What Is Build in Public? The Honest Version From Someone Actually Doing It

I first heard the term "build in public" about two years ago, and I thought it was the dumbest idea I'd ever heard. Why would anyone show their failures online? Why not just wait until something works, then brag about it like a normal person?

Then I started an affiliate site at night while driving Uber days, and I realized: I had no idea what I was doing. I was guessing. I was buying courses. I was wasting money. And I thought—what if I just... told the truth about all of it?

Turns out, that's build in public. And it's the only honest way I know to actually learn anything.

Build in Public Means Showing Your Work Before It's Perfect

Build in public is exactly what it sounds like: you build something (a business, a product, a website, a skill), and you share the process in real time. Not the highlight reel. Not the "how I made $10K in 30 days" version. The actual process—screenshots, numbers, mistakes, pivots, all of it.

I post my affiliate site earnings every month on jims.one. In January, I made $3. In February, $8. Last month, $47. Those aren't sexy numbers. They won't sell anyone on a course. But they're real, and they're the only numbers that matter to me because I'm the one living them.

The idea is that by being transparent about what you're doing and how it's actually going, you attract people who are on a similar journey. You learn from their feedback. You stay honest instead of falling into the trap of pretending you've got it all figured out.

Why People Actually Care About Your Real Numbers

I spent years reading blog posts by people who claimed they "automated their income" and were "working 2 hours a week." Spoiler alert: they were selling a course about it. Their real income came from the course, not the thing they were pretending to build.

Build in public flips that. If you're showing real revenue, real time spent, real obstacles—not because you're selling a product about it, but because you're genuinely trying to figure it out—people believe you. They follow along because they see themselves in your struggle. They learn from your mistakes so they don't make them.

And here's what shocked me: when you're honest about the grind, when you show that this actually takes 10 hours a week for months before you see real money, people don't leave. They respect you more. They come back. They want to see if you actually pull it off.

The Real Benefit: Accountability and Learning

I could be building my affiliate sites in silence. Maybe I'd have more sites by now. Maybe I'd have less. Who knows?

But by putting it all on jims.one—my revenue, my traffic, what I'm working on next—I can't bullshit myself. I can't pretend I'm doing the work when I'm not. I can't convince myself that my strategy is working when the numbers say otherwise.

People also tell me what they're seeing. I get emails from folks saying, "Hey Jim, I'm trying something similar and I got stuck at this exact point—did you figure this out?" That's real feedback from real people. That's worth infinitely more than a comment on some faceless forum.

And if I actually hit my goal—making enough from affiliate sites to retire at 62—people will have seen it happen. Not the polished version where I delete all the embarrassing early months. The actual version, starting from three bucks.

Build in Public Isn't About Being a Content Creator

Here's what stops people: they think build in public means you have to be an influencer. You have to be posting to Twitter 10 times a day. You have to be doing podcasts and TikToks and whatever else.

Nope. I'm just a 60-year-old guy with one working eye writing monthly updates and occasional blog posts about what I'm learning. That's it. [INTERNAL LINK: how to start an affiliate website for beginners]

Build in public is about transparency and honesty. It can be a simple blog. It can be a monthly email. It can be a spreadsheet you share. The format doesn't matter. The truth does.

So What's the Point?

The point is this: building something in public keeps you honest, connects you with people on the same path, and creates a record of your actual journey. No filter. No guru energy. Just work, numbers, and what you learned.

My wife needs $100 a day from me to retire early. I'm tracking toward that. You can watch the whole thing unfold at jims.one. I'll show you the good months, the bad months, and everything in between. Not because I think I'm special. Because I think you deserve to see what this actually looks like.

Watch the real numbers at jims.one — I'm not pretending this is easy.