The practical path to your first million
Most wealth advice is either a platitude or a pitch. This is a reference: 60 ways to make money, each rated on the capital it needs, how long before the first dollar, the risk, and how high it actually goes.
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Perspective
One million dollars, to scale
Everyone names the number. Almost nobody pictures it. Here it is measured against three things people tend to buy on the way there.
A steel dive watch
$10,000
The purchase people photograph first
100× over to reach a million
A new sports car
$130,000
Roughly a base-model 911
7.7× over to reach a million
The median American home
$420,000
What most of the country is working toward
2.4× over to reach a million
One million dollars
$1,000,000
The target this whole site is about
The watch is one percent of the goal. That is the part nobody posts.
Round figures for scale, in US dollars. They move with the market - the proportions are the point, not the decimals.
How this works
- 01
Realistic numbers, not screenshots
Every technique lists the capital you actually need, how long before the first dollar, and the failure rate. If something usually does not work, we say so.
- 02
Everything on the same scale
Dropshipping and dividend investing are described with the same six measures, so you can compare them honestly instead of by how exciting they sound.
- 03
Matched to you, not to a trend
The right path depends on your capital, your free hours and your temperament. A 22-question assessment maps you to the routes that fit.
- 04
Ordered, not listed
A list of ideas is not a plan. Roadmaps chain techniques into a sequence with milestones, so you always know what comes next.
Popular ways to make money
A cross-section of the directory, from things you can start this weekend with nothing to capital-heavy plays with far higher ceilings.
Affiliate Marketing
Sales
Earn commission for sending buyers to other people's products
- Capital
- Under $500
- First income
- Months
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Six figures
Agency
High-Income Skills
Turn a service you deliver into one a team delivers
- Capital
- Under $500
- First income
- Months
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Seven figures
AI Automation Agency
Alternative
Build automations that replace manual work inside other businesses
- Capital
- Under $500
- First income
- Weeks
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Six figures
Amazon FBA
Online Business
Private-label products sold into the largest buyer base on the internet
- Capital
- $500 – $10k
- First income
- Months
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Seven figures
Buying a Business
Acquisitions
Skip the zero-to-one phase and buy cash flow that already exists
- Capital
- $10k+
- First income
- Months
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Uncapped
Cleaning Business
Local Business
Recurring revenue from work nobody wants to do themselves
- Capital
- Under $500
- First income
- Weeks
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Six figures
Content Website
Online Business
Build a site that ranks in search, then monetise the traffic
- Capital
- Under $500
- First income
- Months
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Six figures
Copywriting
High-Income Skills
Write words that measurably make businesses money
- Capital
- $0
- First income
- Weeks
- Risk
- Ceiling
- Six figures
Find your path
Which route to wealth actually fits you?
Twenty-two questions on your capital, available hours, risk appetite and how you like to work. You get one of six wealth archetypes, a ranked shortlist of techniques that suit you, and a roadmap to follow.
Free · About 5 minutes · No account needed
You will be one of these six
The Builder
You get rich by making something that outlives your attention.
The Operator
You get rich by running real businesses well.
The Creator
You get rich by earning attention, then owning what you point it at.
The Specialist
You get rich by being worth far more per hour than average.
The Investor
You get rich by being patient with money that is already working.
The Dealmaker
You get rich by finding mispriced things and moving them.
Run the numbers
Investing $1,000 a month at 7% reaches $1,000,000 in 28 years, 1 month.
Change any one of those three and the answer moves by years. Most strategy arguments end quickly once someone does the arithmetic.
Follow a sequence
Roadmaps, not reading lists
A list of ideas is not a plan. Each roadmap puts techniques in order, with a measurable milestone at the end of every phase.
4 phases · 60–120 days
Zero to Your First $1,000 Online
- Pick something people already pay for
- Build one piece of proof
- Contact people directly
- Deliver and get paid
5 phases · 12–24 months
From Nothing to an Audience That Pays
- Choose the subject before the platform
- Publish long enough to be judged
- Turn attention into something you own
- Sell to the people already there
- Make the income survive a bad month
5 phases · 15–25 years
From Salary to a Portfolio That Compounds
- Stop the leaks
- Raise the input
- Automate the compounding
- Add an asset that is not the market
- Let it run
5 phases · 12–30 months
From First Sale to a Brand Worth Owning
- Learn to sell before you learn to source
- Test products you do not own
- Own the product
- Stop renting all your demand
- Turn the shop into an asset
5 phases · 12–36 months
From One Service to a Local Business With Crews
- Sell the job before you buy the equipment
- Do the work yourself long enough to know it
- Turn one-off jobs into routes
- Hire crews and step off the tools
- Own more than one
5 phases · 2–4 years
From Freelancer to a Business You Could Sell
- Raise prices until it hurts
- Productise the service
- Hire delivery, keep selling
- Build the pipeline that is not you
- Make it saleable
5 phases · 18–36 months
From Code to a Product That Runs Without You
- Get paid to learn a domain
- Ship something small enough to finish
- Charge from the first day
- Solve distribution, which is the actual job
- Remove yourself, or sell it
5 phases · 5–12 years
Turning Savings Into Assets That Pay You
- Decide what you are actually optimising for
- Build the passive base first
- Add leveraged property
- Buy operating cash flow
- Recycle and repeat
Know what is working
New methods, the people using them, and the numbers behind both. No pitches.