Intro: Building an Online Business From Scratch (Start Here)
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This isn’t your typical “how to make money online” post. What you’re reading is a live case study. I’m building Smart Online Journey as a real affiliate marketing business – from scratch – and sharing the wins, fails, and facepalms along the way. The twist? I’m following a structured 15-week bootcamp designed to teach the skills behind creating a six-figure affiliate business.
Will everything magically fall into place in 15 weeks? Nope. But this fast-moving format keeps me (and you) focused, and it’s the perfect way to show just how much progress you can make when you have a clear roadmap. Think of it as a “season one” – with plenty of humor, coffee, and learning curves included.
Why I’m Doing This
There are thousands of articles out there about affiliate marketing, but most are written after the fact, with the rough edges polished out. I wanted to give you something different: the play-by-play of starting now, in 2025.
Think of it as a behind-the-scenes tour of building a business that you can run from anywhere – whether that’s in your home office, at a coffee shop, or while eating pizza and gelato in Italy.
Honestly, I want you to see that you can do this too – even if you’re a baby boomer like me! That’s partially my motivation in doing this case study for you.
What to Expect
- Weekly posts sharing what I worked on, what I learned, and what I messed up.
- Step-by-step breakdowns of setting up hosting, picking a domain, publishing content, and growing traffic.
- Honest updates about what’s working and what’s not (no “overnight millionaire” stories here).
Think of this as a reality show for online business – minus the roses, tribal councils, or anyone baking sourdough bread in a tent. Just me, figuring out affiliate marketing one week at a time.
Conclusion
This 15-week journey is part experiment, part demonstration. By documenting each step, I want to show that building an online business isn’t about overnight success – it’s about steady action, smart tools (like those inside the Wealthy Affiliate community), and being willing to laugh when things go sideways. Stick around, because what happens over these weeks will set the stage for what comes next.
Want to see the full journey? Check out the Smart Online Journey case study.
