Online Business

To make money online, you generally need 3 things:

A website (don’t worry, they’re not that hard to make)
An audience
Something to sell

There will always be exceptions to this rule, like the YouTube celebrities who don’t have their own site, but most of the successful entrepreneurs online (myself included) have figured out those 3 things.

An online business is a great asset; you can work from anywhere and serve people worldwide. Depending on how you have it set up, you can even earn money while you sleep. Ahh that elusive “passive income!”

The location-independent business models you’ll find here include blogging, podcasting, self-publishing, teaching online courses, and more.

If you’re not sure where to start, let me recommend this “Greatest Hits” collection:

106: Stand Out: Build Your Unique Authority and Get Paid

November 6, 2021April 23, 2015

Dorie’s latest book is called Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build a Following Around It, and it is the perfect companion to anyone trying to build a personal brand, an authority website, or an audience-based business.

This episode is a little different from other Side Hustle Show episodes because we actually don’t talk much about Dorie’s personal story or experience at all, but rather dive into the research and examples that went into Stand Out.

Listen in to learn how you can generate your next killer idea, get people to pay attention to you, and find a way to monetize it.

102: Zero to $50k a Month: Email Marketing Hacks for Entrepreneurs and Audience Builders

November 6, 2021April 2, 2015

Dan Faggella sent me an email last month that essentially said, “Hey Nick, I’m a fan of the show. I have some expertise in email marketing, and I know many of your listeners are working to build their online presence and their email lists. Would it make sense to do an episode on some list building and email best practices?”
And then he added the kicker: “I’m making $50k/mo selling martial arts training videos right now, and I have other businesses as well…”

OK, I’m listening!

98: From $100 to $30,000 in Nine Months

July 15, 2024March 12, 2015

John Corcoran is well-known in online business circles for being “the connections guy,” but I was more curious in how he’s built his own online business than networking tips.

Today he sells his own premium course on Connecting with Influencers, plus earns money as an affiliate for other high-dollar, high-value online products.

In January, he earned $30,000 in one month, through sales of his own product and as an affiliate for others. In this call we get into building and selling a course of your own, the best ways to get it done, and maybe a little bit about building the partnerships to make a powerful impact.

91: Rapid Product Creation, Book Launch Tactics, and Turning a Book into a Business

November 6, 2021January 29, 2015

This may surprise people, but I’m a pretty slow writer.

I have a challenging time writing in “rough draft” mode. You know, where you just brain dump onto the page and clean it up later. That’s one reason I wanted to have Chandler Bolt back on the show; because he’s got a cure for that I’m anxious to try out.

In this episode, we talk about his 3-step writing process to quickly create a new book project, along with Kindle launch tactics for new and aspiring authors.

89: 15,000 Subscribers in 6 Months: How to Build Your Email List From Amazon

January 5, 2023January 15, 2015

You want traffic? You want readers? You want customers?

You’ll want to listen to this episode.

Your free book is essentially your epic “guest post” — only a MUCH bigger site than you could ever hope to publish on regularly. Like a good guest post, it leads readers back to more of your content, where they opt-in with their email to continue their relationship with you.

This works for authors and non-authors alike. In fact, Nick pretty much convinced me I need to be doing this as well!

87: The 5 Step System to Quit Your Job In the Next 12 Months

May 13, 2026January 1, 2015

If you’re not already following Bryan Harris, I recommend you do. The guy is super smart and has a unique way of breaking things down so that they’re easy to understand and implement.

He doesn’t mess around, and gives super-detailed actionable advice with some awesome examples, but gives the caveat that it takes real work. This is not a 4-hour workweek passive income system — at least not at first.

But that’s OK, because we’re hustlers and ready to make something happen in 2015, right?

85: Part-Time Podcasting for Profit ($1900 in Week 3?)

August 25, 2023December 18, 2014

Scott Oldford sent me a proposal for a podcast episode about part-time podcasting, and included the hook, “I’ve made $1900 in revenue from my first episode.”

OK, I’m listening!

In this episode we discuss how a podcast can be a very part-time venture but still reach a wide audience and begin to earn revenue on its own.

Killing My Baby: Why I Shut Down My Longest-Running Business

March 17, 2023November 24, 2014

This is a tough post to write.

This summer I pulled the plug on ShoeSniper, my original side hustle and my longest running and most successful business.

A moment of silence.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but I was confident it was time to move on. I think this is an important story to share because most of what you read in the entrepreneurship world is about perseverance and “never giving up.”

73: How to Build and Monetize an Authority Site

August 25, 2023September 25, 2014

Everybody’s an expert in something, right?

Well this week’s guest, Matt Giovanisci, is an expert in pool care. He describes it as the most boring industry that serves such a fun product.

He’s taken an innovative approach to rank his site, SwimUniversity.com, in Google and monetize it with affiliate relationships and private advertising.

I feel like Matt’s process is proven and repeatable — but takes real work.

71: One Page Adsense Sites and Productized Consulting

May 13, 2026September 11, 2014

If you’ve been in the “niche site” game at all over the past few years, this week’s conversation will open your eyes to a whole new world of possibility in the realm of making money with Adsense.

Kurt Elster is the co-founder of EtherCycle, an online marketing strategy and web design and development firm. But on top of that, his company also runs a plethora of one-page micro-sites that earn advertising revenue with Adsense.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social