There are six online businesses in this video that you can start for almost nothing, and every single one of them has a realistic path to $100,000 per year. Not six figures in theory, not six figures if you already have an audience. Six figures from zero, using tools and platforms that exist right now and cost very little to get started.
Alston walks through each one on screen, shows you the actual websites and tools behind each model, and explains exactly how the money flows. This post covers all six in the same order, so you can take notes, pick the one that fits your situation, and start building this week.
What You’ll Walk Out With
- A plain-language breakdown of all six business models and how each one generates recurring or project-based income
- The real tools behind each model, with startup costs and the 30-day trial options that get you started for $0
- A clear look at why Fiverr and Udemy are starting points only, and where to go once you have proof of results
- How the white-label SaaS model works so your software company looks like your own brand, not a reseller account
- The lead-generation real estate play that earns $1,000 to $5,000 per month per niche site with WordPress and basic SEO
- Why WordPress development clients pay $3,000 or more per five-page site, and how to land them from anywhere in the world
- A decision framework to help you pick the right model based on your time, skills, and starting budget
- Not sure which model fits your background? finder.platformproof.com matches you to the right path in about two minutes
Business #1: Start a Software Company With Go High Level
The first business on the list is one most people have never considered: starting your own software company. Not writing code from scratch. Not hiring a development team. You partner with a platform called Go High Level, which lets you offer marketing software to local businesses for $97 to $197 per month per client on a fully recurring basis.
Go High Level is what the industry calls a white-label SaaS platform. You use their infrastructure, but you brand everything as your own company. So instead of selling Go High Level services, you could be selling “Godbolt Systems” or whatever brand name you choose. Your clients never see the Go High Level name.
The services you can offer through this platform are exactly what small and medium local businesses are already paying for separately: Google and Facebook ads management, Google Business Profile optimization, email marketing, and text message campaigns. Go High Level rolls all of that into one dashboard. You charge your clients for access and management, and you pay Go High Level a platform fee that is significantly lower than what you are collecting.
The math works fast. If you sign up 30 local businesses at $197 per month each, that is $5,910 per month in recurring revenue, and most of them will stay for a long time because switching costs are high. You are managing a system that handles their leads, their email follow-up, their review requests. A business owner does not want to start over with someone new.
Go High Level offers a 14-day free trial on their website. If you reach out to their support team directly, you can often negotiate a 30-day free trial, which gives you enough runway to sign your first one or two clients before paying anything. The agency unlimited account and the $497 per month plan both include white-label capabilities, so if you want to present this as your own branded software product, those are the tiers to look at.
Business #2: Create and Sell Your Own Online Course
The second business is creating and selling an online course. The key word is your own course, hosted on your own platform, not listed on Udemy.
Udemy is worth understanding because it shows you where the ceiling is. Courses on Udemy sell for $10.99 to $24.99 when Udemy runs its constant promotions. Udemy controls pricing, Udemy controls the audience, and you are always competing against hundreds of other courses in the same category. If you are going to do your own marketing to drive people to a course, you are better off sending them to a page where you control the price and keep nearly all the revenue.
Platforms like Kajabi, ClickFunnels, and Teachable let you do exactly that. Kajabi in particular offers a 30-day free trial. You build your course, set your price, and you can charge $197, $497, or $997 for the same content that would sell for $19.99 on Udemy. Teaching someone a skill that helps them get a higher-paying job or start a business is genuinely worth that premium. The price mismatch on Udemy is not a reflection of what the information is worth.
You market the course through YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or any platform where your target audience already spends time. You do not need a large following to start. You need a specific problem your course solves and a clear reason why your approach is the right one. Even 100 sales at $197 is nearly $20,000, and once the course is built, the same video content keeps selling without additional time from you.
Business #3: Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the business of connecting people who have problems with products that solve those problems. You create content that answers a question, includes an affiliate link, and earns a commission when someone buys through that link. You never hold inventory, you never handle shipping, and your startup cost is essentially zero.
Alston uses two examples in the video that are worth looking at closely. The first is a camera lens cleaning kit. If someone types “how to clean your camera lens” into YouTube, they are looking for a solution to a specific problem. A video that answers that question and links to an affiliate kit can earn commissions from the same content for years. The top result for that search at the time of filming had 617,000 views, and the next results had 217,000 and 182,000 views. Those are not small numbers, and a camera cleaning kit is not an exotic product to promote.
The second example is a Ring indoor camera. People searching for “ring indoor camera vs ring stick up” are already in buying mode. They have narrowed their choice to two products and want someone to help them decide. A comparison video or article with affiliate links to both products serves that buyer well and earns commissions regardless of which one they choose.
You can use affiliate marketing with YouTube, a blog, Pinterest, or virtually any platform that allows links. Amazon Associates is the most accessible starting point because almost any physical product can be promoted, but higher-commission programs exist in software, finance, and digital products. The model scales because each piece of content keeps working after you publish it, and you can build hundreds of pieces over time without adding proportionally to your workload.
Business #4: Social Media Manager or Marketer
Every business with an online presence needs someone to manage their social media, but most business owners do not have the time or the skill to do it well. That gap is your opportunity as a social media manager.
As a social media manager, you handle strategy, content planning, posting, and sometimes engagement on behalf of a brand. You build a marketing plan, generate content ideas, and help the client create material that drives leads and sales. You can work with multiple clients simultaneously, which is how the income grows well past the six-figure mark. If you have five clients paying you $2,000 per month each, that is $10,000 per month without any additional effort once the systems are in place. Tools like Crowdfire and Later handle scheduling so you are not logging into every client account manually.
Fiverr is mentioned in the video as a starting point, but Alston is clear about its limitations. At $45 per service on Fiverr, you would need an enormous volume of low-paying clients to reach six figures, and you are competing against providers from lower cost-of-living countries who can undercut on price. Fiverr works as a place to build your first portfolio and collect your first reviews. Once you have proof that your work gets results, you move off the platform and pitch brands and media outlets directly.
TikTok is specifically called out as a channel where you can demonstrate your expertise. If you create content on TikTok that shows businesses how to grow, and then offer your services in that content or your profile, you are reaching the exact audience that would hire you. The content itself becomes your sales pitch. Someone who watches five of your videos showing them how to grow on social media is already pre-sold on your ability before they ever contact you.
Business #5: Digital Real Estate and Lead Generation
Digital real estate is a name for a lead generation model that has been around for years but gained significant attention on TikTok and YouTube around 2021 and 2022. The core idea is simple: you build a website targeting a specific local business niche and location, rank it in search results, collect leads from people who find it, and sell those leads to actual businesses in that space.
The example in the video is a site called something like “Kenosha Plumbers.” You build a simple one-page or two-page WordPress site about plumbing services in Kenosha, Wisconsin. You optimize it for search terms that people actually type when they need a plumber in that area. When someone searches “plumbers near me” or “Kenosha plumber” and finds your site, they fill out a contact form or call a number you control. You then sell that lead to a real plumbing company that wants more customers.
Businesses will pay $1,000 to $5,000 per month for a consistent stream of qualified leads, depending on the industry and average job value. A plumber, roofer, or HVAC company that closes a $5,000 job from one of your leads is happy to pay $500 for that lead. You can run the same model in multiple niches and multiple cities simultaneously, each site earning its own monthly income.
The startup cost is minimal. You need a domain name, basic web hosting, and WordPress, which together cost a few dollars per month. Alston notes that you also need some basic SEO work to rank above other results, but there is nothing technically complex about it. The challenge is patience, because organic search ranking takes time, and persistence to keep building content and backlinks until the site reaches the top of local results.
Business #6: WordPress Developer
The sixth business is being a WordPress developer, which in this context means building five-page business websites and charging $3,000 or more per project. This is not a job that requires a computer science degree or years of coding experience. It requires the ability to install a WordPress theme, customize it with a client’s branding and content, and deliver a professional-looking site that the business owner is proud to show people.
The workflow Alston describes goes like this: You go to ThemeForest.net and browse WordPress themes by industry. If a client is a plumber, you search “plumber” and find a professional theme already designed for that type of business. You purchase the theme, which typically costs $30 to $60, install it in the client’s hosting environment, and swap in their logo, photos, service descriptions, and contact information. The client provides the content. You make it look polished. Three to five days of work, $3,000 charged.
Alston says directly that $3,000 per site is what he charged himself when he was doing this work. It is not a hypothetical number. Half up front before you start, half on delivery is a standard payment structure that protects you and gives the client confidence you will complete the job. Clients who pay half up front have skin in the game and tend to be more responsive when you need content from them.
One of the most overlooked points from this section is geography. Alston worked with clients in New York, Texas, California, and Virginia from Wisconsin. You do not have to limit yourself to local businesses, though local businesses are an easy starting point because you can walk in and have a conversation. Once you have three or four completed sites in your portfolio, you can pitch any business anywhere through cold email, LinkedIn, or social media. Your portfolio is the proof that closes the deal.
Not sure which of these six models fits your current skills and schedule?
Answer a few questions at finder.platformproof.com and get matched to the business model that makes the most sense for where you are right now.
How to Choose the Right Model for You
All six of these businesses can reach six figures, but they are not all the same amount of work or the same type of work. Here is a practical way to narrow down which one belongs on your list.
If You Want Recurring Monthly Income From Day One
The Go High Level SaaS model and the social media manager model both generate recurring monthly payments. You sign a client, provide ongoing service, and collect the same fee every month without having to close another deal. These models are slower to start because you need to pitch and close clients, but once you have 10 to 20 clients, the income is predictable. The SaaS model requires you to learn the Go High Level platform well enough to deliver real results for clients. The social media manager route requires you to keep up with platform changes across whatever channels your clients are on.
If You Want to Build Income That Works While You Sleep
Affiliate marketing and online courses both produce income that is not tied directly to your hours worked. You create the content or the course once, and it keeps generating income. The tradeoff is that it takes longer to see significant money because you are building an audience and ranking content over time. Affiliate marketing can start earning within weeks if you target low-competition search terms. A course can launch faster than affiliate marketing but requires you to build and market a product before seeing any return.
If You Want Project-Based Income With Fast Payouts
WordPress development pays $3,000 or more per project, and a project can be completed in a week or less once you have the client’s content. If you close two clients per month, that is $6,000 in project income. The challenge is the constant need to find new clients unless you turn existing clients into recurring maintenance contracts. Adding a $150 to $300 per month website maintenance package to your offering solves that problem and adds recurring income on top of project fees.
If You Want Passive Leads Income From Search
Digital real estate takes the longest to start producing income because organic SEO rankings do not happen overnight. But once a site ranks, the lead flow is consistent with very little ongoing maintenance. The model scales horizontally: build one site for plumbers in one city, another for roofers in another city, another for HVAC in a third market. Each site earns independently, and you are not trading hours for dollars once the sites are established.
Honest Drawbacks Worth Knowing Before You Start
None of these are get-rich-quick opportunities, and it is worth being honest about the friction points in each model before you commit time and money to one.
With Go High Level and social media management, client acquisition is the hardest part. Both models require consistent outreach and sales ability, especially in the beginning. Until you have case studies and testimonials, you are asking clients to trust you based on a pitch. That can take three to six months of persistent effort before your roster feels stable.
With online courses, the platform fee on Kajabi runs around $149 per month after the trial period. That is manageable once you are making sales, but it is a recurring cost you carry even in slow months. You also need to create the course before you earn anything from it, which means investing time upfront with no guaranteed return until you have marketed it effectively.
With affiliate marketing, you are at the mercy of platform algorithms on YouTube and Google. A content strategy that ranks well today can drop next month if there is a search algorithm update. The way to protect yourself is to diversify across more than one platform and build an email list so your audience is not entirely on someone else’s property.
With WordPress development, scope creep is the most common problem. Clients who paid for a five-page site often ask for additional pages, changes after delivery, or features that were never discussed. Clear contracts with defined deliverables and a structured revision policy protect you. Get the scope in writing before you start any work.
With digital real estate, the investment is mostly time, but time is a real resource. You might spend six months building and optimizing a site before it ranks well enough to generate leads worth selling. During that time, you are working without income from that site. Having multiple sites at different stages of maturity smooths this out over time.
Find Your X
Six models. One of them fits where you are right now better than the others do. The fastest way to figure out which one that is: answer a few questions at finder.platformproof.com. You will get matched to the model that fits your current skills, schedule, and starting budget, and you will know your next step before you close the tab.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need coding experience to start the Go High Level SaaS business?
No. Go High Level is a drag-and-drop platform built for marketing agencies and consultants. You set up client accounts, connect their Google and Facebook ads, configure their email sequences, and manage their dashboards, but none of it requires writing code. There are extensive tutorials on YouTube covering every part of the platform, and Go High Level has its own training resources. If you can use a modern smartphone and a laptop, you can operate this platform.
How long does it take to build a Go High Level agency to $100,000 per year?
At $197 per month per client, you need about 43 clients to reach $100,000 per year. Most people who focus on this model full-time report landing their first client within 30 to 60 days and reaching 10 to 15 clients in the first six months. Getting to 40-plus clients typically takes 12 to 18 months of consistent outreach and client retention. Part-time, plan for 24 months to that level.
What should I charge for an online course, and how do I price it?
Course pricing depends heavily on the outcome your course produces. If your course teaches someone a skill that helps them earn $5,000 more per year, pricing it at $497 is reasonable and leaves the buyer with a clear return on investment. A course that helps someone lose 20 pounds in 90 days commands a higher price than one that teaches basic Microsoft Excel. Look at what successful courses in your niche charge on Kajabi, Teachable, and similar platforms, then price at the middle to high end of that range once you have student testimonials to support it.
Can I do affiliate marketing without showing my face on camera?
Yes. A blog paired with Pinterest or Google search traffic is a fully viable affiliate marketing model that requires no video content at all. You write articles answering specific questions, include affiliate links to relevant products, and earn commissions when readers buy through those links. You can also use screen-capture style YouTube videos that show only your computer screen, which work well for software reviews and tutorials. Many successful affiliate marketers have never appeared on camera.
What is a realistic monthly income for a social media manager just starting out?
A beginner social media manager who starts on Fiverr can realistically earn $500 to $1,500 per month in the first 60 to 90 days while building reviews and a portfolio. After moving off Fiverr and pitching clients directly, charging $1,000 to $2,000 per month per client is common within the first year. With three to five direct clients, monthly income of $3,000 to $10,000 is achievable without building a team, though tools like Later and Crowdfire help you manage the workload efficiently.
Does digital real estate require buying existing websites or starting from scratch?
You can do both. Starting from scratch is the low-cost entry point Alston describes in the video: a few dollars per month for hosting and a domain name, plus your time to build and optimize the site. Buying an existing site that already ranks and generates leads is faster but costs more upfront, often $10,000 to $50,000 or more depending on how much monthly income it is already producing. Beginners typically start from scratch, prove the model in one or two niches, and then consider buying established sites as a way to accelerate growth once they understand how the model works.
How do I find WordPress development clients when I am just getting started?
Local businesses are the easiest starting point. Walk into businesses that have outdated or no websites and show them a before-and-after comparison of a theme you have installed on a demo site. Offering the first site at a discounted rate in exchange for a testimonial and case study is a common tactic that gets momentum going. After your first two or three paid projects, cold email outreach to businesses in specific industries works well. Alston had clients in New York, Texas, California, and Virginia from his home in Wisconsin, so geography is not a limiting factor once your portfolio proves your ability.
Which of these six businesses has the lowest risk of failure for a complete beginner?
Affiliate marketing and WordPress development have the lowest failure risk for different reasons. Affiliate marketing requires no upfront client commitment, no selling, and no service delivery; you create content, publish links, and earn commissions at your own pace. There is no client to disappoint and no deadline to miss. WordPress development is straightforward in execution once you understand the workflow, and the demand for business websites is constant. Both models give you room to learn and adjust without significant financial consequences for early mistakes. The bigger risk with both is underestimating the time required to gain traction, which is why consistency over several months matters more than perfect execution at the start.
Read Next
If one of these six models is calling to you but you are not sure how to fund the early stage, this next post covers the ground-level question first.
How to Make $100 a Day With No Money walks through the fastest paths to your first consistent daily income online, including options that overlap directly with affiliate marketing and service-based businesses like the ones in this video.
Sources
- Alston Godbolt, “Revealed: 6 $100K Year Online Business Ideas 2022 | Make Money Online,” YouTube, youtu.be/PZ5f7wSKOuI
- Go High Level platform overview and pricing: gohighlevel.com
- Kajabi course platform and trial details: kajabi.com
- ThemeForest WordPress themes marketplace: themeforest.net
- Udemy course pricing and category research: udemy.com
- Fiverr social media services overview: fiverr.com
Helping 1 million working adults make their first $3,000 online with the skills they already have. Alston Godbolt, Platform Proof.