Are you ready to replace your salary with an online business?

You've heard the phrase "it takes money to make money", I'm sure.

That thought scares away so many people from starting a business.

It seems like staying in a conventional job makes sense, because of the security, and (usually) benefits of doing so.

And to a degree that's true.

But at what cost?

The majority of your life is controlled by "the boss". Even when you're not on the clock, you're thinking about it, driving to it, driving from it, worrying about it, and more.

And is there security?

Now with A.I. taking away more and more jobs, or at least threatening to, how safe is your position, really?

Maybe you've already thought this out. Maybe you already have your own business, or have started one.

Let's go back to how I started this thought. It takes money to make money.

How much money?

Some of the essentials are an email autoresponder account like Aweber or Getresponse, so that you can capture the names and email addresses and other contact information from those who buy from you or are interested in you.

For most, that’s truly essential.

A hosting account so that you can have your own virtual real estate on the Internet.

A domain name or two or more.

Maybe some outside services, for example a shopping cart or funnel creator, once you really get established. But you can live without them for a while until you can invest out of profits, not out of savings.

You might buy some WordPress themes or plugins, I suppose, to make your web pages look more professional.

Maybe you decide you really need to use the pro version of ChatGPT, which is $20/month.

I use Amazon S3 for storing all my downloadable files for my membership sites, and I have a LOT of files, using a LOT of space, taking a LOT of bandwidth, so that my buyers and members have easy and quick access to my files, and not a load on my server host. That costs me a grand total of around $11/month.

But you can do without that at first.

So maybe in the range of $100/month, give or take.

And you have a business.

You could work a shift at a McDonald’s once a month to cover those expenses if you really can't afford $100/month. At least in the U.S.

Or you could trim some non-essentials from your regular budget. How many streaming services do you have? I have some that I don't need myself. Yes, they're easier to sign up for than to cancel.

Postpone upgrading to the newest smartphone and that might pay for your business expenses.

I'm not preaching or suggesting, just saying that if you want a business and think you can't afford it, you can find a way, I'm sure.

Anyway, yes... people do tend to spend a lot more on top of those essentials once they decide they have a business, and a lot of time what they're paying for are what I call a BSO (bright shiny object) that distracts one from a path to an established business.

Yes, I buy BSOs myself. They're fun. They give me ideas. A lot of people who buy from me are buying a BSO for them that they won't use. Not that I encourage those buyers, but it's their choice.

I try to create products that for some people are truly life-changing or at least very profit-creating, but yes, for others, they might be a BSO if they don’t take immediate action to make back their investment and more.

If you're on a budget, choose not to be distracted. Choose not to buy what you don't need now or soon.

Then again...

Not everyone should have an online business.

The world needs those in regular jobs. Where would we be without doctors and nurses and lawyers and mechanics and cashiers at the stores we go to for groceries and donuts and gasoline?

We need construction workers and police and fire fighters and government workers and accountants and on and on and on.

If that's what you do, well... that's great, we need you, but if you do want to stop doing that, I guess one less person doing what you do won't cause the planet to shift on its axis.

So, I'm rambling again, but back to the online business idea. If you have one and want to expand on it, or if you don't have one yet that's paying the rent or mortgage and need one...

I come back to the idea of small steady recurring income streams that I wrote about in 5 Bucks a Day, that you've received a copy of if you're a subscriber to this newsletter. If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, and become one, look in the archives.

Most of the ideas that I encouraged you to brainstorm in that book don't require anything as far as financial investment. Just some time investment at first, and less of that as time goes on.

That's ideal.

Because just like a job that consumes your entire day and maybe your life, online income streams can end at any time.

So the more you have, the more secure you are.

With a job, it's difficult to have more than one main job, and it's difficult to increase the income much, unless you're paid a commission based on performance.

With income streams you can have dozens, and scale up the income from each as time goes on.

Think about it.

If you haven't yet fully replaced your current salary from what your online business brings you as far as income, and would like to, then I have the ideal gift for you if you're a paid subscriber to this newsletter.

It's called "Replace Your Salary with Your Online Business" and was written by one of my favorite writers and mentors, Tony Shepherd.

It will open your eyes and might just change your life.

Get it here: