How Solopreneur Justin Welsh Earns $4 Million+ a Year (With No Employees)
Imagine running a business that now makes more than $4 million a year with zero employees. That’s exactly what Justin Welsh does. He’s a solopreneur—a one-person business owner—who has built a highly profitable enterprise entirely on his own.
In this article, we’ll break down how Justin structures his business to achieve eight-figure lifetime revenue. We’ll look at his income streams, his audience-building tactics on LinkedIn and X (Twitter), the automation and systems he uses to scale, his value-first marketing philosophy, and the timeline of his growth.
Meet Justin Welsh: The $4M-a-Year One-Person Business Phenomenon
Justin Welsh is often called the “diversified solopreneur” – a one-man enterprise with multiple income streams. He wasn’t always a solo operator.
Back in 2019 he was a stressed tech executive heading a $50M department until a severe panic attack pushed him to rethink his life. He stepped away from corporate work and decided to build a business that put lifestyle first.
In Justin’s own words:
“I built this business to be lifestyle-first, meaning it’s highly automated and has no full-time employees, just a part-time VA.”
Today, Justin is a writer, coach, and content creator who runs a portfolio of one-person businesses online. He now does $4.15M in annual revenue with roughly 86% profit margins and zero employees—only a part-time virtual assistant.
He also spends nothing on ads, relying completely on organic audience growth.
His Audience Powers It All
690K followers on LinkedIn
~500K on X (Twitter)
200K+ newsletter subscribers
Plus growing presence on Instagram and Threads
How His One‑Person Business Makes Money
Justin has several core revenue streams that combine to generate over $4M/year:
Income Source | What Is It? | Est. 2024 Revenue |
|---|---|---|
Online Courses | LinkedIn OS 2.0, Content OS 2.0, Creator MBA | $2.7M |
Newsletter Sponsorships | Ads in Saturday Solopreneur newsletter | $170K |
Subscription Templates | $9/mo content membership | $108K |
Coaching / Advising | Referral-only clients | ~$130K |
Affiliate Commissions | Recommending tools he personally uses | $28K |
His flagship Creator MBA alone brought in $1.6M in its 2024 launch.
Audience-Building Mastery
His main channels include:
LinkedIn – 690K+ followers (daily posts)
X (Twitter) – ~500K followers since late 2021
Newsletter – 200K+ subscribers with 60% open rates
Instagram/Threads – 70K+ followers via repurposed content
He uses a consistent writing style and clear content pillars to educate and engage. His most successful format? Personal experience + clear lesson + strong hook.
Simplified Operations (With Massive Scale)
Despite being a one-person business, Justin runs a tight ship. His systems are automated and repeatable.
Tools he uses:
ConvertKit – email marketing
Circle – community platform
Beehiiv – newsletter hosting & sponsorships
Notion – content planning
Airtable – operations
Typeform – intake forms
Gumroad – product hosting
He delegates low-leverage tasks to a part-time VA, keeping his own focus on content, product, and growth.
Timeline: How Long Did It Take?
Year-by-year revenue growth:
2019: $0 (quit job in Q3)
2020: $107K
2021: $1.3M
2022: $1.7M
2023: $2.5M
2024 (est.): $4.15M+
He scaled consistently, reinvesting time—not money—into better systems and evergreen products.
Marketing Strategy: Value First, Always
Justin’s philosophy is simple:
“Give away 99% for free. Charge for the last 1%.”
His content is ultra-generous. He shares everything he knows via posts, emails, and threads. His paid courses go deeper, but never gatekeep value.
He also writes like he speaks. His posts are clear, concise, and 100% human. This builds trust and authority over time.
FAQs
Does Justin have employees?
No, just a part-time VA. He’s the only full-time person in the business.
How does he make most of his money?
Over $2.7M/year comes from selling digital courses, including LinkedIn and content creation systems.
What’s the profit margin?
About 86% – very high due to the digital nature of his products and almost no overhead.
Does he run ads?
No. Justin has grown everything organically through LinkedIn, X, and his newsletter.
What tools does he use?
Main tools include:
ConvertKit, Gumroad, Beehiiv, Notion, Airtable, Circle, Typeform.
Where can I learn more from him?
Follow him on LinkedIn, X (@thejustinwelsh), or subscribe to his Saturday Solopreneur newsletter.
Sources
Justin Welsh – Starter Story Interview
Chenell Basilio – Growth in Reverse
Ethan – The Write to Roam
Justin Welsh – Twitter/X posts @thejustinwelsh and Justin’s Blog for personal insights and philosophy.
Justin Welsh – Personal Website/Newsletter: Content and stats from The Saturday Solopreneur and product pages
Justin Welsh – Podcast Interviews: Noah Kagan interview notes (2023)
