6 Online Businesses That Made Made Me Over $100,000

Countless articles tell you how to make money online and let’s be honest, they’re just promoting affiliate offers. That’s why I, the founder of this website, am sharing the actual online businesses I’ve used to generate over $100,000.

Note: this guide isn’t about getting rich overnight, so if you came here hoping to find such info, I’d say you’d have better luck spotting a unicorn

1. Selling gigs on Fiverr

If you have a skill, you can make money without any investment on Fiverr. Graphic design, copywriting, social media marketing, SEO, translation, voice-over, animation, and even pranks to play on people – you can register yourself as a freelancer for pretty much anything.

The question is: are you ready to put yourself out there and compete with hundreds and thousands of other freelancers?

I made a gig on the platform to see if it’s possible to make money quick and guess what, I had $200 on my account by the end of the week.

My personal experience in making money on Fiverr proved two things:

1) getting yourself noticed isn’t as tough as some people say;

2) it is possible to make a full-time income.

How to get started?

  • First, think about the skills you possess that can be effectively monetized
  • Visit Fiverr and complete the registration process
  • Verify your account by clicking on the unique link sent to your email
  • Login to your new account and head over to the ‘Selling’ tab and then click on Gigs.  Click on ‘Create a New Gig’ to get started with creating your very first Fiverr Gig

Congratulations! You’re now officially a seller on one of the world’s most popular freelancing platforms. Now, you just wait for the money to fall onto your lap. NOT! I hate to break it to you, but registering yourself on Fiverr is not even half the battle. Heck, the battle hasn’t even started yet!

Now you have to market your gigs in places of interest and be willing to eat dirt (not literally) to get the first few orders. Do this well, and you’ll probably have a decent number of 5/5 ratings and positive reviews to boast about. But, how do you promote your gigs?

Well, you can try by joining a couple of Buy/Sell Facebook groups, cheekily ask a friend to place the first order, or reach out to businesses that you think can use your help. The idea is to get the ball rolling so that Fiverr starts sending more traffic to your gig.

Don’t worry; you aren’t doomed to earn $5 per sale for the rest of your life. You can increase the price as you gain experience in the industry and more positive reviews. Competition is fierce, so be vigilant and polite at all times and you’ll make money easily. 

Btw, Fiverr is an excellent way to make money in college.

2. Lending money on Reddit

I know, I know, you should never invest money that they can’t afford to lose, but I bring this proposal only to those who have a high-risk tolerance.

In other words, people like me.

Visit r/borrow and you’ll see at least a couple dozen people looking for short-term loans and are willing to pay back with interest.

Of course, there are also people lending them money and making a decent income on the side. Hey, you’re lending money to people on the Internet, what could possibly go wrong?

I understand your skepticism, but really, this can be a lucrative way to make some passive income if (and that’s a big IF) you’re careful.

reddit borrow

I’m not going to lie; this is a high-risk venture. Even if you don’t end up losing money (courtesy PayPal), recovering the principal amount may prove to be a mentally exhausting and time-consuming task. So, think twice before engaging in the thread.

A pattern you’ll recognize is that all those who are asking to borrow money is to cover an unexpected expense. It’s okay, lots of people don’t want to borrow from their friends and family. What you do have to look out for are those who want ridiculously low amounts such as 10 or $ 15.

Many of the low-sum borrowers are just looking to build a positive reputation only so that they can scam someone else for a more substantial amount later on.

Here, you can read more about my Reddit money lending experience with a Canadian woman and how I almost got scammed.

You can never be too careful when dealing with matters involving money. So, keep these points in mind if you decide to try to make extra money by lending money on Reddit:

  • Never lend money to anyone without knowing their borrowing history
  • Do a thorough background check by observing the prospective borrower’s personal Reddit page, karma, previous comments, and borrowing history
  • Always use PayPal as they offer a 6 month protection period
  • Am I being too much of a skeptic here? If I am, it’s for a good reason.

3. Selling videos to media

Ever manage to film a video you think has the potential to go viral? Selling videos is another one of my favorite methods to earn some easy cash online. And you can make money working from home, without being a professional vlogger, videographer, or whatever.

All you need is a video that’s unique and a little bit of luck. Okay, I might have made it sound too easy, but hear me out for a second.

What you see below is a screenshot of my earnings from just two videos on a platform called Rumble, which I believe is terrific for getting featured.

rumble earnings

The other two sites I recommend you check out are Newsflare and Jukin Media. But before that, let me give you a brief rundown on how things work.

When you submit videos to sites like Newsflare, Jukin Media, and Rumble, it get an opportunity to be viewed by big press agencies such as The Telegraph, Yahoo, AOL, etc. Press agencies you could not have made contact with otherwise. And if your video gets picked up, you earn 50% of the total revenue generated.

How do you think non-traditional online news communities like Lad Bible, UNILAD, Viral Thread, etc. post dozens of original videos every single day? Now, coming to the main question, “How do I improve the chances of my video being picked up?”

Well, if you happen to be someone who is always recording stuff, I’d say sooner or later you’ll capture a video that the world would like to see. Here, you can read more on how to sell videos to media.

4. Make money on YouTube

YouTube is a profitable way to make money online for many. However, before you can add advertisements to your channel, you need to have a minimum following and amount of video views. While these numbers may seem out of reach for some, it is absolutely possible.

My friend, Luka, made a killing by growing his channel to 100,000 subs in a year through sheer talent, hard work, and perseverance. Read all about his success story and how to grow big on YouTube.

If you follow the advice Luka has on his guide, I’m sure you’ll also make good progress on the journey to becoming a YouTube star. And practice Gary Vee’s philosophy of “Micro speed, macro patience,” meaning take massive, imperfect action every day, but be patient enough to see through everything in the long run.

youtube studio

There are also other ways to make money on Youtube without qualifying advertisements. I hired a guy from Upwork to make a video on “How to Make a WordPress Website,” and I placed an affiliate link to Hostgator hosting in the description.

You probably know this. Each time someone uses the link to register, I get a commission.

5. Selling on Amazon

What started as selling custom candy packages at school led me to sell DVDs on eBay, and eventually running my very own successful Amazon FBA business. FBA or Fulfillment by Amazon is a business model where you get the opportunity to partner up and use the resources of the world’s biggest e-commerce site to sell your merchandise.

As a third-party seller, I got access to Amazon’s acclaimed customer services and shipping options that are trusted worldwide. What did I have to do? Just find some products that have the potential to be bestsellers. Here’s how the process goes:

  1. You send your merchandise to an Amazon fulfillment center or have it picked up
  2. Amazon stores your products, be it a single unit or a large inventory
  3. Amazon receives an order, packs, and ships your product from the storage to the customer
  4. You make money and gain loyal customers due to Amazon’s shipping and customer service

Sounds easy enough? Well, the tough part is finding the products that are in demand. I did a good job at it, and 16/17 products turned out to be star products. Thanks to Amazon FBA, I still make a handsome amount of money daily.

Here you can read all about my entrepreneurial flipping ventures – from childhood flipping candy to running the Amazon FBA store.

6. Start a blog

Have you ever wondered how people make money blogging? 

While blogging is merely a hobby for some, many have monetized their passion and use it to make part-time and even full-time income.  Blogging is a legitimate work from home job and while it can take some time to grow an audience and income, making money online with a blog is more common than you think.

affiliate earnings

This blog currently makes around $5,000 per month but I have three more sites. The smallest one makes approximately $500 per month so far, which isn’t exactly a lot, but still quite useful as passive income.

I’ve made many mistakes and learned from them. You will too! But here’s some advice from me that will probably save you a lot of time and frustration:

  • Take the time out to do proper research and narrow down on a niche that you know much about.
  • It’s crucial that you write on subjects you enjoy; otherwise, the interest will fade even before you see the first dollar coming in.
  • Post frequently so that your blog stays active, but don’t write for the sake of writing. Bring value and people will love you.
  • Drive traffic to the blog by being active on Facebook groups and other forums such as Quora, Reddit, etc.
  • And lastly, do not forget SEO. Ranking top on Google is what’s going to bring in the passive income.

Interested?

You can start a blog in less than an hour. How much does it cost? Only $2.75 per month.

Final Thoughts

I love hustling, and it’s pretty much the only lifestyle I’ve led so far. Making money on the side has given me a level of financial freedom that I dare say wouldn’t have been possible with a salaried income.

But making money online is only half the battle; the rest is about saving and investing your earnings so that it yields good returns.

I sacrificed a lot of things to get where I am today. I sacrificed my time out with friends to build a house without any loan and spent many nights awake trying to put together the pieces of the whole ‘be your own boss’ puzzle. It gets hard sometimes, but I have zero regrets.

Anyway, enough about me; just thought I’d give you a realistic account of what it means to be me. How are you planning to get started? Did you learn anything new by reading this blog? Let me know in the comments section below.

4 thoughts on “6 Online Businesses That Made Made Me Over $100,000”

  1. Great list of options to earn money online. The internet has revolutionized how people can earn money. The internet is still in its infancy. I believe that the best is yet to come.

    Reply
    • There is a risk, I do agree. Try with some small amount, like $10 or something. At the end of the day, you can always initiate a chargeback (dispute) on PayPal 120 days or more after you sent the money. Just, do not send money as friends and family, you won’t be able to submit a dispute.

      Reply
  2. Love your honesty Peter. There are no get-rich-quick ways to consistently earn or invest money. Hard work and lots of competition is the norm.

    Reply

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