SUMMARY

Jordan O'Connor, founder of Closet Tools, shares on the Indie Bites podcast his journey from engineering debt to bootstrapping a $30-40k MRR SaaS via SEO, while adding consulting for flexible income.

STATEMENTS

Jordan O'Connor graduated from RIT in 2015 as an electrical engineer, joined Corning Incorporated, but felt limited in growth opportunities despite advancing to management roles.
Facing $200,000 in student debt with monthly payments of $1,500-$2,000 on an $80,000 salary, newly married and expecting a child, Jordan sought greater financial control through side ventures.
He experimented with businesses like a black paper notebook physical product, learning e-commerce skills such as Facebook advertising and copywriting, but pivoted away from manufacturing challenges.
Jordan purchased a $2,500 SEO course by maxing out his credit card as a last-ditch effort, a decision that ultimately enabled him to generate over $1.5 million in revenue over five years.
Inspired by his wife's Poshmark reselling, which required time-intensive platform engagement, Jordan built a simple automation script to handle sharing, listing, and offers, boosting her sales.
After sharing the script with friends and publishing it for free on his blog with SEO optimization, Jordan collected 200 email addresses via a Reddit post, launching Closet Tools to initial $400 MRR at $30/month.
Closet Tools grew steadily through SEO-optimized content, peaking at $30-40k MRR during the pandemic among job-quitters turned resellers, recently stabilizing and rising after a dip.
Priced at $30/month to filter serious users and reflect time savings worth at least $1/day, the tool helps average customers add $1,000-$2,000 monthly to their $2,000-$4,000 Poshmark earnings.
To gain quick income flexibility beyond SaaS's slow levers, Jordan launched "Rank to Sell" SEO consulting, proving expertise via Closet Tools' success before offering $150-$200/hour audits and power half-hours.
Jordan admits past poor money management, like using business taxes for a house down payment, but now avoids unnecessary spending while balancing family, coding, content updates, and consulting.

IDEAS

Maxing out a credit card for an expensive SEO course, despite financial strain, transformed into a high-ROI investment yielding millions in revenue.
Starting with a free script shared on Reddit to build an email list of 200 validated users, turning organic interest into immediate $400 MRR upon launch.
Pivoting from physical products to SaaS not just for control, but to leverage personal web development and emerging SEO skills without e-commerce headaches.
The pandemic created a temporary boom in prosumers quitting jobs for Poshmark reselling, spiking Closet Tools' growth, but recent upticks show resilience beyond external factors.
"Reverse stair-stepping" by adding high-margin consulting after proving SaaS success, allowing on-demand income doubling with just 3-4 extra hours daily.
Pricing a time-saving tool at $30/month filters out tire-kickers, attracting committed users who value the extra $1,000-$2,000 in monthly sales it enables.
Building small failure-prone projects like notebooks teaches transferable skills in advertising and sales, informing smarter pivots without total loss.
Consulting isn't viable without prior proof; Jordan's $250k-$300k annual SaaS revenue serves as credibility, avoiding the trap of untested "guru" services.
Short Twitter videos on SEO topics generated $15,000 in weeks by driving sign-ups, but scaled to 30 queued audits highlighting the burnout risk of time-trading.
Justifying bold educational spends only when deeply committed to a path, contrasting aimless course-buying with project-testing for real skill acquisition.

INSIGHTS

Committing to high-stakes learning investments pays off when aligned with proven paths and personal drive, turning desperation into outsized returns.
Validating niche tools through free prototypes builds not just users, but a launch-ready audience, minimizing risk in bootstrapped ventures.
Diversifying from passive SaaS to active consulting restores income knobs, blending long-term stability with short-term flexibility for solopreneurs.
Early business experiments, even failures, accumulate irreplaceable skills like marketing and validation, paving the way for scalable successes.
Proving expertise via tangible results before monetizing advice builds trust and commands premium rates, sidestepping credibility pitfalls in services.
Pricing products to reflect genuine value attracts resilient customers, fostering sustainable growth over volume-chasing with low barriers.

QUOTES

"actually that turned out to be probably the best decision that I've ever made"
"I want a little bit more control over you know the outcome of of my life"
"you have to prove yourself right"
"I'm awful with money at least I have been in the past"
"it saved people a ton of time and it helped them make a bunch more"

HABITS

Dedicate daily time to SEO content creation, such as updating blog posts and writing new articles to drive organic traffic.
Maintain product involvement by coding features and fixes full-time, even after years, to ensure ongoing reliability and adaptation.
Experiment with small projects to test skills and interests, using each as a low-stakes learning opportunity before scaling commitments.
Collect user feedback early through free offerings, like email sign-ups for scripts, to refine products based on real needs.
Balance work with personal finance discipline, avoiding lifestyle inflation by minimizing unnecessary spending post-success.

FACTS

Closet Tools operates at $30-40k monthly recurring revenue, equating to roughly $250k-$300k annually, sustained for years.
Jordan's electrical engineering role at Corning involved advanced optics for Samsung devices, but offered limited financial advancement.
Poshmark resellers must constantly share items, list new ones, and send offers to engage, consuming hours that automation scripts alleviate.
A single Reddit post for a free Poshmark script garnered 200 emails, leading to a $400 MRR launch within months.
Jordan's SEO consulting via short Twitter videos pulled in $15,000 over two-three weeks in December, despite the workload intensity.

REFERENCES

Deep Work by Cal Newport
Deep Questions podcast by Cal Newport
Pat Walls as an Indie Hacker
$2,500 SEO course (unnamed)

HOW TO APPLY

Spot a repetitive pain point in a niche activity, like Poshmark's manual sharing and offering, then prototype a simple automation script to address it.
Share the prototype for free on relevant communities, such as Reddit subreddits, requiring only email sign-ups to gauge interest and collect contacts.
Optimize a blog post about the free tool with basic SEO keywords to attract organic traffic and build an audience without paid promotion.
Launch a paid SaaS version directly to the validated email list at a value-based price, like $30/month for multi-hour time savings, to kickstart revenue.
Scale growth by producing consistent SEO content on related queries, updating existing posts regularly to maintain search visibility and user acquisition.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Bootstrap control through skill-building experiments, SEO-driven SaaS, and flexible consulting to escape financial constraints.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Invest in targeted education like SEO courses only after validating a path through small projects, ensuring commitment maximizes returns.
Prove product-market fit with free tools before full launches, using email collection to create a warm, ready-to-buy audience.
Add service-based income streams post-SaaS success to enable quick revenue boosts, charging premium rates backed by proven expertise.
Price tools to reflect user value and filter serious customers, avoiding tire-kickers who drain time without commitment.
Balance lifestyle after windfalls by applying strict personal finance rules, resisting expansion that erodes hard-won stability.

MEMO

Jordan O'Connor's improbable ascent from corporate drudgery to indie success began in the sterile labs of Corning Incorporated, where his engineering mind chafed against the salary cap. Fresh out of Rochester Institute of Technology in 2015, saddled with $200,000 in student loans and a newborn on the way, O'Connor craved autonomy. "I want a little bit more control over the outcome of my life," he recalls, a quiet rebellion against the predictable paycheck that barely covered $1,500 monthly payments. His early forays—flops like a handmade black-paper notebook—taught him e-commerce's brutal edges, from Facebook ads to copywriting, honing instincts without the scars of full manufacturing.

Desperation fueled audacity: O'Connor maxed a credit card on a $2,500 SEO course, a gamble that "turned out to be probably the best decision I've ever made." Armed with digital marketing savvy, he turned to his wife's side hustle on Poshmark, the clothing resale app demanding endless digital drudgery—sharing listings, chasing likes, bartering offers. A rudimentary script he coded automated the tedium, spiking her sales and sparking envy among friends. Validation came swiftly; a free blog post on Reddit netted 200 emails from eager resellers. Launching Closet Tools at $30 a month yielded $400 in recurring revenue overnight, a foothold in the pro-reseller market.

The tool's ascent mirrored the pandemic's chaos, hitting $30,000-$40,000 monthly as jobless hordes flocked to Poshmark, flipping thrift finds for profit. Users, averaging $2,000-$4,000 monthly, credited Closet Tools with an extra $1,000-$2,000 by reclaiming hours for sourcing inventory. Yet peaks brought pitfalls: O'Connor confesses to financial folly, dipping into business taxes for a house down payment amid a inflating market. "I'm awful with money—at least I have been in the past," he admits, a sobering pivot toward frugality. SEO content became his engine, ranking high on reselling queries and sustaining $250,000-$300,000 yearly even as the boom faded.

Seeking levers beyond SaaS's slow grind, O'Connor "reverse stair-stepped" into consulting via Rank to Sell, leveraging his track record to charge $150-$200 hourly. Short Twitter videos on SEO tactics once reaped $15,000 in weeks, though the backlog of 30-hour audits tested his limits. "You have to prove yourself," he insists, shunning unearned guru status for targeted power half-hours—Loom videos auditing sites. Now blending coding, content, and counsel, O'Connor eyes an SEO course refined by client feedback, embodying indie ethos: control through diversification.

In a landscape of fleeting hustles, O'Connor's story underscores resilience. From debt-shadowed starts to balanced empire-building, he recommends Cal Newport's Deep Work for focus, his Deep Questions podcast for depth, and Indie Hacker Pat Walls for inspiration—reminders that mastery emerges from persistent, purposeful toil.