How To Start a $1,000,000 Business With 0 Employees

Entrepreneur One, Sam Parr, is most known for his daily email newsletter, The Hustle, and his podcast, My First Million, which has between 5 and 10 million downloads per month.

He sold The Hustle for multiple eight figures and has built a seven-figure company through his copywriting course. In this article, we will break down their business costs and revenue, as well as their advice for aspiring millionaires.

Entrepreneur Two, Justin Welsh, made $1.7 million in revenue per year with his zero employee business. He started as a consultant for healthcare technology companies and eventually created a course on how to use LinkedIn effectively, which became his main source of income.

Key Takeaways

• It is possible to make millions with a zero employee business using technology and social media.
• Successful entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of finding a digital product that you are good at and that people will pay for.
• Starting a newsletter or content platform can be a replicable and sellable asset for anyone willing to learn and become an expert on a topic.

Entrepreneur One: The Hustle and My First Million

Bootstrapping the Hustle

Entrepreneur One, Sam Parr, started his solopreneur journey with a copywriting course that he created after discovering the power of copywriting through his work with AppSumo. He received feedback from customers and turned his knowledge into a course that did really well. He continued to grow his business by promoting his content, selling tickets, and making a quarter million dollars each time he ran a conference. Eventually, he started The Hustle, a daily email that is read by close to three million people. He grew the email list to eight figures in revenue and sold it for multiple eight figures.

Justin Welsh, another solopreneur, started his journey by doing consulting work in the healthcare tech industry. He later transitioned to creating a two-hour course on using LinkedIn effectively, called The Operating System, which became his primary source of revenue. Welsh’s business costs about $623 a month to run, with a 94-95% margin. He breaks down his $1.7 million in revenue per year as follows: $1.3 million in courses, $144,000 to $150,000 in coaching, $108,000 to $120,000 in sponsorships, $100,000 to $103,000 in subscriptions, and $24,000 to $30,000 in affiliates.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur One advises aspiring entrepreneurs to sell a digital product first, as margins are higher and there are fewer costs associated with the business. He also suggests doing something that you really like doing and have experience in, as the universe will tell you what you’re good at. Welsh recommends learning a topic and becoming an expert on it by staying a few weeks ahead of your users. He suggests aggregating information and sending it to people through a newsletter, which is a very sellable asset. Both entrepreneurs believe that solopreneurship is replicable and achievable by anyone.

Entrepreneur Two: Justin Welsh

Transition to Solopreneurship

Justin Welsh, an entrepreneur who makes over a million dollars a year with no employees, started his journey as a consultant in the healthcare technology industry. He leveraged his experience in sales and marketing to advise other companies on how to grow their revenue. However, Justin’s current focus on solopreneurship and social media was never his intention. After four years of consulting, he walked away from that life and started his own business.

The Operating System Course

Justin’s primary course, “The Operating System,” is a two-hour course that teaches people how to use LinkedIn effectively. The course covers topics such as building a following, creating a business on the platform, and more. Justin’s success with this course has helped him generate a significant portion of his business revenue.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Justin’s advice for those who want to start their own zero-employee business is to sell a digital product first. He suggests that people sell something they are good at and have experience in. Justin also emphasizes the importance of doing something that you enjoy and that people already pay you for. He believes that the universe will tell you what you are good at, and it is crucial to listen to it.

Additionally, Justin recommends creating a newsletter on a topic that you are learning about and becoming an expert on it. He suggests aggregating information and sending it to people, monetizing through advertising or something similar. Justin believes that this method is replicable and encourages people to copy what successful newsletters have done in the past.

Breakdown of Business Costs

The solopreneurs featured have managed to build successful businesses with no employees, and they have done so with relatively low costs.

One of the entrepreneurs, Justin Welsh, reveals that his business costs approximately $623 per month to run. This includes expenses such as website hosting, software subscriptions, and advertising. He also mentions that his business operates at a margin of 94-95%.

Sam Parr, another entrepreneur featured, mentions that his business generates around $1.7 million in revenue per year. He breaks down the revenue into several categories, including courses, coaching, sponsorships, subscriptions, and affiliates. He reveals that courses generate the most revenue, accounting for approximately $1.3 million per year.

The entrepreneurs emphasize the importance of keeping costs low when starting a business. They recommend selling digital products, which have low overhead costs and high profit margins. They also suggest that entrepreneurs focus on their strengths and monetize skills that they have already been paid for in the past.

Overall, these solopreneurs demonstrate that it is possible to build a successful business with no employees and low costs. By focusing on digital products and leveraging their existing skills, they have been able to generate significant revenue and achieve financial independence.

Revenue Breakdown

Two entrepreneurs were interviewed on how they were able to make over a million dollars a year with no employees. Sam Parr, the creator of The Hustle, has made over eight figures in revenue and sold it for multiple eight figures. Justin Welsh’s business makes about 1.7 million in revenue per year.

The revenue breakdown of Justin Welsh’s business is as follows:

• 1.3 million in courses
• 144 to 150,000 in coaching
• 108 to 120 in sponsorships
• 100 to 103 in subscriptions
• 24 to 30k in affiliates

The course that generates most of the revenue is called The Operating System, which is a two-hour course on how to use LinkedIn effectively. Justin Welsh started his solopreneurship journey by doing consulting and advising for healthcare technology companies.

According to the entrepreneurs, selling a digital product is a good way to start a zero-employee business. They advise selling something that you are good at and have experience in, as well as something that people have already paid you for in the past. They also recommend becoming an expert on a topic and monetizing through advertising or something similar.

Overall, the entrepreneurs believe that starting a zero-employee business is replicable and can be done by anyone who is willing to put in the work.

Getting Started with Zero Employee Business

Starting a business with no employees may seem daunting, but it is possible to make a lot of money with just a phone and a good idea. Many entrepreneurs have built successful businesses with very small teams, earning millions of dollars per year while maintaining a good work-life balance.

To learn more about how to build a successful zero employee business, three entrepreneurs who have made over a million dollars per year with no employees were interviewed. They shared their advice and strategies for success.

One of the entrepreneurs interviewed is Sam Parr, who is known for his daily email newsletter, The Hustle, which is read by close to three million people. He has also built a successful copywriting course that helps companies optimize their emails, homepages, and newsletters for increased profit.

Another entrepreneur interviewed is Justin Welsh, whose business generates about 1.7 million dollars in revenue per year. He started his solopreneur journey by consulting and advising other healthcare technology companies on sales and marketing. He then transitioned to creating and selling digital courses, such as his popular LinkedIn course, The Operating System.

To start a successful zero employee business, the interviewed entrepreneurs recommend selling a digital product first, as there are high margins and low hiring costs. They also advise finding a topic or skill that people have paid for in the past and leveraging that expertise to create a sellable asset, such as a newsletter or course.

Overall, building a successful zero employee business is possible with the right idea, strategy, and execution. It may take some work, but with determination and a willingness to learn, anyone can start their own successful solopreneur journey.

Advice for Aspiring Millionaires

There are many people who have built successful businesses with no employees. They have been able to generate significant revenue by themselves, using just their phone. In fact, there are many entrepreneurs who don’t openly talk about their business, but still turn out a couple million dollars a year with very small teams.

To gain insights into how these entrepreneurs are able to achieve such success, Sam Parr, Justin Welsh, and other successful entrepreneurs were interviewed. They shared their advice for those who aspire to make millions without employees.

One of the first pieces of advice they offer is to sell a digital product. These entrepreneurs suggest that selling a digital product is a great way to achieve high margins while avoiding hiring costs. They recommend finding something that you’re good at and replicating it for different people.

Another important piece of advice is to focus on something that you enjoy and that people have already paid you for in the past. This will help ensure that you are doing something that you are passionate about and that you have experience in.

Additionally, the entrepreneurs suggest that starting a newsletter can be a great way to generate revenue. They recommend becoming an expert on a topic and writing about it in a newsletter. By aggregating information and sending it to people, it’s possible to monetize through advertising or other means.

Overall, these successful entrepreneurs suggest that it’s possible for anyone to replicate their success. By focusing on selling a digital product, doing something you enjoy and have experience in, and starting a newsletter, it’s possible to build a successful business without employees and generate significant revenue.