I'm on a similar journey as the author — quit my job at FAANG and started a solo software consulting business — and as others have mentioned in this post, this

I'm on a similar journey as the author — quit my job at FAANG and started a solo software consulting business — and as others have mentioned in this post, this path of contention creation is non-linear and no "formula" exists — and will never exist. A friend of mind, guitar instructor, went from being teaching synchronously in-person for 15+ years to building out his audience. Only after 2 years did he start becoming profitable. It's a grind.