This article is about how to become a successful online entrepreneur and 11 ideas you can start right now. But, let’s be clear about something before we go any further… that Instagram-worthy lifestyle you see every day isn’t a reality.
What I’m saying is that most online entrepreneurs aren’t hanging out on yachts in exotic locations while sipping champagne.
Learning how to become an online entrepreneur can legitimately be one of the best things you can do for yourself. It’s growing a business you can be proud of that, in turn, helps you build the life you’ve always wanted for yourself.
And if your dream life is actually standing on a yacht in your flippy-floppies, then go for it!
Even something more sensible like staying at home with your kids while making a substantial financial contribution to your family is a good goal to work towards. You can reach it by starting and owning an online business.
Being an online entrepreneur is all about flexibility and control. You can scale your business based on how it fits with the rest of your life. This means that you can work anywhere you want, anytime you want.
While it can take a bit of time and maneuvering to reach your dream life, the potential is 100% there. Here is our list of 11 ideas for becoming a successful online entrepreneur and what it takes to get started.
- Start a freelance business
- Start a digital marketing agency
- Start a blog
- Develop an online course
- Write and publish ebooks
- Sell digital goods
- Create an online thrift store
- Focus on affiliate marketing
- Start a podcast
- Establish a YouTube channel
- Become a virtual assistant
What is an Online Entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur goes a bit beyond simply being a business owner. At the core, you are the owner.
However, as an entrepreneur, you’re regularly looking for ways to grow and expand your business. You’re leveraging your starting point to branch out into more diverse options.
Throw in the “online” part, and you’re doing all of the work via the internet. The internet is a big, big world with lots of opportunities.
Working online reduces your initial investment, which is typically a huge obstacle when starting a traditional brick-and-mortar business. This gives you the ability to scale your empire a little faster.
The low cost of online business ownership also gives you the advantage of trying more things without such a large financial risk.
To put it even more directly, an online entrepreneur is someone who owns and operates an online business, is focused on growth, and is willing to take risks.
How Do I Become an Online Entrepreneur?
There are a number of options for starting your online business. However, what you really want to look for is something you can scale and own independently.
This is different from working online for a company, which puts you in a position with limited growth and earning potential.
With this in mind, here are 11 ideas you can start today to become an online entrepreneur.
1. Start a Freelancing Business
Freelancers contract out their services and skills to a variety of clients.
You start by leveraging a skill you already have, which can be something like:
- Writing
- Web development or design
- Graphic design
- Editing
- Project management
- Social media marketing and management
- Photography
- Legal work
- Accounting
- Music production
- Sound design
- Photo editing
- Sales consulting
This is only a small portion of the freelance opportunities available to you.
Now, it can take a minute to hone your craft and build your business because you’ll be working on growing your client list and reputation. But once you do, you start looking for more opportunities.
You’ll need a website if you want to pursue this online entrepreneur opportunity (it often acts like a portfolio for freelancers). A WordPress site hosted by Bluehost is a great place to start.
After you’ve built a reputation for being good at what you do, your client list will grow. Eventually, you’ll get to the point where you can’t handle the workload alone.
This is when you can start growing a team. You could train others to take some clients or outsource work that doesn’t need to be done by you, which allows you to focus your energy on more valuable tasks.
Growing a team is one way to grow your business, but you can also work towards entrepreneurial status by offering things such as:
- Coaching services: This is where you offer one-on-one help for clients wanting to hone in on specific skills.
- Creating courses: If you have a good system in place that you’ve used to grow your own business, you can develop a course teaching other freelancers how to do the same.
- Start related side businesses: This can be hard to imagine when you’re starting, but there are business options that can grow out of your core business. Starting something connected to what you’re currently doing will help you diversify your income.
Our very own Mike Yanda basically did all of those things with his digital marketing agency. You’ll read more about this in just a second, but he started running Facebook ads on his own, grew his team, created a course, and eventually started this site.
Laptop Empires is a side business that helps other burgeoning online entrepreneurs grow their own businesses. He started with one freelance skill, leveraged it to create a business, leveraged what he learned doing that to create another, and so on.
2. Start a Digital Marketing Agency
We’ve already said the internet is full of opportunities for building a business, but it’s also one of the best ways for current business owners to reach new customers.
As more and more people spend a good portion of their day on the web, advertising online is only going to increase in demand.
The best way to start this business option is with Facebook. With nearly 2.8 billion users, it’s ripe with potential for both big and small businesses to increase their exposure and grow their income.
This is exactly why the Facebook Side Hustle Course was created.
Using their vast experience and knowledge running Facebook ads for a variety of businesses, Mike and Bobby Hoyt (aka Millennial Money Man) designed the Facebook Side Hustle Course.
This course will teach you how to:
- Create an effective ad strategy for small businesses
- Run those ads (can take around 3-5 hours a week per client)
- Find potential clients
- Get clients to pay for your services (around $1,000-$1,500 per month per client)
This is a good place for future online entrepreneurs to start because of the potential for growth. The Facebook Side Hustle Course has students who are now making $5,000 per month or more.
If you keep scaling that business, you can grow a team of digital marketers and then quit, like Mike did.
When you run ads online, there are virtually an unlimited number of markets you can work in. Once you find your niche, you’ll start getting better at what you do and see consistent results because you know what strategy works for businesses in your niche.
This can lead to becoming somewhat of an expert in your field, and people will pay good money for this kind of knowledge.
3. Start a Blog
Blogging is pretty different from those other two ideas because your growth is so much slower. They’re like the internet’s version of the sloth — everyone loves them, but why do they take so long to go anywhere?
Seriously, you could find your first freelance or Facebook client the day you start your business, but blogging… it can take months to earn any cash at all.
So why is it on this list of online entrepreneur ideas?
Because blogging is scalable, flexible, and full of potential.
You also don’t need any particular skill set or training to start. I mean, it would help if you had a knack for or enjoy storytelling since this is essentially what you’re doing with a blog.
And you can blog about anything… cooking, parenting, parents who cook, kids who cook, sewing, knitting, sloths, making money, working out, movies — you get the point.
You learn as you go, and you can do it all outside of your normal job.
Once you start making some money, you can start investing in some things that will help you earn more, like:
- A good site design
- Better hosting services
- Getting a good email service provider to grow your list (actually do this from day one, and MailChimp is free for up to 2,000 subscribers)
Those things are near necessities to earn the big bucks with affiliate income, course sales, and other revenue streams.
However, the reality is that not everyone who starts a blog is going to make the big bucks. Like we mentioned, it’s a sloooowwwww business model. You also get out of it what you put into it.
Those who grow into successful bloggers have been able to leave their day jobs, retire early, and travel more often. They start side businesses, write books, are mentioned in the media, and more.
They’ve done it all while doing something they’re passionate about from the comfort of their home.
If you’re interested in starting a blog, read more at Launch That Blog. It’s a free service that sets up a WordPress blog for you. It ensures you have a professional-looking blog from day one while taking care of all the technical work.
4. Develop an Online Course
Courses are a great way to earn additional income while adding to your portfolio and online presence. Where a lot of people get stumped is knowing what to teach for their online courses.
It’s actually easier than you might think to get started. Think about your skills and where you’ve excelled.
Is there something people come to you and ask for your advice? It could be woodworking, writing a college essay paper, or growing an indoor garden. If you are good at something, it’s likely you can use it to teach others.
Online courses can either be hosted on your own website or with platforms such as Teachable, Udemy, and Kajabi. They require a good bit of upfront work, but once they’re complete, you can focus on the marketing aspect and building an online community.
To get your online course moving forward, follow these steps:
- Choose your topic
- Test your idea with others and get feedback
- Create the outline of your course
- Finalize course content
- Set up the course online
- Research the marketplace and establish pricing
- Market and launch your course!
5. Write and Publish an Ebook
Writing and publishing an ebook is similar to an online course. You have particular knowledge on a subject, and you’d like to share it with a larger audience. However, in this case, an ebook isn’t a series of lessons or lectures.
Similar to any hardcover book in the marketplace, ebooks run the gamut with topics. It could literally be a topic about anything. The main point is the information is organized and structured correctly, and people want to engage with the subject.
Ebooks can be self-published and sold on your website as digital downloads or on other platforms such as Etsy. Amazon is another incredible marketplace for ebooks. The biggest hurdle many online sellers face is getting the ebook formatted the way they want it.
Fortunately, there are numerous resources, including Canva and Amazon, where you can design your own ebook and get it formatted for success.
Keep in mind that once you do create your ebook, you’ll want to market it like you would any other product. You can do this through landing pages, your website, social media posts, or purchasing Facebook ads.
6. Sell Digital Goods
Perhaps ebooks aren’t your first choice for selling a digital product, but other forms of digital goods could be intriguing to you.
There are a variety of options for selling a product digitally, and there are numerous advantages they offer. You don’t have to worry about inventory, you can update the product in moments, and there’s no limit to how many you can sell.
Digital downloads might include:
- Printables, such as templates, to-do lists, notebooks, and stationary
- Graphic and digital art
- Photographs
- Music and audio files
- Videos
- Spreadsheets and workbooks
- Fonts
- An app
- Lessons and instructions
One of the best aspects regarding digital downloads is that it becomes more of a passive income stream since you complete the work upfront.
The key to success is marketing your products so consumers can easily find where to purchase them. Like other ideas for online entrepreneurs, you can use a combination of purchasing ads, social media channels, landing pages, your own website, and Pinterest for marketing.
7. Create an Online Thrift Store
If you love to shop for the best deal and have a knack for finding in-demand or unique items, then an online thrift store could be your best bet.
The concept is simple — purchase items out of your own pocket, then upload pictures to online platforms. Once the item is sold, you’re responsible for shipping it or arranging for pickup.
With sites such as eBay and Facebook marketplace, selling online has never been easier. The key is to include high-quality images with all your listings and provide honest, descriptive information for potential buyers.
You should also accept multiple forms of payment so that it’s as easy as possible for people to pay you.
Although you will likely have to use your own money to purchase the item originally, creating an online thrift store can be lucrative and a fun way to get paid for your love of shopping.
8. Focus on Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is simply earning commissions from online sales when someone purchases a product using your unique link. There is quite a buzz around affiliate marketing. This is because it is simple to get started, and there are tons of products to choose from.
If you’ve ever seen an influencer post a link to a product and then clicked on the link yourself and were persuaded to buy, then the influencer most likely received “credit” in the form of a commission from your purchase.
If you have a website, a blog, or a Pinterest account, then you have the ability to place affiliate links throughout your content.
Getting started with affiliate marketing is easiest when you partner with a network.
Here’s a list of a few of the more popular affiliate networks:
However, you don’t have to work exclusively through a network. You can also contact advertisers directly and ask about their affiliate program. However you go about it, affiliate marketing is a prime example of passive income and a great way to build a digital empire.
9. Start a Podcast
If you love interviewing people, talking about subjects near and dear to you, or simply like providing a fresh take on events, then podcasting could be the way to build your career as an online entrepreneur.
Podcasting has grown tremendously over the last few years, from celebrities to people who create content on the side.
What’s great about podcasting is how little it takes to get started. In the beginning, you only need a microphone (such as the one on your iPhone) and editing software.
There are numerous ways to monetize a podcast. You could include affiliate marketing links in your descriptions and transcripts, sell sponsorships, sell products and merchandise, or charge for premium content.
It may take a while to see any profits from a podcast, but it’s a popular medium with powerful potential.
10. Establish a YouTube Channel
If you prefer both the microphone and the camera, then a YouTube channel may be more to your liking. The key to success with any blog, podcast, or YouTube channel is to consistently post and to be authentic. In this case, you’re being as authentic as possible on camera.
We’ve all seen the stories of YouTubers who make millions of dollars a year giving away crazy prizes or opening up packages of toys. Most of us will not enjoy that level of success, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t potential with a YouTube channel.
Like podcasting and blogging, there are multiple revenue streams with videos, which is why it’s ideal for building a career as an online entrepreneur.
Monetizing a YouTube channel could come from:
- Affiliate marketing sales
- Selling digital downloads
- Creating sponsorship opportunities
- Through merchandise and product sales
- Ad revenue
- Sell access to premium content and memberships
If you’re unsure what your channel should focus on, think about subjects you could talk about all day. Sometimes the most random topics can end up being the most profitable.
Similar to podcasting and blogging, finding a niche and posting genuine content is where you will find the most success.
11. Become a Virtual Assistant
If you’re someone who is obsessed with details and enjoys being behind the scenes versus out front, then becoming a virtual assistant could be more your style.
A virtual assistant is someone who completes tasks for other businesses, entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, influencers, and others.
Virtual assistants get paid by the hour, and this gig can be quite lucrative. Successful virtual assistants often specialize in certain areas, such as working with bloggers, focusing on marketing tasks, or as a Pinterest VA.
Another key is to make sure you remain professional and extremely organized. You might be asked to fulfill a range of tasks, from answering emails or posting product descriptions to shipping items and making travel arrangements.
This is a good option for online entrepreneurs because you can build up your clientele and network all online (and all over the world).
4 Tips for Becoming a Successful Online Entrepreneur
If any of those ideas piqued your interest, it’s possible you’re currently working another job (or two) already. It’s also possible that quitting your job right now, at this very moment, isn’t a realistic option.
If you do find yourself in this position, there are a few tidbits of advice you can follow to make the leap and be successful as an online entrepreneur.
1. Have a Steady Stream of Income
Your transition to full-time self-employment is going to be infinitely easier if you know money is coming in, and it’s better if you know how much and how often.
This could mean getting a few clients, building your blogging income to a certain point, or booking your freelance services far in advance.
2. Build a Financial Cushion
The rule of thumb for self-employed people is to have around six months of expenses set aside. This might seem like a lot, but this will protect you from wrecking your finances while you’re finding your footing.
3. Start Networking
Finding people who are doing what you’re doing can be a huge asset. They can help you find clients, come up with business ideas, and commiserate with you. No one should go at it completely alone.
4. Be Confident in Your Decision
Leaving a steady, paying job is terrifying. You’re stepping into the abyss and hoping there’s money out there.
Fear makes it really easy to push things off. On the other hand, some people are so excited to leave their job they do it before they have everything in order, then they start wondering if they did the right thing.
Only you know the right time to leave your full-time job. You just have to believe in your decision and start hustling.
What Makes For a Successful Online Entrepreneur
Being an online entrepreneur is like nothing you’ve ever done before. It’s a wild ride with the potential to create a life you never knew existed. But entrepreneurs share some key traits and habits that are nearly impossible to survive without.
To be successful online, you’ll need:
- Motivation: When you own your own business, you have to show up every day, no matter what. Find what’s driving you, and channel this when you feel like you’ve reached your limit.
- Creativity: Being able to find new and innovative solutions and ideas will separate you from everyone else.
- Vision: Having a long-term plan for your business can help you see the work ahead of you so that you can make things happen.
- Risk tolerance: Being willing to fail will be one of your greatest assets. Know the risks going in, but remember that failure teaches you how to pivot and move forward.
- A tribe: Being an online entrepreneur can be a little lonely, so surround yourself with like-minded people who encourage and inspire you.
- Investments: Growing your business doesn’t always take financial capital, but sometimes it does. To grow yourself and your business, be willing to make some time or monetary investments in personal development, courses, new software, education, etc.
What the Online Entrepreneur Lifestyle is Really Like
The reality is that nothing is ever what it looks like online. We’re all guilty of projecting a better version of ourselves on social media, and online entrepreneurs are just as much to blame.
Some toss up a happy picture filtered for maximum bliss to cope with the hard reality of what life is really like.
The truth is that you spend a whole lot of time watching others around you do amazing things while you’re trying to do something like generating an email sequence that catches some new leads. You also get fired by clients, people unfollow you, and you get negative feedback.
Those things can happen while you’re sitting on the beach sipping a hard-earned drink. You should know upfront it’s not sunshine and rainbows all the time.
The other reality is that you’re growing a business situated in the middle of your everyday life. This might include working at your dining room table surrounded by piles of laundry while your kids are screaming in the background.
You have to carve out moments of bliss for yourself, and it’s often hard to find that amid everything else that’s happening around you.
Additionally, like any business, there are ebbs and flows. You’ll have a bad day, week, or month and then you’ll suddenly land a new client or gain a larger audience.
Being prepared both mentally and financially for those ebbs and flows is one of the best things you can do to succeed.
The Final Word on Why You’ll Love Being an Online Entrepreneur
If the last section sounded a little dire, we didn’t mean to put you off completely. Honestly, there is so much good from building and running your own business despite what you just read.
When you do something you’re passionate about, it makes it so much easier to get up and hustle every day. There’s also nothing more satisfying than seeing something you’ve created succeed.
It will give you the same satisfaction as watching your child learn to walk or read.
But owning your own business is not the same as having a child because, as an online entrepreneur, you are in complete control. You get to direct your business, scale it, pick when you work, and be your own boss.
Okay, it’s nothing like having a child.
But it is fulfilling and can completely change your life for the better.
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