Blog Posts

2025

July 2025 Hostel Update

August 11, 2025

We had a short whole house rental last month, which gave me a chance to take a 2-day retreat of sorts. I used an AirBnB credit I had from being a Superhost (humble brag) and rented a cozy A-Frame on a farm in Southern Virginia. I (mostly) turned my phone off and took the time to disconnect, decompress, and think at a higher level about the business.

#business #automation #ai #marketing #stats

June 2025 Hostel Update

July 7, 2025

June was good. We were buoyed by a 6-day whole house rental, but I'll take it either way. I even get to use the big P word.

#business #profit #marketing #stats

May 2025 Hostel Update

June 9, 2025

May wrapped to a close and was better than April as expected, but still a decent bit down from 2024. Depending on the metric, we're down 25%-35% vs. last year which is definitely not what I would've predicted if you had asked me pre-storm. And while this dip in May was definitely influenced by the slow tourist environment in Asheville, it was at least partially hurt due to a fun screw up by yours truly.

#business #marketing #stats #growth #website

April 2025 Hostel Update

May 7, 2025

April was the first month where the macro (slowdown post-storm) outpaced micro (natural growth of the new business). Our local Tourism Development Authority is projecting 12-14 months before we're back to pre-storm demand. I didn't want to believe those numbers, but April (and an early look at May) make it seem more valid than I'd like.

#business #growth #partnerships #stats

March 2025 Hostel Update

April 7, 2025

March has felt like a very busy month for me as a human, but occupancy-wise, the growth over February was not that crazy. It's a bit counterintuitive but the slower times end up being busier for me. It's like I know they won't last forever so I cram as much in as possible.

#business #growth #improvements #stats

Feb 2025 Hostel Update

March 7, 2025

Another month of positive growth, but still firmly in the slow season. We had a little snow yesterday and I'll be very happy if that's our last. I'm ready to get outside!

#business #growth #marketing #stats

Patchwork: An experiment in building a software business from scratch using AI

March 3, 2025

When my part‑time remote role at Gumroad wrapped up at the end of December, I found myself with a bit more free time and a lot less income. I decided to finally try and build something I've thought about for months. Hiring for part-time roles is time consuming and it's hard to find the right fit. I've long noticed that existing job search platforms try to solve every employment issue, resulting in bloated, chaotic systems that just don't work for us.

#patchwork #startup #ai #coding

Jan 2025 Hostel Update

February 7, 2025

One month into the new year and seeing some great progress. The hostel is still slow, as is town in general, but that's to be expected. Still hard to dissect how much is seasonal vs. storm-related, but as some data is trickling in, I think the forecast is better than some I've seen.

#business #growth #marketing #stats

2020

Getting Things Done: My Productivity System

May 24, 2020

I've always liked to-do lists. There's just something about crossing something off a list that is beautifully satisfying. I used to add the most trivial things to a daily to do list just to have more to cross off. But I never had any method to my madness, never had any consistency.

#productivity #getting-things-done #organization #habits #personal-development

2019

My Three Day Fast Experience

January 12, 2019

I recently completed a three day fast. Many people asked me why (which is a very reasonable question). So, I thought I'd summarize why I did it, what I've learned recently, and how it went down.

#health #fasting #wellness #autophagy #ketosis

2018

Uber & Lyft: Tips for Passengers

August 7, 2018

I started driving for Uber and Lyft four months ago and have given just over 400 rides. Now that's not nearly as many as some of the drivers who have been going full-time for years, but it's enough to have a good understanding of the system and what needs to take place for the system to run as smoothly as possible.