Niall Doherty's Blog, page 92

His Automation Empire Earns $200,000 Per Year

Mike CardonaAutomation Expert $200,000 annual revenue
Published October 2, 2023 by Fardeen KhanReviewed and edited by Niall Doherty

Mike Cardona is a solo founder who has built a $200k online business by specializing in automation

Mike shared in a recent interview…

The majority [of my earnings] came from automation consulting, freelance automation work, and selling an Airtable database. I also earned some money from coaching, digital products, and affiliate niche site (I’m a silent partner).

How he got into consulting…

It was purely by accident. 

After selling the Airtable database in Jan ‘22, I started posting more about automation on Twitter and LinkedIn. This led to receiving a lot of DMs on LinkedIn or replies from people in my newsletter. I learned about common pain points and problems and created content around them. This led to inbound requests and DMs.

More info here about the Airtable database that Mike built and sold. It basically allowed you to run a newsletter via Airtable. Mike’s asking price was $10K and he eventually sold it for $7K

Mike also mentions that LinkedIn has been his #1 source of clients.

Makes sense: tons of busy professionals hang out there, and they are his target audience

Mike’s approach to LinkedIn…

Share everything you know without fear — clients are busy and would rather hire someone to do it for them

Where do your potential clients spend time online? 

What if you shared your expertise on those platforms?

Mike also shares more than 100 things you could automate today in a couple of tweets.

Including…

Automated social media posting for new blog posts

Automated meeting transcription using AI

Integration of meeting transcripts with project management tools

Backup Content: Automatically backup new posts from your WordPress or Webflow blog to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Social Media Monitoring: Set up alerts for when your brand is mentioned on X, Reddit, or ProductHunt and then add those mentions to a spreadsheet.

I reckon there are tons of businesses out there in various niches that could use help setting up these kinds of automations.

Pick a niche you’re interested in, share tricks and tips as you learn them yourself, and you could end up with a thriving business like Mike

First time seeing our Online Money Maker profiles? Click here for a quick intro.

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Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.

With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.

Here’s how:

We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.

If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.

Is this kind of business right for you?

Check out our framework to see the 19 types and 6 levels of online business, and discover which is best for you.

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How To Make $100K Selling a $100 Product

Daniel Vassallo was a software engineer who turned to entrepreneurship in 2019 and learned how to market his products along the way.

We’ve featured him in the newsletter a couple of times before

$1M After 3 Years of Self-Employment2% Conversion, 6-Figure Payoff

Daniel recently shared on Twitter…

A 12 step marketing crash course for non-marketers

This part in particular stood out to me…

Once you find an opportunity you’d like to pursue, you should set a payoff expectation. Example: you plan to bring a particular project to market with the expectation of making $100K within 12mo.

You should have a viable hypothesis of how that expectation can be realized. 

Example: to make $100K selling a $100 product, you need 1,000 customers. To get 1,000 customers at 1% conversion you need 100K visits on your landing page. To get 100K visits you need to spend X on ads. And so on.

If you can’t convince yourself you have a viable and profitable hypothesis, you need to adjust your payoff expectation, or pick another opportunity. 

You don’t have an obligation to pursue every opportunity you encounter.

The common alternative to Daniel’s approach is “build it and they will come”… which rarely works out well

Consider setting a payoff expectation for your next project. 

It’ll force you to think through your marketing plan and expose any weaknesses or assumptions before you invest a ton of time and energy.

$200,000+ Per Year Sticker Business

Mim JenkinsonSticker Entrepreneur $200,000+ annual revenue
Published October 2, 2023 by Fardeen KhanReviewed and edited by Niall Doherty

Mim Jenkinson never expected her love of stickers to turn into a business.

In a recent interview, Mim shares how she has built her sticker business to “multiple six figures a year” …

Mim’s journey into stickers began in 2015 after being diagnosed with breast cancer, when she had to leave her consulting job to undergo treatment. (Thankfully, she made a full recovery.)

She explains…

I wanted something to do to take my mind off things. I wanted something just for me, a creative outlet…

I started using stickers in my planner and that was something that I was really, really enjoying. But I always wondered how people actually made them.

Mim started teaching herself how to make stickers and soon started selling them on Etsy

Eventually she transitioned to digital…

I was printing [the stickers] and sending them to customers globally. It was the most fun for a few years until I moved it to be a 100% digital product business.

So now I create the file and still get to experience the joy of designing the stickers, but I provide my customers with the files they just print and cut them at home.

That made her business much more scalable and profitable, since it’s way easier and cheaper to “deliver” a digital product than a physical product

Over time, Mim also began to teach…

Customers started asking me how I was making the stickers so I put together an online course to be able to teach them.

Then they started asking me how I was selling them… so I expanded my online course to be able to teach them how to start their own sticker empire.

Mim offers these courses via her site.

And she can charge a lot more for those than she can for actual stickers

Pretty cool how her business has evolved, and a good reminder that your own business could look much different down the line.

First time seeing our Online Money Maker profiles? Click here for a quick intro.

The goal of our Online Money Maker profiles is to show you all the different ways people make money online. We strive to ensure that each profile is realistic – no hype, no scams – so you can see what it really takes to build each type of business.

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Learn more about income claims and estimates on this website

Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.

With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.

Here’s how:

We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.

If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.

Is this kind of business right for you?

Check out our framework to see the 19 types and 6 levels of online business, and discover which is best for you.

Other ways to make money online

There are many other ways to make money online, to work from home or anywhere in the world.

Full list of ways to make money onlineMore profiles of online money makers Subscribe to eBiz Insider

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$5000/Month From Her Personal Finance Blog

Sara ConklinBlogger $5000 monthly revenue
Published October 2, 2023 by Fardeen KhanReviewed and edited by Niall Doherty

Sara Conklin is the founder of Frozen Pennies, a personal finance blog where she teaches people how to save money, get out of debt, and live a frugal life

She started the blog in 2018 in her mid-40’s, initially as a way to document “a self-imposed spending freeze where, for a year, she spent only on the things she needed.”

Sara shared in a recent interview….

Right now, I’m bringing in about $5000 per month between Mediavine, my products, a little bit from affiliate income, and YouTube revenue. The majority comes from Mediavine, and YouTube is right behind that…

I aim to double that by the end of this year through traffic and selling my financial products (including a book).

Sara works on her business full-time, putting in 8-10 hours on weekdays and more time on weekends. Her site gets ~60,000 pageviews per month, with 100,000+ pageviews in peak months

At first, the blog was just a bit of fun for Sara, but after ~18 months she started to get serious and learned SEO by “taking all the SEO courses”

That seems to have paid off, as she writes…

SEO is my number one strategy for getting traffic.

Sounds like Pinterest is also big for her business…

Many are wondering if Pinterest is still worth it. I genuinely believe it is. It’s different from 2019 […] but it still works. 

Ultimately, Sara aims to make more money from selling her own products

Everything I do is a marketing tool to get people on my list. SEO, Pinterest, YouTube, and blog posts are all marketing tools for my list…

I email my list twice a week with valuable tips and tricks. Then I just started emailing every three weeks with a special flash sale. It’s going well so far.

She has ~6,000 newsletter subscribers and manages the business with the help of a VA and a Pinterest manager.

Sara’s advice for aspiring bloggers…

This is not a get-rich-quick scheme; it takes years to make a decent living…

If you want to blog as a hobby, that’s really great, and I love that for you. 

But if you want to make money, then treat it like a business. And don’t expect millions to roll in for the first 3 to 5 years.

First time seeing our Online Money Maker profiles? Click here for a quick intro.

The goal of our Online Money Maker profiles is to show you all the different ways people make money online. We strive to ensure that each profile is realistic – no hype, no scams – so you can see what it really takes to build each type of business.

If you'd like to hear when we publish new profiles, subscribe to our free newsletter below. Each edition is packed with tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. We send it out every Tuesday and Friday to 18,884 legendary subscribers.

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Learn more about income claims and estimates on this website

Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.

With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.

Here’s how:

We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.

If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.

Is this kind of business right for you?

Check out our framework to see the 19 types and 6 levels of online business, and discover which is best for you.

Other ways to make money online

There are many other ways to make money online, to work from home or anywhere in the world.

Full list of ways to make money onlineMore profiles of online money makers Subscribe to eBiz Insider

Every Tuesday and Friday we email 18,884 people like you with top tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. No hype, no scams, no fake gurus. Sign up below to get the next one.

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FB Income School Review

This is the definitive FB Income School review.

FB Income School is a Facebook monetization course created by Lester Diaz.

We spent several hours examining the course materials and share our insights below.

(Have you taken this course? Add your rating!)

If you want to know…

What exactly it teachesThe pros and consIf Lester Diaz is legitAre students getting results?

Then you’ve come to the right place.

FB Income School – Key Points





  About

Facebook video monetization training by Lester Diaz.

💰  Price

$197 one-time (more info)

😍  Pros

Students have gotten results, access to Lester via the private community, concise and structured introduction to FB monetization, Lester walks his talk.

😩  Cons

Unclear how recently students are getting results, training is somewhat limited, over-hyped marketing.

  Verdict

Unique training best suited for creators with some experience.

Overall Rating3.3/5 3.3Learn more.'>1
View Alternatives


About our 31-factor editorial review processJump to…The Best Facebook Monetization Course?How does FB Income School help you make money?Who is it for?Lester Diaz ReputationAre students getting results?Price (and discount) infoRefund policyProgram structurePraiseCriticismOther things you should knowShould you join FB Income School?Leave your reviewAsk a questionAbout the Author

Hey, I’m Niall Doherty.

I quit my last 9-to-5 job back in 2010.

Since then, I’ve earned my living online in various ways. Over the last 3 years (through 2022) I’ve earned $536,000 from my laptop.

I’m on a mission to accurately rate and review all the best online business courses. My team and I are spending many hours investigating these courses and getting feedback from real students.

All that to say: we know a thing or two about such courses and making money online.

The Best Facebook Monetization Course?

We’re on a mission to find the best Facebook course based on our extensive research and real student feedback.

How does FB Income School help you make money?

Similar to YouTube, Facebook has a monetization program that pays eligible creators for ads placed on videos.

FB Income School aims to help you make money by creating and promoting viral videos that get you accepted into the FB monetization program and earn passive income as views increase.

The goal is to target niche communities and post engaging viral content.

For example, if you’re into fitness, you might create videos reacting to TikTokers’ controversial advice on nutrition and working out.

Or, if you’re interested in soccer, you could create faceless, BuzzFeed style news videos keeping fans up to date with their favorite players.

Here’s a screenshot from the sales video explaining more…

Who is FB Income School for?

According to the sales page, FB Income School suits creators of all skill levels…

But after going through the material, I don’t think the course is detailed enough for beginners.

While lots of topics are covered, most videos are on the short side and likely lack enough depth to guide newbies clearly.

For example, you’ll learn how to outsource your videos to freelancers but won’t see how to work with them through the creation process.

And you’ll learn you can’t just re-upload 3rd party content, but you won’t see detailed examples of how to make the content original.

I think the people who will get the most out of FB Income School are those who…

Already have experience creating video contentAre familiar with the faceless or “cash cow” YouTube automation processDon’t need highly detailed instructions and are willing to test on their own

In short, filling in the gaps and applying the training will be far easier if you have some experience or are totally dedicated to the FB monetization model.

70+ ways how to make money online (including easy options)Does Lester Diaz have a good reputation?

Yes, it appears so.

Lester has about 100k followers on YouTube…

Here’s a video from Lester Diaz’s YouTube channel so you can get a feel for his style…

I also found no scam reports or controversy online involving Lester or FB Income School.

And it looks like he’s currently earning from Facebook monetization himself…

So it seems clear Lester walks his talk.

Are Lester Diaz’s students getting results?

It appears so.

There are numerous student result screenshots…

But it’s unclear when these are from and whether students are currently getting results.

How much does FB Income School cost?

FB Income School costs $197 one-time.

Additional costs vary depending on the type of videos you create and how you want to grow your page.

You can also learn how to edit, script, and repurpose videos yourself.

But if you’re looking to use software and outsource, you’ll need to invest in things like voiceover, video editing, and repurposing software or hire freelancers to do the bulk of the work for you.

These tools can add up to about ~$25 to $50 per month.

And freelancer costs differ per video, though no estimates are given.

To follow the training, you’ll also need to invest in FB ads to get approved for monetization.

This costs around $3-$5 per day. If you don’t want to invest in ads, you can buy a done-for-you page from Lester for $499.

FB Income School Discount?

I’ve searched high and low for a discount or coupon code but have yet to find mention of one anywhere, and there’s no place to enter one at checkout.

So it looks like you’ll have to pay the full price if you want access.

Refund Policy

FB Income School offers a 14-day refund guarantee if you’ve completed less than 50% of the course.

The official word…

If you find yourself unsatisfied, we offer a full refund within 14 days, provided that less than 50% of the course content has been consumed.

Note that a lesson is considered complete when clicked, NOT when a video is fully viewed.

So be careful not to click around too much if you’re unsure whether you’ll want a refund.

How is FB Income School structured?

Here’s what FB Income School looks like when you log in…

And here’s a sneak peek inside a lesson…

FB Income School is a video and text-based training with about 45 video lessons averaging about 2-5 minutes each.

There’s also a search feature, making it easy to reference specific material.

Lessons are clearly labeled, step-by-step, and feature over-the-shoulder screen recordings.

But they aren’t highly detailed and instead give general overviews and information.

The lack of detail is partially remedied in that you also get access to a private FB community where Lester actively answers students’ questions…

Green Lights 🟢 

Here are a few things to like about FB Income School…

Most students seem to rate the course highly.Somewhat active and helpful private community.Decent training on FaceBook monetization fundamentals.Lester walks his talk.Red Flags 🚩 

Some knocks on FB Income School…

Unclear how old student proof is.Lacking detail; tells more than shows.Marketing makes it seem easier than it is.Other things you should knowA good way to think of Lester Diaz’s training: It basically documents most of what he’s done to profit from the Facebook monetization program. When you join the course, you get access to that documentation.You’ll find a few handy downloads within the training, including a niche list, hiring template, scripts, etc.👇 Subscribe to eBiz Insider 👇

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Should you join FB Income School?

FB Income School is one of the only Facebook video monetization courses on the market at this time. Lester does a fairly solid job of explaining concepts clearly and laying the foundation for getting started.

Just know the training has some gaps you’ll need to fill in as a content creator and entrepreneur.

But given the relatively low price, community access, and refund guarantee, I’d say FB Income School is a decent investment.

FB Income School – Key Points





  About

Facebook video monetization training by Lester Diaz.

💰  Price

$197 one-time (more info)

😍  Pros

Students have gotten results, access to Lester via the private community, concise and structured introduction to FB monetization, Lester walks his talk.

😩  Cons

Unclear how recently students are getting results, training is somewhat limited, over-hyped marketing.

  Verdict

Unique training best suited for creators with some experience.

Overall Rating3.3/5 3.3Learn more.'>2
View Alternatives


Other ways to make money onlineYour Thoughts on FB Income SchoolHave you taken this course yourself?
Add your rating so others can see if it’s worthwhile.Do you have a question about this course?
Let us know below and we’ll try find the answer.👇 Subscribe to eBiz Insider 👇

Every Tuesday and Friday we email 18,822 people like you with top tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. No hype, no scams, no fake gurus. Sign up below to get the next one.

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The Hardest Part About Achieving a Dream

When building a business, it can be tough to deal with the lack of certainty.

Does your idea have legs?Will people actually pay for your product or service?Can you afford to hire help?

But you might take solace in Alex Hormozi’s words from a recent video

The lack of certainty is actually what makes it worth it.

If you knew that you were going to succeed, it wouldn’t be worth doing to begin with.

The fact that you are uncertain when you start is what makes it worthwhile.

The fallacy of being in the pursuit is the worry that it won’t amount to anything… because who you were becoming is the thing that you are amounting to, in real time every day.

In other words, you don’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to arrive at some ideal destination to make the journey worthwhile.

You are learning and growing with every hour and every day you put into that journey, and that’s amazing in itself

Related, words from a book called The Third Door by Alex Banayan…

Many times the hardest part about achieving a dream isn’t actually achieving it—it’s stepping through your fear of the unknown when you don’t have a plan… nobody achieves a dream from the comfort of certainty.

So, as an entrepreneur, your only real choice is to embrace uncertainty.

Teaching Math on Pornhub = $270,000 Per Year

Chang HsuMath Tutor $270,000 annual revenue
Published September 28, 2023 by Fardeen KhanReviewed and edited by Niall Doherty

Chang Hsu is a math tutor from Taiwan who has gained a large online following for posting calculus lessons on the adult website Pornhub.

He goes by the username changhsumath666 on Pornhub, and began uploading educational videos to the site in 2020.

He also started a YouTube channel around the same time and uploads similar videos there

His unorthodox strategy came out of desperation, when Chang found himself $35,000 in debt. He apparently had a profitable tutoring business but his own staff turned against him…

They took all my students… so my cram school suddenly lost all its income and could no longer operate.

Chang was unable to pay off his creditors, and he was having a really tough time before deciding to teach online.

But competing with the barrage of tutorial videos on YouTube and other platforms proved challenging.

That’s when Chang had the idea to stand out from the crowded online education market by posting his lessons on Pornhub…

I asked myself where to find my target students, say college boys, and the answer popped out: adult video platforms.

The contrast of a nerdy math teacher on a porn site made Chang’s videos stand out big time

News coverage of his story brought even more attention, with features in international media and an appearance on Pornhub’s Instagram.

Chang would use clickbait titles containing naughty keywords to get his videos to show up in searches

As a result, his calculus lectures have amassed nearly 3 million views and 13,000 subscribers on Pornhub.

One news site reported…

Attracting unlikely students, Chang Hsu saw unprecedented traffic to his teaching material as more students purchased the courses on his websites.

In the end, Chang Hsu earned almost $270,000 a year via paid calculus classes on various platforms, helping him earn enough money to sustain a more decent living, and pay off his debts.

Chang was planning to move away from the site that made him famous…

The original intention behind putting my videos on Pornhub was to get everyone’s attention. And now that I have what I need to take off, I can manage to tutor without being on Pornhub.

Although I checked and he still publishes few videos per week on there

Anyway, by putting his videos “in the most jarring place,” Chang was exploiting the contrast principle.

Some other examples of that in business…

Sales people will often use the contrast effect by showing you a poor quality product alongside the one that they want you to buy.

They might also show you a wonderful product that is way beyond your reach. When you compare your ideal purchase with this, you are then likely to re-evaluate it upwards. Then when you look at a range of products, you will chose higher up the scale than you might otherwise have done.

They will also sell you add-ons. For example when you buy an expensive car, the optional extras seem very cheap in comparison.

How could you use the contrast principle to boost your business?

First time seeing our Online Money Maker profiles? Click here for a quick intro.

The goal of our Online Money Maker profiles is to show you all the different ways people make money online. We strive to ensure that each profile is realistic – no hype, no scams – so you can see what it really takes to build each type of business.

If you'd like to hear when we publish new profiles, subscribe to our free newsletter below. Each edition is packed with tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. We send it out every Tuesday and Friday to 18,822 legendary subscribers.

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See our latest profiles of Online Money Makers


Learn more about income claims and estimates on this website

Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.

With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.

Here’s how:

We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.

If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.

Is this kind of business right for you?

Check out our framework to see the 19 types and 6 levels of online business, and discover which is best for you.

Other ways to make money online

There are many other ways to make money online, to work from home or anywhere in the world.

Full list of ways to make money onlineMore profiles of online money makers Subscribe to eBiz Insider

Every Tuesday and Friday we email 18,822 people like you with top tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. No hype, no scams, no fake gurus. Sign up below to get the next one.

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$30K in 30 Days (Give or Take 6 Years)

Marc LouvionSerial Entrepreneur $30,000 in 30 days
Published September 28, 2023 by Fardeen KhanReviewed and edited by Niall Doherty

Marc Louvion tweets

Just crossed $30k in revenue in 30 days.

I used to earn ~$1k a month for 6 years.

It’s totally unreal…

This is your story too if you keep shipping, FAST

Looks like most of that $30k came from a project called ShipFast which is a code template to help you build software faster.

Marc also tweeted…

13 days ago, ShipFa.st was a folder on my laptop…

Just ship it

This reminds me of Daniel Vassallo’s ‘sell your sawdust’ tweet.

Sawdust in the digital world can be anything you created as a byproduct of your work.

Marc created a template to ship his own products faster, and it apparently helped him ship 18 products in 18 months  

He kept improving the template over time before deciding to release it as a standalone product.

And while you could argue that Marc has an unfair advantage with 37k followers on Twitter, he notes…

I started less than 2 years ago with 0 followers

Ship fast > inspire > grow an audience

And of course he mentioned that he was earning ~$1k a month for 6 years.

So really it took years of practice to earn that $30k in one month.

Back to the “sell your sawdust” thing, some other examples we’ve featured in the newsletter…

$3,771/Month Selling Social Media Content TemplatesFrench Newsletter Earns €60,000 From Republished Content

Have you created something as a side-effect of work… a PDF, Training Video, SOPs?

Could you package that up and sell it online?

First time seeing our Online Money Maker profiles? Click here for a quick intro.

The goal of our Online Money Maker profiles is to show you all the different ways people make money online. We strive to ensure that each profile is realistic – no hype, no scams – so you can see what it really takes to build each type of business.

If you'd like to hear when we publish new profiles, subscribe to our free newsletter below. Each edition is packed with tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. We send it out every Tuesday and Friday to 18,822 legendary subscribers.

Sign up to get the next edition of eBiz Insider delivered to your inboxHP

We'll first send a confirmation email to make sure it’s you
Check out our privacy policy to see how we protect and manage your data.

See our latest profiles of Online Money Makers


Learn more about income claims and estimates on this website

Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.

With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.

Here’s how:

We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.

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From $16/Hour to $50/Hour in 6 Months

Melissa BoutilierVirtual Assistant $50 an hour
Published September 28, 2023 by Fardeen KhanReviewed and edited by Niall Doherty

Melissa Boutilier was interviewed by Esther Inman about her journey from being a nonprofit manager to earning $50 an hour as a virtual assistant in just a few months …

Melissa’s background was in nonprofit management, which she enjoyed but found emotionally draining and high-burnout. 

After relocating for a relationship that didn’t work out, she struggled to find her footing career-wise

My money situation was getting worse and worse and worse, just because I wasn’t making the income I had been making. My expenses were growing and my income was way down. So I started racking up lots of debt.

One thing that didn’t help…

I started network marketing… that was a very very very bad decision for me. That actually contributed to my intense debt.

(More about network marketing here)

Eventually Melissa was working 4 jobs just to stay afloat…

I would get up at 6 in the morning. I’d work from 7am until 9pm. [To say it was] really stressful was an understatement.

Melissa’s health and relationship began to deteriorate

She hit “rock bottom” when…

She had an unexpected pregnancy at age 39Her partner left when she was 6 months pregnantShe had “a near-death experience” during childbirth

Wow.

At her low point, Melissa moved back in with her mom and went on disability due to her health issues. When her daughter was 5 months old, she started googling ways to work from home.

After some skeptical research, Melissa took a chance and invested her small savings into a course called 90 Day VA (reviewed here)…

I finished [the course] in three months… I followed everything to a T.

Within two weeks of finishing, she landed her first client at $16/hour

I was putting myself out there everywhere. I was talking about [my services] on social media, with people in real life, I was doing the Facebook business page, the Instagram page, I was doing lives, I was showing my face.

I was just announcing… I put myself out there everywhere that I could think of.

Melissa’s first client was a real estate agent, via a local job board.

$16/hour wasn’t a lot but she was happy to get started and gain experience.

And Melissa’s business grew quickly from there

My second job was $25 an hour and then my third was $34. And now it’s like $50 [an hour] and I’m starting to get into flat rates.

Ultimately that journey from $16 an hour to $50 an hour took six months.

Melissa is still constantly on the lookout for new clients…

I’m at the health food store and I’m getting to know the manager… she’s like I’m actually quitting to start my reflexology business… and I said oh I started as a virtual assistant… and then she hired me and I just did her photos and everything for her social media.

There’s opportunities everywhere… I think I’ve turned down six or eight clients now [due to lack of time].

Melissa credits her success to putting herself out there on social media, being open to feedback, working on her mindset, and following the 90 Day VA course closely.

My main takeaway from her story: many people would turn their noses up at a $16/hour job

But Melissa saw that first gig as a stepping stone to much bigger and better-paying opportunities down the road

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Learn more about income claims and estimates on this website

Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.

With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.

Here’s how:

We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.

If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.

Is this kind of business right for you?

Check out our framework to see the 19 types and 6 levels of online business, and discover which is best for you.

Other ways to make money online

There are many other ways to make money online, to work from home or anywhere in the world.

Full list of ways to make money onlineMore profiles of online money makers Subscribe to eBiz Insider

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He Sold his WP Themes Store for $500,000

Mike McAlisterFounder of Array Themes $500,000 approximate sale price of Array Themes
Published September 25, 2023 by Fardeen KhanReviewed and edited by Niall Doherty

Mike McAlister started Array Themes in 2012 as a solo founder looking to turn his design skills into WordPress themes he could sell to a wider audience.

He shares in a recent interview….

This was really early on in the days of WordPress, so templates weren’t nearly as commonplace as they are now. It was a burgeoning niche, and I happened to get in at a great time when my designs could have a widespread impact.

Mike intentionally kept Array Themes small, with just himself and one contractor handling all operations and development.

Finding ways to scale the operation while also remaining a purposefully small-scale operation was challenging. I didn’t have ambitions of creating a full-blown company, so I found creative ways to scale to healthy 6-figure revenue with as much autonomy as possible

According to the interview…

McAlister’s themes, which clients paid for with a yearly fee, earned the company monthly recurring revenue in the $20,000-$40,000 range and attracted attention from potential acquirers.

Click here to see one of the themes he was selling back in 2017. You could buy just the theme for $49 or get access to all themes for $89/year.

Although he regularly received acquisition offers, Mike wasn’t interested in selling until he was approached by Brian Gardner from WP Engine in 2018…

This was also a unique opportunity for me to start fresh and focus on crafting products with a stellar team. I wanted a new challenge.

WP Engine acquired Array Themes (along with Atomic Blocks) for “mid-6 figures”… so around $500,000

Reading Mike’s story, I can’t help but think of similar opportunities that might exist today.

He started creating WordPress themes…

… really early on in the days of WordPress…  It was a burgeoning niche, and I happened to get in at a great time

Funnily enough, Google Trends shows that search traffic for WordPress themes was already trending down by 2012

Whereas traffic for the following might still be on the rise…

Shopify templatesWebflow templatesCapcut templatesNotion templatesCanva templates

First time seeing our Online Money Maker profiles? Click here for a quick intro.

The goal of our Online Money Maker profiles is to show you all the different ways people make money online. We strive to ensure that each profile is realistic – no hype, no scams – so you can see what it really takes to build each type of business.

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See our latest profiles of Online Money Makers


Learn more about income claims and estimates on this website

Our goal at eBiz Facts is to give you accurate information about online business so you can gain clearer insights, make better decisions, and achieve your own success.

With that in mind, we strive to ensure the accuracy and transparency of the income claims and estimates that you see on this website.

Here’s how:

We treat all income claims we find online with skepticism.We don’t report incomes that seem especially controversial or unrealistic.We cite our sources and/or share our calculations so you can see where the numbers come from.If there are uncertainties about an income claim or estimate, we tell you what those are.

If you see an income claim or estimate that seems off, please tell us so we can fix it.

Is this kind of business right for you?

Check out our framework to see the 19 types and 6 levels of online business, and discover which is best for you.

Other ways to make money online

There are many other ways to make money online, to work from home or anywhere in the world.

Full list of ways to make money onlineMore profiles of online money makers Subscribe to eBiz Insider

Every Tuesday and Friday we email 18,763 people like you with top tips, insights and opportunities to build your online business. No hype, no scams, no fake gurus. Sign up below to get the next one.

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