Three cents at a time.

I Built a Ferrari to Deliver Newspapers

And I earned three cents last month. I couldn’t be happier.

Photo by DARIA ZLOBINSKAYA on Unsplash

I earned three cents in interest last month, and I could not be happier about it.

**Minnesota Then** is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is an avenue to present local history to people throughout the state in a palatable, freely accessible way. There are no sign-ups. The information is held locally; nothing is stored on a server. As it turns out, there is not a lot of money in a “give everything away for free” business model.

I am one-hundred-percent okay with that.

Do not get me wrong. I have invested a staggering amount of time over the last couple of years into making this something worth being a part of. I would love to see some type of return on that labor. While financial compensation is not my motivator and it certainly does not dictate my professional value (in this case), it is nice to put a little money in the bank.

The Strategy

Realistically, there are three different avenues to make money beyond the app itself, and all of them involve creating content. I can write an article about a historical person, place, or event. When it is finished, I can put a version on Medium, Substack, and Payhip. The money made from eyeballs on my work, or people willing to pay for it, is cash in my pocket. There may be grants and books down the road, but these three are really where any profit is going to come from.

Sustainability and accessibility will still matter above all else. I won’t sacrifice either for the sake of an improved bottom line. That is not what this is about.

I know I am leaving money on the table. Just about everyone with an opinion on the matter tells me that repeatedly. In fact, I have been told, in varying ways, that I built a Ferrari to deliver newspapers (in those exact words once).

Truthfully? I do not care.

The Mission Over the Margin

This is not about profit margins. I am passionate about history and I believe, right or wrong, that not telling it helps open the door for the past to one day disappear. That is why I am writing this.

Last month, I was finally able to move my first $15 of earnings into a high-yield savings account (HYSA) with Capital One. Why them? Because it was easy. I am already a customer and adding a savings account took little more than a couple of minutes.

That $15 sat there for thirty days. And then, the notification came: Interest Earned: $0.03.

Most people would look at a return of three pennies on fifteen dollars and call it a failure. I call it proof of concept. I knew there would not be a lot of money in this for me. As such, I needed to come up with ways to ensure that any profits coming from Minnesota Then are given the chance to make money themselves.

I wanted my money to make money. I realize there is nothing unique about what I am attempting, but my three cents, even though it is only three cents, is proof that I am moving in the right direction.

The Long Game

At this point, since there really is not much to work with, it makes sense to put everything into the HYSA. The reward is not necessarily as great as something like a dividend-earning stock, but the risk is not as great either. Taking money out will be the only way the account loses value. If I remain true to my goals of growth, that will not happen for a very long time.

But let us not get ahead of ourselves. Three cents is a small win, a really small win, but it is in fact a win. Two days ago my account was three cents lighter. I did not do anything to make that money. It just showed up. It is true passive income — albeit a very small version of it.

Above everything else, there is a quiet dignity in those pennies. They represent the first fruits of a digital archive built on very long hours of hard work. While others chase the next viral trend or a massive exit strategy, I am focusing on a slow build that provides real value to anyone at any time, anywhere.

Eventually the reinvested profits earned from stories about historic people, places, and events may become bigger than the pile of pennies we leave in a small container next to the store cash register after checking out. Or it may not. My interest (pun intended) in what I am doing will not change either way.