How I’m Building a Business Without Spending a Dime
The simple framework I learned at Capitalism.com
Most “gurus” are lying to you about what you need to start. You don’t need fancy software, expensive courses, or “premium” coaching.
What you need is to run one strategy (that costs you $0).
This is something I learned while working at Capitalism.com called the Traffic Triangle — a framework so simple it seems like it shouldn’t work (but it does).
I’ve used it to build multiple businesses, I’m using it right now with Writerpreneur, and I’m about to show you exactly how it works.
But fair warning: If you’re looking for complicated strategies and expensive solutions, this isn’t for you.
If you want to watch the founder of Capitalism.com explain the Traffic Triangle, here ya go:
The Traffic Triangle Explained
1. The Exposure Channel: Your Stage
Think of this as your spotlight. It’s where new people discover you exist.
Here’s the thing about exposure channels — they’re not for selling. I see so many people making this mistake, desperately trying to close deals on platforms designed for discovery. That’s like trying to propose marriage on a first date.
Instead, your only goal here is to attract people into your world. That’s it.
For Writerpreneur, I use Medium as my exposure channel. But here’s the beauty — you can use any platform:
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X
One of my students is using Threads as her Exposure channel, and she went from 3k views to 47k views (SO. F*KING. PRO`UD!)
Pro tip: Without this first piece, nothing else matters. You need eyeballs before you can build relationships or make sales.
2. The Community: Your Living Room
If your exposure channel is a stage, your community is your living room — it’s where the real relationships form.
This is where the magic happens. It’s where you:
- Answer questions
- Share victories
- Connect one-on-one
- Build genuine relationships
For Writerpreneur, I primarily use my email list as my community. Why? Because I’m realistic about my time constraints.
But you’ve got options:
- Facebook Groups (free!)
- YouTube comments section
- Podcast community
- Discord server
- Email list
3. The Sales Channel: Your Store
Finally, we have the sales channel — where the actual transactions happen.
I’ll let you in on a secret: email is the king of sales channels.
It doesn’t matter what you’re selling; email consistently outperforms everything else.
(In my day job, I train 7-figure business owners to scale to 8-figures, and Email is the most impactful tool every business (must) have!)
You can’t just blast sales emails 24/7. That’s like that friend who only calls when they need something (we all have one). Eventually, we’ll stop picking up the phone.
If all you do is sell to your email list, they’ll stop opening your emails. Instead, weave your sales messages naturally into your regular communication.
Putting It All Together
The beauty of the Traffic Triangle is its simplicity. You don’t need:
- A massive budget
- Complex technology
- Years of experience
- An MBA
You just need these three elements working together:
- Bring people in (Exposure)
- Build relationships (Community)
- Make offers (Sales)
That’s it. Incredibly simple. Deadly effective.
Look at your current business (or business idea)… Which of these three elements are you missing? Start there.
Remember: You don’t need to overcomplicate this. Pick one platform for each point of the triangle and focus on doing it well.
Want to see how I’m building this in real-time? Join the Writerpreneur community (email list). I send regular updates to that email list about how I’m implementing this, in real time.
Have questions about implementing this in your business? Join the Writerpreneur community (email list) and reply to any of my emails with your question.
I read and respond to every single one.
Writerpreneur Example
Exposure
I’ve gained over 5,800 followers in 12 months.
After I crossed 3k followers (June), I stopped focusing on growing my followers and started focusing on growing my email list.
Community
I started collecting emails in March. Since then, I’ve gained over 1,200 emails (all of them are double-opt-in).
An average of 38% open rates, meaning my email list isn’t full of spam bots.
Sales
In the last 30 days, I started sending offers to my email list and have had multiple people pay to join an exclusive writing community and get 1:1 feedback on their writing.
Given that I’ve had over 100 people join a waiting list for a live cohort, selling a live cohort in the future will be a very easy task.
Final Thoughts
Have you tried to create a business before? Do you think there’s more to it then this?
Let me know in the comments.
