A brief history of language “hacking”
Benny Lewis spent years struggling to learn a second language, and it was really frustrating for him. Despite taking language courses and trying to learn on his own, nothing seemed to stick.
Then, one day he came up with a strategy that helped him learn Spanish in 6 months. At first, he thought it was a fluke, but then he did the same thing, only faster, with Italian, French, German, Portuguese, and Esperanto, Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, and Irish.
Now he teaches people how to do the same through his online courses and workshops.
Results: an entirely new world with new opportunities
Even though he’s not a credentialed expert, Benny has become a thought leader in the language learning space.
His site and advice have been featured in The New York Times, National Geographic, The Four Hour Workweek, Business Insider, and Forbes. He was even invited to give a TEDx talk on language hacking.
Remember, he started as someone who couldn’t even speak a second language. But now, he’s built a platform to make an amazing impact all over the world.
The takeaway: You don’t need any advanced degrees or “credentials” to start an online business. You just need to deliver results.
Think about it. If you’re in the market for a personal trainer, do you walk around saying “I really need someone who’s NASM and CPT certified”? Of course not!
You want someone who can help you lose those last 10 pounds or get back into your high school jeans. In other words, you want someone with proven results over the credentialed expert.
From vague idea to real online business:
Felicia always had a passion for communications, sales, client work, and writing, but she didn’t know how to combine these vague passions into a real business.
She started by working with women on their communication skills and writing, but quickly realized she had a knack for coaching. She eventually started teaching those skills online, and it turned out to be a really good way to make an income for her.
Result: earning more money, while working less
Felicia isn’t an “expert” in her field, she simply teaches people social skills and charisma from what she’s learned through years of personal trial and error. But she now earns up to $10,000 a month with her online business, while working only 30 hours a week.
The takeaway: You’re already good at something; you just have to find what it is.
It would have been easy for Felicia to give up because she didn’t know how to turn the things she really enjoyed and the things she was good at into a real business.
But she kept digging to find 1) what she LOVED to do and 2) what people would pay her for. You can do that too with any skills you have. See more on how she built her business here.
Even more unique online business ideas for your successful online business
Take a look at 30 more examples of successful online businesses in this free guide. You’ll quickly see that no matter how weird or “niche” your skills are, you can turn them into a successful online business today.
