How to Turn $8 into Millions

Talk about turning your hobby into an extra income. Check out this story about a 17-year-old girl who started a website for $8 and now grosses more than $1 million a year. The details:

Ashley is the head of whateverlife.com, a website she started when she was just 14 — with eight dollars borrowed from her mother. Now, just three years later, the website grosses more than $1 million a year, providing Ashley and her working class family a sense of security they had never really known.

What's she do? She creates and gives away MySpace background designs. You heard that right. She gives away stuff.

So how does she make money? Well, her site is very popular and generates about a million visitors a day. And where there's traffic, there are advertisers. Yep, she gives away designs, generates a ton of traffic doing so, and sells ads to make money.

Looks pretty simple to me. Girl knows what's popular, she takes a risk (only an $8 risk) on making it work, and it turns into millions.

Now, who's ready to do that with their hobby? ;-)

Comments

[Curtis]

I read this article in my local paper's business section a few weeks ago. Very inspiring.

[Elena]

When you say " Well, her site is very popular and generates about a million a day," do you mean a million clicks or a million dollars?

[Richard]

There are two crucial ingredients that you are leaving out of her recipe for success:

1) Luck

2) Connections

I've read about her story and the devil is in the details. I believe she had help from relatives who had connections in the industry. This got her the exposure and training/mentoring needed to be successful.

She makes a good story but the title of this post is misleading. It takes hard work and luck to have a success story like hers.

[FMF]

Elena --

I added "visitors" to the correct spot. ;-)

[FMF]

Richard --

I'm not sure how the title is misleading -- she did turn $8 into millions. It doesn't say she didn't work hard and/or wasn't lucky (both of which helped her out, for sure) -- in fact, the title doesn't comment on these one way or the other.

Now if the title was "How to Turn $8 Into Millions with No Hard Work and No Luck", then you'd be in a spot to complain.

[Laura]

Fast Company did a great profile of her. She does work hard. Adults in her position don't always make it. She's a regular teenager in some regard, but she has a natural business sense.

[Matt Wolfe]

I heard about this story about a year ago. That's such a great, inspirational story. A 14 year old girl managed to accomplish what many people with college educations and web development or marketing backgrounds haven't. It's very impressive.

[Richard]

FMF - My comment was not a complaint, it's dissenting opinion of the message you are trying to convey. Perhaps I should have focused on the content and not the title.

Taken at face value this is a great story, turn an inexpensive hobby into a million dollar business. A small percentage of people will achieve this. She lucked into a niche and It's worth mentioning the details. I want to hear about her server costs, advertising costs, taxes, dealing with attorneys/accountants, how much money was lost to get to 1 million etc. Once the gory details are added it changes the story's perspective, don't you think?

[FMF]

Richard --

I haven't seen her P&L statement but I think the point of this piece is probably correct: she took an idea, had very little funding, and is now making a good, solid income (maybe even becoming wealthy.)

If you're implying that she's really not making money at all, I think that assumption is incorrect (at least from what I see in the article.)

[Elena]

The title "How to Turn $8 into Millions" somehow has a feeling to it that you are about to give us some advice on making millions with 8 bucks. Instead, it gives a rather extraordinary story that other people would have very hard time recreating on their own if they tried. So, in my opinion, this story would be neat thing to tell at boring parties, but as far as adding anything my own arsenal of financials "how-tos," I am not really impressed.

Most of us here are not teenagers with a ton of free time. My personal hobbies, for example, are sleeping, reading, and playing with my dogs. Any suggestions on how I could make millions with those?

[FMF]

Elena --

Yeah, get new hobbies.

[Elena]

:) But then I won't have time for sleeping, reading, and playing with the dogs!

What hobbies do you have, FMF? If it is not too personal a question, of course?

[rob]

I'd rather make money than play with my dogs.

[FMF]

Elena --

I've covered my hobbies before: cycling, writing, growing roses, coaching (basketball and soccer), chess, football (Colts!), and NASCAR.

how do you make money by making a website