5 Things Nobody Warns You About When Building an Online Empire

It’s the type of hardship you must choose to take on

Successful content creators make it look like having online side hustle(s) is easy.

I’m only now enjoying its process so I can talk about my past struggles. I started my online side hustle journey, learning how to become an online coach. But I had a hard time picking my niche because of my multiple interests.

It took about 8 months, $3000 and tons of emotional roller coasters. Since February, things are finally starting to pay off. In less than three months, I grew my Twitter following to 1k, crossed my first $500/month goal last month, and launched my first online service.

Here’s what I wished someone warned me about when building your online empire.

Your Principles Can Get in The Way of Your Side Hustle

I realize since diving into the online world is that I’m a rebel.

I don’t like being told what to do, and I like doing my own thing. Most successful entrepreneurs are telling you to niche down right away. The problem with that was that I had no idea what “industry” I wanted to talk about at the beginning.

Do I talk about the travel industry? Finance? Personal Development? I liked them all, and I wanted to talk about all of them.

Luckily, this platform gave me that freedom to explore all sides of myself. It gave me to publish whatever I wanted in the beginning. I probably could be more successful if I picked one industry and one topic to talk about.

But again, principles. I couldn’t mentally, emotionally, and spiritually do it.

What to do about it:

You have to be clear with your principles. Call them your online guiding principles. So whenever you face a challenge, you get to decide for yourself using these guiding principles.

I created the “is it simple, intentional, and coming from the heart” principle. If the answer was yes to all those questions, I share or do the thing that I’m thinking of. This way, I don’t get confused about what others are telling me to do.

Learning the Online World Potential Will Confuse You

I spent about $2000 on courses and mentorships, and five months before making my first dollar.

For the first two months, I was convinced that making money online was impossible. I knew that people were doing it, but it felt impossible for me. It was something that made me feel like I couldn’t achieve. But thanks to a coach that I hired, I learned about the power of our minds.

And since then, I’ve been doing a lot of inner work, and things started to shift. I was learning how to write, make online friends and build deeper relationships. From observation and talking to other people, I became more aware of what you can do online.

You can create so many products and services from writing alone.

• digital products (e-books, pdf guides, email courses, video courses)
• coaching/mentoring/consulting services
• freelancing, content writing, copywriting
• offering paid newsletters

I couldn’t see what you could NOT do.

But this is a double-edged sword since you can go from not knowing enough to knowing too much. The struggle then becomes choosing intentionally and carefully.

You can learn how to make tons of money online, but are they going to be aligned with your principles? How much time, effort, energy, and capital resources are you willing to learn each skill?

What to do about it:

Get to know yourself, and figure out what you like and don’t like. Based on that, pick the skill you want to learn in your industry. This way, you’re picking the skill, and you’re not letting the skill pick you.

Invest six months to a year purely into learning the skill. Don’t get distracted with monetization too early in the process. It will only distract you.

No Paid Courses or Mentors Will Prepare You to Do the Thing

So I mentioned before that I spent about $3000.

My first online course was to start my coaching business on Instagram. I also hired a life/business coach. Next, I joined a writing community, and I bought Nicolas Cole’s writing course.

And what was my original goal? Become an online entrepreneur.

Paying for online courses and mentorship will help you shorten your learning curve. They will teach you online foundations. But no courses or mentors will tell if what you’re doing is right or wrong. That comes from the experience of doing the thing.

When I started writing, I didn’t know I would like writing. For someone who gets tired of something new quickly, writing seems to be sticking for me. When I’m not writing, I get the itch. I feel like something is missing throughout my day or weeks.

So, I know deep down, writing is a craft I need to constantly work on.

What to do about it:

Whether you’re thinking about your online empire, it’s the same thing.

You can do research, curate resources, and learn more, but these become busywork in the end. The real work is when you do the thing. It’s when you have to tell people that you have a product/service that can help them. It’s when you have content that you need to distribute better to get more eyes on it.

What is it that you have to do to move the needle in building your thing?

You Learn What You Love by Doing, Not Thinking

This is a direct extension of my previous point.

Before I pivoted into pure content creation, I was learning how to become an online coach. I didn’t know it back then, but I really struggled with the process.

I hated the process of creating online content. I was learning about email marketing, copywriting, and all other things that you needed to survive in the online world, but didn’t enjoy a single thing.

I was convinced I wasn’t cut out to become an online entrepreneur. But these days, things have become more natural for me. I launched a small group service for new content creators, and the process was more natural.

I did my market research, learned how to set up payments, and I’m teaching the group with minimal but impactful efforts using email courses.

Even though I thought I hated the process at the beginning, I realized that I didn’t like its application in one area. But it doesn’t mean that I couldn’t apply the process somewhere else and learn to love it.

What you can do about it:

If you’re struggling in an area of your process, it might be your mind and body telling you you’re not ready or you don’t want to do it. So focus on the things you love doing. Use that as a motivator to also start doing small things you don’t love doing.

You Won’t Find What You’re Looking for Online

Most people start their thing online because they seek freedom.

They want to be free of their 9–5, and they want to build their own thing. But deep down, we’re all learning who we are. Entrepreneurship accelerates that process.

You learn that fast by being exposed to so many things about who you are, who you want to be or don’t want to be.

Unfortunately, who you want to be won’t be googleable.

All of the things you need to learn will be from your personal experiences. This is where you have to look inward and get the courage to act as your truest self. This is the true self where you are filled with joy and come from a place of wanting to help others.

I initially wanted an online business because I wanted to travel and not worry about the money. But even deeper than that, I wanted to create an impact even in the smallest way.

What you can do about it:

You can start by strengthening your relationship with yourself. This can look like reflecting, journaling, meditating, or and developing self-compassion and self-love.

When you learn to get to know yourself, the journey will become much more enjoyable and impactful. You will experience negative emotions, and doubts will creep up. But that’s okay because you will have your back no matter what.

Final Thoughts

Mark Mason once said, “choose your hard.”

Every time things become hard, I remember this phrase. Even if you’re struggling, it makes all the experience worth it because it is the “hard” that you choose to embark on.

Building an online empire is hard, but it’s an adventure you must be willing to fail even if nothing comes out of it.

Because on the other side of that hardship is where all your hopes and dreams live.

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