Stephen B. Henry

A service-based business is built around your time, expertise, and personal interaction. As a solopreneur, this model is often the fastest and most direct way to start earning income online.

You exchange your time or knowledge for money, through coaching, consulting, freelance work, virtual assistance, design, writing, tech support, or any number of hands-on services.

The beauty of this model is that you can start with what you already know. There is little to no upfront cost, no inventory, and no need to build a full website on day one. You can land your first client through a referral, a Facebook post, or a direct offer to a group you already belong to.

You get immediate feedback, the chance to refine your offer, and real human connection. You also gain deep insights into what your audience really needs, often revealing future opportunities for digital products or programs.

However, time-based models can become limiting over time. You can only work with so many clients. Burnout becomes a risk if you do not set boundaries or evolve your offer.

Start here if you want to earn quickly, learn fast, and build trust while keeping things personal and high-touch.

Product-based businesses focus on creating something once and selling it many times. This could be physical products (like handmade goods, books, or merchandise) or digital products (like eBooks, templates, guides, or stock images).

Digital products are especially attractive for solopreneurs. They require effort to create up front, but once finished, they can be sold repeatedly with little extra work. You might create downloadable workbooks, printables, mini-courses, checklists, or audio files that help solve a specific problem.

With the right setup, this model offers scalability. You are not trading time for money. You can reach people around the world. And you can build automated systems that work for you while you sleep.

However, this model often requires more upfront effort; building the product, writing sales copy, and setting up a system to deliver and support it. Marketing is also crucial. You need visibility, trust, and a clear value proposition to succeed.

This model is ideal if you are creative, detail-oriented, and enjoy building things. It works especially well as a second step after starting with service; turning your knowledge into a sellable asset.

Courses and programs are built around transformation. You guide someone from where they are to where they want to be, step by step. This could be in the form of a structured online course, a group challenge, or a coaching cohort.

You teach, mentor, or facilitate a specific result. Your course might be self-paced and evergreen, or live and cohort-based with set start and end dates. Either way, your content is designed to create clarity, momentum, and change.

You do not need to be the world’s top expert to build a course. You just need to know more than the person you are helping, and to care enough to walk them through it.

This model is perfect for teachers at heart. It allows you to combine writing, video, worksheets, and interaction. You can charge more than for a simple product, and you can serve more people than with one-on-one services.

Challenges include building out the course structure, recording content, managing tech, and ensuring students complete what they start.

If you have a framework or method, or you are constantly explaining the same thing to different people, this is a powerful model to consider.

A membership model creates recurring revenue by offering ongoing access to content, support, or community. It is a long-game model, focused on retention, relationship, and continuous value.

Members typically pay monthly or annually in exchange for fresh content (videos, downloads, lessons), live support (Q&A, office hours, coaching), or access to a private group or community.

This model is ideal for solopreneurs who want to serve deeply and build a tribe around their work. It allows flexibility, creativity, and the chance to evolve your offer over time based on member feedback.

It also provides stability. You are not constantly chasing new sales; you are nurturing relationships. You can deliver content in small, manageable doses and develop long-term trust with your audience.

However, memberships take time to grow and require ongoing commitment. If you stop showing up, value drops. You must balance content delivery with engagement and support.

Start small, stay consistent, and let your membership grow organically. This is a great model if you love connection, coaching, and creating an ecosystem around your message.

An affiliate or referral-based business earns income by recommending products or services created by others. You include special links in your content, and when someone clicks and buys, you earn a commission.

This is a powerful model for solopreneurs who love to research, curate, and write or speak about what they believe in. You can build a blog, a YouTube channel, a newsletter, or a resource page that helps people find the right tools and solutions.

You do not need to create products or provide services yourself. You focus on visibility, trust, and helpful content. Some affiliate programs pay a small percentage (like Amazon), while others pay 20–50% or more (for digital products or software).

The keys to success are authenticity, transparency, and consistency. Recommend only what you genuinely stand behind. Build a reputation for being helpful, not pushy.

This model can also complement other business types. A coach can recommend tools. A course creator can include affiliate links in lessons. It is low-maintenance and scalable, but takes time to build an audience that listens and trusts your voice.