The How And Why Of Starting An Online Business

How did you start working online?

Probably the better question is, why did you start working online?

For me, the how was I did a Google search, "How to make Money Online" Yep, I was still a cliché 20 years ago. The why was I didn't want to go back to the UK with my tail between my legs, I loved the Spanish lifestyle (still do) and I wanted to be there for my daughter as she grew up and not be beholden to the tech companies I worked for, and the thought of returning to a corporate job filled me with anxiety.

I think I was down about €700 in the bank, and I went and spent $37 (recurring) on joining Keyword Avalanche and $79 on a tool that generated AdSense sites. All that came from a late-night search of "how to make money online."

That was May 2005. On June the 5th 2005, I made my first online income of 97 cents in AdSense.

I then started building sites for people and writing content, in fact, there was very little I didn't do to generate an income, it didn't matter if it was $5, $50 or $500. I even did some internships, with a total head case, and paid for mentorship.

For months I earned enough to survive and pay the bills, and then after 15 months I was earning up to $200 a day from AdSense and a similar amount from Clickbank and Commission Junction. At every stage I invested as much as I could in my online business, both with time and money. If I had a bit left over at the end of the month, it went towards tools or courses.

I am pretty sure back then that we lived off around €200 a month plus €450 rent for those early months. If Fiverr or Upwork was around back then, I can guarantee you I would have been a top seller. I'd be churning out gigs all day every day, and then when I could afford it I'd outsource most of it and add more gigs.

Investing in yourself, believing in yourself and "understanding the mission" was the only way I could see myself build the lifestyle I wanted. I spent as many hours as I needed to get where I wanted to be. It was worth it in the long run, but boy was it hard work at the beginning.

I went from nothing to standing on stages sharing my ideas in London, Las Vegas, Spain and Portugal, earning every cent for over 20 years from the words I wrote. I'll always be proud of that.

Knowing what you now know about my start in online marketing, imagine what goes through my mind when someone says to me that a $10 product is too expensive, or that they don't have time to complete an exercise I gave them. Frustrating.

What lessons did I learn from my start in the online marketing world?

One thing I learned is that you aren't going to get success handed to you. You need to go out and grab it by the balls and wrestle it until it submits. I also learned that you need to invest in your own success.

Online Marketing is like a jigsaw, no one product or idea will give you all the pieces, but get enough pieces and you'll see the bigger picture.

It's simple, and it works. So go grab it.

No excuses.

I have now added the new module, The Craft to Write To Earn. There are only 5 copies left at the current price before the price goes up.

Originally published at https://thesystematicwriter.substack.com on August 30, 2026.