How To Realistically Make $100K a Year Online | How I Reached 6-Figures Within 1 Year

How to realistically make $100k a year online: 

• Choose an online business model
• Develop skills that support your online business
• Set goals and milestones for reaching $100k
• Work diligently on your business
• Establish an online presence
• Track your finances
• Create standard processes
• Scale your business

There are legitimate ways to make $100k a year online. The internet is full of stories of people who have achieved stunning results like this. For example, there’s Brian Dean. Brian is an expert in SEO, and he founded his blog Backlinko back in 2012. Today, with numerous online income streams, his net worth is at $5 million. 

You can make $100k a year online from home. Of course, it depends on which online business model you choose and whether you can execute it successfully. In this article, we’ll look at 10 of the best online businesses that can get you to 6 or even 7 figures a year. We’ll also go over 8 steps that will take you from zero to winning with a $100k online business. 

1. Choose the Best Online Business for You

The first step to an income of $100k a year online is to find the right online business model for you. Luckily, there are many great models to select from. These can be done without a college degree and without a large initial investment. Here are 10 of the best models today:

1. Local Lead Generation 

The local lead generation model is all about helping local businesses acquire leads. In today’s modern world, even small businesses need to have an online presence to stay relevant. Not having a website that generates leads makes them miss out on a huge source of revenue. That’s because 46% of all Google searches have local intent. Also, 97% of users search to find a local business. 

Unfortunately, many local businesses don’t know how to get leads online. That’s where a lead generation business comes in. A lead generation business creates websites that rank and generate local leads. A local business can then rent this website for a monthly fee to get these leads. For example, let’s say you build a website on tree services. You don’t have a tree service company, but since your website ranks for local SEO, you start getting leads. You then send these leads to a local tree company. Small businesses are happy to pay for extra leads, making everyone happy. 

Local lead generation is similar to the real estate business. In real estate, local companies rent space in a building to set up shop. This space is usually in a prime area that generates a lot of foot traffic. For a monthly fee, local businesses get the chance to enjoy exposure, traffic, revenue, and profits. In the world of local lead generation, the rental space is the website that generates the traffic and potential customers. 

2. Freelancing 

Upwork says freelancing is doing work for clients without committing to full-time employment. Freelancers are usually paid either per project or per hour. They do all kinds of work, including writing, SEO, web design, graphic design, marketing, software development, and more. Some freelancing projects are recurring, meaning a client gives a freelancer work on a continual basis. Other freelancing projects are temporary, meaning a client moves on after completing a project with a freelancer.

Freelancing is considered a lucrative online business because its income potential is uncapped. You earn as much work as you can do, and you can get as many clients as you can handle. In fact, 72% of U.S. freelancers say they freelance to control their financial future. Here’s an example of the flexibility and career freedom of a freelancer:

3. Affiliate Marketing 

Affiliate marketing is a business model that involves third-party sellers referring buyers to a company. The mechanics are simple. To start an affiliate marketing business, you begin with building a following. You might start a popular blog or social media account that garners a big audience. You post content your audience loves and slowly build trust with them. Once you establish a good relationship with them, you start recommending products to them. When they buy, you get a commission from every sale.

4. Digital Marketing Agency 

A digital marketing agency is like any other agency in that its goal is to bring in leads and customers to a business. There’s one difference, however. It’s that a digital marketing agency exclusively uses digital mediums for marketing. They don’t go into traditional marketing mediums such as billboards, TV advertorials, and flyers. Instead, they focus on online content, social media marketing, email marketing, online ads, and so on. 

The digital marketing world is certainly lucrative. That’s because most of the globe is moving online, with 5.35 billion people online today. Of that number, 2.64 billion are online shoppers. With such a large opportunity for sales, it’s no wonder digital marketing is now a $667 billion industry.

5. Content Creator 

A content creator is someone who makes entertaining or helpful content for an online audience. This content can come in many forms such as blog posts, social media posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, and more. Although creating content itself doesn’t generate money, there are many ways to monetize content. Some of these include affiliate marketing, paid sponsorships, paid subscriptions, Google AdSense, and so on. 

As a content creator, you have the potential to reach billions of people. Online platforms are packed with viewers seeking to learn things or be entertained. For instance, YouTube has 2.7 billion monthly active users. Facebook, as the most popular social media platform, has 2.9 billion monthly active users. 77% of the internet reads blogs. 504.9 million people listen to podcasts. With this huge audience in front of you, you have success literally at your fingertips.

6. Dropshipping 

Dropshipping is an easy business to get into because it involves selling without needing to develop your own product. All you need to do is find popular items in the market, then buy them at a discounted source. You’ll then list these products on your site or ecommerce store and sell them at regular price. The difference between the buying and selling price is your profit.

Dropshipping sounds simplistic at first, but it’s a hugely lucrative business today. That’s because almost 3 billion people now shop online. What’s more, the global dropshipping industry was valued at $225.9 billion in 2022. By 2030, experts predict it’s going to grow into a $931.9 billion industry.

7. Print-on-Demand

The print-on-demand business model is great for artists and other creatives who want to monetize their talent. It involves printing original art or lyrics onto products like clothing, bags, journals, stickers, mugs, and so on. Print-on-demand is relatively low-risk because you only print products once an order comes in. With this business model, you don’t need to invest in building and maintaining an inventory. You don’t even need your own printer, as services like Printify do the printing and order fulfillment for you. 

The print-on-demand industry is huge, and it’s still growing. In fact, it was valued at $6.3 billion in 2022. By 2031, it’s expected to expand even more, reaching $45.6 billion. The reason why it’s so popular is because consumers value uniqueness and personalization more than ever. 48% of buyers say they are willing to wait longer for customized products. 36% of consumers say they expect some kind of personalization by default. 

One example of a wonderful print-on-demand success story is the Etsy store Ostuni. Ostuni sells artsy and funny mugs that allow buyers to customize by choosing their designs and inputting text onto the mugs. Since Etsy integrates with Printify, they don't need to keep an inventory or even print the mugs themselves. When a buyer makes an order on Ostuni’s Etsy shop, the order is sent straight to Printify. Printify then creates and packages the order before sending it to the buyer. This super simple business model made Ostuni earn $603,031 in its first year of business.

8. Online Courses 

There’s a huge market for online courses today. With the world going digital, 70% of people say they prefer learning online to learning in the traditional way. In the U.S., the online learning industry is set to grow into a $687 billion industry by 2030. The best part is you don’t have to be an expert to build your own online course. All you need is to know how to do something your audience wants to learn. You’ll package your knowledge into digital form, sell it on your chosen platform, and potentially make hundreds of thousands of dollars per month.

9. Amazon FBA

Amazon FBA is a business model that allows you to sell products with ease. That’s because you don’t have to find a way to store your goods. All you have to do is set up your Amazon store. When someone orders from it, you send your products to Amazon. They do the work of storing, packaging, and shipping out your products to customers. What’s more, they also deal with complaints, returns, refunds, and other issues. 

The world of Amazon FBA is a promising one. Amazon has 310 million customers across the globe. In 2023, it pulled in an annual revenue of $574 billion. Customers trust Amazon. So when you offer your goods on the platform, shipped by Prime, it won’t be hard for them to make the decision of buying from you. 

There’s a large number of Amazon FBA success stories to inspire you. For example, there’s David Lopez. David arrived in the U.S. from Cuba with nothing but a car and a t-shirt. From the outset, he decided that he didn’t want to make money the traditional way. So he learned Amazon FBA from Seth Kniep of Just One Dime. It didn’t take him long to succeed. In 2018, he started selling 30,000 units and making upwards of $1,000,000. He achieved this consistently each year. When COVID-19 hit and others were filing for unemployment, he was making $100,000 months. There’s no limit to what you can do with this business model, as long as you have a knack for knowing what sells.

10. Remote Closing

The remote closing business model came to life when high-ticket courses, coaching, and offers were born. Back in the day (around 2014), online courses selling anywhere from $200-$1000 started booming. But when the market got saturated, course creators started making more detailed, extensive courses. They sold these courses at higher prices, some up to $10,000 or more.

The problem was it wasn’t easy to sell these 5-figure courses using the traditional sales funnel. Potential buyers had questions that the funnels couldn’t answer. That’s when remote closing became popular. Closers would hop on a call with these potential buyers with the aim to sell the courses to them. They would answer questions, give reassurances, and basically convince them that the course was for them.

Another problem arose because course creators were too busy to take all the calls. Also, course sales had high and low seasons, meaning hiring a full-time remote closer wasn’t a good idea. To solve all these issues, course creators decided to hire part-time or freelance remote closers. These people would get on calls with potential buyers and come away with a commission of the course sales. Altogether, it was a win-win situation for everyone.   

The remote closing industry is huge, and it’s growing fast. Since the global eLearning industry is expected to grow into a $1 trillion industry by 2028, remote closing is expected to grow as well. With a remote closing business, your services will be in demand.

For inspiration, there are many remote closing success stories out there. Some of these remote closers make 6 figures a year working less than 3 hours a day. For example, here’s a story from a Redditor who does exactly that:

2. Develop Skills that Support Your Online Business

After you’ve chosen your business model, the next step is to develop the skills required for that model. No two businesses are alike, and learning generic knowledge and skills will get you nowhere. 

Luckily, there are numerous online courses you can take to get step-by-step guidance on how to start the online business of your choice. The best courses out there aren’t generic. They’re specific, focused blueprints of how exactly you can plan, start, maintain, and grow your business. A great example is the Authority Site System by Authority Hackers. This is a great course to take if you decide to do affiliate marketing. It takes you through every step of setting up your own affiliate marketing sites. After the course, you’ll have your own site up and running, ready to make money.

Another way to develop skills to support your online business is to complete real projects. For instance, if you choose to start a freelance writing business, you can kick things off with working as a freelance writer. Find your first real clients on Upwork or Fiverr. It’s OK to start small, earning $15 or $20 per project. Learn all you can from the experience. Gather reviews from clients who love your work. From there, you can scale. Get more clients. Find higher-paying gigs. When you have more than you can handle, you can go ahead and start your own writing agency. 

Of course, there are skills you can learn that will fit most of the online business models mentioned above. Here are three examples: 

3. Set Goals and Milestones for Reaching $100k 

Setting financial goals is important. There’s a huge difference between just dreaming of earning $100k and actually creating a step-by-step plan to get there. Creating a plan and intentionally taking action on it will increase your chances of reaching your big goal. In fact, 83% of people say that setting financial goals made them feel better about their finances in just one year.

When setting goals, it’s important to add milestones along the way. Earning $100k may feel unreachable, but breaking it down into smaller goals will make it easier. For instance, instead of $100k a year, you can think of it as $8,333 a month. To add detail to your plan, make a strategy to reach this amount every month. For example, if you have a remote closing business, you can set a goal like, “close one deal per day.” If you have a freelance writing business, you can set a goal like “find four $2,000+ projects a month.” Breaking your goal down into concrete, bite-sized pieces will help you go from dreaming of $100k to actually taking steps to achieve it.

4. Work Diligently on Your Business

A lot of effort is required to make $100k a year online. A sustainable online business is not a get-rich-quick scheme. This means you’ll have to work diligently on your business to reach that goal. Luckily, if you choose the right business model, you don’t have to wait long to get to that number.

One example of an online entrepreneur who made it to $100k a year and more is Dan Henry. At 21, Dan was a Chicago pizza boy who hated his life. His dream was to build his own empire instead of working for someone else. So he set out to achieve this dream, starting with reading Tim Ferris’ book, the 4-Hour Workweek. He selected an online business model and set to work. Within 14 months, Dan’s online business was earning $30,000 a month.

But Dan’s story isn’t a magical Cinderella tale. Before the entrepreneur even started his business, he spent 2 whole years just learning about digital marketing. He read every book, listened to every podcast, and watched every video he could get hold of. Then, he carefully chose a business model that would make him money. In Dan’s case, affiliate marketing was the best match for his skills and knowledge. He began with a niche site selling electronic cigarettes. This took off, and after only 14 months, he was getting his first taste of 6 figures.

Many online business success stories give you promises and attractive numbers. But they don't tell you about the time and hard work needed to reach those numbers. Dan Henry may have spent more than 40 hours a week just learning about and setting up his business. However, the results paid off. Today, Dan is one of the biggest online marketers out there, with a net worth of over $17 million. With online business, putting in the hard work and dedication pays off.

5. Establish an Online Presence 

With 99,000 queries on Google every second, it’s clear to see that the world has gone online. More than half of the entire global population now uses the internet. Experts predict eCommerce will be worth $8.1 trillion by 2026. This means your online business has a huge audience and a huge chance of success. But first, you’ll need to establish an online presence. 

One way to do this is to build a website and learn digital marketing strategies. Your website will serve as your front, telling people about the services you offer and building trust with your audience. With digital marketing strategy, you can set yourself up as an authority in your industry. For instance, if you have a freelance writing business, you can start a blog giving writing advice. When potential clients looking for a writer land on your blog, your writing and SEO skills will impress them. This will make them want to hire your services, which will increase your business. 

To supplement your website and blog, you can grow your social accounts with great content. According to Statista, there are currently 5.04 social media users worldwide. Having a social media presence puts you in front of a potentially unlimited market.

6. Track Your Finances 

It’s easy to lose sight of your goal if you don’t keep track of your finances. That’s why it’s important to know how much net profit you’re making each month. This will help you decide whether you should continue what you’re doing or increase your efforts. 

Keeping track of finances may seem easy at first, but it’ll get more complex as your business grows. Luckily, there are software, tools, and apps you can use to make it easier. For instance, QuickBooks is accounting software loved by 135,885 small businesses around the world. QuickBooks automates your transactions, making accounting, invoices, and bookkeeping easy. You can use it to generate reports, which will help you keep track of your revenue and profit.

7. Create Standard Processes 

For some types of online businesses, making $100k is a solo effort. For others, you will need to outsource to a team. That’s why it’s important to create standard processes that team members and employees can follow. 

For instance, let’s say you start a freelance writing business. You start out with a single client and do work that client loves. You follow a process. First, you do in-depth research. You gather information, stats, and facts on your topic. Then, you start writing. Your writing follows a certain pattern, tone, and voice. You then go into the editing phase, cutting down unnecessary words, phrases, and sentences. This is your process, and in order to scale your business, you need to duplicate it. So you record your process and each time you hire someone new, you teach it to them. Processes like these are important if you want to offer quality, consistent work to your clients. 

8. Scale Your Business 

Once you hit the $100k mark, you’ll probably want to scale even bigger. To do this, you’ll need a more complex business plan. You’ll need to hire support, reinvest your profits, and delegate tasks that have become too big for you to manage yourself. 

Remember, not all businesses are ready to scale. Scaling too quickly can end in disaster. You can find yourself with too many employees, expenses you can't afford, and processes that have gone out of control. Scaling takes time, and you have to do it sustainably for it to work.

When you do decide to scale, however, make sure you have a concrete plan ready. Your plan needs to include market analysis, management and organization, a financial plan, and a marketing plan. Start slowly and make sure of your foundation, and chances are you’ll enjoy the success you’re looking for.

How I Reached $100k within One Year of Starting My Online Business

The truth is, you can make big bucks with authority sites. Honestly, though, authority sites take time and money. It takes around 1.5 years to rank a site globally. And to create the kind of content that ranks well is expensive. (Freelance writers charge anywhere from $20-$40 an hour.) 

If you’re a beginner, it’s best to start with local lead generation. That’s because ranking local sites is way easier than ranking global ones. In a few weeks, you can easily rank a site for local keywords. For example, let’s say you rank a tree service site. The site starts generating leads interested in tree services. Since you don’t have a tree service business, you sell these leads to a tree company. In turn, the company pays you a monthly fee. This fee can be anywhere from $500 to $3,000, depending on how many leads your site generates. 

The truth is, no other online business compared to local lead generation. Although I made $2,000-$3,000 a month from Amazon FBA and affiliate marketing, that was the best I could achieve with those models. They never got me close to my goal of $100k a year. On the other hand, my local lead generation business grew like crazy. I went from hitting $100k in the first year doing it, to now making $50,000+ every single month. This is the business model I recommend to everyone who wants a fast, sustainable, scalable 6 or 7 figure online business.

How Long Does It Usually Take to Start Earning $100k a Year with Online Business? 

How long it takes to start earning $100k a year with online business depends on the business model you choose. Some business models allow you to scale quickly and start earning this amount within your first year. Others need more time and can take around 2-5 years to reach that amount. Here are examples of some business models mentioned above and how much time you can expect to start earning $100k from each:

Can You Achieve $100k a Year Online as a Side Hustle? 

Yes, you can achieve $100k a year online as a side hustle. This depends on a number of factors. First, it’s important to choose an online business model that gives you the best chance of earning 6-figures. Next, it’s crucial to have a business plan that outlines the step-by-step of how you’re going to arrive at $100k. Lastly, it’s essential to learn the skills required to scale your business and work hard and diligently until you succeed. If you have all these elements, there’s no reason it’s impossible for you to reach 6 or 7 figures in extra money with your online side hustle.

What Are the Best Resources for Learning How to Make $100k a Year Online? 

The best resources for learning how to make $100k a year online are free blogs, YouTube videos, and specialized courses. If you’re on a budget, you can go to Google or YouTube to get stories and tips from experts who have made it to earning 6-figures per year. However, these only provide you with random advice, tips, and inspiration for your online business. If you want a specific, step-by-step process for starting and scaling an online business to $100k, it’s a good idea to invest in a specialized course. These courses will help you eliminate the mistakes and guesswork, and get you to 6 figures systematically and surely. 

Conclusion: Is Making $100K a Year Online Worth It?

Yes, making $100k a year online is worth it. Making good money like this gives you financial freedom and the chance to take complete charge of your life. With passive income, you can earn while you sleep, travel, spend time with your family, or experience the hobbies you’ve always wanted to try.