My First Digital Dollar And 9 Things I'd Tell My Younger [Writer] Self
What a purple suitcase, a beach in Australia, and a $6 book taught me about building a writing life.
Welcome to the First Digital Dollar Project
Every week, a solopreneur shares the honest story of how they earned their first dollar online. They also join me on Substack Live to dive deeper into their journey.
Each story follows one path from idea to struggle to income. You will see the doubts they faced, the pivots they made, and the exact steps that led to that first sale.
Whether you are still searching for your breakthrough or already building momentum, these stories show you what is possible when you take action.
This post is a guest contribution from Veronica Llorca-Smith , a fellow solopreneur sharing the story of that first sale.
More on the project and the list of contributors:
When I started writing at 41, the idea of getting paid to write was not even a remote possibility. This was 2021, the middle of the pandemic, and I was locked abroad in Australia with my two daughters. In August that year, we left our home in Hong Kong, thinking we were going on holiday to visit my family in Spain. Traveling solo across the world with two young kids for what was supposed to be 2 weeks, I only packed a purple suitcase. I kissed Dave goodbye, got some licks from Django, and off we went. Little did I know that 2 weeks would turn into 16 months…
Hong Kong- Frankfurt – Tenerife – La Gomera. 24 hours later, we arrived in the little village in the middle of nowhere where my family is from. As soon as I woke up the next morning, half-exhausted, half-jetlagged, my phone started beeping with dozens of messages and notifications. The quarantine policy had changed, and we wouldn’t be able to go back home anytime soon. No timeline in sight, just a big question mark. Life was suddenly in a “refresh for an update” mode.
Not being able to tell my daughters when they would see their dad again was heartbreaking. Throughout my life, I have known tough. I have moved countries (9 times), lost my dad in my early 20s and my family went bankrupt overnight. But I didn’t know this type of tough because it wasn’t about me anymore. It was about my daughters, my family. The thing I care most about and had worked so hard to achieve (becoming a mum came with the tax of multiple losses too, another tough) was being shaken and I just was a front-row spectator waiting for the next act in my life…
After four months of hopeless hoping in Spain, we moved to the Gold Coast, Australia, where Dave’s family is from. There wasn’t a lot of logic in that decision, really. I just felt that being “closer” to Hong Kong got us a bit closer to home – even if it was just on the map.
But what about “my first digital dollar”? Isn’t it what this story is supposed to be about?
This is the deal: I wouldn’t be talking about writing online and having a digital business if it weren’t for this story, so it matters because it’s the foundation of everything. My ground zero. That’s when I started writing. Not to make money, not to build an audience, not to become a Top Voice on LinkedIn. Simply to find myself.
I started writing because I didn’t know what else to do and writing felt like a sanctuary where I could express myself and just let it out. I had around five hours for myself every day when the girls were at kindie. To make the most of it, I would go for a run, and then send a dozen CVs left, right and center to try to land a job. I failed miserably and after more than six months trying, I realized that I was wasting my days and life on finding a corporate job I didn’t even want.
One day, I was with the girls on a beautiful beach called Kingscliff. It was winter in Australia but the sun was warm, the water was beautiful and we were having an amazing time jumping the waves. We even saw a pod of dolphins and I remember feeling happy, light and free. Yes, free! For the very first time in a very long time, I was at peace. I don’t know if it was the universe talking or simply finding alignment within myself, but I trusted a quiet, silent voice that told me, “You will be fine.” And I was.
That’s the day I knew I was going to start my own path. I had no clue what it looked like, but I knew in my heart I had everything I needed to be successful, with the same conviction I now know everyone has the potential to shine in life. If we only give ourselves permission to try.
Six months later, I self-published The Lemon Tree Mindset on Amazon, and that was my first digital dollar ever. I’ve read many books throughout my life, but I can tell you, no book will change and impact your life the way your own book will. I remember pressing the “publish” button and yes, feeling scared and petrified, but also feeling alive. It was the 19 lessons I learned while reinventing myself, and I wrote it from my heart, with the single goal of helping people who were going through a similar journey and needed a guide, a roadmap, or just a shoulder to lean on.
I honestly can’t remember who my first customer was. Probably Dave (we had just reunited in Hong Kong!), my mom, or one of my friends. I’m pretty sure the first 50 sales came from friends after I gently harassed them (that’s what new authors shamelessly do).
That’s how I received my first dollar writing online, and that’s when I knew I wanted to write as a means to impact people. I realized what a gift writing is to the world and how we can all use it to share our story, connect, inspire, motivate and make someone’s life a little better with one message that might just be what they needed to hear that day.
Your first dollar (at anything) will always be the most important because it signals potential and possibility. If someone was willing to pay $6 for my book, it meant my writing had value and could potentially reach many more people. That’s what your first dollar does. It opens your mind to new possibilities and pushes you to think, “what if.”
I wanted to share this story because your first-dollar writing will also be the hardest one ever. This was exactly three years ago, and since then, I have had some successes I’m very proud of, such as publishing my 4thbook, The Anti-Procrastinator with the biggest publisher in the world, becoming a Substack Bestseller and growing a 6-figure writing-speaking business from scratch in my 40s (writing led to public speaking, which is now my main income stream). I’m not rich but I consider myself rich in the sense that I have built something I’m passionate about and that allows me to live life on my terms, spend quality time with my family and do cool (and crazy) stuff like the Ironman 70.3 I just did in China with Dave.
But the thing is, none of that would have been possible without the scars and the darkness that led me to writing in the first place. Your first dollar is as good as the story behind it. That’s where you learn about your own character, resilience and grit. The money is a byproduct, but the treasure is underneath, so look deeper and use your pain, grief, frustration and darkness to build something beautiful: your legacy.
9 lessons from mistakes
I’m no one to give advice or share wisdom, because I believe we all have to make our own mistakes and grow from them. There are so many fake promises out there, and what worked for me might not work for you for a million reasons. The main one is that you have your skills, your values and your own formula to develop.
I can share what I would tell my younger self if I were to start all over today, knowing what I know now:
1. Don’t care about what they think: People will always have an opinion and you will never please everyone. Do what feels right for you and the right people will come along.
2. Invest in people: connections, collaborations, relationships, community…everything I have built goes down to people first.
3. Be willing to look like a fool: I have looked silly a hundred times but it has pushed me to do amazing things such as 100+ lives, launch products and even become a speaker.
4. Be generous: 80% of my work is FREE. I share so much for free some people tell me I should charge for my knowledge. But that’s actually a great model for business and for life because you become the person people trust.
5. Be transparent: people will respect you much more for who you are than for the dollars in your bank account. Even if you are a beginner. Even if you are figuring things out.
6. Dream big and don’t let anyone cut your wings. I would never have thought that one day people would pay for my writing and my ideas. It’s still pretty crazy to me. But crazy is good. Crazy is dreaming and colouring outside the lines.
7. Don’t stop learning: My business is where it is today thanks to skills I didn’t have two years ago. Digital marketing, speaking on camera, building funnels…your future business (and success) depends on skills you don’t have today. Go build them.
8. Volume is not a proxy for excellence or a guarantee of results. Take the time to analyze, assess and course correct. Cut what no longer serves you and double down on what’s working.
9. Build something that brings you joy. I didn’t leave the corporate world to build yet another fancy cage. I love exploring topics, trying new things and creating a life where work doesn’t feel like work because it’s fueled by purpose. Loving what you do is the ultimate measure of success.
Good luck with your first digital dollar!
I would love to hear about your project and especially about the story behind it. That’s the secret.
— Veronica, The Lemon Tree Mindset🌳🍋
The Vision of First Digital Dollar Project
By the end of 6 months, we’ll have created more than content.
We’ll have built proof that there are infinite ways to start.
That your background doesn’t determine your future.
That the first dollar is possible for anyone willing to ship, learn, and iterate.
Your story matters.
Your first dollar was a turning point.
Let’s celebrate it together.
More on the project and the list of contributors:
Subscribe to Veronica’s The Lemon Tree Mindset🌳🍋 if you haven’t
Find out how 20 solopreneurs with different products, different offers, different strategies, different paths earn their first digital dollars.
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The best part about this initiative is the collaboration! When 2 people get together, it's much more than 2 brains. Thank you for featuring me and my story wity my purple suitcase.
As I said in my note in the repost of this lovely read - “I think I’d have 99 things to tell my younger self”(sigh)
Thank you for sharing a much more succinct list. 😃