Why The Internet Makes Me So Curious About Money – And How To Make It Online

I can distinctly remember the first time dollar I made from a product online. I didn’t create the product with the intention to sell it but it would forever spark my interest in what else the internet could offer me.

That was more than six years ago now and that product was a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. I created the spreadsheet to evaluate a real estate property. It’s a relatively simple concept and easy to use. You just input some numbers and hit a button.

I sold that spreadsheet for $250.

Seems crazy right? A 20-year old kid made a spreadsheet and people were willing to pay that much for it. But it is happening every single day and there are people out there that are much younger, making much more.

Since then, I have sold online coaching to clients trying to lose weight and others wanting to get as strong as possible. Some of these clients wanted one-on-one skype calls while many others wanted a simple spreadsheet to follow. One-on-one would cost $100 a month and they could buy my workout templates for $25 apiece.

It was a great gig but I just wasn’t passionate about it. Add in the fact that I had to cater to other people’s time and I knew I needed to try something else.

That is the first step (among many others) that led me to write Young, Dumb, and NOT Broke?! and develop this website. Take it another step further and I now have my online course, Money Made Easy, which has put my online earnings well over the four-figure mark.

Influencer Marketing Sucks

When most people think about making something online and selling it, they think of influencer marketing. That term immediately has negative connotations attached to it and honestly, for good reason.

For those new to this whole game, influencer marketing is when an individual has a large following for some reason or another, and they use that following to sell. This could be on a social media site like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. Or it could be someone that has an email list with thousands of names on it.

They then push products of other companies on these people and when their followers buy something, they get a commission. These influencers are making ridiculous amounts of money but most of the time, it doesn’t last.

How could something THAT easy not last?

Well, people aren’t 100% dumb (sometimes we’re pretty dumb) and eventually figure out the products they are pushing us to buy are total crap.

You know the ones I’m talking about. Pyramid scheme “weight loss secrets” promising to shed 10lbs of fat in a week. Or the ones that will make you a million dollars this year. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It’s all just junk but when you have an audience and a few people willing to throw wads of cash at you, it’s hard for people to say no.

People that have no morals at least.

The Internet Is More Than You See

If you ignore the tacky influencer marketers and look behind the curtain, you’ll see another group of people building amazing things online while also making a living. I think the pandemic that we are slowly starting to work our way out of is really shining a light on this topic.

Everyone was working from home. All communication was done online and things still worked out. I’m not trying to push the agenda of us all staying home for the rest of our lives. That’s the opposite of what I want. Instead, let’s examine how even though we couldn’t see people face-to-face, businesses still functioned. Some even thrived.

If a multi-billion dollar business can function with a majority of its employees working remotely, why can’t a small business work that supports your lifestyle?

That’s something I want to key in on. People think if you start a business online you need to make millions of dollars or you are a failure. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Would that be awesome? Sure.

My goal is to have my online business cash flow enough to support my lifestyle and beyond. I don’t know about you but I don’t live on that much per month. In fact, I spend about $2,000 a month. To me, that’s the benchmark.

Ryan Kulp

Ryan Kulp is someone who does exactly this. Ryan is someone I look up to. We’ve never talked and probably never will, but he is a builder. Ryan believes that the trajectory of your life is totally in your hands. This is something I’m a huge believer in as well. He taught himself to code and in turn, builds amazing products online and ships them to consumers at incredible speeds.

I wouldn’t consider Ryan an “influencer”. Yes, he does have 5,000 Twitter followers but in this day and age, that’s not really at influencer status. Regardless, he builds products online and ships more than he promised. Here is a screenshot from his most recent launch:

That’s a lot of sales in one day. It’s honestly inspirational. Did I mention this isn’t his full-time job? He is also the owner of the Saas (software as a service) company Fomo.com.

One of my favorite things about Ryan is he refuses to care what you think. He is going to build what he wants, how he wants. Many people have comments about this and it usually ends up in an immediate block. I love it.

Zach – Four Pill Freedom

Another person delivering value online and making a living from it is Zach from Four Pillar Freedom. Zach is in the same business I am. Build a website online, get traffic, monetize with ads, add other products, and then double down.

Zach has taken this to another level by quitting his full-time job at 26 to pursue a life online. Last time I checked, Zach has 4 websites now. Ranging from one on statistics to another on Cincinnati specifically. Here is one of his latest updates of online income:

As you can see from the chart it took 4 years to go from under $1,000 a month to over $6,000. That is more money then most people make at their normal job and he is doing it all online.

Now, I’m not trying to sell you a dream here by telling you about these two people. They both are obviously still working extremely hard but it seems to be on things that they are interested in. In my opinion, it’s much easier to work hard when you like what you do and you’re rewarded accordingly.

Build Something

One of my favorite things I have read in the last year is Marc Andreessen’s essay called It’s Time To Build. If you haven’t read it, then make sure you click on it after you are done here. The point is that we all have an opportunity to build something during our life.

The different options of what to build and the potential span of its impact are only intensified by the help of the internet. Some people think America is the “land of opportunity”. While this may be sort of true, what is undeniable is that the internet is a “world of opportunity, for anyone”.

Don’t be fooled, it still involves hard work, effort, and time (often more than your 9-5 job). When you are doing something you enjoy and believe in, is it fair to call it work?

I don’t think so.

If you have ever wanted to build something…

If you feel trapped and are miserable at your job…

If you think you can help people with a problem that needs solved…

Then look to see if you can leverage the internet to make it happen. Chances are you will be surprised by the possibilities.

Today is the day. Here is your sign. If you wait until tomorrow, you’ll only wish you had started yesterday. And even if your first idea doesn’t work out, more doors will open and you’ll only be better from trying. Good luck! And as always, reach out to me in the comments or by email if you have any specific questions or want to hear more about my journey.

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