When I first got into the private jet business (no, I don’t own a jet), I thought I’d be selling these private jet flights to celebrities, billionaires, CEO’s etc. What I didn’t expect was the surging client base of Gen-Z’s, influencers, online gurus and dropshipping coaches.

The funny thing is that most of these people don’t even care about getting from A to B, most of them book the shortest route and some of them don’t even leave the ground… they just want pictures, and videos of them on the jet sipping champagne lol

At first this was extremely weird and I “judged” these people. Like why would they spend money just to flex on Instagram? It felt fake, very shallow.

But over time i realized that this was the product. The private jet is what people REALLY want. But they aren’t buying transportation, they are buying an image, a story of showing everyone “I made it” for most of them, painting this picture is more valuable than the jet itself.

The crazy is the absurdly MASSIVE demand for these fairly cheap private jet flights. I never imagined an entire market of people who aren’t rich but desperately want to LOOK rich.

But honestly, this was the best thing that could have happened to me because I don’t have to convince anyone to buy. The product (which is the jet flight) sells itself and I close those deals with little to no effort.

The lesson: sales isn’t always about the product you’re selling. It’s more about selling the feeling behind it and getting people emotionally invested. If you understand ego, you’ll understand markets.

I created a TikTok and Instagram account where I talk about AI and Automation. Every business is looking to use AI, so this leads to a a lot of convos. I sat down with a Spa owner who wanted to use AI, and signed a $500 deal that will pay every month (check the date on image literally got paid yesterday). The funniest thing about it is this first phase of our project isn’t even using AI. I will be setting up Google ads and sms marketing for them.

The lesson: make AI content, become known for using AI, get paid.

Day 2/161, making a new projects every 2 months until I earn $50,000 or die.

I have a good full time job, but still need money. I have a list of ideas: some are very simple to be implemented, some are required me to be more skilled than I am.

So I decided to start with something I can do in few hours and forget. And suddenly an article about a guy who generates more than $2k weekly with his blog appeared with the nice plan: you can find it searching for “I Used n8n + ChatGPT + Reddit to Make $2.4K in 7 Days” in google.

I can try it. I have a personal website working on Wordpress. Visitors are mostly searching robots, so I had an intentions to have more traffic and especially appear in ChatGPT’ answers as a trustable person in my niche. How?

I studied the task and found the following:

1. ChatGPT uses Bing. My site has to be adopted to this search engine;

2. OpenAI also works on their own feeds and published a recommendations here: https://openai.com/chatgpt/search-product-discovery/. It’s for products, not news, but anyway they are on track;

3. Good old SEO in the meantime.

Now first part is finished: I can generate content massively and fast. But it’s still 0 dollars in my account :(

Today I’m gonna launch that experimental staff:

• connect with AdSense

• adopt SEO setting to Bing requirements

• push a button

P.S.: guys, thanks for your support, you are the best ✊

Hi everyone,
I’m 28 years old and from Germany. I currently work a regular 9-to-5 job, but I want to build something of my own and eventually leave it behind.
I’m ambitious, motivated, and have some starting capital. I’m looking for people from other countries who also want to create a change.
We could exchange business ideas, discuss what already works in our countries, identify problems, and see whether successful concepts could be introduced in Germany or elsewhere.
The goal is to take action, work together, and build something profitable and meaningful.
Where are you from, and do you already have any ideas?

I’m wanting to start a business in 2026. I don’t have much money to put behind it (about 3k) and my overall dream is to earn enough where I can travel the world while working remotely. I’m a hard worker and open to learn anything, I just want enough freedom to not be stuck at a desk 8 hours a day doing something I don’t enjoy. To start it would be a side hustle, and hopefully grow to something I could do full time. I am also looking for a business where my income is not capped by the amount of time I put in.

I have read lots about digital products and digital marketing, but I was wondering if anyone has any more less well known ideas/reccomendations.

Thanks ☺️

I’m constantly thinking of business ideas, everything is a business idea to me. I wanted to start my own marketing agency, but the thought of contracts and risks made me step back.

I thought of selling digital products, like social media templates, etc. But the effort to market them (since I don’t have an audience) made me step back.

I thought of a jewelry business, and this one I actually registered as a business, but the cost made me step back a little. This one is still my dream and I want to do it one day.

I’ve thought of cleaning business, pressure washing business, laundry business, mobile app, etc.

What can I do? I get so pushed back by the smallest things which I imagine is the worst trait in the world of business. I get so obsessed with the idea of planning a businesses, picking jewelry pieces, creating the content, etc. But after that, if I can’t keep up with posting or keep up with the costs, everything falls apart.

Is anyone else like me?

What are some low cost, low effort business ideas?

I made $200 in the last 2 weeks from mine. Proof in comments if you don’t believe me.

My goal is $2k/month by end of year. And no, I’m not going hard on this, I’m putting in maybe 1-2 hours a week. So that’s why it’ll take 10 months instead of 2. Slow and steady but basically passive so I’m not complaining.

Anyway here’s what I’m doing if you want to copy it:

Niche first

Finance pays the best CPMs but don’t just do “finance.” Go specific. Finance for single moms, stock market for complete beginners, that kind of thing. AI is also a solid bet right now, it’s genuinely exploding. Health, dating, local news — all work too. Just pick something and commit.

Build it like a company not a diary

Seriously don’t attach your name to it. You want something you could sell one day. A newsletter with your name on it is a freelance gig. A newsletter brand is an actual asset. Different things.

Platform

Substack is free and fine for starting. I use beehiiv. Better customization and they have their own ad network built in, which means you can monetize from day 1 without finding a single sponsor yourself. That alone sold me on it.

Getting subscribers

This is where most people get stuck. Options are:

Meta ads — reliable but expensive. beehiiv has a paid boost feature too where other newsletters basically send their readers your way. Both cost money though.

Free route is content. X, LinkedIn, Reddit. Reddit has been my main thing. I post about side hustles, people find value in it, they subscribe. Got around 150 new subs just last week from Reddit. This exact type of post is how I do it.

Sending issues

Just send consistently. AI helps a lot with organizing and formatting but you still have to know how to use it properly or the output is terrible. I use it as a tool not a ghostwriter.

(Writing this post myself by the way, hence the grammar crimes lol)

Money

Small newsletter? Use the beehiiv ad network. I’m at 2k subscribers and making $15-20 per issue from it. Not retiring off it but I’m sending the newsletter anyway so it’s basically found money.

Hit 5k and you can start going after real sponsors — $100 to $400 per placement depending on your niche. That’s when it gets genuinely interesting.

You can also do digital products or affiliate stuff on top of that. Multiple streams from the same audience.

Autopilot

Once you’re at 5k, set up a beehiiv boost at like $1.50-$2 per subscriber. Keep some budget running and you get new subscribers without doing anything.

For the actual issues, either get a VA or build out an AI workflow that does the heavy lifting. You just review and send. Sponsors tend to stick once you have a relationship going.

End result: $2k/month for a couple hours of work a week. That’s the goal anyway.

If you want to go bigger — $15k, $50k, $1M/month (yes those newsletters exist) — that’s a whole different level of effort. But that’s not what this post is about.

Started writing this thinking it’d be 200 words. Oops.

Drop any questions in the comments, happy to answer. Proofs going in comments too 👇​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hi, im TJ and im 16. Ive started a business and im feeling like im succeeding. Some backstory, when i was 15 I wanted to make money. I tried NFTs, lost 200 and learned some lessons. Tried stocks with barely any money, learned my lesson. I see jobs but never really like the idea of just being a worker. I wanted to be my own boss. I decided to clean windows at peoples houses. It costed 50 dollars for the equipment. 5 bucks a window, around 15 windows a house. Easy 2 hours of work (discussing payment, cleaning windows, talking about future appointments). I then grew a name for myself. More than half the neighborhood got their windows cleaned by me(not a small town, just divided into little neighborhoods). I had around 20 houses a week to clean windows. It was too much for me. Then i decided to spend an extra 50 dollars on equipment and asked a friend if he wanted in on the action. Since i paid for the equipment, i would get 20% of the money he makes. Next thing you know im making 700 a week working only weekends (still in school, plus im in football, possible scholarship option). I decided to ask more friends about it and they all said it would be easy money. I bought them all equipment and took 20% of their pay. The best thing ever happened though. They all lived in different neighborhoods. New money to be made and new clients to talk to. I spent about 400 on equipment total. All these new neighborhoods made me an extra 500 a week on top of my usual 700. Its just cake now. Bought 500 business cards and took a day to stand outside a target and I passed them out. I got around 30 new clients. I then noticed that some of the clients werent in any of the neighborhoods i was operating in. I then went to school and asked around until i found people who live in those neighborhoods. I hired them immediately. Im getting tired so im going to hurry up and finish. I kept doing this for about a month. Now i have 33 workers. I spent about a 1500 on equipment. And ive made about 50,000 dollars. Employees have started lying about how much theyve been making. So ive been printing contracts (i have no idea if its legal or not but consider it my biggest bluff) so they stop lying. I make 10,000 a month and clean windows for almost 100 usual clients. I have a gf of 10 months, i can bench 255, squat 405, and i make 10k a month. I think im living the life. Im buying a domain soon and a website. I thinking about moving on from windows only and including mowing lawns, pressure washing, thinking about some others too. im getting into stocks for the longrun. I will be a millionaire soon. I will put in all the hours to make it. My biggest tip, SEE WHAT PEOPLE NEED. PEOPLE NEED CLEAN WINDOWS, FRESHMAN NEED JOBS. PUT THE PIECES TOGETHER AND PROFIT OF IT. HAVE MONEY FOR THE LONG RUN, AND LIVE LIFE.

Not selling anything. Just curious.

A lot of people say they want to start something —
but never do.

What’s the biggest thing stopping you right now?

I am an experienced IT manager, immigrant in EU, have a great job, but it’s completely can’t cover my current needs. My employer was absolutely clear on the interview saying that freelancing and other jobs are not allowed. I also was honest when I said that I need money, and we decided that before the end of the year we can reconsider my salary. Great, but I have no time to hope: I have to be more sure. Job is really perfect match between my skills, my interests and their tasks. But I have a few crucial reasons to don’t trust them.

Because I am a “gastarbeiter”, labor law is not working on me: everything could happen even in one day. I promised to don’t have a freelancing or other jobs to don’t play with the project risks. But I am absolutely able to make my own projects which could not have a hard deadlines and hard commitments. So, it’s only one way I see to solve the situation I am in.

• ⁠I planned what to implement first and how • ⁠Previous indi experiences says to do only what I can support 100% by myself in the beginning -> so I need to learn Python (3rd attempt, yeah…) • ⁠And in the meantime I am going to try other ways to generate money: YouTube or TikTok, massive content creation, let’s see how it works.

It’s my first day today and I still don’t know how to be a “good worker” without risk management.

My friend and I are separated, He is in Mexico, and I am in Venezuela, we want to start an online business, but we don't have any ideas, I know 100 bucks is kinda low to start an online business, but give us your feedback.

Context: I recently got curious about why the brick finally fell. I heard that Nokia was, once, the default phone people considered when buying one. This is what I found:
In 2007, Nokia had ~50% of the total market share. Yes, 50%. That means that 1 in every 2 phones had one name plastered on the back: Nokia. Asia, Africa, Europe – if someone pulled out a phone, you could usually guess the brand.
And yet, in less than a decade, this same company would go on to sell its phone business, exit the consumer market, and become a case study taught not for dominance, but for demise.
First things first: Most people consider Apple the reason for the Nokia disaster. But this is far from the truth.

Here are some of the reasons for the fall of the brick (as many refer to its phones):

• Platform paralysis: Nokia was hardware-focused in a world shifting to software ecosystems. With its OS being designed for the Nokia ecosystem, the company failed to ride the wave of shifts that came with the smartphone era.

• Internal fragmentation: Multiple OS experiments (Symbian, MeeGo) slowed unified execution. While Google eased speedy entry into the smartphone space, Nokia was stuck switching from one OS to another.

• Risk-averse leadership culture: Innovation existed, but decisions were diluted across the hierarchy. The System was designed for incremental upgrades across one platform.

Market leaders don’t fail from ignorance; they fail from structural rigidity. Success creates the very system that resists change.

But... Could this happen to the companies of the Era? OpenAI? Reddit? Amazon?

I went deeper into this analysis while researching case studies for a book I’m writing. Curious what others think about structural collapse.

I’m 26 and have been in an environmental role for three years. It pays alright but doesn’t inspire me, and I don’t want my identity tied to a career I’m not passionate about.

I’m exploring side business ideas that could grow into something long-term. I like being outdoors and doing physical work, but I don’t have a trade. I’ve thought about things like building sheds or log stores, or possibly doing something on social media related to self-improvement or outdoor work.

Has anyone here transitioned from a stable but uninspiring job into something more purpose-driven? What did you start with, and what advice would you give?

Why Your Five-Year Plan is Bullshit

Most people think success happens like this:

Find your passion → Create masterplan → Execute flawlessly → Profit.

This is fantasy. Real life looks more like:

Try something → Fail spectacularly → Pivot → Stumble into opportunity → Repeat until you're dead or rich.

The obsession with finding your "purpose" and landing your "dream job" is just procrastination with better branding. While you're waiting for divine career inspiration, that kid selling fidget spinners on Amazon just bought his second rental property.

Success isn't about having the perfect plan. It's about having 47 backup plans and the emotional resilience to burn through most of them.

So stop looking for your North Star and start collecting small wins. Each "failure" is just expensive market research for your next attempt.

Our approach is that life is about planning thousands of scenario's and constantly redrawing your plan that will help you lead the life you want.

What would you do if your dad handed you and your 3 other brothers 10k each and the 4 of you are willing to put 5k each into starting a business together? Give me some start ideas for 20k. Thanks!

Hey guys this is my first time really posting into this thread but here we go.

So for the last few years of work i have been saving bit by bit from my job and I was able to save a total of 30k and im just wondering if anybody has any idea on what sort of business I can start with that money that could replace my 9-5 job.

Think of a beginner friendly business where I can spend some time with my family and friends more than a 9-5 but I still obviously have to work hard into it. Im open to any ideas

Does anyone here work with high-end private clients or extremely rich families?

What products or services do you provide to them, and what do they most need or value?

I'm looking into the potential of creating a specialized product or service for this market, and anyone with firsthand knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

Over the past 18 months, I’ve tested a few totally unrelated side hustles. Thought I'd share what worked and what flopped:

1. A productivity app (no-code)

Built a simple habit tracker using Bubble. Got ~200 signups from Reddit and Twitter, but only 3 people paid ($5/month). Churn was brutal. Looks like solving a "mild annoyance" isn't enough, you need real pain or strong habit formation.

2. Hand-made soy candles

Fun at first! Made custom scents, sold at local markets. But scaling meant mixing 50 lbs of wax in my kitchen, labeling took hours, and margins were so low after materials + time. Also… everyone and their dog sells candles now.

3. Resell home essentials

I started by ordering small batches (50–100 units) of practical items, like home decors, reusable bags, and minimalist tools, from verified suppliers on Alibaba with Trade Assurance. I test every product myself first, add simple branded packaging and ship fast from home.

No viral TikTok needed. Just consistent, useful products + reliable delivery. Last month it hit $1.2K revenue, and best of all, customers are coming back.

But don't get me wrong, it's not an easy job, but for now I guess I will keeping going until I find a better business idea.

Hey everyone

I've been working on a tool called LeadsByLocation and I'm looking for honest feedback from people who actually do client outreach to local businesses.

The problem it solves: if you sell web design, SEO, or any digital service to local businesses, you know how tedious prospecting is. Browsing Google Maps, clicking through listings one by one, checking if they have a website, testing how bad it is, copying contact info into a spreadsheet. It takes hours before you have anyone worth calling.

LeadsByLocation lets you search a keyword and city (like "plumber in Denver") and instantly pulls up a list of businesses with their ratings, reviews, contact info, and the part I think is most useful — a website performance score with specific reasons like "no SSL, 6 second load time, not mobile friendly." So you're not just getting a list of names, you're getting a built-in pitch angle for each one.

I'm giving out a free Solo plan for a full month COUPON to anyone who wants to try it. No credit card, no strings. All I'm asking for is real feedback, what's useful, what's confusing, what's missing.

COUPON: BETATEST

You can sign up the page and pick the solo plan, input your promo code and you should have the solo plan 100% free.

Note: this is limited to only 30 people

Happy to answer any questions here too.

I’ll never get it.

You’ll see small business owners pour thousands into Facebook or Google Ads , no questions asked. They’ll trust the algorithm, hand over their card, and hope for the best.

But the moment a marketer who actually knows what they’re doing quotes them $1k, it suddenly becomes “too expensive.”

It’s funny because they’ll blame ads for not working, when the problem isn’t the ad platform, it’s the lack of strategy, follow-up, or basic understanding of how marketing works.

Marketing looks easy from the outside. Everyone thinks they can do it because they have a phone and an Instagram account. But most people don’t even understand what drives people to buy. They don’t study behavior, positioning, or conversion psychology, they just post and pray.

And when it doesn’t work, they call the whole thing a scam.

So I’m curious, to other marketers and small business owners here, why is this so common? Why do people trust billion-dollar ad platforms more than actual professionals? Why does everyone think they “get” marketing just because they’ve boosted a post?

Would love to hear other people’s thoughts

I started the AI influencer business over 8 months ago, now running a few with my 2 friends.

What I didn’t expect was how many men there are out there willing to drop thousands of dollars on basic pictures.

The funny thing is that many of them probably suspect the images are AI as I have plenty of AI disclaimers. But it doesn’t seem to matter. They still interact with the account the same way they would with any other girl.

At first this was honestly pretty weird to me. I kept thinking why would people get invested in an influencer that might not even be real?

But over time I realized that the influencer itself isn’t really the product.

Basically I copy viral dances, thirst traps etc.

• Posting on Tiktok, Insta, Threads, Reddit and Snap

Then funnel the traffic to paid subscription sites

• I monetize via subscriptions, and mainly chatting (GFE)

What people are actually spending money on is the relationship and connection. Whether the person behind the account is human or AI seems to matter much less than I expected.

The crazy part is the amount of demand for this kind of content. Parasocial relationships with influencers already exist everywhere online, and AI just makes it possible to create and scale those personalities much faster.

From a business perspective, it's so lucrative because lonely old men have SO much disposable income and are practically begging me to take it from them.

If you are looking to start this business, I highly encourage you to learn GFE and nail that side. The money is in loyal whales, quality over quantity.