Do You Want to Start a Business? Or Do You Just Want to Stop Being Managed? Do you want to start a business? Do you dream of being your own boss? Or do you simply want a life where no one controls your time? If you are thinking about entrepreneurship today, here is my first piece of advice: Do not start by thinking about business models. Do not start by thinking about market size. Do not start by thinking about whether it can become big. Ask a more brutal question first: Can you survive for three years with little or no income? Because most startups do not fail due to bad products. They fail because they run out of money before the market ever has a chance to validate them. This is especially true for solo creators and one-person media businesses. How Much Does It Really Cost to Run a One-Person Media Business for Three Years? Let’s assume the most minimal setup possible: You write everything yourself You edit everything yourself You publish everything yourself You manage your own newsletter The goal is not to scale fast. The goal is to prove that your topic has a market and conversion potential. If you are ready for that, let’s look at the actual monthly costs — which are much lower than most people expect. Monthly Operating Costs (Minimal Setup) Newsletter system: 0 – NT$1,500 Website & hosting: NT$300 – NT$1,000 Design tools or assets: 0 – NT$1,000 AI tools: 0 – NT$1,000 Miscellaneous expenses: NT$500 – NT$2,000 Total: NT$1,000 – NT$6,500 per month This is roughly equivalent to what many people already spend on entertainment. Which leads to the real insight:
The real cost is not the tools. The real cost is your living expenses. You Can Only Choose One Topic If you are working alone, you must choose one core topic. Otherwise, you will not be able to keep up. When you create a social media page, do not spend money buying fake followers. Fake numbers do not attract real people. After launching, follow this rhythm: Weekdays: short analysis (500–800 words) Weekly: one in-depth analysis (2,500–4,000 words) Over one year, this becomes approximately: Short content: 200–250 pieces Long-form content: 40–50 pieces This is critical: Do not repost news. Reframe it. Reorganize it. Rethink it. Even if you translate foreign news, do not copy it directly. If you struggle to find sources, integrate from multiple regions — do not limit yourself to Taiwan, which has a population of only 23 million. Expand to the entire Chinese-speaking world: Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore / Malaysia / Taiwan / Hong Kong) SCMP (Hong Kong / Overseas Chinese readers) Sin Chew Daily / China Press / Oriental Daily (Malaysia) AsiaOne & CNA (Singapore / Southeast Asia) Sina / Tencent / Sohu News (Mainland China portals) --- The First Three Months: Only One Goal For the first three months, focus on one thing only: Market response — not traffic. What you should watch for: Saves Comments Shares Email replies You are looking for one signal: Which content makes people stay? Months 3–6: You Must Build a Newsletter Do not wait for traffic to grow. Social platforms are borrowed land. Email is your asset. Your first milestone:
300–500 subscribers This is already enough to validate demand. How to Use AI (Without Losing Your Voice) AI should not write your opinions. AI should only help with: Cross-country news aggregation Article structure drafts Identifying blind spots When your output becomes hard to sustain, the first hire should be: A research assistant, not a writer. When Does It Count as “Surviving”? Monthly income ≥ living expenses Sustained for 6–12 consecutive months Only then can you say the business is alive. When Can You Start Thinking About Expansion? Usually when: Newsletter subscribers exceed 1,000 You have consistent returning readers People are already willing to pay Only then should you consider: Branding Team building Scaling The Only Three Metrics That Matter 1️⃣ Newsletter subscriber count 2️⃣ Article save rate 3️⃣ Return visit rate The Practical Problems You Will Face (Do Not Delay These) 1️⃣ How Do You Send Emails? Do not use Gmail. Do not build your own email server. Bulk emails from Gmail get blocked easily. Self-hosted systems require SPF, DKIM, DMARC — you will waste time on infrastructure instead of content. The simplest solution: Choose a newsletter platform Create a signup form Share the subscription link everywhere When you publish, click Send — done. Your only requirements: Emails are reliably delivered They don’t go to spam You can manage subscribers easily 2️⃣ Payment Systems (If You Are in Taiwan) Do not overcomplicate payments at the beginning. Use local payment providers (e.g., ECPay or NewebPay). Create a product in the backend: Newsletter membership: NT$199 / month Newsletter membership: NT$299 / month The system gives you a payment link. Place it in: Your newsletter Your articles Your social profiles Payment → access granted. 3️⃣ How Do You Deliver Paid Content? The simplest version: Payment successful → redirect to a private content page Examples: Private Notion page Shared Google Drive folder Do not build a membership system at the beginning. 4️⃣ Do You Need a Website at the Start? No. For the first six months: Social platform + newsletter is enough Build a website only when: Newsletter reaches 500–1,000 subscribers You see stable returning readers 5️⃣ When Will You Actually See Income? Months 6–12: small paid subscriptions appear Months 12–24: income approaches living expenses Only if: Topic is consistent Content output is stable Newsletter keeps growing One Final Reality Check A one-person media business is not a race to go viral. It is a race to: Last longer Stay consistent Build reader trust What If You Want USD 65,000 per Year? USD 65,000 ≈ NT$2,000,000 per year At NT$199 per subscription, you need approximately: 850 paying subscribers That is the math. Nothing more. Nothing less.
