The numbers behind my first year as an independent journalist

I quit my job at Business Insider, launched a media startup, and got engaged — while millions read my work.

A personal annual review has always been a useful exercise, but Spotify Wrapped has made it more fashionable than ever.

I’ve always been driven, but compared to 2023 my ambitions this year narrowed. This focus has become more pronounced every year of my twenties: I do more of a few things, and less of a lot of things.

Beyond spending time with loved ones, I do little else besides write, read, and workout.

At the risk of navel-gazing, some milestones from this year:

• February: Founded Journalists Club, an events organization for NYC media

• March: Quit my job as a senior reporter at Business Insider

• April: Co-founded a financial media startup, Opening Bell Daily, with Anthony Pompliano

• September: Traveled to Berlin, Germany for a Fulbright fellowship

• September: Got engaged(!) in Florence, Italy

In writing 50 of these letters this year, I’ve done my best to share what I’ve learned through my first year as an independent journalist and entrepreneur.

I’m proud these posts now reach about 10,000 views a month, even after transferring my blog to Substack in June, which cost me 75% of the subscribers I’d had on the previous site I started in 2018.

When I quit my job in March, I’d been nervous that I would struggle to maintain readership and credibility without the Business Insider brand.

I’ve learned, however, that my work has become more popular, not less, since leaving corporate news. That affirmed my confidence that I’d bet correctly on the rise of independent media and the decline of mainstream.

For Opening Bell Daily, I’ll publish the 196th edition of my financial newsletter before the calendar turns next week.

Since April, my reporting has accrued 16.6 million views.

Meanwhile, my content on LinkedIn has received 44.5 million views this year, and my account surpassed 26,000 followers.

Much of that traction I ascribe to my video content.

Before August, I’d never filmed any videos. I’d been extremely nervous to put myself on camera, but a couple good and insistent friends convinced me to stop overthinking it.

In the last four months I’ve recorded over 60 videos on the US economy and markets, gaining both confidence on camera and competence as a video editor.

While I still need practice, LinkedIn’s editorial team now sends me direct requests for videos every week, like this one:

Finally, one note on Journalists Club.

Since February, over 250 reporters, writers, and editors have attended at least one of my events in New York, ranging from intimate dinners to panel discussions and happy hours.

A handful of individuals have secured jobs through this network, and countless more have come away with new friendships.

That is a cool feeling. It tells me the organization is a useful one.

What comes next?

I have some quantitative goals in mind for the business and my work, but a lesson I’ve learned many times over is that what you accomplish in a year comes down to what you can do each day.

As you might guess, that takes us back to the first takeaway from above. I plan to double down on the things that compound, and let the rest slough away.

Momentum is a powerful force that can unlock engaging work. I feel a great wind at my back heading into 2025, and I’ll work hard to capitalize on it before it subsides.

If you feel one too, I’d urge you to do anything but slow down.

Have a great Christmas and New Year’s,

Phil Rosen
Co-founder and editor-in-chief, Opening Bell Daily