How To REALISTICALLY Make $100,000 in 2022

Feb 3

In the online business space especially, there’s a lot of attention on hitting that “six-figure mark.” Of course, I think it’s totally possible to make over $100k in a year with a good combination of your offers, YouTube, and other strategies. But it’s definitely not an overnight project. Before you run off thinking I'm going to sell you a get-rich-quick fix or magic mindset, buckle up, because this post is all about tactics and YouTube strategy that take place over MANY months.

Let’s talk about what you can do in your business this year to make $100k or more. Beware: simple math is involved but if I can do it, you can, too!

Why $100k?

I want you to clearly understand that I'm not telling you that $100k per year means you're successful. I don't believe that, and I don't think anybody else should either.

This number doesn't have major importance. It's just the one I tend to see when business owners become comfortable outsourcing. You need to know the number that makes you feel successful.

However, this is the number I’ll bounce off of in this post.

So, if you want to hit $100k+ in income this year, that’s roughly $8,333 per month. However, you can’t forget about expenses - subscriptions, coaching, or taxes. To make sure you’re able to cover all of this and still bring home $100k, multiple the monthly income by 30%.

$8,333 monthly income x 0.3% for expenses = $10,800 total monthly income

Now that we know what we need to make per month, let’s dig in!

Digital product providers

If you sell anything like a course, ebook, templates, etc., you're a digital product provider!

Let's say you just launched a course priced at $997. To hit that $10,800 income we just talked about, you need to sell 11 courses a month.

$10,800 per month / $997 per course = 11 courses sold

11 seems like a reasonable number, but that's not all you need to think about. You also have to consider how many eyes are on your sales page to make those conversions. This is one of the most crucial metrics to remember when doing these calculations!

The industry standard is a 2% conversion rate, so following along what that same course price:

11 courses sold / 0.02% conversion rate = 550 eyes on your sales page

That's 550 eyes you need to have on your sales page to make conversions!

Promoting your digital products

Evergreen products can make it tricky to hit this number, because you constantly have to be driving traffic — and that can get exhausting! That’s why, if you want to hit $100k or more, I suggest quarterly launches. Why? Because there's more hype generated around them (because they only happen a few times per year), with more advertising, and people will get more excited.

If you want to hit 11 sales per quarter (which is every three months), you would need:

11 courses sold x 3 months in each quarter = 33 courses sold per quarter

And if you want to know how many people need to look at your sales page to make that many conversions:

33 courses sold per quarter / 0.02% conversion rate = 1,650 eyes on your sales page

Smaller product offerings

Maybe you also have a smaller product offing like a template bundle that costs $27. To make $10,800 a month:

$10,800 per month / $27 per product = 400 products sold

Okay, I know you may be a tad bit overwhelmed by that number, but keep in mind that smaller products convert better. That's because people aren't spending as much time mulling over their decision as they are with higher price point courses. It's a smaller price, making it a quicker decision.

And in case you were wondering how many people need to see your sales page this time:

400 products sold / 0.02 conversion rate = 20,000 eyes on your sales page

Service providers

If you're a coach, virtual assistant, social media manager, or anyone who offers a service for someone instead of something they can buy, you're a service provider. When I started with YouTube, I charged each client $750. So to meet my monthly income goal, I'd have to follow this formula:

$10,800 per month / $750 per client = 14.4 clients per month

To find this number from your business, calculate using the current amount you charge your clients, whether that's $300 or $1,000.

Retainer-based services

If you have a retainer-based service, you could calculate it like this:

14.4 clients per month x 12 months = 72 clients a year

I don't know about you, but 15 clients a month is not sustainable for me (I need a nap just thinking about it!). So let's compare retainer versus no retainer.

The example I'm giving here is for a web designer. If you need three days per project and work 20 days per month (because you're taking some well deserved time off and leaving room for professional development):

20 working days per month x 3 days per project = 6 clients per month

For retainer service providers, I'm going to use an example of a virtual assistant. If you have four clients a month:

$10,800 per month / 4 clients per month = $2,597 per client

With retainers, you have to ask yourself if you can prove the value of your services and deliver on the promise that it's worth the money. Think about this as you set your income goal.

The secret formula for hitting $100k

The secret to doing this successfully? Use both! A combo recipe is absolutely the best method to help you reach your income goals. When you provide services alone, you leave yourself prone to burnout and courses can bring so much uncertainty.

When you have both, the other helps keep you afloat.
I didn't understand this for the first few years of my business. I was exhausted, and even though I hit $100K without this method, there was a huge difference when I started implementing it. It's what got me to $200k, then $400k, and what will help me grow even more without feeling burnt out or worried about if my courses are bringing in enough money.

Let me break it down.

If you're a team of one, and you can take on two clients a month (because trust me, you want to allow time to manage your business' daily operations, work on creating passive income, and content creation), you would figure out the revenue from this portion of your income by:

2 clients per month x $2,597 per client = $5,194 per month

That only gets you halfway there, so you need the passive income to make up for the other half. If you are selling a small product offer:

30 products x $27 per product = $810 per month

“But wait, that's not $10,800 a month yet." Correct! You still need to figure out the bigger course launch. However, the first dollar that people spend is the hardest, so having a smaller product offering makes it easier for people to convert to the higher price point ones.

If you're launching your course every quarter:

15 sales per quarter x 0.02 conversion rate = 750 eyes on your sales page per quarter

That's what will get you to your desired income per month.

Again, this number doesn't have to be $100k, you just need to narrow in on a number that works for your business. Play around with these formulas and plug in your numbers to figure out how to get you your desired income. It can help you see the gaps between where you are now and where you want to be.

How to get leads

If this sounds like a lot of work, it is. That's why running a business isn't for everyone. But you stepped into this adventure, and I'm confident that if you had what it takes to take the first step, you've got what it takes to make $100k.

One of the biggest helps I had in reaching this milestone was creating content on YouTube. Was it a lot of work? Absolutely. But because of it, my videos (even ones that are a few years old) are getting eyes on them every single day, leading to traffic on my sales pages, and ultimately, conversions. Nothing I've posted on Instagram has been able to compare!

If you want to learn how to start using your YouTube channel to create a consistent stream of eyes (AKA leads) to your website, check out my video here. I cover all the basics of setting yourself up for success when it comes to being seen.