As my intro states I’m going to go from $0 to $1 million USD in the next two years. Ok, so an easy statement to make, but how? Well in this blog post I will share with you exactly how I’m going to make that happen. This is how I’m going to make a living online in 2018 – 2019.

Reverse Engineering is a great place to start.

So, I believe that knowing what I want is half the battle. I’ve stated that I want to make $1 million in the next two years, so I know where I want to get to. All (All?) I need to do is work backwards from that position to where I am now. Sounds simple? Well, yes and no. Yes, it’s not that difficult an exercise, and no, in that it requires a huge change in your mindset to believe that it is absolutely going to happen.

Mindset over matter.

In fact, I have found the shift in paradigm so difficult that I have basically spun my wheels on this goal fo the first three months of this year. I was burnt out in my job (I was working as a digital marketer for a small bank) and I know that paid employment wasn’t the answer for me. The time it took to work also sucked so much energy out of my life that it was difficult to build on what at the time were my side projects.

The epiphany

Eventually, my lack of energy at my day job meant that basically I was not nearly as productive as I needed to be in that role. After discussions with my Manager I decided to move on. This was one of the biggest decisions of my life, and I knew I would have so much more energy to devote to my side projects, and move them from the sideboard into the main game.

So now, what?

After watching seemingly endless amounts of Youtube videos over the last couple of years I had a fair idea where I wanted to go. The first priority was to bring in some regular day to day income, and for that I decided to use my existing skills and build a small digital agency. I had a couple of existing clients that I have been working with over the last year or so, and it just made sense to build on my skillsets in that area.

Digital Destiny

So only this week (in April 2018) I have billed my first invoice and built a successful website for a client. I had no idea what to charge when I first quoted, so I quoted $825 AUD…. which turned out to be far less than my time spent on the project was probably worth. All in all it was probably worth underquoting to get some business in the door, but I believe my time creating new websites is worth more than the $30 an hour I ended up working for.

Money, Money, Money

So from this point forwards working as a digital agency I will be charging at least $100 an hour – it just has to be a high amount in order for the work to be worthwhile.

Guilt by Affiliation

While affiliate marketing remains my side play, eventually I want to be making more money from it than from my Digital Agency. There’s so much scope for passive income with Affiliate Marketing that it is hugely attractive to me – making money while I sleep really appeals to me!

Back on track

It was a huge jump for me to quit my 9 – 5. I now need to back up that decision by building my Digital Agency, which I’m hoping will be the Business I use to pay my bills, whilst growing my Affiliate Marketing presence, which I’m hoping will be the Business to pay for my Lamborghini. Going back to the reverse engineering, this is how I’m hoping to build my income, quarter by quarter –

2018

Jan – March

* I earnt nothing from my Digital Agency or Affiliate Marketing in this time. What a waste

Apr – June

  • Build my Digital Agency to be pulling in $5,000 a month for this Quarter

  • Make my first affiliate commissions, earn $250 a month on average this quarter from Affiliate Marketing

  • Total earnings for Quarter – $15,750

Jul – September

  • Build my Digital Agency to be pulling in $7,500 a month for this Quarter

  • Earn $1,000 a month on average this quarter from Affiliate Marketing

  • Total earnings for Quarter – $25,500

Oct -December

  • Build my Digital Agency to be pulling in $10,000 a month for this Quarter

  • Earn $10,000 a month on average this quarter from Affiliate Marketing

  • Total earnings for Quarter – $90,000

2019

Jan – March

  • Start a course on either Affiliate Marketing or Digital Marketing priced at $500 USD – sell 20 a month for the first quarter of 2019 ($10 K a month)

  • Continue my Digital Agency to make $10,000 a month for this Quarter

  • Earn $20,000 a month on average this quarter from Affiliate Marketing

  • Total earnings for Quarter – $120,000

Apr – June

  • Promote course and drive sales, $500 USD – sell 20 a month for the second quarter of 2019 ($10 K a month)

  • Continue my Digital Agency to make $10,000 a month for this Quarter

  • Earn $20,000 a month on average this quarter from Affiliate Marketing

  • Total earnings for Quarter – $120,000

Jul – September

  • Promote my course and drive sales, sell 50 a month for this quarter, raise price to $1,000 ($50,000 a month)

  • Continue my Digital Agency to make $10,000 a month for this Quarter

  • Earn $30,000 a month on average this quarter from Affiliate Marketing

  • Total earnings for Quarter – $270,000

Oct – December

  • Promote my course and drive sales, sell 75 a month for this quarter, ($75,000 a month)

  • Continue my Digital Agency to make $10,000 a month for this Quarter

  • Earn $30,000 a month on average this quarter from Affiliate Marketing

  • Total earnings for Quarter – $345,000

This adds up to approximately $986,250, which I am taking as being close enough to be the big $1M.

But How?

So, there’s not a lot of detail in the list above. However, my thoughts are set a course and I will find the way. There no point in working out exactly what I will be doing on October 21st 2019, but there is, conversely, definitely a point in working out exactly what I will be doing today to reach my goal (on April 11th 2019).

So this is what I plan to do to reach my first landmark of $5,000 a month from my digital agency, and to get those affiliate commissions rolling in for the goal of an average $250 a month in the upcoming quarter.

  1. Digital Agency

To get my digital agency up and running I will need to find a number of small to medium business clients to make both websites and digital strategies for. I’m lucky in that I have two existing clients already, I will need to onboard at least another 4 in this quarter to meet my income goals.

I’m working with a Business Coach to help me work out exactly who my ideal client is, and how to find them. It’s important to remember there is no shortage of Business out there, there are companies crying out for digital support, you just need to work out where to find them.

  1. Affiliate Marketing

This will form the second of my income streams. I will focus on two main channels to get my message out: Youtube and my website (yes, this one). Check out my youtube channel here. My thoughts on Affiliate Marketing are as follows: it’s very hard to get that first sale, but following that, it just gets easier and easier. Building my audience through Youtube will help me grow my own brand and make those Affiliate sales easier.

Value?

If you’ve made it this far, thanks, and I hope my story can be somewhat of an inspiration for you. I would love you to leave a comment or share this story through social media.