Lets say you have nothing. Not a single dollar in your pocket other than a computer, Internet connection and some free time. How do you create and grow something from there? Many people are now working from home and building legitimate businesses. In this guide we will be going through all the steps that you need to take to start building your sustainable income in a practical sense.

There are two primary ways you can start this journey either by creating a product and promoting it or by selling a service. Creating a product generally requires investment to grow. We will be going the service route which means we will be selling our skills and time for a fee.

Step 0 - Plan everything to the end

If you have a little bit of time left, how about start writing your own bucket list

The most important part on this journey is going to be your mindset. This isn't going to be easy, but if you can be a perfectionist who sticks to deadlines that you set for yourself its going to be a piece of cake. Even if that's not the case as long as you stick to the path that you find you will make it eventually.

You might have heard certain sayings that always go something along the lines of, "Chase your dreams, follow your passions" but unfortunately passions don't pay you the basic principle of supply and demand does. More so if you're starting with nothing. We have to be strategic.

Take some time to analyze the market see which services are in demand something that you can either learn quickly or resell at a markup.

Our goal is to create a client base and reputation to retain these clients and create something that is sustainable. We will be using social media, freelancing websites, forums and competitor reverse engineering to fetch clients.

Step 1 - Setting up everything

We're going to start with freelancing, online work and listing websites and create a profile on all of the ones that get significant visitors. Here ill list some of them but you could find more. Use similarweb to find out approximately how much traffic does the site get and add any that gets more than 50,000 visitors a month to your list.

  • Fiverr - Average monthly visitors 62,000,000.
    Global rank 549.
  • SEOClerks - Average monthly visitors 300,000.
    Global rank 141,867.
  • Legiit - Average monthly visitors 245,000.
    Global rank 177,254.
  • PeoplePerHour - Average monthly visitors 2,200,000.
    Global rank 22,947.
  • FiveSquid - Average monthly visitors 175,000.
    Global rank 188,511.

Next you're going to set up all your social media accounts. This includes Facebook (personal account is fine), Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

You may not use all of them to promote your services but it is necessary to follow this step so you know which social media works well for you.

Step 2 - Listing your services

Now that you're done setting up your profiles on all the platforms in the previous set its time to start listing your services. First we will begin by analyzing the market. Visit the sites you've made an account on and start looking at which services people are buying and see if you can replicate or resell.

You need to also make sure the service that you choose to promote isn't something that will vanish after the next five years. It has to be something that will be there for the long run. An example of such a service would be content writing or graphics design.

Once you find your niche its time to dive in and find a supplier. This part is necessary if you plan reselling services. Make sure that the supplier for your niche charges anywhere from $1-10 so you can markup the prices.

Always check reviews and review the supplier by letting them know you can provide steady orders and build a connection. By simply being friendly with your supplier you will save yourself a lot of hassles.

Finally list your services on the profiles you've set up. Make sure to price the services logically. You could run split tests to figure out what works the best for you.

Step 3 - Managing Social Media Accounts

  • Twitter and Instagram - List your best services in the bio links find creative ways to promote your services. Post informative content that your potential clients may like and start following people who are most likely going to need your services.
    TIP: You can find the social media accounts of your competitors and follow their followers to notify a warmed up client base.
  • Facebook: Join groups where your potential clients are likely to be and give the best advice you can and lightly mention your services in comments never overdo it.
  • YouTube: Visit videos where your potential clients are likely to be and offer your services indirectly usually after giving advice or interesting data point try to never seem desperate because that's usually what triggers the spam filters.

Step 4 - Create your personal brand and website

Before you get to this stage make sure you perfect steps 2 and 3 and get some sort of a customer base at which point you can not only afford to make but to grow your own website and brand. Try to become a authority in your niche. Create blog posts, videos, infographics and maintain client satisfaction.

Concluding thoughts

Once you have a decent sized client base ask existing customers if they need any other services and see if you can satisfy the requirements. Persist and know your value and change what you charge for your services accordingly. Know when is the right time to grow and expand. It won't be easy you may fail multiple times but its going to be worth it in the end.