What You’ll Realize Once You Make Your First Dollar Online

Sometimes a dollar is worth more than a dollar

More than 10 years ago, I created several blogs on Google’s Blogger platform. I was fortunate that one of my blogs managed to get some organic search engine traffic. I learned a little SEO but it was just dumb luck.

I always knew people could make money online. I never doubted it. The main issue I had, was that I never knew if I could. Perhaps you’ve had similar feelings.

I signed up for the Adsense program and monetized my free blogs with banner ads. Eventually, I made my first dollar online. It took months for me to make enough to hit the payment threshold. And when I finally made over $100, Google mailed me a physical check!

A lot has changed since those days. My focus shifted to finishing college, getting my master’s degree, and working in the corporate world as an investment analyst.

Reflecting on my first dollar online led to a few realizations. Here are some of the most important ones.

How You Make Your Money Matters

It’s quite an exciting moment when you make your first dollar online. Often, it means far more than a dollar you make through your job. It might even be worth more than $100 made any other way.

But why?

Earning your first dollar online opens up a whole new world of opportunities for you. The possibilities generated through that single dollar is nothing short of magical. It gives you hope and it fuels your dreams of living a different lifestyle.

It’s the ability to make money on your terms. You start realizing that you have the chance to do something you enjoy and potentially make a living from it. How exciting is that?!

Assuming you make enough to cover your necessities, you begin to understand how you make your money matters more than the amount of money itself. Because sometimes a dollar made one way is worth more than another. It’s more meaningful.

It’s Much Harder to Make $1 Online Than It Is in Person

Ah! There’s always a catch, isn’t there?

This was my experience and I don’t think I am alone here. Very few people burst out the gate and immediately start crushing it online. Those people are the exceptions.

Most people bleed for that first dollar online. As much as the initial dollar might have ignited hope, the difficulty in making a significant amount of money can be very discouraging.

There are so many obstacles in your way and it can be overwhelming. Both internal and external factors can impede your success or your ability to even try.

Competition is fierce when you are competing with anyone that has an internet connection. Your ability to manage your emotions, self-doubt, and impatience can be critical to your success.

Despite what some people say, making a living online is hard.

It’s Important to Do Things That Scale

Following on from the last point, it’s important to do things that scale and scale easily. There is a ceiling to how much you can earn as an employee in the corporate world. This is particularly true if you work in a job that doesn’t have a bonus incentive or profit-sharing scheme.

When you do something entrepreneurial online, you’ll discover that certain things are much easier to scale. If you write an ebook or create a YouTube video, there is no limit on how many people can consume it. If you have an investment or trading strategy, it’s unlikely you will have an issue scaling up until you get into very large figures.

There are many ways to make money on the internet so make sure you focus on methods that scale. Forget the clichéd online surveys or smaller earners, because they just aren’t worth your time and effort.

You Learn That It’s Possible to Separate Time, Money, and Value

Many people are stuck in the mindset of an hourly or annual wage. It’s how most people are paid in the labor economy. They trade their time for money. They commit to jobs that require 40–100 hours of work a week to make a living.

It’s normal. There isn’t anything wrong with that necessarily, but it’s a limited way of thinking. It’s possible to make money without a direct trade of time for money.

Some people invest for a living, they put money into companies that end up working for them. They can do whatever they like and the businesses continue to function without them. For YouTubers, they can spend a week making a video that will continue to make money for years to come.

There is a detachment from the usual compensation model we are so used to. It also makes you realize that spending more time on something doesn’t automatically make it better or more valuable. Only making it better, makes it better.

When you are paid per project, by royalties or ad revenue, you start thinking differently to people who are paid hourly. Efficiency and effectiveness take on different meanings. And so does the definition of good enough.

In Conclusion

A short recap:

• How you make your money matters. It’s worth recognizing when making a dollar in one way is worth more than another.
• It’s much harder to earn a dollar online than it is in person.
• It’s important to focus on what scales and scales easily. There are so many ways to make money online, you shouldn’t waste your time on things that don’t scale well.
• Remember it’s possible to separate the relationship between time, money, and value. Spending more time on something doesn’t make it better or more valuable. Making it better makes it better (and thus more valuable).

Perhaps you can relate to some of these and maybe you have a few of your own you’d like to share. Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this piece, you might also like: