I get this question more than almost any other, and the short answer is yes. Absolutely yes. I know because I have been doing it since 2007.
The motto of this show has always been “Building Internet Businesses One Night at a Time.” That is not a marketing tagline. It is a literal description of how I built my business. I worked a full-time job during the day and built my internet business in the evenings and on weekends, one session at a time.
Three Kinds of Internet Entrepreneurs
From my experience, there are really three kinds of people who start internet businesses:
The serial entrepreneurs. These are the people who go all in from day one. They have an unbridled passion for entrepreneurship or a clear vision of where they are headed, and they leap headlong into building a business full-time. Some of them are wildly successful. They are also the minority.
The entrepreneurs of circumstance. These are people who had change forced upon them. They lost a job, went through a divorce, faced a financial crisis, or hit a life situation where they had to figure out how to make money on their own. They did not choose entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship chose them.
The rest of us. This is the group I belong to, and it is probably the group you belong to as well. We are people with day jobs who are interested in internet marketing, want to make extra money, or are looking to build something that could eventually replace our income. We have families, responsibilities, and limited time.
I am a regular guy. When I started, I was a father with four kids, a husband, and a full-time director at a large electronics company in Texas. I ran a department with employees and a significant budget. At night, after the kids were in bed, I built a profitable internet business that I loved.
If I can do it, you can do it. The question is how.
Why Part-Time Actually Works
Building an internet business part-time is not just possible. In some ways, it is actually advantageous:
- Lower financial pressure. Your day job covers your bills, so your business decisions are not driven by desperation. You can make strategic choices instead of grabbing at whatever might generate quick cash.
- Forced efficiency. When you only have ten to fifteen hours a week, you learn to focus on what actually matters. Full-time entrepreneurs often spend hours on tasks that feel productive but do not move the needle. Part-timers cannot afford that luxury, and it makes them sharper.
- Sustainable pace. Building something over months and years, one evening at a time, creates a sustainable rhythm. You are less likely to burn out because you never bet everything on a single sprint.
- Real-world testing. Your day job gives you a safety net to test ideas, fail, learn, and try again without financial catastrophe.
What It Actually Takes
Building an internet business part-time requires sustained effort over time. Not heroic effort. Not eighty-hour weeks. Sustained, consistent, focused effort. Creating content, building an audience, solving traffic problems, developing offers, and serving customers — these things compound over months and years.
The internet has made it possible to start a real business with almost no upfront capital. You can build a website for less than the cost of dinner. You can create content for free. You can learn marketing from free resources, podcasts, and affordable courses. The barrier to entry has never been lower.
What has not changed is the requirement for consistent work. There are no shortcuts. There are no secrets. There is just showing up, doing the work, learning from your results, and doing it again.
If you are willing to do that, building a profitable internet business part-time is not just possible. It is probable.
For practical tips on building your part-time business, listen to the Late Night Internet Marketing Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
I guess I fit into the “hated my job so I worked part time until it was able to be full-time” category, but YES, I fully agree with you Mark that you can definitely run a successful internet business by working only part-time hours. However, in order to do that, you have to use your time VERY wisely and stay very focused, because part time only gives you a little bit of time to work with. It’s all about consistent and regular effort though.
This post got me hungry for more, looking forward to the next one in the series 🙂
Thanks Jonathan. I currently have about 12 posts written and scheduled for each Thursday. Appreciate the feedback.
Mark, I got into IM because work has slowed down. I am at work for 8 hours, but I only have about 5 hours worth of work. I work at a computer, so I thought what can I do with the rest of the time.
I found IM and I’m hooked. I do some IM work at home, but I could do more. I have 4 kids, but only 1 at home. I do all the family things, but I don’t watch any mindless TV. I used to read at nite, now I work until I’m ready to sleep.
I’ve only been at this for 2 months, so far my wife supports me. And if I can get some money rolling in, probably no future problems.
IM is exciting and fun to read about. It’s easy to find a forum and spend an hour checking it out, rather than working on an article or a website.
I know we read it all the time, but GOALS, ACTION & MORE ACTION is what it takes.
I look forward to next Thursday’s post, thanks Bovic
Your singing my song Mason 🙂 I’m a full-time PR/marketing manager in the education sector. I love my job but throughout my 20 years working in this field I’ve always managed a freelance writing business on the side. In 2007, I discovered that the Internet (a place I visited to indulge my interest in travel forums) could actually support my side-line business.
It’s been an exciting ride since then. I met some wonderfully smart and successful online business owners and mentors who have had a tremendous impact on my business – 3 people I think you know – Kelly McCausey, Nicole Dean and Lynn Terry 🙂
My challenge is keeping all the balls juggling – one night at a time, just like you! I’m expanding out beyond my writing business to do some of what I do during the day (creating information resources for professionals and small businesses) as a core part of the business I’m building at night.
Sorry for the long post…but I sense you’re a kindred spirit 🙂 Enjoying your blog and all your excellent insight and information.
Hi Mark:
Love the information. I like Jonathan want you to hurry and write some more. Your blog is always informative and of the real world stuff no fluff or B.S.. Thanks ever so much for your honesty and intgerity.
On another note sorry, I don’t want the cat at any price.
Regards,
Peggy
Hi Mark,
Nice to see that you’re doing a series of part-time tips for those who are still doing this part time. Most people suffer from information overload and lack of focus as well as direction (especially when they’re still doing it part-time), so it’ll be great to cover those in your series.
I belong to the 2nd group (have to succeed to survive).
Best!
Welly Mulia
Great post as always. I find it so hard to come home from the crazy day job and knuckle down into some serious IM hours. I was getting burnt out. So now I make time to do other things like yoga, swim, movies and it’s crazy but for some reason I can get more IM work done! The motivation/mindset/faith part is the toughest part of IM as sometimes you’re working away but you don’t see any results for weeks, even months. it’s easy to let self-doubt creep in at that point. Thanks for this helpful series for part time workers like me
Great article. Taking risk is one of them. That is when you learn how to grow. http://20four7va.com/