Mastering the Art of Side Hustle With Three $2k/m Profitable Projects
Hi IH,
Today I would like to share my side projects success story that I started two years ago along with my full-time digital marketing and web design job.
Why it started:
I learned the importance of side income when I lost my job during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, my wife was in the hospital, fighting for her life. I then received a call from the company letting me know that I would no longer be working there. This was the turning point in my life, and I realized the importance of a side hustle and a second income in life.
The Beginning:
After struggling for months, I used my web design skills and build UrbanPLR.com, a platform that offers 85,000 PLR (Private Label Rights) digital products with resell rights.
About UrbanPLR:
Unleashing the Potential of Private Label Rights, UrbanPLR has emerged as the go-to platform for digital marketers, content creators, and business owners seeking high-quality private label rights (PLR) products. With an extensive catalog of over 85,000 digital products, including ebooks, articles, images, videos, planners, ChatGPT prompts and more. By curating a vast collection of PLR content that cannot be found elsewhere, I started capturing the attention of individuals seeking customizable digital products.
The Turning Point:
I was looking for some free ways to market my project, as I didn't have enough money to prompt it. During my research, I learned about lifetime deals and their benefits. I chose AppSumo as my LTD platform and published a deal on AppSumo. UrbanPLR quickly became popular on the platform and generated $40,000 (in profit) in eight months. This was not just my first income from a side hustle but a lifesaver for me. I paid my hospital bills, started investing in Domain flipping business, hired an SEO executive for UrbanPLR and never look back.
Currently, UrbanPLR is ranking for 50+ top PLR keywords, generating 3000+ organic traffic, and consistently makes $2000+ per month from this organic traffic.
Second Side Project:
After decoding the PLR product business, I launched PLRLIME.com. I talk to my existing UrbanPLR members and worked on their feedback and build PLRLIME with premium individual digital products (UrbanPLR is a bulk PLR product site) with resell rights. By providing well-researched and professionally written materials, PLRLIME.com saves time and effort for busy entrepreneurs and enables them to focus on growing their online presence.
Now, PLRLIME is the bigger hit compared to UrbanPLR and generates $75,000 in less than one year. It's still live on AppSumo and got 100+ 5-star reviews.
Third Side Project:
Rankon.Top- the largest hand-curated SEO resource collection for marketers and solo entrepreneurs.
I've been doing SEO for seven years and have placed more than 80 websites on Google's first page. In these 7 years, I received more than 300 requests for SEO services, but the majority of them came from small businesses or solopreneurs who couldn't afford the high costs of hiring an SEO expert.
For them, I build this DIY SEO Toolkit that offers 2000+ free and freemium resources, including keyword research tools, backlink checkers, and website analysis tools. This also provides a curated list of SEO ebooks, guides, and video courses from industry leaders to help website owners learn the ins and outs of SEO.
Website owners can implement these SEO tips into their SEO strategies and achieve better results without breaking the bank.
The project is live on https://stacksocial.com/sales/rankon-top-lifetime-license and got featured on TheNextWeb as well.
I Launched this side project three months back and it makes $7000 since then.
Some more recent side projects:
I launched my Etsy store- https://www.etsy.com/shop/kintdesign
(started selling and got a few 5-start ratings)
Own a portfolio of 50+ premium domains- https://dan.com/domain-seller/pankaj-singh
(Sold Dronex.co and ThemesPond.com for $1200 each)
Get free ebooks and guides here- https://pankajsinghin.gumroad.com
The Key to Success:
Maintaining profitable projects requires a combination of strategic management and unwavering passion. I came to this place in two years by leveraging my skills, knowledge, and market insights to identify underserved niches and provide valuable solutions. I devoted time and effort to consistently deliver high-quality products and services, building a loyal customer base and generating recurring income. Always provide more than the customer has purchased.
My Message:
In today's uncertain world, having a second income source is essential for financial stability. I strongly believe that everyone should explore the opportunity of a digital product business. It offers flexibility, scalability, and the potential for passive income. Embrace the digital era and create a profitable second income stream that brings financial security and freedom. No matter you are building a SaaS or just selling a few templates on Etsy/Gumroad, you must have ONE. If not, start today and unlock the potential of a digital product business.
🔥 Roast My Landing Page
You hard work man! Cheers to you!
I was interested in the part about selling domains. I see that you have tons of them. How do it works for you financially? You mention that you sold 2 of them but wen you sum everything like: buying the domain, maintaining it every year etc. Could you share more details?
Thanks!
Hi @Rafal_Kozlowski,
Thanks for your appreciation.
It was the year 2013 when I learned about domain names while learning web design. And very soon, I realized the power of well-branded domain names.
At that time, I managed to earn my pocket money from web designing services and saving money to buy my personal desktop so I couldn't invest money in domain names and lost some like FranchiseClub .com, clicks .co, javaphp .net, crimemirror .com
and ranking .co
After a year, when I made some money, I started buying some good names and bought the below domains in 2014-15
ThemesPond .com (for $20)
TheHolidayz .com (for $16)
EnglishCourse .com (for $30)
LetsInterview .com (FOR $12)
So, I invested around $100 and bought around 7 domains keeping in mind that I've to pay $60/year for renewal costs as well. And this is how my domain flipping journey started with $100 in March 2014.
On Wed, Mar 2, 2016, 8:26 PM, I got a mail request to buy ThemesPond .com for $600 and after negotiation, I sold it for $1140. And that was my first Income from a Domain name. I took my $200 (that I was invested to buy and renew 7 domains) back into my pocket and invested all the remaining $900 to buy new domains.
From 2016-2018, I bought around 30 domains including - DroneX .co zipira .com, ITinformers .com, EndlessHits .com, and MyGwalior .com all under a $50 price tag.
In 2018, I sold out some domains including- EnglishCourse .com for $1050 and other above-mentioned domains for $300 to $500 each. Now they are selling for $2k to 5k each 😉
Again after doing this sale (approx $3k), I took my invested amount back and bought new domains under the $200 price bracket. Here are some domains I bought between 2018 to 22:
UHOX .com in June 2018 (for $165)
IncPress .com in June 2019 (for $208)
BREAKINGS .com in July 2019 (for $180)
Trial .biz in Aug 2019 (for $12)
FindCabs .com in July 2019 (for $15)
OTTawards .com in Oct 2020 (for $60)
TheWellnessToday .com in Aug 2021 (for $110)
Launch .camp in Oct 2021 (for $168)
Peppermint .media in April 2022 (for $128)
Last year, I sold 2 more domains:
LetsInterview .com and DroneX .co each for $1200 to continue my domain flipping journey alive. currently, I've around 60 domains and their renewal cost is around $1000/year. So now, I'm keeping $1k safe for renewal and buying a new domain from the remaining amount.
This is how I reach 60 domain portfolio and made $7k in sales by investing $100. It's a small figure but I am happy with it as a side hustle.
When it comes to the financial aspect, it's important to consider the initial investment of purchasing the domain and the recurring cost of maintaining it annually. The profitability of domain sales can vary greatly depending on factors such as the domain's market value, the demand for specific keywords or niches, and the negotiating skills of the seller.
Here are some tips I used for myself in domain flipping:
I'm sorry that my response is so lengthy, but I hope that it will be helpful to you and other hustlers.
Wow! Thanks for all the details! I just did quick research and find this site https://brandpa.com/ it seem cool because you can pick a domain name and create a brand around it and sell as a package (that what I like to do in free time anyway 😅)
I would love to give it a try but it really hard that so many "cool" ideas destruct of my main project. I try to fight with it a little and focus on one thing. But another idea to explore later add to my Notes.
Really cool insight!
There are many such sites like- Brandpa, Brandbucket, Squadhelp, Brandiogo (which have cheaper names), Domainify and Brandnic.
These sites allow to sell domains with branding but the disadvantage is that they have very less traffic compared to the leading domain marketplaces like Godaddy, Dan, Flippa and Sedo.
I listed UHOX.com, a 4-digit name on Brandbucket 2 years back but have not received a single response.
Also, they charge 20 to 30% as platform commission which is very high compared to Dan or Sav who charge 5%.
I think if a person is looking for a brand name, they will go for well-branded domains; branding or a logo will not attract much as they could have a different vision from the name. They can easily spend a hundred bucks if they are buying a thousand-dollar name. Also, designing a logo means you are bounding a domain within limits.
It's just my opinion. 😃