Introduction

If you don't want to be like everyone else—broke, stressed, and stuck in a never-ending cycle—you need to focus on one thing: making your first $10,000. When I was 18, I had no money and no qualifications, but I did have big ambitions. Instead of worrying about making millions, I set myself the smaller, more achievable goal of making $10,000. Now, as a self-made millionaire, I can tell you that the first $10,000 was the hardest to make, but once I hit it, everything changed. It wasn’t just about the money; it was about proving to myself that making money is a skill, not luck. Once I figured out how to make $10,000 once, I knew I could do it again and again—and eventually scale it into real wealth.

So, if I had to start from zero and make that first $10,000 all over again, this is exactly how I’d do it—in three steps.

Step 1: Choose the Right Side Hustle

Most people make this way harder than it needs to be. They jump into crypto because their friend made money from it, or they try day trading because some guru promised it would make them rich. The problem is, both these methods require huge upfront cash reserves and crazy luck. These aren’t side hustles, and they should never be seen as your main source of income. Instead, think of them as tools to multiply your money. When you’re just starting out, you need something that requires a small amount of money to begin with and constantly puts cash in your pocket every day. When you strip away all the noise, there are only really four options. I’ve tried all of these, and take it from me, this choice is crucial because some options offer higher scalability, while others are more limited. In the same way, some generate quick cash, while others take more time to make money.

Option 1: Selling In-Person Services

Look, you’ve probably heard of these before, but I’m talking about personal training, delivery, driving, dog walking, nail designing, barbering, videography, and so many more. Although these services sound so common and basic, they’re actually one of the fastest ways to make money. Don’t overlook them, as they give you a way to get paid immediately. It’s also pretty cheap to get started. All you need is some skills and maybe a few tools, which means you can get up and running very quickly. If you choose to do this, then please don’t mess around trying to build a website, run ads, or make a logo. Just get out there, find some customers in your local area, deliver the service, and get paid.

I even did this when I was in my teens. I used to walk around rich neighborhoods and offer to wash people’s cars. I’d look out for tidy gardens but dirty vehicles. Now, this might sound strange, but I was betting that if they were obsessed with keeping their garden tidy, they’d also want a nice, shiny car on their driveway to impress their neighbors. Because these kinds of services are limited by your local area, it meant my demand was pretty up and down. Some months were busy, and others, I struggled to make anything. When I was busy, I was only able to work with one person at a time, which kept how much I could make in a day. So, in-person services are great to get started with, but you can quickly feel like they’re limiting your potential.

Option 2: Selling Local Products

This is selling things like home-baked goods, handmade items, artwork, fresh produce, and much more. This can be a great way to make money, but it’s not something that happens overnight. Unlike services where you get paid as soon as the job’s done, selling local products takes time. I gave this a go, using some of the profits from my car-washing business. I bought some cheap model airplane parts, spent some time building each one up, and then sold them to people at the RC Flying Club, which I went to on the weekends. However, I quickly realized I was putting a lot of work in for very little money. Most of my earnings were being eaten up by the cost of materials, and on top of that, my customer base was very limited, as there weren’t enough people willing to pay what I needed to make it worth my time. So, selling local products can be fun, and it’s definitely worth it if you want to make some money from something you love.

Option 3: Selling Global Products

This includes starting a clothing brand, drop shipping, sneaker reselling, print on demand, and so much more. Unlike in-person services or local products, going global means you have access to a much larger customer base, which gives you more opportunities to make money. You’re not limited to just the people in your town or city—anyone, anywhere, can buy from you. I was so excited about launching my own global products that I even flew all the way to China to partner with a manufacturer to produce my model airplane designs and sell them worldwide. Of course, you don’t have to do this if you choose to go down the drop shipping or print-on-demand routes. However, this wasn’t really an option when I started. If I’m honest, things started off pretty slowly for me because I had to keep reinvesting my profits back into new products to sell. Every sale required more investment. Once I sold 10 items, I then needed to buy 20 more to keep up. Instead of pocketing the profits, my money kept getting trapped in this endless cycle of restocking. Ultimately, was it worth it? 100%. However, you should only do this if you have the patience to wait one to three months for everything to start kicking off. So, when this is up and running, it is probably the most passive, laziest way to make money that actually works.

Option 4: Selling Online Services

This option wasn’t actually possible for me when I was younger, but this is such an advantage nowadays. There are so many different online services you can offer, including copywriting, video editing, thumbnail design, running ads, social media management—the list goes on. Selling online services actually combines the two biggest benefits from in-person services and global products. This is because you get the global reach but the profit margins of a service. With products, you might make 20-30% margins that need to be reinvested. With services, you’re looking at 70-80% margins that go straight into your pocket. Plus, you can start making money from day one.

Look, all of these are fantastic ways to make $10,000 as a student, especially these last two options. However, if I wanted to start making money as fast as possible, then I’d go with option four: selling online services.

Step 2: Master the Skill Pyramid

Now, we need to figure out exactly what online service to offer. Start by asking yourself three questions:

• What are you really good at?
• What do you enjoy learning about?
• What problems do businesses consistently struggle with?
• 
  
  
  
  

The sweet spot is where your answers overlap. Most people get stuck at this stage, as they spend months or even years trying to perfect their skill before offering it to anyone. That is totally backward. You need to start getting real-world experience as quickly as possible. So, start by setting your prices under the normal market rate. Your main aim here is to earn and learn at the same time.

Now, let’s take this one step further. This is the skill pyramid, made up of four elements that, when mastered together, transform a high-income skill into a $10,000 income. Master one, and you’ll stay stuck at the bottom, working hard but never breaking through.

Element 1: Positioning

Not all online services are equal. The real money is in offering to help businesses make more money. That’s because businesses think about money differently than individuals. When a business is making $50,000 a month, spending $2,000 to solve a problem isn’t a big deal—as long as it helps them make more money. And take it from me, they have a lot of these problems. They need more customers, better systems, to stand out from their competition, and to convert more leads into sales. These problems never go away, and businesses are always willing to pay to solve them.

On top of this, some industries simply have more money to spend than others. If you think about how you can reposition yourself, you’ll start making real money faster. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

• Instead of being a video editor for small YouTubers, you could edit videos for an entrepreneur who sells a product.
• If you make random thumbnails for clients, you could instead aim to become the main designer for an established creator.
• If you’re a copywriter, don’t write cheap articles. Instead, focus on optimizing landing pages.
• 
  
  
  
  

This isn’t about learning more skills; it’s about putting yourself where the money’s being made.

Element 2: Leverage

You’ll never make $10,000 without leveraging value over time. Businesses don’t pay for effort; they pay for results. If you stop charging for the hours you work and instead charge for the return on investment you provide, you’ll instantly make more money. Let’s say you choose to run Facebook ads. If you charge per hour, you’re stuck with a fixed rate, and the client will always want to keep your hours low. But if you charge based on the money you bring in for the business, suddenly they’re not thinking about cost—they’re thinking about profit. And when they see that your work is directly making them money, they’ll happily pay you more for it.

The same goes for if you decide to offer social media management. If you just schedule posts and reply to comments, you’re replaceable. But if you can prove that your strategy is bringing in more engagement, more leads, and more sales, you become a valuable asset, not just an expense. Trust me, the moment you shift your pitch from what you do to what they gain, you’ll find a lot of people are suddenly willing to pay a lot more.

Element 3: Reach

One of the biggest mistakes people make when starting out is thinking they always have to chase clients. But that’s not how the game should be played. Right from the start, you need to be thinking about how to make clients come to you. Recently, I was looking for a graphic designer for a specific task—making movie-style posters. So, the first thing I did was look on TikTok for people who made these kinds of designs, and one person dominated the search results. I reached out to him and asked him for his prices. He told me he was just posting some of his designs for fun on TikTok—he wasn’t even doing it as a side hustle. So, I politely declined. However, his videos kept growing in popularity, and his inbox was flooded with DMs asking to work with him. A few weeks later, he reached back out to me, asking how to start getting paid. I helped him set up a proper business, and now he works for me and many other clients.

This just goes to show that you should always be putting your work out there online, even if you’re just starting out or just doing something because you enjoy it. You never know what opportunities might come from it. So, if you edit videos, show before-and-after clips to highlight how much better your edits make the content. If you design thumbnails, explain why your design got more clicks. And if you’re learning social media, document how you’re growing an account from scratch.

Element 4: Automation

95% of people who try to start a side hustle or business fail before they even really get going. Here’s why: after working with countless copywriters, thumbnail designers, web developers, and video editors, I can tell you that 95% of them promise to deliver on time, then completely miss their deadlines. The thing that will make you stand out the most isn’t talent or charisma—it’s reliability. Overlooking this is the biggest mistake young people make when starting out. The people I’ve ended up paying thousands to aren’t always the best at what they do, but they’re the most organized. They never miss deadlines, they always communicate clearly, and they make working with them effortless.

So, take it from me: being good at what you do is one thing, but being reliable is what gets you paid again and again. So, how do you do this? Well, the most successful people I know don’t rely on memory or messy notes. They use automation. And if you’re thinking about making money online, you need something to help you keep track of everything. That’s why I recommend using a CRM system like Odoo CRM. It helps you remember who you talked to, what they wanted, and what you need to do next. Instead of scrolling through emails or DMs trying to find what the client said, everything is in one place. You can visualize all your opportunities with this call board, which helps you see the expected revenue at each stage so you know where to focus your efforts. You can also use it to schedule calls and meetings effortlessly. Plus, with your emails, notes, and files all in one place, staying organized is very easy. You can use it to easily track your clients and projects, so you never miss a deadline. You can set reminders to follow up with people, so you always look professional. At the end of the day, clients don’t just want someone skilled—they want someone they can count on.

As I was planning on talking about them anyway, I reached out to Odoo to see if they wanted to sponsor this portion of the video, and they agreed. They also offer your first application completely free, with unlimited support and hosting. So, if that interests you, I’ll drop a link in the description.

Step 3: Invest for Long-Term Wealth

I don’t care how much money you make—until you see at least $1 million in your bank, you shouldn’t be wasting it on supercars, designer clothes, or nights out. None of it matters unless you can turn your income into long-term wealth. The rich see their income as something to spend, whereas the wealthy use it to make more money. So, how do you do this? Well, you need to start investing.

In front of me, I’ve got a risk scale, and I’m going to walk you through the four key areas where I put my money, starting from the safest investments all the way up to the highest-risk plays. Remember, I’m not a financial advisor—I’m just sharing what’s worked for me over the years.

Investment 1: High-Interest Savings Account

They call it a high-interest savings account, but honestly, at 3%, I have no idea how they get away with that name. Now, sure, you can find better rates if you’re willing to lock your money away for a set period or agree to strict deposit limits each month. But I don’t want my savings held hostage. I want access to my money when I need it—not stuck behind some rule that says I can only withdraw on the first Tuesday of every leap year.

And I know what some of you are thinking: "This isn’t really investing. This is just holding cash.” And yeah, you’ve got a point. But having some cash on the sidelines means you’re not forced to sell investments at the wrong time. Imagine the market crashes, and you suddenly need money for an emergency. If you don’t have cash saved up, you’ll have no choice but to sell stocks at a loss—and that’s the fastest way to lock in