Man, sitting here in my cramped apartment in Austin—it’s like 80 degrees outside even though it’s almost Christmas, because Texas, right?—I’m staring at this cold cup of yesterday’s coffee and realizing I gotta talk about how to turn skills into recurring income. Because honestly, that’s what saved my ass this year.
I used to be that freelancer who chased every single invoice like a dog after a squirrel. Seriously. I’d finish a project, get paid once, and then… nothing. Radio silence until the next desperate client. It was exhausting, dude.
Why I Decided to Turn Skills into Recurring Income (Instead of Crying Monthly)
Look, I’m a graphic designer by trade—or was, anyway. Back in 2023 I was pulling all-nighters for clients who’d ghost me on revisions. My bank account looked like a rollercoaster designed by a sadist. Then one day, hungover from too much Topo Chico and despair, I thought: what if I could turn skills into recurring income? Like, people pay me every month without me having to beg?
It sounded fake. Too good. But I was tired of the feast-or-famine bullshit.
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The First Time I Actually Tried to Turn Skills into Recurring Income (And Kinda Failed)
My big idea? Subscription-based design templates. I spent three weeks building this library of Notion templates—because I’m obsessed with Notion, don’t judge me—and launched on Gumroad. First month: $47. Total.
I cried a little. Not gonna lie. I texted my friend “I tried to turn skills into recurring income and all I got was enough for tacos.”
But here’s the thing—I didn’t quit. I kept tweaking. Added more templates, started a tiny newsletter with tips, made the pricing tiers less confusing.
What Finally Helped Me Turn Skills into Recurring Income For Real
Okay, fast forward to now. I’ve got about 180 subscribers paying me anywhere from $9 to $29 a month for access to my template vault, plus exclusive monthly design packs. It’s not millionaire money—yet—but it covers rent and then some. Every month. Without me hunting clients.
Here’s what actually worked when I was trying to turn skills into recurring income:
- Niche down hard. I stopped trying to be everything to everyone. Now it’s just productivity templates for freelancers who are as disorganized as I am.
- Start stupid small. My first version had like 10 templates. That’s it. Better to launch imperfect than wait forever.
- Build in public. I shared my embarrassing numbers on Twitter—er, X—and people related. Some even subscribed because they saw I was real.
- Add value monthly. Every month I drop new stuff. Keeps people from canceling. (Check out Membership Guy’s guide on retention—helped me a ton.)
- Use tools that don’t suck. I’m on Gumroad + ConvertKit. Simple. Cheap. Works. (Here’s Gumroad’s creator resources if you’re curious.)
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The Mistakes I Made Trying to Turn Skills into Recurring Income (So You Don’t Have To)
Oh god, where do I start?
- Overcomplicating pricing. I had like seven tiers at one point. Nobody understood.
- Ignoring churn. People were canceling and I just… pretended it wasn’t happening.
- Not emailing enough. Thought I’d be annoying. Turns out people forget you exist if you don’t show up.
- Comparing myself to people making 10x more. Brutal for motivation.
Anyway, still working through some of this crap. I’m not perfect.
How You Can Start to Turn Skills into Recurring Income This Week
If you’re sitting there thinking “cool story but how do I actually do it,” here’s my no-BS starting point:
- List out what you’re good at that people ask you for repeatedly.
- Think: how can this be delivered ongoing instead of one-and-done?
- Pick one platform (Patreon, Substack, Gumroad, Memberful—whatever).
- Make a minimum viable offer. Like, embarrassingly small.
- Tell literally everyone you know. Post it. Share the messy behind-the-scenes.
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That’s it.
I’m still figuring this out, honestly. Some months are up, some are flat. But having that recurring income stream? It’s the first time in years I’m not panicking about next month’s bills.
If you’ve got a skill—writing, coding, designing, coaching, whatever—try it. Start small, stay consistent, be brutally honest with your people.
And hey, if you do start something, hit reply and tell me about it. I’d love to subscribe (if it’s not too weird).
Anyway, back to tweaking my next template drop. Wish me luck.
— Your very human, very flawed friend who’s slowly making this recurring income thing work
