Mind of a Maker
A daily blog inspired by Matthew Dicks
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
To become better at something, you have to practice. What better way to become a better writer and storyteller than to practice by making a habit of writing daily?
In this daily blog, we’ll discuss Maker-related topics as well as what inspires projects, including YouTube videos, Movies, TV Shows, Disney, Star Wars, LEGO, Books, and more. Everything is on the table, and nothing is off-limits.
Disclaimer: The thumbnail images featured on this blog are often AI-generated. See Disclosure page for more information.
How Ali Abdaal’s Goal Framework Changed How I Plan My Business
I’ve always struggled with how to set goals.
Well, more accurately, I’ve always struggled with setting super high goals, waiting to the last minute to do anything about them, then failing miserably. Part of it was trying to figure out what my “5 year plan” was, but not knowing what that meant for today.
Before you set your 2026 goals, let me save you some time and share what worked for me in 2025 (and how I’m approaching 2026).
Worried About AI? Here's How I'm Leveraging It For My Maker Business (And You Can Too)
It feels like every other post these days is about how AI is going to take away jobs, destroy your business, and we're all going to be worse off.
Hogwash!
The 1 Thing Busy Entrepreneurs Can Do Now To Find The Time You’re Looking For
You want to build your business, but just can't seem to find time in your busy schedule.
You've probably heard that you can't find time, but you have to make it. That's all well and good, but whoever said that doesn't get your "special circumstances." They just didn't understand why you don't have as much time, right?
This is how I discovered just how much time I really had to focus on my business.
Advance Your Maker Content By Writing Online In 2026
Every year, more people start creating content online and it was no different for Makers.
It's easier than ever to come up with a catchy name with ChatGPT, create an Instagram account, and create tons of content only using your phone. With all these new accounts combined with established creators competing for eyeballs, how can you stand out and grow your audience?
Start by writing online to grow.
4 Entrepreneurs I'm Constantly Learning From
I love learning new things.
This year started like many others with lots of things I wanted to learn more about, watch, and read. However, one major things was different: I was also focusing on implementing the ideas in my life and business. Instead of reading and watching, but doing nothing—which is just entertainment—, I challenged myself to actually put what I was learning into practice.
3 Reasons Business Owners Must Lean Into Hard Things
Owning a business, unfortunately, comes with doing things you don't want to.
You have to keep your business legal by keeping accounting records, file taxes, and submitting legal documents. Not to mention creating content, finalizing products, and refining your business strategy. Even if you aren't avoiding anything on those lists, it reminded you of something you are.
We spend so much time avoiding hard things, but going into 2026, you should lean into those hard things you are avoiding.
Follow This Simple Advice To Get Ahead Of 99% Of Makers Growing An Audience On Social Media
How to get ahead of 99% of people:
Stop watching videos telling you how to get ahead of 99% of people.
Start doing the things you know you should be doing instead.
And if you’re trying to grow a Maker audience on social media, here’s what you should be doing:
The 1 Reason Your Content Creation Systems Aren't Working
You've worked to transform your hobby into a side hustle or small business, but your systems aren't working.
You can't seem to post consistent content.
You can't point to any results from all your hard work.
You can't figure out what's not working.
3 Ways Maker Content Creators Can Leverage AI To Grow Their Businesses
You're a Maker, which means you cannot leverage AI since it's a digital tool, right?
Wrong. While AI is not able to build things in your garage (yet), you can still leverage it to handle time consuming tasks on your computer.
Use AI to give you more time in your shop and working on your edits (and get one step closer to your own personal protocol droid).
Top 3 Mental Frameworks That Have Helped Me When Things Seem To Be Hard
Some days, you feel like everything is going right and anything you do will win. Unfortunately, most of the time you feel like your efforts are in vain, nothing will work for you, and you should just quit (at least that's been me lately). The good news is, both ends (most amazing and most disastrous) are likely more built in your head than a reflection of reality.
3 Maker Business Topics I am Exploring Right Now
There are 3 topics I am actively thinking about a lot these days:
• Effective Email Marketing
• Creator Small Business Growth
• AI
3 Hard Truths To Answer Before Turning Your Maker Hobby Into A Business
Everywhere online, you see people who took their hobbies and turned them into profitable businesses and you want it too.
Whether it’s to leave your full-time job or just bring in some side-hustle money, bridging the gap between hobby and business is no small feat. Social media makes it look effortless and like you can’t avoid winning big. Unfortunately, the reality can be much more difficult if you aren’t honest with yourself about what you’re getting into.
3 Rooms In The Haunted House Of Failed Businesses
While talking to a neighbor about how we should have used an empty house on our street as a haunted house, I started thinking about Maker businesses. Sure, how would a Maker decorate an entire, empty house and make it spooky, but also what would the Haunted House of entrepreneurs and business look like. What would scare owners and creators so much that it would spurn them to action tomorrow.
Top 4 Mental Frameworks For Creating A Successful Maker Business
Business building influencers love to talk about how all it takes is a good idea and you'll be a millionaire by next year. Sifting through the noise to find real entrepreneurs who share the failures along with the wins can be challenging, but they are who you should be watching. These people don't sugar coat how much hard work and failure comes along with building a business, but that you can break through it.
The Top 5 Mistakes That Will Sink Your Maker-Related Newsletter Before Year-End (And What To Do Instead)
Since the mid 2000's, people have said that email is dead and they are partially correct.
Email lists can be amazingly powerful and provide leverage to get your message in front of more people without going through algorithms. However, you're almost certainly in the ~85% of newsletters that ultimately fail. Instead of wasting all the time and effort you've already put in, let's make a few tweaks to get into the ~15% of successful newsletters.
Is AI The Death Of Your Maker Newsletter?
We're all constantly bombarded with headlines about what AI is going to kill next, so will it be your newsletter?
AI is becoming more accessible to more people every day. Updates come faster than ever, whether it's updates to Chat-GPT having access to real-time internet or Claude updating how it creates documents.
What Makers Aspiring To Be Entrepreneurs Can Learn From A Red D20
If you're trying to build a business, it can be tough to face failure after failure after failure.
Most people online talk about success, so no one might have prepared you for the number of failures you'll encounter before even 1 success. Failure is part of the game, so you have to keep playing in order to have any shot at winning even a little.
Don't just take my word for it.
3 Faulty Beliefs Maker Small Businesses Have About Newsletters
You've graduated from hobby to trying to build up your side hustle Making things, but dislike the idea of starting a newsletter.
I overall dislike most newsletters as well, but it's still an extremely powerful platform that can explode your business if done correctly.
To do that, we need to change how we think about it.
3 Reasons Your Maker Businesses Won’t Grow As Well Without A Newsletter
Taken the leap and are trying to turn your Maker side hustle into a business, but it’s not growing how you want?
Don’t worry, every entrepreneur has run into this and Maker businesses are no different.