ONLINE BUSINESS
You're not stuck. You're just 120 days away.
We all have a problem somewhere in our lives that could easily be soothed by a fresh stream of income.
That job you hate? That bank account that never quite fills? That feeling of "I know I'm meant for more, but I don't know where to start"?
Yeah — I've been there. Now, we've already talked about building an escape plan and quitting your job in 10 months, at an arguably more leisurely pace. But what if you could get there faster?
I know this sounds like one of those overhyped internet promises, but hear me out:
You are 4 months away from making a real, sustainable living online.
Not millions. Not passive income overnight. But enough to match your current paycheck, reclaim your time, and start building a life that actually feels like yours.
If you feel like this idea is promising too much, without a solid base, think about the following thing: the internet has changed everything.
You don't need a business degree, a big following, or a fancy website. If you have a decently-working laptop and an internet connection, you are ready to get started. However, exactly because this is not you usual clickbaity article promising overnight riches, I feel obliged to tell you one thing beforehand: the path that I propose here is tough.
No matter how much you think you want to double your income with a side project, some people will not be prepared to put in the work. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it, or at least they would take a more relaxed approach, over a longer stretch of time. So proceed with caution, play with these ideas and decide whether it's truly something for you.
In this article, I'll break down exactly how to use the next four months to:
- Identify your most monetizable skill
- Build a content funnel around it
- Turn your audience into income
- Scale up your operations
The gap between where you are and where you want to be is solely based on the decisions you take, not any amount of time. We are going to put the pedal to the metal and work 12 hours a day towards this dream.
Let's make the next four months count.
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Step 1: Skill Positioning
The very first step we need to take on this journey is to decide what we are going to do to build this second stream of income. After all, we need one skill that we can monetize and use to build up our income.
The best place to start is your current work. At your job, what is the one skill that you are honing right now that could be useful and profitable to businesses and other organizations?
Here are a few examples:
- Anything to do with marketing and communication: writing, graphic design, social media management, paid media, ads management.
- Technical skills that are in demand: programming, network and infrastructure management, engineering consulting, etc. This is a rather extensive list and many activities can fit.
- Consulting in general: if you have the experience and years to back you up, consulting is profitable in almost any realm of activity.
The purpose of these examples is to give you an idea about what we are looking for. Once we find the skill that we need to double down on, the next step is to think about how we are going to monetize it.
There is a myriad of different ways to do this, be it that we talk about good ol' freelancing, online content and courses, or productization of various services. Again, this depends on the skill you have identified, so you need to figure out this step by yourself.
As a general rule of thumb, freelancing is the easiest to break into because the environment of work does not change at all. You already worked for your employer at an office, so you can do the same for a client, on the basis of a new contract.
At the same time, you should have a few back-burner ideas that are still feasible for the future, even if you don't get started with it right away. This is going to help us further down the line.
Finally, within your new business model, think about the boundaries that you want to set for yourself:
- How much do you want to work each day on this side-project?
- Does it have to be fully remote? Or you don't mind some physical presence now and again?
- What growth perspectives do you have in the near future? How about the medium and long terms?
With this, you now have a destination. Let's get to building our path to that destination.
Step 2: Build "Proof Assets"
At this point, you need to start creating a small portfolio — something that shows what you can do. The purpose of this portfolio is not necessarily to showcase work, but rather to build credibility. If you need people to buy from you, you need to demonstrate that you know what you are talking about.
Of course, depending on what you want to do, the portfolio will differ in structure, but such an asset will be of immense importance.
Examples:
- Case studies
- Templates
- Articles
- Landing pages
- Client testimonials (even from free work)
These assets don't need to be perfect right away, of course. More time you spend perfecting them means less time available for fast-tracking the rest of the plan. As long as you think it is good enough, it probably is (and you will have enough time to get back to them further down the line).
Now that you have a proof asset under your belt, and a clear idea of what you want to do, it's time for us to build some visibility for ourselves. In other words, we are going to build an audience.
Step 3: Build an audience
As with anything else, to find people interested in buying, you first need people that are interested. Conversions will only happen from a base of users that already have their eyes on you.
The way to get an audience can vary immensely, but because we are looking into a fast-tracked path to increasing our income, we need to take the quickest route. This, of course, means money or, in other words, paid media.
Running ad campaigns is very much facilitated by the fact that those providers that offer these services because it's in their interest to show it to as many people as possible. Not only that, but the people that are being shown these materials need to also be likely to click on them. That's how they get their money.
So, with a bit of help from you in shaping what the ideal audience looks like, the algorithms of Facebook or Google ads will take care of the rest with relative ease. As in, they will get people on your page.
From there, you need to offer a funnel of content resources that will allocate this audience according to what they need. Here are a few examples for that:
- Content (on your platform): for people that may not immediately buy, but are curious to find out more.
- Free resource or newsletter: for those that want to keep in touch, but are not ready to make a purchasing decision just yet.
- Simple offer (freelance service, coaching, digital product): for those who are already convinced and are willing to pay you for what you offer.
You don't need a website — just an easy way to connect with leads. A Notion page + email signup is enough to start. Feel free to use anything that looks good and is convincing and professional enough to sell.
You can run this landing page with a few close people in your life and get some feedback. Then, once the landing page is live, feel free to adjust it according to what the people who access it are doing.
Step 4: Create an Entry-Level Offer
Getting to the "people are buying" point is not necessarily a simple matter. We need to structure our offers so as to match the levels of interest that different people have.
But at the beginning, the only offer you should have on display is a simple and straightforward one. Anything else can happen through negotiation and custom offers, which will also help you learn more about your audience. Here's a simple formula to follow:
Skill + Outcome + Specificity = Offer
Examples:
- "I help creators turn long-form articles into short-form Twitter threads."
- "I help busy professionals build custom Notion dashboards to save 5+ hours a week."
- "I teach new writers how to get their first 1,000 Medium followers."
Any starter offer should be priced somewhere below $100. If this sounds like a price undercut, don't worry. The entire idea is to get your foot in the battlefield. Clients will be willing to pay more after you already have a relation with them. For starters, $100 is good enough.
After you manage to get 3–5 clients, it's time to overdeliver on these projects and really build yourself up as a professional. Overdelivery can mean many things, including extra freelance work, an extra resource along with a product, an additional learning resource, etc.
This is your proof of concept. You're no longer guessing. You're earning. And from earning, you can get that invaluable feedback that will help you build up and scale.
Step 5: Scale + Systems
With proof and momentum, you're ready to shift into consistent revenue mode. At this point, you should evaluate what changes you need to make in order to get this income to match your job income.
It can happen either through volume or quality (or price increases, so to say) and it very much depends on what you are willing to build. At the same time, you can also consider a different income-generating activity from those kept in mind in step 1. If you think that it's feasible to develop that route, you should get started on it, following the same methodology as the above.
Two very important options stand out for this step.
Automate Your Inbound
At this point, you should be:
- Creating regular content
- Getting inquiries or interest
- Building a small audience or email list
Now, you should start creating systems that support your activity:
- Pin your offer in your bio or profile
- Use Calendly or Tally to capture leads
- Set up email sequences to nurture new subscribers
- Create a productized version of your offer (e.g. a 1-hour strategy call, a template pack, or mini-course)
This creates a repeatable income engine that doesn't rely on constant hustle and is replicable for any amount of other side projects.
Raise Your Rates/Stack Income
With real results under your belt, you can now also opt to:
- Raise your freelance rates
- Launch a paid digital product
- Add coaching or group sessions
- Partner with others for referrals or affiliate income
And most importantly? You're no longer guessing. You know what works — and you can scale it to the point at which it becomes reliable and significant for your finances.
What Most People Get Wrong
Let's be clear: most people will scroll past this and think "that sounds nice, but probably not for me."
They'll wait. They'll doubt. They'll dabble. Don't be most people.
What actually separates people who make a living online from those who don't? It's not intelligence, talent, or luck (at least not entirely).
It's focus, consistency, and a willingness to work like hell for 120 days on something that most people won't stick with for two weeks. This path is not easy. But it is clear.
Final Thoughts: Four Months or Four Years?
Here's what I know:
You can spend the next four months scrolling, second-guessing, and staying stuck. Or you can use the next four months to build momentum, skill, income, and freedom. Even if you decide not to give up your day job for this, having options and a professional cushion to fall back on is an immensely underappreciated thing to have.
Both options are hard, but one changes your life.
If you've read this far, you already have what it takes. You're not waiting on motivation. You're waiting on a plan. And now you have one.
Get started, make mistakes, see what you can accomplish in the next 120 days.
If you like this article, consider following me on Medium for more content like this!