Halfway There, Wiser
Week 15 (2025. 10. 06. - 2025. 10. 12.)
Join the First 100
I’m challenging myself to reach 100 subscribers by the end of November 2025. If you want to be remembered as the foundation of this journey, join us.
Six weeks ago, a new chapter started.
My goals were simple and ambitious: learn new skills, grow on Substack, and start building my business. Now that we’re halfway through, it’s time to pause and reflect.
Hello! Zoli here, the 17 y/o working on a business, documenting the process so You can learn from my mistakes.
The Original Plans…
My main goal wasn’t massive progress for this week. It was about direction and balance: ensuring I’m still on track, and by November, I’ll reach my targets.
Here is what I aimed for:
Substack: keep posting and growing.
Coding: complete and deploy my first app.
Growth: finish the copywriting course.
Business: give market research one last shot.
…And What Really Happened
This week didn’t drift far from the plan.
I kept posting and engaging, passed 35 subscribers (blows my mind), and finally wrapped up the copywriting course after grinding for more than a month.
Market research was a dead end. I quit and moved on. It felt like a relief, not failure: (based on my current knowledge) I didn’t have the reach to get enough out of it.
Coding was the only problematic aspect. I was able to practice backend really well (using flashcards for the first time), but the frontend setup went extremely slowly. I still need a lot to be able to build real apps efficiently.
My #1 Achievement
This week, growth takes the spotlight.
I finished reading The 4-Hour Workweek, started Atomic Habits, and completed the copywriting course. The real win? It was in planning.
It feels like I stopped grabbing random pieces and assembling the puzzle instead.
By the end of the week, I found a way to link all the skills I’m learning under a system:
Business ops: use new knowledge to shape my business idea.
Copywriting: level up my Substack from a different angle this time.
Sales: test my knowledge and ideas in real-life conversations.
Productivity: challenge myself to build a productivity system.
Next Week + Next Half
My seasonal goals didn’t change much; they just became clearer.
I still aim to hit 100 subscribers on Substack (now with proof it’s possible) while building a real community. I still want to deploy 2-3 MVP apps, as well as reach a valuable level of knowledge in business ops, sales, marketing, and productivity.
The only big change is in the business aspect: from now on, I’ll purely focus on building the business model, along with the product ideas.
This is how I’ll progress next week:
Substack: publish consistently and make small upgrades.
Coding: deploy my first MVP and improve how I learn code.
Growth: begin my productivity challenge, and dive deeper into Atomic Habits.
Business: create a business model template and brainstorm product concepts.
Closing Thoughts
Halfway through, with real milestones hit, it still feels like just the beginning.
I don’t know what the next 6 weeks will bring.
But one thing is clear: it works. This journey started almost 4 months ago, and for the last 2, giving up didn’t even cross my mind.
As long as I keep moving, results will eventually follow.
Let’s finish the second half strong.
- Zoli
