I’m Nick. I love adventure; to explore the world, sail the seas, live sustainably, and make a positive impact. As a neurodivergent, technophobic parent, I once believed that a job loosely aligned with these ideals was the best I could hope for. As such, I struggled to live up to my values or give my family the life they deserved.
But I discovered Business happens online now. Starting a business no longer requires massive upfront investments, or even much tech skill. You’re not stuck being an employee, letting others dictate your schedule, income, and priorities. Today, anyone can start an online business. The key? Investing the time to understand how it works and, more importantly, how to make it work for you.
If you want to break free, explore the world, and make a difference for others; This article shares our journey, challenges what you believe is possible for your family, and points you toward the first steps to a new way of life.
Coming up:
- Outdoor Instructors to Online Business Owners – Our Unexpected Journey
- What even is Online Business?
- How Does (our) Online Business Work?- Alittelmoreoutdoor.com
- How long does it take and how much can you earn?
- Our top tips
- The Good the Bad and the Ugly of online business (Why do people fail?)
- Conclusion
- How to get started
Outdoor Instructors to Online Business Owners – Our Unexpected Journey
Outdoor jobs: Adventure and fun/ Low Pay, low opportunity:
Keri and I met through a shared desire for a life of adventure. Working as outdoor instructors to avoid “death by desk job.” Outdoor instructing was fun for a while, but couldn’t provide a stable income and eventually became repetitive. We decided that getting our Commercial Yachtmasters qualification would allow us to work on private yachts earn money and travel until we could save for our own activity centre.
Our Outdoor Centre (brick and mortar business): Alignment purpose / huge time commitment:
We built our activity centre with funding rather than our savings (savings would have taken 40 years). It was a labour of love that required 80-hour weeks to keep running let alone make a profit. Although it offered a lifestyle we loved, it still became repetitive. Much of our time was spent cleaning, doing office work, and managing staff and guests. It kept us tied to one location and couldn’t provide the time and financial freedom needed to raise a family and explore the world.
Management roles: Well-paid work/ Low Fulfillment and Freedom:
When we were expecting our first child, we left the activity centre for management roles in other people’s businesses, hoping for higher income and more time as a family. I also hoped working with more people would allow me to combine my skills with others and have a bigger impact. In reality, it brought more bureaucracy and responsibility for things I had little power or autonomy to change. My family’s security was in someone else’s hands. Two redundancies proved that traditional employment wasn’t aligned with our values or the life we wanted.
Online Business: Freedom, Alignment, fulfilment and Profit
With limited time and resources, we again began exploring low-cost traditional businesses like forest schools. Something in our area of expertise, aligned with our values and the needs of our kids. Knowing we’d need to be able to market our new business better if we wanted funding and profit we began learning online marketing. We discovered online business models like affiliate marketing, e-commerce, and consulting. These business models didn’t need a physical location allowing us to work flexibly around our jobs and start earning immediately.
An Online Business seems unlikely for two people who avoid computers and seek the outdoors, but a few hours a week online gives us financial stability, the freedom to travel and to spend time together as a family wherever we like. What’s more, the impact we have compared to jobs and traditional business online is 10 fold. We used to be limited to the groups we could host in a week, with more overheads to expand like staff and facilities costing more money. Now we can help as many people as we like all over the world with little more than a website.
What even is Online Business?
An “Online Business” is a business that can operate entirely online.
Most successful businesses in 2024 have evolved some online elements. However, traditional brick-and-mortar businesses require buildings and staff. Huge upfront investments that require constant supervision. An unlikely reality for 98% of the population. An Online business, on the other hand, require little more than a website or platform that can be set up and monitored around other responsibilities. Anyone can build gradually, scaling at their own pace until they achieve financial independence. There are more potential business models online than there are offline to suit all interests, skills and values. From physical products, to information. You just need to think outside the box about how and why you want to help people.
In the last 2 years building websites, and marketing online has become incredibly easy. Sadly, what stops most people from creating their freedom is willful ignorance.
How Does (our) Online Business Work Then?
I’m glad you asked. We use 3 business models:
- Affiliate marketing: recommending other people’s products or services for commission.
- E-commerce: designing/sourcing products and making them available to the general public at a profit (usually with somebody else handling the shipping)
- Service provision: creating a digital product like a course, coaching/consulting or apps.
In our emails, we provide some basic video workshops about how to use these business models. For now, in a nutshell, our business; alittlemoreoutdoor.com, helps families who want to have adventures together by solving problems like:
- Earning a living around an Adventurous lifestyle
- Giving your kids (and yourself) a future-proof education
- Where to go and other travel challenges
We know these are problems because:
A: People tell us
B: We faced the same challenges when pursuing our goals.
Our income comes from recommending solutions that have worked for us (affiliating). We put these into articles, videos and emails. We’ve also developed some of our own physical products (e-comm) and I occasionally do some consulting (service provision).
How Much Can You Make and How Long Will It Take?
The honest answer is “as much as you want” and “as long as it takes.” This is unlike a job where following instructions guarantees a wage or Investments where profits are a gamble on the efforts of others. An online business is entirely your responsibility it will only make money when you can:
- Understand a real problem and provide a solution.
- Market that offer to the right audience.
These are skills, like any skill, you’ll need to invest time, energy, and money to learn how to market an offer well enough to create profit. (no employer is going to pay you to learn it) However, once you can create something you can invest £100 in marketing and earn £300 back, there’s no real limit. A £10,000 investment could yield £30,000 monthly, weekly, or even daily. You’ll have the freedom to travel, create and market new offers, give your family the best life possible.
Our Top Tips For Succeeding Online?
- Build a business that helps people achieve a goal you’re actively pursuing (health, wealth, self-development, social). You’ll know what they want and need.
- Focus on getting into profit you can scale and sustain, rather than look for a big win.
- Invest your time as you would your money—think about how you spend those resources weekly.
- What is leading you to the life you want? What is distracting you from the life you have?
- Invest in the best support you can afford; it’s a much better use of your time and money than trying to figure things out independently. It very likely to pay for it’s self.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Online Business.
it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Here’s why people love online business but also why so many fail to get started.
The Good: What We Love About Online Business
- Geographical Freedom: Work from anywhere, anytime. You choose the best environments for your family and personal growth, with the flexibility to change.
- Be Yourself: Don’t conform to a role someone else created; connect with those who value you as you are and want to be.
- Turning Vulnerabilities into Strengths: Instead of masking differences, you can embrace them. I’ve found, being open about struggles, like neurodivergence, debt self doubt has built connections with those facing similar challenges, and allowed me to offer authentic solutions.
- Unlimited Earning Potential: In a job, pay reflects someone else’s valuation of your time, but an online business pays based on how many people you reach every day.
- Build Around Your Passions: If you’re passionate—or even curious—about something, your pursuit and subsiquent experience creates value for like-minded people.
- Evolves with You: Unlike a traditional career, an online business can adapt as you grow. Once it’s set up, it can run on autopilot until you’re ready for something new, giving you the freedom to keep exploring and creating. Our business started with garden activities for toddlers now we travel the world.
- Inspire Others: By following your own path, you encourage others to explore theirs, take responsibility, and make a difference not just with online customers but friends and family.
- Time Freedom: Although setup requires effort and investment, an online business can eventually run on autopilot, giving you time for what matters most.
- Lots of Support: There are countless resources, courses, mentors and tools to guide you, making the journey easier.
- Multiple Paths to Success: Whether you’re creative or analytical, introverted or extroverted, there’s an approach that suits you.
The Bad: External Challenges with Solutions
- It takes Time and Money: Running a business requires both financial and time investments, while it’s a lot less than a brick and mortar business, most people are conditions to only invest in something that gives instant gratification.
- Lots of Support: There are countless resources, courses, mentors and tools to guide you. Not all of them are good.
- Noise and Competition: Thousands of posts and websites appear every minute. Marketing is essential to reach your audience—”If you build it, they will come” simply isn’t true.
- Mistakes Will Happen: There’s no single correct path; what works for one may not work for another. Success requires persistence and a willingness to learn from failure.
- High Competition: Many people are entering the online space. Niching down and offering unique value can help you stand out.
- Tech and Learning Curves: Not everyone is tech-savvy, but with ample resources available, you can overcome these hurdles.
- Trust Takes Time: Without a physical storefront, it can be hard to establish credibility. Focus on genuine connections and helping people; authenticity will build trust.
- Advertising Costs: Paid ads can be costly if you’re unclear on your audience and message. Starting small and refining can help you scale successfully.
The Ugly: Internal Challenges that Require Personal Responsibility
- Resisting Outside Doubt: Friends and family, often without business experience, may try to discourage you, it’s tempting to use that as an excuse to fail/quit. Take responsibility and seek advice from those who are close to your goals, not simply close to you. Draw your own conclusions and act on solid information.
- Success Takes Time and Authenticity: Like building a strong relationship, lasting success isn’t about quick fixes or chasing trends and hacks. You need genuine value, patience, and adaptability to thrive in a constantly changing landscape.
- Handling Setbacks: Negative feedback and setbacks will happen. Success depends on resilience and learning from challenges.
- Fear of Failure: Many avoid starting due to fear of judgment. Owning this fear and pushing through it is key to growth.
- Procrastination and Discipline: Without a boss, staying on track is up to you. Time management and self-discipline are essential.
- Imposter Syndrome: Doubting your abilities can hold you back. Building confidence and focusing on progress over comparison can help.
- Balancing Work and Life: Boundaries are critical to avoid burnout, especially when working from home.
- Budgeting your resources: How much time money and energy can you give your business each week. Be realistic and work with what you’ve got.
- No Guaranteed Success: Trying doesn’t ensure success. Only those who keep learning and pushing forward ultimately succeed.
Conclusion
If you want adventure, and to give your family the world, don’t wait for someone else to give it to you or even give you permission. Take stock of your resources, your time, your money, your energy and your skills. How can you invest them now, each week, to create more? More money, more time, more skills, more energy to enjoy this one wild and precious life with the people that matter to you. It’s your responsibility.
Ready to Create Your Freedom?
How to get started
Step 1: Start with Our Emails
Whether you are ready to jump in straight away or need more information, Here’s What You Can Expect from our emails:
- Inspiring Stories & Tips: We’ll share insights from our journey and stories from others pursuing freedom and adventure through online businesses.
- Adventure Content: If you’ve built a business (or found time, financial and geographical freedom another way) we’ve got lots to share about everything from places to go, people to see, what to pack, school & education and trying to make the world a better place.
Step 2: Do this introductory course
Are you raring to go? Hold your horses, Online business is hard: We recommend a short course Modern Wealthy (around £25). The Modern Wealthy course includes 7 video workshops that will help you understand:
- What’s needed to succeed, from tools and hosting to marketing and resources.
- Why some online businesses thrive while others don’t.
- The right business model for you.
- A realistic view of the time, money, and energy required to make this happen.
Step 3: Start building your business.
If Modern Wealthy hasn’t scared you off and you decide to start a business online, it will happen in 3 stages:
As we discussed above, your main cost is going to be marketing spend. Start with an affordable monthly budget that you can spend without putting your family in danger. This may mean cutting back on non-essentials until you get into profit, but it will be worth it as profit online scales very quickly. I highly recommend using your initial budget to invest in support.
Support usually comes in four flavours:
DIY – Do It Yourself
- Cost: Around £100 monthly for essential tools and prerecorded training.
- Pro: This is a low-cost, low-commitment way to get started. Essential tools and training even if you are getting coaching.
- Con: Low commitment and a high risk of overwhelm often lead to quitting or delayed progress toward profitability.
- Time: Typically takes 6 to 24 months to build something functional, but many people quit.
Group Coaching/Mentoring
- Cost: circa £300 a month + diy resources
- Pro: Affordable way to ask questions, gain insights, feedback and support from experts, see other people overcoming similar challenges, accelerate your success and avoid costly mistakes
- Con: Requires time to wait your turn to attend at a specific time, and you may feel awkward asking questions in front of others.
- Time: Typically a 3-month commitment, though many find continued support valuable for longer.
1:1 Coaching/Mentoring
- Cost: can range from £5,000 to £100,000 a year, depending on the coach’s expertise and level of involvement.
- Pro: Tailored help at your pace to maximize the effective use of your time, money, and energy, meaning faster profitability and a higher-quality business.
- Con: It requires a substantial upfront investment, which can be intimidating if you don’t believe in yourself or your business.
- Time: You can launch in a month, but it typically takes 3-6 months to scale to significant profit. Ongoing support may be required for complex goals.
Done-For-You Services
Cost: £5-£500,0000
- Pro: Leverage specialised expertise to tackle technical or time-consuming tasks, allowing you to focus on strategic areas you enjoy/ add the most value.
- Con: Unless you know exactly what you are asking for and why you are asking for you are likely to waste money.
- Time: No one can build your business entirely for you. You can outsource specific parts to lighten the load and focus on what matters most to you. So I would highly recommend coaching over outsourcing to make sure you prepare launch and grow a business that aligns with you goals and values.
