My first foray into starting and growing an online business was 6 months of trying literally every business model I could find. (You can still see some of those early-day videos on YouTube, if you fancy a giggle.)
One of my scariest (now funniest) moments, was a time I couldn't figure out how to end a webinar and had hundreds of people watching me panic-click buttons (while whispering the odd expletive) for 10 minutes.
Those were the days of wild west internet marketing - JV partnerships, solo ads, Warrior Forum products (remember those?), and every other scheme promising overnight riches.
Some worked, most spectacularly didn't.
But eventually, through all that enthusiastic fumbling around, I discovered that successful online businesses, regardless of the model, all followed the same basic formula.
1. Start with Who - identify the specific person you want to help. Not "everyone interested in fitness," but "Dads over 40 who want to get fit without spending hours in the gym"
2. Define What - pinpoint their exact problem. What keeps them awake at night? What frustrates them daily?
3. Solve Problems for Free - create valuable content that helps solve these problems. Show up consistently with genuine solutions.
4. Offer Paid Solutions - once you've proven your value, create deeper solutions based on what your audience actually needs (not what you think they need).
This formula still works today, whether you're teaching knitting or coaching CEOs. The key is consistency and genuine value.
With that in mind, here are seven side hustles that if you follow the above model, can fund your travel dreams.
