Today, I had to sign and deliver 30 copies of 50 Business Tips For The Mandem, the first book I ever published myself. Usually, I hate the first versions of anything I create, but this remains one of my favourite projects ever.
The idea was simple: a book for young entrepreneurs, written in a language and tone I knew would resonate. It was exactly what I needed when I was a young, aspiring hustler. The journey wasn’t easy. I had no designers, so I taught myself InDesign. I found and paid an editor. I literally checked the backs of books in shops just to find printers’ names. I ordered samples, then spent £700 on stock that arrived with a massive error on them. It was long… but it was a start. And everyone starts somewhere.
After selling on TikTok, I became friends with the lady at the post office because I was in there every week making deliveries and she taught me about tracking, customs etc. Eventually, since I only had a Stripe link (before Shopify), I got tired of messing up orders and missing customers, so I stopped promoting it as much. But it’s still my baby — and I actually sold 45 copies this month. That’s the beauty of words: they live on.
Independently, I’ve sold over 1,000 books. It might not sound like much by bestseller lists or Amazon KDP standards, but we’re building. People always ask why don’t you just go with a publisher, I turned down a £30,000 deal and a six figure one, when time is right, that will be part of the story.
Moral of the story: It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. And now I’m off to deliver 250 books all over the world for our 54 Countries project. We’re still just beginning - hence why i’m dressed like I’m ready for a glide in the picture 😅
Suli Breaks
Today, I had to sign and deliver 30 copies of 50 Business Tips For The Mandem, the first book I ever published myself. Usually, I hate the first versions of anything I create, but this remains one of my favourite projects ever.
The idea was simple: a book for young entrepreneurs, written in a language and tone I knew would resonate. It was exactly what I needed when I was a young, aspiring hustler. The journey wasn’t easy. I had no designers, so I taught myself InDesign. I found and paid an editor. I literally checked the backs of books in shops just to find printers’ names. I ordered samples, then spent £700 on stock that arrived with a massive error on them. It was long… but it was a start. And everyone starts somewhere.
After selling on TikTok, I became friends with the lady at the post office because I was in there every week making deliveries and she taught me about tracking, customs etc. Eventually, since I only had a Stripe link (before Shopify), I got tired of messing up orders and missing customers, so I stopped promoting it as much. But it’s still my baby — and I actually sold 45 copies this month. That’s the beauty of words: they live on.
Independently, I’ve sold over 1,000 books. It might not sound like much by bestseller lists or Amazon KDP standards, but we’re building. People always ask why don’t you just go with a publisher, I turned down a £30,000 deal and a six figure one, when time is right, that will be part of the story.
Moral of the story: It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start. And now I’m off to deliver 250 books all over the world for our 54 Countries project. We’re still just beginning - hence why i’m dressed like I’m ready for a glide in the picture 😅
1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 42