How One Lowly Dish Washer Used $100 to Build an Online Empire

The “rags to riches story” is nothing new.

Not by a long shot. It's as old as the American Dream.

In the 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution hit its peak, aspiring entrepreneurs devoured pulp novels by Horatio Alger about just that kind of thing:

The poor young man who through verve, moral fortitude, and one heck of a work ethic, was able to pull himself up by his bootstraps and move up the socioeconomic ladder.

A lot has changed since then, but at its heart, the story's still the same.

And it's normal to look at these kind of anecdotes with a little incredulity. Sometimes it feels a little hackneyed.

Like, “Okay, that's very motivating, and that's great for this guy. But none of this is actionable for me.”

But, if you're looking for a little motivation, check out this story from Nichehacks.

Stuart was a typical early 20s guy, working at some restaurant washing dishes in the back of the kitchen.

But with just $100 and a little self-taught know-how, he was able to start a thriving business and support himself comfortably.

Not to sound cliché, but seriously, guys: if this guy can do it, you can too.

The $100 Start Up? I Wish I Had $100 To Start A Business…

You've probably heard of the idea of the ‘$100 Start Up' as made famous by the book of the same name by Chris Guillebeau.

The idea is to create a series of “micro-business” around your passions in order to support a life of excitement and adventure.

And all for under $100 per start up.

Well it must be nice to be privileged enough to have even just $100 to spend on your new business.

Because, you know what?

When I started my journey into online business I had around $100 to my name.

That's not $100 spare.

That's not $100 in savings.

That's not $100 to spend on a business.

That is $100 spread across my bank account, and in my wallet and includes the spare change in my piggy bank.

I was f*cking broke as a joke.

I had no idea about online business, what it cost or what it involved but I couldn't see any better option.

What did I have to lose?

And it will come as no surprise to you…

I quickly spunked that $100 as I had no idea what I was doing or what to invest my cash in.

Back then all any one seemed to talk about was loopholes, blackhat crap, gimmicks and other garbage that was short term or just never really worked so my piggy bank was emptied fast.

It didn't help that I was learning everything from the DigitalPoint and BlackHatWorld forums, hardly the best places to be learning to build a proper online business.

The fact you're here reading this post shows you're probably a lot wiser than I was and have far more idea about what it takes.

My Biggest Lessons & Takeaways On This Journey From Pot-Washing-Monkey-Pleb To Successful Online Marketer & Entrepreneur

• If I can do this, you sure as hell can as well. Because clearly even when you're not the typical entrepreneur type it's possible to achieve amazing things if you really desire it.

• Though it's not recommended even with a budget of $0 you could succeed if you really want to. There's free blog platforms to launch your website on and ways to do almost everything for free.

• Being academic, having an high IQ or being considered smart has no relationship to success. So if you're not the sharpest hammer in the picnic box (yeah, I found that funny) don't worry about it.

• Even if you aren't the most outgoing person and prefer to hide away behind your laptop, you can! You don't need to be on camera and doing presentations to be a successful online marketer, though obviously it will help so if you want to then go for it.

• Write like you speak. No one wants to read a dictionary. They want a connection with you, a real human being with all your flaws.

• Spend less of your time following “experts” and more time becoming an “expert” yourself through trial and error. What works for one doesn't always work for another any way, so you're better off trying for yourself to be sure.

• Even if you have basic tech skills you'll get there eventually with the help of Youtube and tech support. If that fails you can hire someone from Fiverr who will be happy to do it for a low price.

• Put your back up against the wall so that failure is not an option and make sure there are some serious consequences for failing. You will not want to embarrass yourself or face those consequences so you'll make it happen.

• If you have a strong “WHY” for making your dreams a reality then you will get there but personally I think it has to be more than “I want to be rich” and something more substantial.

You can read this guy's full story over at Nichehacks.