3 Core Things You MUST HAVE to Make Money Online

Hey Friend!

I am so thrilled to share this post with you. We will be discussing three core things that you must have—not might have, would be nice to have, or could have—but things you must have in order to make money online.

So if you have on your heart to create a for-profit business or even a nonprofit business, it still has to be able to reach the masses and reach the ears and the hearts of the people that God has called and created for you to serve. This post is for your future success. Let’s go.

Three Core Things to Make Money Online

Let’s get into today’s content. We’re going to talk about the three things that you MUST HAVE if you want to make money online. I just want you to be really honest with yourself as we walk through these three things and know that you will not have 100% clarity all the time. But it’s, “Am I on the path to it? Am I getting closer to it? Am I taking steps and strides in the right direction? If your answer is yes, you’re winning.

This is not a case of snapping your fingers, and you have a profitable online business. It is an evolution. It is a journey. I had overnight success that only took me 13 or 14 years. Just be realistic about where you are and what you are consistently looking for.

If the answer is no, and you don’t have one of these three core things, really, where you want it to be, how do you take the next right step closer to that goal? Show lots of grace in this process. I don’t expect you to have it all figured out, but I do want you to know ultimately where you are growing and what you are striving towards.

First Core Thing to Make Money Online: Clarity

You have to know what you are called to do in this business. My course, Clarify Your Calling, examines the question: Are you super clear on what the business that God has created for you is?

That course goes through four weeks of getting super clear on what you’re called to do. We look at your:

• Spiritual gifts
• Vocational gifts
• Trials
• Triumphs
• Experiences

Some of the mistakes I often see when I am working with my students, or in the past when I met with private clients, were that they were looking for ways to make money. They would build a business around something that they thought would be profitable instead of looking inward and saying:

• What are the things that I have accomplished?
• What are the things that God has walked me through?
• What are the things I’ve been triumphant in?
• What are the clues and the things that I’ve already experienced in my life?

I truly believe that 99% of the time, those things foundationally set you up to build a profitable business. Sometimes, it’s just counterintuitive to what you think would make money.

What Are You Called to Do?

For example, I’ve seen people go out and say, “Well, I’m going to start a business teaching people how to start a business.” Yet, they haven’t even started a successful business themselves.

They’re so hyper-focused on this that they think they should create instead of what God has already proven to them that they are successful in. They can now go and help, shepherd, and steward other people.

So if you aren’t 100% clear on your calling, you’ve got some work to do in that bucket.

Second Core Thing to Make Money Online: Long-Form Content

To make money online, you must have a long-form content outlet. So what do you guys think that is? If you’re over here in Stef Gass’ World, it’s a podcast. In today’s world, you must have a platform that cultivates trust. That’s it.

So whether you choose to podcast or not, ask yourself:

• Is this long-form content?
• Is this content evergreen?
• Is this content that has no shelf life?
• Does this content cultivate trust?

If you think about social media and posting little clips and stories, it’s not long-form content. It’s not sustainable, it doesn’t have a long shelf life, and it also doesn’t cultivate trust. Because nobody is over there deeply consuming your reels and getting an emotional connection to it. It’s just too short.

They’re in the dopamine loop, which we’ve talked a lot about on the show when they’re on social. So that’s out. Then you look at building a business on LinkedIn. Maybe it has a slightly longer shelf life, but is it cultivating trust? No! Because people aren’t actually sitting with you for any length of time, and getting a transformation or feeling something or experiencing that transfer of belief.

You Can’t Skimp on Long-Form Content

So that really leaves us with either video or blogging, which I think is really difficult. It’s getting more and more difficult, too, as we face AI. For me, podcasting is the easiest of the three.

I’m not at all opposed to video or blogging if that is what aligns for you the best. That’s great, and you can do that. If you want to actually make money online, you do not get to skimp on having long-form content. Unless you have a ton of money to pay to play, use social media to your advantage, or do all the Google clicks and things of that nature, you must have long-form content.

You want to actually build something that is sustainable and that’s going to convert organically for you over and over and over again. You have got to get into the long-form game and get there like yesterday. And you got to fight. You’re going to stay in it and you’re going to stick with it.

90% Start and Then Quit a Podcast

People think it sounds cute to start a podcast, but 90% of them quit. You will be successful if you are consistent, dedicated, and disciplined in the long-form game. It is a when not an if. If you’re serious about building an online business organically, I believe this is absolutely nonnegotiable.

I’ve talked to you guys on this podcast about what my show has done for us from a revenue perspective. The podcast makes multiple sales every single day completely organically. We sell all the different products that I offer straight from the show. People who listen to the podcast don’t just tend to buy one thing.

They often purchase two offers and 50% of people go through all three of my programs. We are absolutely blown away by the level of conversion that happens because someone’s a listener of the show. It’s because:

• I’m super clear on my calling.
• I don’t mince words.
• I am not confused, therefore, you are not confused.
• This podcast is my long-form content outlet,

I have been disciplined, dedicated, and dialed into this baby for five years. It’s almost to the day, my five-year anniversary of this podcast. Five years of dedication. That’s what I’m talking about.

Third Core Thing to Make Money Online: Systems

Systems are critical, and I think many business owners aren’t well versed in them. They are definitely not natural.

If your CEO personality is more visionary than integrator, systems may not be something that just comes easily for you.

Now, some of you I know are very detail-oriented and systematic—great! That will give you a little bit of a leg up here. But if you do not have systems, you will consistently get stuck at different levels of success.

I hit $400,000 in revenue pretty quickly and seamlessly, basically with me and a VA. I think it was because I’m super scrappy, extremely driven, and unafraid of failure. Plus, I really don’t care what people think of me.

Gusto Will Only Get You So Far

I will fail my way forward but that level of effort and gusto will only get you so far. I kind of got stuck and plateaued there for a minute because I did not have systems.

To be really honest with you, it was a mess. So I brought in an operations person. We dialed in and figured out how many things were missing and broken. We invested in getting really organized inside of our business from the ground up.

All of that was a really long evolution but it all began with some really simple organizational systems in my business. That allowed me to scale to what it will soon be. We’re very close to a seven-figure revenue company per year, which is amazing. I really attribute that to not just clarity on my calling and long-form content but also having really strategic systems.

Bonus Core Thing to Make Money Online: Have a Team

I have a bonus point for you. If you want to make money online, I think you must have a team. As you guys start growing and scaling and are really looking to make some serious profit in your company, do you have the team to support it?

If you don’t have the systems and you don’t have the team, you will get stuck. That’s something those of you who make six-figures or multi-six-figures are really going to have to start getting serious about in the near future.

I’m Here to Help

So those are the three core things that you must have to make money online. Again, if this finds you in the beginning stages of your business and you’re really trying to get clear on calling, you haven’t started the podcast yet, or you have the podcast and you want to rebrand it, I’m here to help.

Maybe you’re stuck on systems and working from an Asana checklist instead of an actual operating system. Then I really encourage you to prayerfully consider the following courses, Clarify Your Calling, Podcast Pro University, and Systemize Your Life.

I pray this blesses you!

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