Being a digital entrepreneur for the past five years taught me that the differences between successful online businesses and frustrated content creators are relatively small. Your side hustle can be your next gig.
Contrary to what I thought, building a thriving digital business isn’t about fancy tools, complicated processes, or expansive growth strategies.
It’s about keeping things simple and following a path that feels aligned with your values and preferences.
This is particularly important if you’re running a one-person business because you’ll eventually juggle numerous responsibilities.
If you’re creating content as a side project and are struggling to properly monetize your work, one of the following might be true:
- You have multiple income streams, but none leads to a significant income. Instead, they’re mostly draining your time and energy because you don’t know what to focus on.
- You know that you lack a proper monetization strategy, but you don’t know where to start and how to go from constantly churning out new content to finally getting paid for your hard work.
- You’re afraid to start because you think turning your content into a profitable business is too hard. You’re not good with tech and believe it’s not possible for you to successfully monetize your ideas, knowledge, and audience.
Turning your side hustle into a proper business and being able to do what you love does sound scary.
But luckily, it doesn’t have to feel that way.
Half a decade in this industry taught me that the process can actually look quite simple:
Fewer platforms, larger audience
If you’re serious about growing your income online, you need to focus.
You need to let go of activities that cost time but don’t lead to results. Instead, you must be intentional about how you use each hour of your day.
This will allow you to make the most of your content without working dozens of extra hours each week.
I never understood creators who constantly churn out new content.
My #1 goal as an entrepreneur was to be free. This doesn’t only mean being financially free, but it first means having the freedom to use my time based on my own needs and wants.
What’s the point of earning a little more money if you’re constantly glued to your screens and anxious about creating new content?
That’s not how I want to live.
And I guess you don’t want that either. So here’s what to do: The first step is deciding what you’ll ignore.
Most creators are active on too many platforms because they’re afraid of missing out.
As soon as they hear about a new content platform, they sign up and spend dozens of hours republishing their content.
This is toxic because it gives you dopamine rushes (because you feel like you found “the next big thing”) without ever paying off.
In the end, you just lose time.
Instead of chasing those shiny objects and trying to be present everywhere, become a master of *one* platform, so you can grow your audience with confidence and ease.
Every platform is unique, and the truth is, creating content per se won’t lead to a sustainable income anyway.
That’s why you need to build systems on top of your content. And that’s only possible if you can minimize the time you waste on additional platforms.
Once you’ve mastered the basics and have built a reliable income, you can expand to additional platforms.
The money has to come from *somewhere*
If you want to monetize your work as a creator, you need to embrace the fact that the money has to come from somewhere.
I see so many creators who’re frustrated about their income but afraid of doing the things that’ll lead to money.
So let’s get this clear once and for all: As a creator/writer/digital entrepreneur, your income comes from people or businesses.
As a creator, you do the same: You make money by providing a specific value to individuals and/or businesses.
Here are a few specific examples of what this can look like:
- You create branded content for a business and charge for the work you do. I did this for a few brands and charged them per long-form post I wrote.
- You include affiliate links in your content, so you earn a commission when audience members follow the call to action.
- You create and sell your own products or services to either individuals or businesses.
This is where your money will actually come from
As mentioned above, your income needs to come from *somewhere.*
If you decide to create your own educational resources (like courses, books, coaching programs, etc.), the money will come through your customers.
And this brings us to the core of a successful online business: Your community.
You can create the most fantastic digital course with beautiful slides, perfect workbooks, and top-notch videos, but if you don’t have an audience that trusts you and wants to buy from you, you’ll fail.
Most creators are afraid of selling digital products because they think it’ll be too complicated, and they don’t have what it takes.
Yet, the truth is that your greatest asset is a loyal community.
This is the “secret ingredient” most people are looking for
Most people who try to build online businesses fail because they’re too busy looking for “secrets.”
They believe there must be a hidden strategy, tool, or method that’d magically lead to a higher income.
But I need to disappoint you.
The only “secret” is following a simple plan and staying consistent.
Success requires consistency.
And that’s what makes it so difficult to achieve for most people.
If you can do the boring stuff long enough, you’ll eventually succeed.
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