A Laid-Off Programmer Built a One-Person AI Media Company and Published a Book

Hello everyone, I'm Xiaofeichang, a former programmer working hard to run a one-person company. In the blink of an eye, I've been an entrepreneur for a year and a half. Recently, there has been some good news, the biggest of which is that I published a book. The second piece of good news is that my Xiaohongshu virtual materials training camp successfully launched, with students continuously making sales. The third piece of good news is that my video traffic is slowly improving, and my personal IP is growing well.

Today's article shares my journey over this past year and a half of entrepreneurship, for the reference of friends in similar situations.

1. Me, Just Unemployed Last Year

I lost my job in March last year. I was very panicked at the time. After trying to find a job for a while without success, I started thinking about starting a business. I had thought about entrepreneurship when I was employed; it was just a thought before, but now I had to put it into action. Around that time last year, Coze happened to be very popular, so I tried writing an article about it. Unexpectedly, the results were quite good. Besides people following me to learn, some commercial orders came in, and an editor from a publishing house also contacted me, inviting me to write a book. I agreed immediately. Writing a book was something I never even dared to dream of before.

This book is mainly about Coze workflow monetization practices, including the workflows I have actually implemented for WeChat public account comics, Xiaohongshu children's picture books, and video-based product promotion. It also comes with reader benefits, including the original workflow files and a Q&A group. When I was writing the book, many friends advised me not to write it, saying it was too tiring and didn't make money. My answer was that I didn't want money; I wanted a credential, a trace of my participation in the field of AI agents. Writing a book is very tiring and rigorous. Compared to writing articles, writing a book is a different matter entirely. It was this experience of writing a book that elevated my writing skills to a higher level. I am grateful for this experience. Although the process was a bit tiring, it was worth it!!!!

2. Personal IP Gave Me a Second Chance

Before I formally built my personal IP, I was always a very introverted programmer, only knowing how to immerse myself in technology and deal with code. How introverted was I? So introverted that I barely dared to talk to outsiders. One night in 2022, while scrolling through videos, I saw a blogger introducing the concept of a personal IP. I was very interested after listening, so I went online and directly bought related books. After reading a few, I made up my mind to build a personal IP. At that time, to do this, I also joined the Dudu side-hustle group. After joining, I found many programmers like me looking for a way out. Many big shots in the group had already successfully established side hustles, but I wasn't too interested in side hustles. I just wanted to build a personal IP. My IP journey started with writing articles. At that time, I wrote a post about avoiding pitfalls in GIS development. I didn't expect it to get a few hundred views after publishing. I was overjoyed. This served as a strong shot in the arm for my personal IP efforts. If that post hadn't received any response, there probably wouldn't be a [Backend Xiaofeichang] today.

After starting my business last year, I began to carefully cultivate this IP, mainly in the form of articles. At the most intense period last year, I was hand-building 3 workflows and writing articles in a single week. Looking back over the whole year, actually 80% of the time, the traffic was very low. Traffic improved around August and September when the comic workflow I made went viral. This virality was on several levels: the article traffic entered the recommendation pool, the comics made by group members using my workflow went viral, and my private domain attracted many precise customers.

Even with brief bursts of success, there were still many tough moments, and countless times the thought of giving up crossed my mind. Not seeing positive feedback for a long time makes you repeatedly doubt yourself, wondering if you are really suited to walk the IP path, or if you should just go back to a regular job. Especially this April, my account was affected by platform rules, and new additions to my private domain almost stopped completely. Forced by circumstances, I picked up the video track again. Unexpectedly, it produced results. Traffic was no longer just a few hundred views; it could stably exceed a thousand, and occasionally even reach tens of thousands.

3. The Road Ahead

The path of entrepreneurship is long and full of obstacles. Although it is very difficult, fortunately, everything is slowly getting better. This year, I got deeply involved, expanding beyond WeChat public account comics into comic dramas and the Xiaohongshu virtual materials track. Currently, the model for Xiaohongshu virtual materials has been successfully established, and I have also helped many students achieve results. People often ask me if there is a team operating behind the scenes. My answer is that I am alone. The core reason I can achieve what I have today is that I know how to build an AI team.

Now, when I write my WeChat public account, I use a writing assistant to help. Video production and editing are completed by Codex cooperating with Skills. Xiaohongshu virtual materials also have a full set of accompanying Skills. My daily work focus is on decision-making. Last year, I had to work 12 hours a day; this year, it's 8 hours. Most of the work has been handed over to my AI employees. Recently, I even integrated them all into a personal workspace.

My next step is to try offline AI training, but the progress isn't great at the moment. I'll take it slow; maybe the time isn't right yet. This article is dedicated to you who are also on this journey. In the AI era, what matters is never conceptual gimmicks, but implementation. Only by truly using AI to improve efficiency can we go further.