I’ve been thinking a lot about the future recently, mainly my career and future goals. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ll be turning forty in January 😵, and this has prompted much reflection in this area of my life.

First, let me say that I feel extremely lucky and grateful to be where I am in this game called life. I have been a web developer for the better part of twenty years and it has afforded me the life I have today. I’m not rich, but pretty damn comfortable. Life is good.

But…

I can’t help shake the feeling of where I’ll be in ten years time. Do I want to continue life as an employee or contractor at fifty years of age (and beyond), still trading away hours for money?

Nope, who does?

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with working away at a job – the system relies on people working, to support themselves, and the overall economy. I just want to see if I could potentially get myself out of the rat race, if I set a realistic timeframe in order to give it a damn good try.

Usually I set a goal with an unrealistic timeframe, get super pumped up about it, give it my all for a week or two, then slowly lose the will to continue on with it. Rinse and repeat for so many of my past goals. This can’t just be me? 🫠

Why Should This Goal Be Any Different Than Previous Failed Goals?

A few reasons.

1. Realistic Timeframe – Ten Years. It’s a damn long time to work on a goal I know, but I believe I’d be hard pressed to find a person who could argue it’s an unrealistic time frame to build a business to profitability.
2. Wisdom – I feel like I know myself and how my brain operates so much more intricately at thirty-nine years of age than I have in all the years previous and how best I get work done.
3. Fulfilment – I truly enjoy creating web development tutorials, editing, filming, and of course, constantly learning.
4. My Baby – I get a way bigger kick out of building stuff for myself (shocker I know), so now I can try to grow and nurture my baby for the foreseeable.
5. Singular Focused – This will be my primary goal for the next ten years, so will be my main focus, instead of spreading myself so thin with other distractions.

So, What Exactly Is This Ten Year Goal to Financial Freedom?

🚀 By January 11^th 2035, I want to make Frontend Hero – my small web development tutorial website & YouTube channel a standalone business earning at least £70k a year.

Depending on your perspective, that number may be quite low for ten years worth of work, or a pretty decent earner. I’m in the latter camp because this ten year goal to become financially free will essentially be a ‘side hustle’. I’ll still be working away as an employee, just fitting this goal in around my job and life.

Either way, imagine building up a side business to £5,833 per month?

Does Financial Freedom Really Work Out at £70k/Year?

Everything is relative, and this number I have come up with for myself might be very different to someone else’s idea of ‘financial freedom’.

I’m sure some people reading this might aspire to have a few million in the bank by ten year’s time, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I myself, don’t need flashy cars, expensive clothes or any of that crap. I’m not trying to impress anybody here.

At periods in my life, I have been on a salaries higher than this figure, and for most of the time, less. So, from being on both sides of the fence, I feel that this number is an accurate salary for me to live on comfortably.

The optimist in me, also doesn’t dismiss the idea that a project this long, could potentially earn significantly more than my target… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

How Do You Intend to Eventually Make £70k/Year?

A few various avenues with both YouTube, and the website.

1. YouTube Adsense – The easiest option, as I don’t have to do a whole lot, just let YouTube serve ads on my videos / content.
2. Brand Deals – I’ve never done a brand deal before, but from watching successful YouTubers, this is where the bulk of the money seems to come from.
3. Code – I’ve been making a few sales here and there by selling the code used on some videos over at 🍋 Lemon Squeezy.
4. Donations – I don’t expect a lot from this stream, but hey, some people might feel generous and sling me a few bucks from time to time.
5. Affiliate Programs – This could be potentially lucrative, I just need to test what programs would work on this niche.
6. Newsletter – I’m terrible at email marketing, but I might as well give this area a go too eh?
7. Merch – If my channel gets substantially more subs, I think I might give this route some thought.

What Are Your Preparations to Achieve This Goal?

Something of this magnitude needs a plan of attack for sure, so I will be trying my best as possible to follow the below points.

1. Write one tutorial, and publish one YouTube video per week, every week until January 11^th 2035.
2. Work a minimum of fifteen hours on this project per week.
3. Use the pomodoro method to track my hours each day.
4. When I will inevitably fail to push out fifteen hours of work per week, I will not beat myself up about it. Instead, I will start fresh the next day.
5. I’ll be using the awesome Notion app to plan and manage everything.
6. Throw perfection out the fucking window. I always thought that I have that perfectionist trait, and that it’s a good thing – it certainly can be at times, but for the most part it just drags me down while I overthink every detail about a tutorial or video edit. No more. Done is good enough.

What if You Fail This Goal?

Let’s be real here. The odds of reaching a salary of £70,000 a year in income, in ten years is definitely not in my favour. There is a lot that could go wrong in that timeframe. But if I do fail, I believe that I will have at least built up Frontend Hero to be somewhat successful, and earning some money.

Show Us Your Stats

Ten Year Goal Timeframe

From Monday, 29^th July 2024 until Thursday, 11^th 2035, here are the below duration stats, just for fun. Calculation by TimeandDate.

See that ‘weeks’ column? That means I have to create 545 tutorials 😬

Frontend Hero Stats: Day One

Below are my current stats. I’ll expand this table, as I add newsletter subs etc in the future.

Where Can I Stay Updated on This Challenge?

I plan to blog a little here and there on the progress of this challenge, so you can do one of the following:

• Bookmark this newly created category /10-years/ for this challenge, and check back periodically.
• I’ll get around to creating a newsletter shortly.

Day One, Let’s Gooooooooo

Right, with all that out of the way, here’s to day one and starting this challenge!