Desert Drinks is a side project for me -- an experiment in the potential of a focused local directory.  Right now, I have a single sponsor (the tall banner on the right).<p>I plan to more aggressively market and monetize the site this year (I just left my day job last month, and I have a to-do list a mile long).  Even in the best-case scenario, I think it would be very tough to make a living on Desert Drinks alone.  I can see it generating ~$1000/mo in this market of about 400,000 people.<p>I think the key is to figure out the formula and then build nationally market-by-market.  In my opinion, that's how I think an individual could bootstrap this sort of business.