 2014, I started collaborating with my friend Gabriel Binette.
After brainstorming some ideas around what we wanted to work on together, we gave birth to Outsource Blog Content.
The idea was exactly like it sounds.
We started offering to write blog content for small and medium sized businesses.
What was it?
A site selling my services as a blogger.
We also had a blog where we documented our various marketing experiments, many of which didn’t pan out.
Why did you quit?
As it turns out, I didn’t need to sell my services as a freelance writer/ghostwriter at all.
People come to me wanting to hire me without any prompting, so a website promoting my services was unneeded.
Red Flame Records
I am the sole proprietor of Red Flame, which is the name of my business.
But before there was Red Flame, there was Academe Design, an integrated design and print business.
Red Flame Records was established as a subsidiary of Academe Design, so we could expand our offerings to include audio related services.
We were already rehearsing and recording in our home studio, so it only made sense to charge for our musical competencies too.
Later, when my partner sold his half of the company to me, I decided to ditch the design company and focus on music.
So, I used the Red Flame website to publish content, share about happenings at the studio, promote our services and so on.
What was it?
Red Flame was a site promoting my various services as an audio engineer, guitar instructor, session player and so on.
Of course, there was a blog too, and I ended up writing a bunch of content for it.
Why did you quit?
I didn’t have enough time to dedicate to the site.
If it had generated more leads, there’s a good chance I would have kept it.
But it was basically just a vanity site and it didn’t make any sense to keep it when I already had other sites promoting the same services.
Other Niche Sites I Created
Although 2013 to 2016 may have been my most prolific period, I built my first website when I was 14, so I’ve created many sites over the years.
I honestly can’t remember all of them, but here are few that come to mind:
- David Andrew Wiebe.com – Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for the Serious Guitarist: I ran a guitar blog for a while and had some fun with it. Since then, I’ve compiled all the content and turned it into an eBook.
- DAWInterviews: Most of my interviews are now live on Music Entrepreneur HQ, But there was a time when they bounced from site to site as I was transitioning through my various interests and passions. It’s safe to say they didn’t stay here.
- DAWSessions: I thought it might be a good idea to sell my services as a session musician. Ultimately, I figured out I could do that just as well without having a separate site dedicated to it.
- Teenagers Against Hanson: I’m fairly certain the site got hacked, but it still exists online. This was my first site.
- We Hate Britney Spears Boys: This was a huge traffic driver when I originally created it. I had no plans for building a list or monetizing it, and at some point, I no longer wanted to be associated with satirizing pop artists. So, I quit and moved on.
Final Thoughts on Niche Sites
I used to be a loyal person.
And, by that I mean I used to stay in a variety of situations (including business ventures) long after they stopped serving me.
I don’t do that anymore.
I have certain goals I want to achieve but if I can’t get there doing the things I’m doing, then I’m happy to take a stab at something else.
To that extent, I have no regrets with any of the above.
I’m glad I quit most of those projects, and I wouldn’t do it any differently if I had it all to do again.
