I went looking for people who wanted to make money online.
What surprised me was that they weren’t all asking the same question.
Some wanted an extra £100 or £200.
Some needed money quickly.
Some wanted a flexible way to earn from home.
Some wanted to build a business they could grow.
And some had already started trying to make money online — but after weeks or months, very little was happening.
At first glance, all of those people might appear to belong to the same audience:
People who want to make money online.
But they don’t.
They are starting from different places, with different problems, different timescales and different expectations.
And that means they shouldn’t all be offered the same solution.
The question isn’t enough
Take a question such as:
“How can I make money online?”
That could come from someone who needs £200 before the end of the month.
It could come from someone who wants an extra income alongside a job.
It could come from someone who wants to become self-employed.
Or it could come from someone who has already spent six months trying affiliate marketing and hasn’t made a sale.
The words may be similar.
The real problem is not.
That became increasingly obvious as I looked through questions and conversations on Quora, Reddit, YouTube, Facebook and X.
Three very different starting points
1. I NEED MONEY
This person may need an extra £100 or £200, money fairly quickly, a flexible way to earn from home, or simply a legitimate way to improve their income.
For someone in this position, starting an online business may not be the best first answer.
Selling something they no longer need, offering a useful service, freelancing, temporary work or using an existing skill may produce income much sooner.
The first question is not “Which online business should I start?”
It is: “How soon do I need the money, and what resources do I already have?”
2. I WANT TO BUILD SOMETHING ONLINE
This person is thinking further ahead. They want to create something that can produce income, but they may not yet understand how all the pieces fit together.
The problem is usually not a lack of opportunities. There are hundreds of business models, platforms, tools and courses competing for attention.
What they need first is a clear sequence: Who am I trying to help? What problem do they have? Where can I find them? What could genuinely help them? And how can I reach them?
The first question is not “Which platform or product should I choose?”
It is: “Who am I trying to help, and what problem am I trying to solve?”
EXPLORE: I WANT TO BUILD SOMETHING ONLINE
3. I’VE STARTED — BUT IT ISN’T WORKING
This person has already taken action. They may have a website, an affiliate offer, social-media accounts, content or even some traffic — but they are not getting the results they expected.
The temptation is to assume they simply need more traffic. But the problem could be somewhere else entirely.
It could be the audience, the traffic, the content, the offer, the message, trust, conversion or follow-up.
What they need first is not another new method. They need to identify where the process is breaking down.
The first question is not “What else should I try?”
It is: “Which part of what I’m already doing isn’t working?”
EXPLORE: I’VE STARTED — BUT IT ISN’T WORKING
Same ambition. Different starting points.
“Making money online” isn’t really one problem.
The right route depends on what somebody is trying to achieve, how quickly they need results, what they already know, what resources they have, and whether they have already started.
For one person, the sensible next step might be finding a way to earn some additional money.
For another, it might be building a business.
For someone else, it may be fixing the part of an existing business that isn’t working.
The important thing is to start from the person and the problem — not from the product we happen to want to sell.