I have a habit of getting excited about an idea, diving in headfirst, and then quietly questioning my life choices a few weeks later if the results don’t show up fast enough. Sometimes I stick with things long enough for them to work. Sometimes I don’t. Most of the time, I learn something along the way.
That’s kind of the way it has gone for me the entire 15-ish years that I’ve been dabbling with internet marketing side hustle stuff.
Just over a week ago, I published a post about trying (again) to make money on the internet, this time by leaning into Facebook content monetization. I laid out the whole plan. The Travel USA by Rambling Fever Facebook page. The daily posts. The small ad spend. The hope that Facebook would eventually tap me on the shoulder and invite me into the monetization program.
And here’s the funny part… That plan technically still exists – but it’s already changing.
Not because it failed. Not because it’s dead. But because something more real showed up.
I’ve Always Been a Little All Over the Place
I’ve tried to clean this up in my head over the years, but the honest version is better.
I get bored easily when things feel abstract and I don’t see immediate results.
When an idea is mostly based on algorithms, platforms, or waiting to be “chosen,” I tend to lose patience. I can do it for a while. Sometimes a long while. But eventually my brain starts looking for something more concrete. Something I can point to and say, “Yes, this solves a real problem for real people.”
Facebook monetization scratches the income itch, but it’s still wishful thinking at the early stages. You publish. You wait. You hope. You read stories about other people’s success. You try not to check stats every five minutes like a raccoon guarding a vending machine.
That strategy is not necessarily wrong. It’s just not grounded in something real.
The Travel Page Reset Was Still the Right Move
Before I go any further, I want to rewind briefly for anyone who hasn’t been following the Facebook side of this closely.
When I first started the Travel USA by Rambling Fever Facebook page, I treated it like a growth experiment. I was posting a lot — multiple times per day — and most of the content was intentionally generic. Safe travel thoughts. Broad observations. Things designed to appeal to algorithms more than people.
It worked well enough to grow the page, but it didn’t feel like me.
Recently, I hit pause and reset the tone of the page. I introduced myself properly. I posted an actual photo of myself. I explained that most of our travel these days revolves around youth sports — gyms, tournaments, long drives, hotel stays, and all the in‑between time that comes with that.
That shift away from personality‑free travel content and toward first‑person writing wasn’t a business tactic. It was alignment.
It finally made the page honest.
And honesty tends to outlive tactics.
That page will continue. I’ll keep writing from gyms, parking lots, hotel rooms, and coffee shops between games. I still believe there’s something meaningful there, both creatively and eventually financially.
But at the same time…
A More Concrete Idea Entered the Chat
Recently, I ran into a very specific, very annoying real‑life problem involving an HOA.
I won’t get into the full details yet. That’s coming later in what I hope to be an epic post, which will act as the cornerstone of this new idea.
What matters is this: the problem wasn’t theoretical. It wasn’t internet‑based. It wasn’t algorithm‑dependent. It was frustrating, time‑consuming, and confusing in a way that made me think, “There has to be a better way to handle this.”
That’s always the signal for me.
When an idea starts with:
Why does this feel harder than it should be?
…my brain doesn’t shut up about it.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn’t just a one‑off annoyance. It’s something homeowners in HOA’s deal with all the time. It’s something HOA board members deal with. It’s something property managers deal with. And most of them are trying to solve it with email chains, PDFs, spreadsheets, or software that’s either overkill or wildly outdated.
That’s when my idea stopped being wishful thinking.
This Time, I’m Not Building First
Here’s where this experiment will be different from many of my past ones.
I’m not building anything yet.
No app. No tool. No dashboard. No late‑night coding sessions fueled by optimism and caffeine.
Instead, I’m validating the idea the boring way.
I’m talking to people. I’m telling my story. I’m explaining the problem.
And most importantly, I’m seeing if anyone is willing to pay for a solution before it exists.
If people won’t put money down for it now, they won’t magically want it later just because it looks prettier.
I learned about this product validation method years ago in Pat Flynn’s book, Will It Fly. Ask people to pay for a product before it exists. If enough people pay, then you build the product!
Transparency Without the Hustle Energy
I’ve never been shy about saying that I want my online efforts to make money. I don’t pretend this blog is a charity project or a passion project that just accidentally hopes to pay a mortgage someday.
I also don’t believe that wanting to earn money automatically turns something into a scam, a loophole, or a moral failure.
The difference, at least for me, comes down to alignment.
The travel content aligns with our real life because we travel constantly for youth sports. Writing about it makes sense.
This HOA idea aligns with a real frustration I experienced firsthand. Solving it would make someone’s life easier. Providing the solution as a product could make a whole lot of people’s lives that much easier as well!
I’m Still Me, Just Slightly Wiser (Maybe)
I’m not pretending this new direction means I’ve suddenly figured everything out. I’ll probably still pivot again someday. I’ll probably still get impatient. Who knows how long I’ll stick with this new project.
I’ll definitely still write update posts like this where I laugh at myself for thinking something was “the plan” only a week ago.
But I do think I’m getting better at recognizing when something is worth slowing down for.
This new idea feels less like chasing a platform and more like responding to reality.
And honestly, that alone feels like progress.
I have experience building a software solution to solve a real problem. I sold that piece of software for low 6-figures. I know I can do it again, this time in a completely different genre.
What Comes Next
For now, I’m keeping the details of the HOA tool under wraps while I validate it properly. When it makes sense to share more, I will.
The Travel USA by Rambling Fever page will keep evolving with more personal, sports‑travel‑focused content.
And Rambling Fever will continue doing what it’s always done best… documenting the messy middle between ideas, income, family life, travel sports, random rambling posts, and me trying to build something that actually sticks.
No hype. No fake certainty. Just honest updates from wherever I happen to be when the thoughts show up.
As usual, thanks for reading. If nothing else, at least you get a front‑row seat to the chaos that is my internet side hustle life.