From FT employment to a $6,500/mo "full-time side-hustle" within 6 months: A peek at an indie hacker's finances

Brad Adkins left full-time employment to create rap beats professionally, but he soon went into debt. After another stint with full-time employment, he took the leap again — this time with his "full-time side-hustle", productized design services.

After only a few months, he's bringing in $6,500k MRR.

I caught up with him to get a peek at his finances and understand how his view of money impacts his business. 👇

Less is more

💰 "Simplicity sells, complexity fails." —Brad

Brad is a minimalist. He's had the same car for over a decade. He rents a room. He practices "capsule wardrobing".

He says this allows him to take more risks and do the things he wants to do because he has fewer things to pay for and less to leave behind.

It also helps his business.

💰 "Starting a business demands a certain level of laser-focused dedication. My advice would be to remove everything from your life that’s a distraction. That means deleting social media, boxing up your game console, and canceling your Netflix. Create a space to focus on what truly matters." —Brad

And if you're wondering what the heck "capsule wardrobing" is, it's where you have as few items of clothing as you can, and you mix and match them to create different outfits.

Brad wears the same Mornino wool t-shirt every day. He has three pairs of shorts, one pair of sandals, and one pair of shoes. Other than that, it's just a jacket and some workout gear. He doesn't like wasting energy thinking about what to wear, and he says it's one of his biggest money-savers. Win-win.

💰 "The things you own, own you. I aim to live with purpose, shaping my lifestyle and spending to align with my desired way of life, instead of mindlessly increasing expenses to match my income. My goal is a life where I can focus on my passions and not be tied down by possessions." —Brad

No safety net

Of course, minimalism often means that there isn't much of a safety net. When Brad quit his job as a web developer at a local business ($52,000/yr) in March, he only had three months of runway.

By the time he landed his first clients, he was almost out of cash. As he tells it, was both exciting and stressful. He doesn't recommend it, but he knew he had to do it.

And this wasn't his first rodeo. Back in 2018, he left a job as the lead designer at a digital marketing agency to produce rap beats full-time. That venture ended up in credit card debt due to advertising costs, but so far this one is working out.

Here's what he's bringing in after roughly 6 months:

• Designfly revenue: $6,000/mo
• Roasti revenue: $500/mo
• Founder pay: $6,000/mo
• Personal bank account: $0
• Business bank account: $500

His business expenses are minimal:

• Total: $144.16/mo
• Webflow Hosting: $18/mo
• Webflow Workspace: $24/mo
• Adobe: $54.99/mo
• UI8: $30.67/mo
• Envato: $16.50/mo
• Figma: Free

And here are his personal expenses:

• Total: $3,750/mo
• Housing + Utilities: $600 /mo
• Food: $1,200/mo
• Auto: $300/mo
• Shopping/Entertainment: $1,000/mo
• Tithing: ~$650/mo (10% of gross business profit)

A full-time side-hustle

Brad works on Designfly for fewer hours each day than he worked at his 9-to-5 (and he makes more money too). But his true passion is music, so he calls his productized services a "full-time side-hustle".

His "main" hustle is creating electronic music and he dreams of making it a full-time career. You can check it out here.

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"You can't get rich without enriching others." —unknown

Brad believes money is a reward for two things: The value he provides and his faithfulness.

You may have noticed above that Brad tithes 10% of his profit ($650/mo). He's a Christian, and his faith informs his views on money.

And that makes sense... Brad shared that while the Bible has 500 verses on faith and prayer, it has more than 2,000 verses on money. And apparently, around 40% of Jesus' parables involve money.

He's particularly fond of this verse, which provides some context for the significant tithing: Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” -Proverbs 3:9-10

The flow of money

Brad has an interesting approach to what he keeps in his bank accounts. He likes to keep around $500 in his business account and $0 in his personal account.

Here's the flow: He puts all of his personal spending on credit cards in order to earn rewards. Money comes into his business account and goes out to his business expenses. Then the remainder goes to his personal account. On the first of each month, he pays off his credit cards in full. And what's left in his personal account goes to his investment portfolio, leaving him at a zero balance.

Pretty slick.

💰 "I never use my debit card, it exposes your cash. If you’re fraudulently charged on it, you could lose your money and have a hard time getting it back. If you use a credit card instead, you’re protected." —Brad

Hands-off investing

So what does he invest in with that excess money? He says he likes soft assets like stocks and bonds. But he takes a hands-off approach (via Wealthfront's automated index investing) because he doesn't follow the news enough to feel confident trading on his own. So far, he has $5k invested, and that's up 2.61%

He also invests in his health, which has become a priority for him. He's happy to spend more money on organic whole foods.

And he doesn't skimp on his hobbies either. He's been splurging on skateboarding and nights out with friends and family.

Minimalism = no debt

As you might guess from a minimalist, he has no debt. He purchased his car in cash, never went to college, and prefers renting his home.

He rents because it's cheaper and doesn't come with all the burdens of upkeep, maintenance, insurance, taxes, depreciation, and so forth. He sees home ownership as more of a liability than an asset. Plus, the freedom to live anywhere fits his lifestyle.

Budgeting and "true" minimalism

There was time when Brad budgeted everything down to the last cent. And he got by on only $1,500/mo. He says he was a "true minimalist" at that point.

But now, he prefers his comfortable ~$3,000/mo budget. And it allows him to be more relaxed about budgeting.

He just gauges his spending on Mint.com, doing regular reviews to identify areas to cut back. His goal each month is to spend less than the previous month.

That said, lately, he's more focused on increasing income than cutting expenses.

Financial tools you should use (and a parting word)

Brad uses a few tools extensively:

• Found.com: He uses this for his business banking, bookkeeping, and taxes. It automatically sets aside estimated tax payments, and he can pay them directly through the app. He says it's a no-brainer.
• Mint.com: He uses this to track all personal expenses. It's free and it syncs with all his credit cards.
• Wealthfront: He uses this because it simplifies investing so he can channel his focus elsewhere.

I'll leave you with a parting word from Brad:

💰 "Remember, success is within your reach — always stay open to learning, adapting, and connecting with others in your industry." —Brad

You can find Brad on Twitter, or check out Designfly and Roasti.

And if you'd like to be featured as a guest in a future interview for this series, let me know in the comments!