Tom Pham · Toronto
Working a full-time job and quietly building something on the side?
So am I. I work nights at a five-star hotel in Toronto, and after my shifts I write books, build small games about money and time, and learn Korean. Everything here starts free — and none of it promises you will get rich.
Play first · No email needed
Small games about real life.
A free resume check for newcomers, and little browser games about paycheques, spare hours, and saving — I build them in the evenings, after work. They are free, they take a few minutes, and you do not need an email to play.
The games keep no score anywhere and ask for nothing. When something here does ask for your email — the five questions below — it goes through one Kit form, one list, and it is easy to leave.
The books
Three honest books, written after hours.
No overnight success, no quitting your job by Friday. Just a real account of building something quietly, and the road that led there.
Hospitality
Alive After Hours
The night shifts, the doubts, and the small things I started building once I stopped waiting to feel ready.
Memoir
Pursuit of Success in a Foreign Land
My first book — the story of leaving Vietnam at fifteen and learning to start over on the other side of the world.
Self-publishing
Write the Book Instead
The guide I kept typing in late-night messages to coworkers — how to write and self-publish your first book, with AI as the assistant, not the author.
Not on Amazon? The ebook buttons sell each book directly from me — a plain file that opens on Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and every e-reader. Checkout through Kit, delivered to your inbox in a minute.
The thirty-second trailer for Alive After Hours.
From readers
Honest, not hype.
A Diary Every Shift Worker Will Feel
“Tommy, your honesty makes this diary feel deeply personal as if you’d shared almost everything with me. If you’ve ever headed to work with your heart not in it this book hits home. Every shift worker should read it.”
Journey one must read
“Tom didn’t spend all his energy trying to escape his job. He kept working, but at the same time he was building things for himself. … A job is important, but it’s not the only thing that determines your future. Sometimes the most important work happens after you clock out.”
Best book
“The book helped me realize that a job should be seen only as a source of income rather than a source of meaning. … I would recommend this book to anyone looking to improve their financial mindset and take greater control of their future.”
How this book changed the way I think
“What stood out to me is how honest and relatable the book feels. He isn’t just trying to sell a dream or tell people to quit their jobs and become millionaires overnight. Highly recommended for people who are feeling stuck in their job.”
Not a self help book, but much more than that
“Tom’s story is not about escaping a job overnight or achieving instant success. … I was inspired because his journey felt realistic. It showed that ordinary people can continue building skills, knowledge, and opportunities while fulfilling their everyday responsibilities.”
A must read to level up in hospitality
“An insight into a typical day of a hospitality worker from a unique point of view offers comforts knowing we all going through it.”
Practical lessons beyond the job
“Instead of promoting unrealistic shortcuts, Tom shares how he used his free time outside of work to develop new skills and create additional income streams. Realistic, relatable, and easy to apply — even with a busy schedule.”
A Great Start to a Remarkable Story
“Having worked with Tom, it’s great to see his experiences and perspective come through in his writing. The book is engaging, authentic, and easy to connect with.”
A Must-Read for Anyone in Hospitality
“I honestly loved this book. As someone who works in hospitality, I related to so much of it. It reminded me that you don’t have to quit your job overnight — you can start building something bigger while you’re still working. Really inspiring and easy to read. I’d definitely recommend it.”
The shop
Start free. Go deeper when you are ready.
Plain prices, nothing hiding behind a webinar. The free questions come first — most people should start there.
The first evening
The Quiet Build Starter Kit
Enough for one good evening — find your real hours, pick one thing to build, and take a first step before the week is over.
$9 USD
Digital edition · PDF
See the Starter Kit
The deeper work
The Alive After Hours Workbook
The companion to Alive After Hours — thirty questions, and the room to answer them, for looking at your life properly before you change it.
$19 USD
Digital edition · PDF
See the Workbook
Coming soon · The founding cohort
The First Stream
Four weeks, a small group, and me checking in — we get the first real thing out of your notebook and into the world. The Workbook is included, and so is a one-to-one call with me.
$129 USD
Coming soon · Four weeks · Ten seats
See The First StreamEvery step is optional, and the earlier steps are enough for many people. I would rather you start with the free questions tonight than buy anything before you are ready.
A different track · Speak
The 30-Day Speaking Path
Not everything I build is about money. Thirty guided missions take you from zero Korean to real spoken conversations — with an unlimited AI partner that listens and corrects every sentence you say out loud.
$19 USD / month · Cancel anytime · 14-day full refund
The side quest
Being a beginner again keeps a person alive.
I am learning Korean, slowly, after my shifts. I could not find a game that practised it the way I actually use it — ordering coffee, finding my way, making small talk with new people — so I built one.
Twelve quests take you from your first 안녕하세요 to handling daily life. Learn the words, live them in a short story, then say them out loud — the game listens and coaches your pronunciation, syllable by syllable.
Start Quest OneReady to actually speak? The 30-Day Speaking Path — one mission a day, $19 USD/month →
Tom’s Korean Quest · Practice line
안녕하세요
annyeonghaseyo — hello
I am not a coach. I am a few steps ahead.
I am Tom. I moved from Vietnam to Canada at fifteen, and I have spent the last twelve years in hospitality — these days as an in-room dining supervisor at a five-star hotel in Toronto. I have not made it, and I will not pretend to. I still work the night shift, and I am grateful for it.
Start with five honest questions.
A free mini-workbook for when you are stable but quietly stuck. Put in your email, confirm, and the PDF lands in your inbox a minute later. After that, I write to you once in a while — about money, work, and building something of your own on the side. That is all.
The free questions · By email
No spam. One list, through Kit. Leaving takes one click.
We can do this. I really believe that. — Tom