Back in 2011, I came incredibly close to giving up on my dream of building an online business.
We were in debt, living in my in-laws’ basement in Australia with our four-year-old daughter, and I was seriously considering returning to the UK and getting a job.
I’d spent months trying everything I could think of to make money online. I’d made my first $28 selling PDFs, launched a $37 Facebook marketing course that sold around 500 copies, and built a growing email list. But despite all that progress, we were still struggling financially, and I felt like I was pedalling incredibly hard and getting nowhere.
Then one particularly emotional morning, a podcast I was listening to changed everything.
A few months later, I launched my Social Networking Academy membership from my mum’s lounge and generated $117,000 in sales in seven days, plus thousands in recurring monthly revenue.
In this episode of The 50+ Nomad Podcast, I’m sharing what happened between those two moments, why the hardest part of building a business often comes after you’ve started, and how the work you’re doing today might be creating opportunities you can’t see yet.
If you’re building something after 50 and wondering whether it’s ever going to work, I hope this story encourages you to keep believing in what’s possible while being willing to change your approach along the way.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
How I went from making my first $28 online to launching a six-figure membership business
Why making sales doesn’t necessarily mean you’re making financial progress
The podcast that convinced me not to give up
Why I delivered a webinar about tenacity when I was struggling with my own self-belief
How months of helping people for free helped me build an audience ready to buy
What I call the quiet place, and why it’s often the hardest stage of building a business
Why starting something new after 50 can bring additional pressure to succeed quickly
The difference between giving up on an idea and giving up on yourself
Why the stories we tell ourselves influence the actions we take and the results we create
Key Takeaway
The hardest part of building a business often isn’t getting started. It’s continuing when you’re putting in the work but the results haven’t caught up yet.
Sometimes you need to change your strategy, your product or even your entire business model. But don’t confuse an idea that isn’t working with a belief that you’re not capable of making something work.
You never know where everything you’re learning today might lead you.
Time-Stamped Guide
00:00 How I nearly gave up before making $117,000 in seven days
01:15 My early attempts at building an online business, from $28 to my first successful course
04:11 Moving into my in-laws’ basement and questioning everything
05:12 The Tony Robbins walk that changed my mindset
07:39 Teaching tenacity and self-belief before I had proof of my own success
09:50 Building and launching the Social Networking Academy
12:47 The quiet place: Why the hardest part of business comes after you’ve started
17:15 Knowing when to persevere and when to change direction
19:44 Pick your delusion: How your beliefs influence your actions and results
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Start the Right Side Hustle Workbook: My free workbook to help you explore business ideas that suit your skills, interests and lifestyle. Download the Free Workbook →
This Big World Travel Challenge Cards: The travel card deck I’m currently building my e-commerce business around, and an example of how every new business teaches you skills you can carry into the next.
🎒 Ready to Start Your Own Freedom Business?
If you’ve downloaded my free ‘Start the Right Side Hustle’ workbook and you’re ready to take the next step, my full video course walks you through choosing a business idea that suits your skills, interests and the lifestyle you want to create.
Inside the course, you’ll find:
Step-by-step video lessons drawing on my 16 years of building online businesses
A printable companion action workbook
Ready-to-use ChatGPT prompts to help you explore your ideas
The full course is included with your paid subscription to The 50+ Nomad, along with all the other courses, guides, templates and resources inside The Backpack.
Join the Conversation
Have you ever come close to giving up on something, only to be glad you kept going?
Or perhaps you’re in that quiet place right now, working hard on something without seeing the results you’d hoped for.
I’d love to hear your story in the comments.
