The Journal

Notes on building
a business that's yours

Real lessons on e-commerce, marketplaces, mindset and AI — written from ten years of building stores, losing money, and starting again.

Jun 23, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

Ranked from most common to most expensive - the 10 reasons Etsy stores stay at 0 sales, and what fixes each.

Jun 23, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

Reading 25 books a year without forcing yourself - my exact setup, the formats, the friction killers, the kill criterion.

Jun 22, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

The "do what you love" advice has buried more businesses than I can count. What actually predicts a good business choice.

Jun 22, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

The full margin formula - COGS, fees, ads, returns, refund rate - with a spreadsheet template you can copy.

Jun 21, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

The signals I watch to find a wave before it crests - TikTok, Reddit, Google Trends, Keepa, plus the kill rule.

Jun 21, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

A test for telling a real mentor from a guru selling courses. Three questions and one trap to watch for.

Jun 20, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

The full unit economics formula nobody on YouTube shows you - including ad CAC and refund rate. Live worked example.

Jun 20, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

A 4-minute end-of-day routine that pays back about 90 minutes the next morning. With the exact 4 questions.

Jun 19, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

The AI prompt that beats Marmalead for tag research, with the manual filter step that stops the AI from inventing tags.

Jun 19, 2026 Dmytro Lavryniuk

From commodity to brand in 6 weeks - name, story, visual identity, packaging, the Artur towel case end to end.

Notes on buildinga business that's yours