The online business world is full of noise. Passive income promises, laptop lifestyle highlight reels, overnight success stories — it’s enough to make anyone either jump in blindly or, more commonly, freeze and never start at all. The gap between the promise and the reality is exactly what stops so many smart, capable people from ever taking action.
Recently, I sat down with Lucy one of successful grads and let her flip the script — instead of me interviewing one of our students, she interviewed me.
As a millennial herself, Lucy asked the questions that I know so many of you are quietly asking: What does building real financial freedom actually look like? How long does it take? What’s a realistic first goal? And what does “freedom” even mean anymore? Make sure you watch the full conversation below for the unfiltered version.
Here are my honest answers, drawn from coaching hundreds of people through this journey since 2010.
The Honest Truth About “Passive Income” in 2026
Let me start with something I don’t think many people in the online business space are being upfront about: building an online business is not as passive as it used to be.
Back when Liz and I first started buying and renovating websites in 2008, it genuinely was passive. You’d do a bunch of work up front — buy a website, renovate it, optimise it — and then it would essentially sit there making money for you. People were blown away by how little we worked on our sites. An hour a month, maybe. That was the “good old days.”
Fast forward to 2026, and I have to be completely honest with you: it’s not fully passive anymore. You do need to work on these websites.
But here’s the important nuance — it’s semi-passive. You’re not chained to a desk nine to five. You’re not answering to a boss. You’re not commuting. And the more work you put in, the faster you’ll move. That’s true of any worthwhile strategy in life now. The world has changed, and if you want to get ahead, you need to be willing to put in focused effort.
The good news? The skills we teach in our Digital Investors Program still work brilliantly — and the people who commit to learning them are building genuine lifestyle freedom businesses that pay them for years to come.
The Realistic Timeframe: Give Yourself 12 Months
One of Lucy’s first questions was the one everyone wants answered: how long does this actually take?
My short answer, after coaching beginners through this for over 15 years: give yourself 12 months.
If you’re a total beginner, that’s a realistic, honest number. There is a knowledge gap you need to close. On the surface, buying and renovating websites looks easy — and once you understand it, it genuinely is fun and straightforward. But you’ve got to put in the reps. You’ve got to learn the fundamentals before you can move quickly and confidently.
Here’s what I want you to be realistic about:
- Your current situation matters. Are you working full-time? Do you have kids? Caring responsibilities? A long commute?
- Life is busier now than ever. Most of our members today are significantly more time-poor than the people we coached ten years ago.
- The 12-month timeline assumes part-time effort. If you can go full-time, you’ll move much faster.
As I often joke, most people aren’t working nine to five — they’re working five till nine by the time you factor in commuting and overtime. So be honest with yourself about the time you actually have, and plan accordingly.
Your First Financial Goal: Make Your First $1,000 Online
When Lucy asked about the first financial milestone someone in a corporate job should aim for, my answer was the same one I’ve been giving since 2010 — because it still works.
Figure out how to make your first $1,000 online.
Back when we first started coaching, we used to say “make your first dollar online.” And that was a genuinely big deal — most people had never earned anything on the internet. These days, I know we can do better than that. The first $1,000 is the real milestone.
And here’s why it matters more than people realise: it’s not just proof of concept. It’s proof that you’ve got the knowledge and skills to actually do this. Once you’ve made your first thousand dollars online, you’ve crossed the most important psychological and practical threshold there is. You’ve validated that you can do it. You’ve broken through the knowledge gap. From there, it’s just repetition.
This is one of the foundational outcomes we focus on in our Digital Investors Program — getting our students to that first thousand dollars as quickly as possible, because once you hit that, everything changes mentally.
The Cost of Living Crisis: A Catalyst, Not a Crisis
Lucy raised an important point — the cost of living is crushing a lot of people right now, especially millennials. Could that financial pressure actually be the catalyst that pushes people to finally make the move they’ve been putting off?
I think absolutely yes. And what’s interesting is that the people who succeed in our community aren’t the ones who panic. They’re the ones who use the pressure as fuel to actually take action — to learn a real, valuable skill that puts the financial control back in their hands.
The beauty of digital assets is that the cost of starting an online business is genuinely low compared to almost any other investment strategy. You’re not buying a $700,000 investment property. You’re not franchising a café for $400,000. You’re learning a skill, then deploying it to acquire and improve websites that pay you back over time.
The Next Milestone: $5,000 a Month Net Profit
So you’ve made your first $1,000. What’s next?
For years, the goal everyone in our community would say out loud was “ten grand a month — then I’ll quit my job.” That was the dream number. But what I’ve actually observed coaching people through this is something different and far more useful:
The real tipping point is $5,000 a month in net profit. That’s where you start to get options.
$5,000 a month doesn’t automatically replace a full-time corporate salary, but it does something more important — it gives you choices. It’s proof of concept. It’s enough to make you sit down with someone like me and seriously map out an exit plan from your job.
Let me share a real example. We’ve got a member of our community right now — Henry, a young engineer — who just handed in his resignation this week. Here’s how the numbers worked:
- Henry hit $5,000 a month net profit from his online business within nine months
- When we calculated what he was actually netting after tax as an engineer, it was very close to that same $5,000
- Factor in his 7am start, his commute, and the fact he wasn’t enjoying the work — and the maths spoke for itself
Henry’s a young guy with no kids and no major financial dependents. He’s got some savings in the bank. He’s not going into debt to make this move. And as I told him: if you’re young, single, and have no big family commitments, back yourself for 12 months. The worst case scenario? He goes back to engineering in a year, having learned an incredibly valuable skillset that AI is not going to take away.
The downside is genuinely tiny. The upside is enormous.
Redefining Financial Freedom: It’s Not About Being Rich Anymore
One of the most fascinating shifts Liz and I have observed in the past five years is how the definition of financial freedom has completely changed.
I come from the old-school entrepreneur era. We came from nothing. We wanted to be millionaires. The money was the goal. Full stop. And that’s still the driver for plenty of people, including a lot of my closest entrepreneurial friends.
But since COVID, something has shifted in the world. Almost everyone who comes to us now is saying the same thing: “I don’t need to be rich. I just want lifestyle freedom.”
At eBusiness Institute, we teach what we call the Three W’s of Wealth:
- Work when you want
- Work where you want
- Work with whoever you want
That’s it. That’s the modern definition of financial freedom. It’s not about a number in the bank — it’s about reclaiming control of your time, your location, and the people you spend your days with.
Escaping The Rat Race: Chris and Beck
One of the clearest examples of this shift is our member Chris, who you might know from earlier Digital investor podcast interviews. Chris was a millennial earning over $200,000 a year on the oil rigs — FIFO work, brutal hours, but excellent money. By every traditional measure, he was “winning.”
But one day he booked in for a call with me and casually mentioned he’d already quit his job. No transition plan, no easing out — just done. I was shocked. And what he said to me stuck:
“Matt, it’s not about the money. I need freedom.”
That was the first time I’d heard it framed that way from someone earning serious corporate money. Today, Chris and his partner Beck travel around Australia in a four-wheel drive as travel influencers, running their digital business from a laptop. Their income has now well exceeded what Chris used to earn on the rigs — but in the early days, they didn’t need it to. They just needed enough to live well and live free.
That’s the modern definition of financial freedom. A lifestyle business that funds the life you actually want.
How to Map Out Your Own Financial Freedom Plan
If you’re sitting in a corporate job right now, burnt out, frustrated, and wondering how to make a move — here’s the framework I’d encourage you to use:
Step 1: Get Honest About Your Goals
Before anything else, sit down and ask yourself: what do I actually want? Not what your parents want, not what Instagram tells you to want — what do you want? Is it pure financial freedom? Lifestyle freedom? Both? More time with your kids? The ability to travel? Define it clearly.
Step 2: Get Honest About Your Current Situation
How much time do you realistically have each week? What are your financial commitments? Are you single, or supporting a family? Do you have savings to back yourself, or do you need to keep your job income flowing? These answers shape your timeline and strategy.
Step 3: Set Tiered Financial Milestones
- Milestone 1: Make your first $1,000 online (proof you have the skills)
- Milestone 2: Hit $5,000 a month net profit (you now have options)
- Milestone 3: Replace your full-time income (genuine freedom)
- Milestone 4: Scale beyond, or sell digital assets for capital gains exits
Step 4: Commit to a 12-Month Learning Window
Give yourself 12 months to close the knowledge gap and build momentum. This is exactly the timeframe we structure our Digital Investors Program around — because we’ve seen what works, and 12 months of consistent, guided action is what genuinely transforms beginners into capable digital asset investors.
The Skills That Genuinely Build Freedom
Here’s what I want you to take away from this conversation: real financial freedom isn’t built on a get-rich-quick scheme or a magic income stream. It’s built on real skills — the same skills Liz and I have been teaching for over a decade.
Skills like:
- How to evaluate and buy undervalued websites
- How to renovate digital assets to multiply their value
- How to drive organic traffic and grow online income streams
- How to build a portfolio of digital assets that work for you
These are skills that AI is not going to take away from you — in fact, AI is making the digital investor’s job easier and more profitable than ever. The students of ours who are quietly building lifestyle freedom right now are using AI, modern SEO, and proven website renovation strategies to do what used to take months in a fraction of the time.
Final Takeaway: The Path Is Real, But It Requires a Plan
The version of financial freedom being sold by random gurus on YouTube — passive income, instant millions, laptop lifestyle without effort — isn’t real. And honestly, I’m glad you’re smart enough to know that.
But here’s what is real:
- You can absolutely build a profitable online business in 12 months
- Your first $1,000 online is genuinely achievable and is the most important milestone you’ll ever hit
- $5,000 a month in net profit gives you real, life-changing options
- Lifestyle freedom — working when, where, and with whoever you want — is a more realistic and arguably more meaningful goal than chasing millions
- The cost of starting an online business is incredibly low compared to almost any other wealth-building path
The people in our community who succeed aren’t the most talented or the most well-funded. They’re the ones who committed to learning real skills, set realistic milestones, and gave themselves the time and structure to see it through.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building something real, I’d love to invite you to take the next step. Our Digital Investors Program is where we work with people just like Henry, Chris, Beck, and hundreds of others to map out exactly this journey — from absolute beginner to lifestyle freedom business owner.
The path is real. The timeline is honest. And the freedom on the other side is genuinely life-changing.
I’ll see you on the inside.
— Matt Raad
