It’s the ultimate goal for any new online marketer: How can I make $100k/year? Is it possible to make $100k/Year working 10 hr/week?

The answer is yes!

And no…

Sorry, but it is just not that easy. It sure can be done. And is being done by some.

Because frankly it depends on a lot of different factors.

Before we get started, let me make this one thing perfectly clear: In the beginning before you are making any real money, you will need to work hard. Very hard.

And if you are brand new to marketing then I can tell you that as much as 90% of your time might be spent on activities that don’t directly make you a cent. But you will be learning what works and what doesn’t, and if you continue on then that education will be worth a fortune to you.

If you quit, well, then you’ve wasted your time. Quitting us the worst thing you can do.

So far, I’m going to guess that I haven’t told you anything you don’t already know, but maybe it’s something you needed to hear again.

Starting out

Starting a business is like starting a train with a mile and a half of loaded cars on it. It takes extreme energy to get that train moving forward. In the beginning someone could walk on their hands faster than that train is moving. But give it a little time and pretty soon it’s racing down the track, an almost unstoppable force that requires only a minimum of steering and guidance to continue journeying forward. 

Yes, it is entirely possible to earn six figures by working 10 hours per week. But you’ve got to lay the tracks, first.

For example, let’s say you take a month to research, build your business strategy, and develop or purchase, and integrate the platforms and programs that you will be using. And you will need to research exactly what prospects want to buy along with creating the product they want.

The second month is devoted to building your sales funnel and testing and tweaking it. And you also will need to develop your advertising srategy. Whether it is paid or free, your advertising platforms and activities are the key to your entire business. You are now likely three months along, and the sales are never what you hoped for, so you will need to modify and adjust and soon you will be in month four.

Now, all through this start up time, and with the very heavy lift of creation of your business from the foundation up, you are probably working 40 hours or more a week. And that is assuming you still have a full time job, because this is your side hustle that you would like to grow so you can leave “that other job”.

Now it is true that once you’ve got the system up and running and things are going well, then 10 hours a week might be plenty to keep things going, especially if you reach the point of solid revenues coming in that can allow you to start outsourcing some work, tasks or even your customer service.

Timeframe to make $100k/yr

This kind of money in this timeframe is a very ambitious goal that requires a strategic and disciplined approach. And frankly, this is not a realistic expectation. My advice is to focus on earning $100 per week first. From there, increase the goal to $1,000 a month. You see where this is going. It can be easier to go from $1,000 a month to $100K a year than it is to get to that initial $1,000 a month.

It’s the train again, taking a ton of energy to get that thing moving.

And here is another point for you to consider. Everyone’s situation is different. If this is truly your side-hustle, and you have other work, business and family responsibilites, then you need to plan accordingly, It’s great to be excited, with real zeal toward your goals, but be realistic and don’t burn yourself out. That doesn’t do you, or anyone around you any good.

A basic outline to make $100/k per year… eventually

I’ve made a list of things you will likely need to do to build your online business.

Read it over and see if this is something you want to do. If so, make a commitment to reach that $1,000 a month mark in the time frame you choose, and then get started. When you reach that first goal, you already know what your second goal will be: Six Figures a year on 10 hours per week.

Find a profitable niche

Identify a specific niche where people are spending plenty of money. Best case scenario, you create the solution to a problem people are dying to solve. This step sounds so easy. Maybe it is. Pay attention to what people say they wish they had. What frustrates them? What do they wish they knew? And don’t be afraid of competition. That just tells you there is money to be made in that niche.

Build your brand

Create a strong personal brand by developing a website, social media presence, and other digital assets that showcase your skills and expertise. When prospects are considering making a purchase, they are reassured to find your positive presence online in multiple locations.

In the beginning focus on your website and one social media presence – the one where your customer are most likely to be found. You can add more social media accounts later on if it makes sense. In other words, resist to build Rome in one day. You will be stretched so thin that you won’t be able to keep your head above water. So plan to start small and scale as funds and time are available.

Ready fire aim

Create a minimum viable product and find out if real customers want to buy it. For example, if you’re creating a course, get real customers onboard and create the prototype with them on live calls, using their feedback to improve your course. Don’t be afraid to launch the first course, chapters, or proto-type of products early to get feedback. Nothing is worse then spending tons of money and time designing or crating something, only to find that there really isn’t a need or interest that you just knew there would be.

Automate and outsource

Look for ways to automate and outsource repetitive tasks and delegate work to virtual assistants or freelancers. Now this also depends on your budget. You may have to hold off on this step until you have more revenue coming in from sales. As soon as your able to afford to outsource, doing so will offer you more time to focus on high-value activities that drive revenue.

Once your sales really take off, this is a great option to scale your business by leveraging resources, and it will allow you to work toward your goal of fewer hours per week. Remember, you orginally had a desire to only work those 10 hours we talked about.

Leverage partnerships

Develop partnerships with other marketers, affiliates and influencers in your niche to extend your reach, get more sales and collaborate on joint ventures. This isn’t difficult in most niches since it simply takes being a friend, helping them when you can, building a relationship and eventually taking it to the next step of partnering in some way. You will naturally find some that you click with better than others, and may have similar marketing strategies, and ethics that allow you to work well together.

Experiment and test

Continuously test and refine your strategies to improve your results and increase your return on investment. If your sales funnel is paying you $1.50 for every dollar you spend on advertising, it’s easy to think you’re done and now it’s time to relax and let the money pour in. But what if you could make $3.00 for every dollar you spend? Keep tweaking and testing to find out. Become an expert at this or outsource it to someone else who already knows how to do it.

And by the way, just when you think you have the advertising and marketng all figured out, something will change. It always does, and then you will have to readjust. Some of the social media platforms are well known for “tweaking” things, and that sends ripples through all marketing to scramble and adjust.

Watch your time

And it’s back to the old 80/20 rule. 80% of your income will come from 20% of your activities. Find out what’s making the money and what’s wasting your time. Do more of the money-making stuff and cut out the rest if you can. And part of the experimenting and test I talked about before means that you have great tracking and analytical tools. Tracking everything you do is a must.

Earning $100,000 a year in online marketing while working only 10 hours a week is possible. But don’t expect getting to that point to be easy. It will take significant work and effort in the early stages. But if you do it right, with proper planning, and a strong mindset not to be deterred, it is possible. And if you’re the exception, you will hit that six figure mark. Or it might take you significantly longer, but that’s okay, too. Professionals such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, and many others, take years of education and hard work to make six figures. So keep that perspective in mind. You may hit your goals in less time, but again, there are a ton of varibles that come into play.

And if you don’t succeed the first time, use what you’ve learned to keep trying until you do succeed. The fact is that most people don’t succeed in a big way the first time out of the gate. But those folks who go on to earn six and seven figures in online marketing are the ones who kept trying until they succeeded. And most entrepreneurs, including those outside the online marketing arena, have had numerous failures.

Take Charge Now

If you want change in your life , you need to initiate it. Wouldn’t it be wonderfull if we could all just lay on our couches, eating cheetos and watching TV, and then once a day someone came to your home, rings the doorbell, and dropped off a couple of suitcases full of money? Ok, we all know that is not going to happen.

So if you want something different then what you have today, what are YOU going to change?

If you aren’t in control, you’re just letting the world change around you. Being at the whim of all the outside forces is not going to bring you satisfaction, health or wealth. You are responsible for your own actions and leading your life in the direction you desire. No one said it was easy, but you can have it all. Health, wealth, family, fun and a great life in whatever your goals may be. But the bottom line is YOU must strategically and systematically work for it!

We’re all on our own journeys.

That overnight success you read about likely took years to get to where they are. Not to mention the failures that they had along the way. That is just part of the process and how it works. You must be determined and have strong perseverance. And remember to be yourself. We are all different, with different needs, skills, and goals. And none of our paths are exactly the same.

In yoga they say that your practice ends at the edges of your mat. This simply means don’t worry about what others appear to be doing. Sure, maybe they can touch the bottom of their foot to the top of their head, but they’ve been doing yoga for 20 years. Your only true competition is yourself, to be 1% better today than you were yesterday.

Focus on building, automating, and scaling your business in a planned, systematic way and it will simply be a matter of time before you reach your goals. And if you want it bad enough, and work hard enough, maybe you just might make $100k/year working 10 hr/week. Kudos to you!

To your success!

Dave

davesethagency.com davesethonline.com/blog  online resources, memberships 12-day training traffic

Updated 6/18/2023