Ever wonder how the big guys make their money? There really is a method to the madness, and it’s not a very glamorous lifestyle when you’re on the build-up. But these 3 methods WORK when your goal is how to make $10k/month.

Especially useful for those of you who are just starting out, these methods should be taken to heart. I use them, even to this day, and so does almost every other successful business owner making 7, 8, or 9 figures. This works for side hustles and careers, alike, so pay attention.

This post is part of my podcast, so if you’re interested in watching that click here, or you can listen to it here.

1. Get Feedback

Simple, right? Ask yourself this: how many times have I asked or gotten feedback from my customers?

I’m willing to be the answer is less than 5 times. The thing is that you need feedback to grow. As a beginner, you are not an expert in your field, though you might have expertise. And what you need is someone to tell you whether that expertise is coming off correctly or if it could use some improvement.

Just because you like doing something doesn’t mean you’re good at it.

“I know I’m good at writing and speaking, so I’ll start blogging and doing webinars.”

“I love organizing things, so I’ll work as a project manager.”

“I’m great at analyzing data, so I’ll become an analyst.”

It’s easy to assume that just because you like doing something, you’re good at it. But that’s rarely the case.

Your friends and family might be good enough at giving honest feedback. But if you want to get ahead in your career path, you need more than that. You need feedback from people who are actually paying for what you’re selling.

When someone doesn’t hire you again, that’s feedback. It doesn’t always have to be direct, vocal feedback. You need to read into your clients’ actions.

If you really want to make what you like doing into a career, then you need to make sure you become good at it—good enough to make $10k a month.

Ask for feedback from clients about your work.

I rarely get asked for feedback from the freelancers I work with, and that’s a shame!

The road goes both ways. If you’re someone I want to work with, then I’ll provide feedback for you to improve your skill so it better meets my needs. But you also should go to your clients and ask for feedback about how you can improve.

It happens all the time that you’re quick to bounce over to the next client, or that client is quick to jump over to the next worker. But that’s not how you’re going to make $10k/month. You need the feedback; you need to ask for it if it’s not readily available.

Find your niche/talent.

Here’s how finding a niche has helped me make my first $10k/month:

In the beginning of my career, I worked at Pornhub securing payment systems. When I decided to leave and start DPN, I had the idea to sell low-risk merchant accounts, instead.

No. Bad idea. High-risk merchant accounts were my strength; they’re what I know; they’re what I have experience in. For 15 months, I was really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Then I readjusted back into high-risk territory and within 6 months I got my first big customer.

Because of the poor feedback I got, whether in writing, verbal, or through actions, and trying to perform outside my niche, my initial business model didn’t work. So I adjusted and here I am today.

2. Work for Free

Sounds counterproductive, right? Don’t think of it like that.

The least a hirer will do is provide you feedback, and that’s invaluable when just starting out.

But working for free also leads to scoring your first paying client as well as investment in yourself and an opportunity to grow.

Get experience to grow your skill.

If you’re just starting out, you may not have the skills or experience necessary to secure paid work right away. If this is the case, then it makes sense to take on pro bono projects that allow you to gain experience and develop your skillset.

Not only will these projects help you build your portfolio, but they will also give you valuable real-world experience that will make you better at your job.

Sometimes, the experience will require some amount of money from your personal finances, but it will pay off in the end.

Build relationships that transform to paid clients.

If you’re new in your industry, this is especially important because it will help you build relationships with potential clients. When they see how hard you work and the results you can deliver, they’ll be much more comfortable hiring you as a paid contractor.

You can also expect referrals from these relationships. So if business doesn’t come from them directly, it can still come indirectly. For a lot of people, this is the most common path.

When I first branched out, I met an interesting person at a conference and offered to do everything payments-related (merchant account, checkout flow, etc.) for free.

I don’t mean that it was my full-time job like an unpaid intern, but I did dedicate several hours per week helping this person.

I knew they’d hire me eventually, and lo and behold they did. I made $50k that year on just this one prospect, starting out working with them for free.

To this day, I carry this concept with me. I provide free information to those that ask me questions, the blog, the podcast.

3. Be Consistent

Consistency is such an annoying, unsexy tip to give. But it is true. And, for me, consistency doesn’t mean what you might think it means.

Consistency isn’t just working everyday.

Here’s an FAQ for the books: “I work everyday, so doesn’t that make me consistent?” Well, yeah, but is that taking you as far as you want to go?

You do have to work every day, but you also need to dedicate time consistently to portions of your e-commerce business.

Every single day, I spend 2 or 3 hours going over my top paying clients. These are the people that bring in the most money for me, so I want to make sure I’m providing everything I can at the highest level. That’s consistency. This is what’s letting me make more than $10k/month per client.

Consistency demonstrates commitment and reliability.

People want to work with people who follow through and do what they say they’ll do. Consistent action is the best way to show that someone can trust your word and count on you to deliver results over time.

It builds the momentum you need to turn something into a habit. And that habit becomes a lifestyle. And that lifestyle comes with serious cash flow opportunities for your income stream so you can live a life of financial freedom (even if you’re aiming for extra money on the side).

Consistency is also a numbers game. The more consistently you show up, the more opportunities for success you’ll create. That’s just math. Even if each opportunity isn’t huge on its own, if you have enough of them, they add up to something big.

Stay focused on your path.

Or even your short-term goal. Consistent focus is a great way to really home in on one aspect of your newfound small business or e-commerce store.

Focus this month on social media management and really nail the backend of Facebook when it comes to understanding Facebook ads or posting or getting involved in the communities and groups. It’ll become a habit that helps boost your business up to $10k a month in no time.

Next month, get your blog sorted. Make sure you use solid SEO practices (whether you’re a freelance writer or hiring bloggers to do it for you). That means researching everything that overlaps between you and copywriting so you can create the habit—the know-how to get your own website in the ranks.

Even if it’s a side gig, you need to make it your one and only career for a short while. Affiliate marketing success doesn’t happen overnight. Setting up a YouTube channel that converts doesn’t happen overnight. Starting an online store with a cult following doesn’t happen overnight. You need to dedicate time and hard work to it, consistently. But you will rake in a lot of money online once you get the hang of it all.

These 3 Things Are All You Need to Get Started on Making $10k a Month Online

Be consistent, offer work to worthy (potential) clients, and ask for feedback. It’s simple and it works.

Whether you want to create a self-sustaining, part-time passive income side hustle selling courses on Skillshare, or a full-fledged six-figure online business as an entrepreneur in freelance writing, these tips will help you make $10k in a single month. If you put in the work upfront, you’ll get the rewards you desire (and a bit of extra cash, too).

Now you need a credit card payment processor and a merchant account to process that $10k a month income goal, because we all know Stripe’s not up for the challenge.

Speak with me and my team about opening up a merchant account for your brimming business.