The Real Truth About Making Money Online 2025

When people hear “making money online,” they instantly jump to the end goal—the luxury cars, the beautiful homes, the dreamy travels

make money

Table of Content

5 Steps to Help You Start Making Money Online (Based on Real Experience)

  1. Final Thoughts on How to Start a Side Hustle Online
  2. FAQ

Introduction

When people hear “making money online,” they instantly jump to the end goal—the luxury cars, the beautiful homes, the dreamy travels. It’s as if all you need to do is click a button, and suddenly you find yourself sipping a drink by the beach.

Actually… Yes, you can achieve all that.
But before you go chasing dreams, let me hit you with something real:

Making money online is not simple.
It’s possible, even very possible. However, achieving this requires more than just watching a few YouTube videos or purchasing a trendy course.

You need desire.
You need commitment.
You need to keep learning—and more importantly, you need to keep doing.

This is a harsh reality.
Nothing will change if you simply sit there, consuming tutorials and reading blogs without taking any action. Trust me, I’ve been there.

There will be failure. There will be burnout. There will be days you feel like giving up and crying because that website is still not working, your audience isn’t growing, and the article is still not finished.

I’ve lived through that. Heck, I still do it sometimes.

But that’s the process. Nobody achieves success overnight.

make money

5 Steps to Help You Start Making Money Online (Based on Real Experience)

Many people get sucked into the hype of overnight success. But according to Forbes, building sustainable income online takes time, planning, and consistency.

From my own (ongoing) journey to making money online, here are five real, unfiltered steps that helped me move forward—and not stay stuck:

1. Avoid the Chaos

  • Great work; you can’t grow in a mess. By “mess,” I mean any kind of chaos, including your environment, workspace, and thoughts.
  • Is your desk cluttered? Is your mind bouncing between 20 different ideas?
  • Clear it out. Clean it up.
  • You don’t need perfection. You just need enough clarity to focus.

2. Watch Out for Distractions—Even the Subtle Ones

  • It’s not just social media or TV that throws you off. Sometimes, your own indecision can be a distraction.
  • One day you want to be a trader, the next a designer, and the next a content creator. That kind of indecision prevents you from achieving your goal of making money doing what you actually love.
  • Take the time to choose what you really want to do. Pick a lane. Focus.
  • The clearer your direction, the faster you’ll move.
  • There’s a sea of content out there—videos, channels, paid courses, free PDFs. Not all of it is worth your time.
  • If a source doesn’t actually help you learn or take action, ditch it. I don’t care how many subscribers a source has or how many millions of views it receives.
  • Big numbers don’t always mean big value.
  • Even if you paid for it, walk away if it’s not helping. Your time is worth more than the money you have already spent—especially if your goal is to make money online and not waste it.

4. Write Stuff Down. Then Practice.

  • When I first began, I often wondered, “Do I really need a notebook?” Seems extra.”
  • Yes. You do.
  • You’re dealing with tons of information, especially in the online world. Your brain can’t retain all the information. Writing things down helps you organize your learning, track your progress, and notice patterns.
  • And once you start practicing what you learn, that’s when it all really clicks.
  • Yes, you’ll get stuck.
  • Yes, you’ll feel lost sometimes.
  • But that’s how you grow.
  • By writing and doing—not just watching. That’s how you can begin to earn real money.

5. Stay Persistent—Even If It’s Just 30 Minutes a Day

  • Excuses come easy, but real progress takes effort.
  • The good news? If you can dedicate just 30 minutes a day, you can start building a powerful habit.
  • You don’t need to grind for 12 hours straight. You don’t need a flawless schedule. You just need to show up and put in the work, no matter if it’s in the morning, afternoon, or even late at night. Take action every single day.
  • Consistency always beats intensity in the long run, and that’s the secret to building habits and earning money over time.
  • If you want a framework to make this even easier, the book Atomic Habits by James Clear offers practical strategies to help you stay consistent and make progress, one day at a time.

Final Thoughts on How to Start a Side Hustle Online

Yes—you absolutely can.

But no, it’s not a shortcut or a get-rich-quick scheme.

To make money online, you need:

  • Focus
  • Action
  • Patience
  • Resilience

Forget perfection. Embrace progress.

You will face self-doubt.
You will want to quit.

But if you commit to doing the work others don’t—you’ll win.

In this short post, I’ve shared a bit of my own experience—not as a guru, but as someone walking the path. My hope is that it helps you avoid some of the mistakes I made (even though, let’s be honest, mistakes are part of the journey—they teach us the most).

I’m still walking this path with you.
But I’ve seen enough to know: if you stay consistent, your future self will thank you.

So let’s get to work. The online world is waiting.

FAQ

Is there one “best” online business model for making money?

No single model fits everyone. Find what plays to your strengths, fits your interests, and aligns with your lifestyle. Then, commit to learning and adapting.

How do people really make money with games online?

Primarily by streaming, content creation, esports, and “play-to-earn” games—almost always by building skills and/or an audience, not by simply logging in and collecting cash.

What keeps most people from making money online?

Fear, lack of focus, chasing too many trends, giving up too soon, and failing to take consistent action