How Long Does It Take to Make Steady Income in An Online Business?

Last Updated on July 15, 2025

Wondering how long it really takes to make a steady, sustainable income in your online business? Here’s an honest, year-by-year breakdown—with real numbers, lessons, and encouragement for the messy middle.

This question came up multiple times inside my behind the scenes 1k/Day Experiment as well as inside my monthly mastermind, The Room so I knew that I had to do a deep dive into the answer.

Here’s one of the most common questions I get from my clients:

“How long does it take to make a steady income in an online business?”

And listen—I get it. If you’re pouring your heart into this work—creating content, showing up for your people, building offers that matter—you want to know when that energy will finally translate into reliable revenue.

You want to know:

• How long it takes to replace your 9–5 income online
• How long until your online business becomes profitable
• Whether it’s possible to hit consistent five-figure months
• When it finally stops feeling like a guessing game

But here’s the truth: Steady income means wildly different things depending on your goals, your season of life, and your version of success.

Some people are looking to replace a $50K salary. Others are dreaming of $10K months or hoping to leave a draining 9–5. Some are the sole breadwinner for their family. Others want to cover childcare, student loans, or finally pay themselves for all the invisible labor of running a business.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here—and that’s why the real question isn’t “How long does it take to make a steady income?”

It’s “What does steady income look like for me?”

Today, I want to walk you through what that journey looked like for me—and what I’ve learned from nearly a decade of building an online business from the ground up.

Because if you’re in the messy middle, wondering if this thing is really going to work… I promise you: you’re not alone.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how I built a profitable, sustainable business over 9 years—complete with real numbers, honest lessons, and a whole lot of pivoting.

My Year-by-Year Online Business Revenue Breakdown (And What Was Actually Happening)

Here’s how long it took to make steady income in my business—and what was actually happening behind the scenes.

Year 1 (2016): $6,500 Gross Revenue | Minimal Profit

• Business: Root + Revel, a wellness and food blog
• Income streams: Ads, affiliate links, sponsorships
• Notes: I worked a lot for very little. Burnout hit hard because I was trying to be everywhere (Instagram, Pinterest, you name it).

Is this all for nothing?

When I first started my business in 2016, I wasn’t selling courses or coaching or digital products. I wasn’t launching or funnel-building or doing anything you probably associate with “online business” today.

I was a traditional blogger meaning that I made money solely from ads, affiliate links, and sponsored posts. No products. No services. Just me writing about wellness, food, and natural living on Root + Revel and depending on traffic and volume to drive revenue.

By the end of my first year, I made around $6,500.

And honestly? It felt discouraging. There were so many moments I thought about quitting. I’d look at that number and think, What am I doing? This isn’t working. My inner critic was loud: You’re not good enough. You should give up. You know, the usual greatest hits of self-doubt on repeat.

Not only was my inner voice questioning my every move, I was also completely overwhelmed. I was trying to do everything, be everywhere. I had no strategy or direction and was flying by the seat of my pants. Social media especially felt like a giant time suck. Even though it was only 2016 and Instagram wasn’t what it is today, I already hated how much space it took up in my brain and my schedule.

I remember hitting a wall at the end of that first year. I was burned out. Tired. Frustrated. And I had a gut-level realization: Trying to be everywhere and do everything was costing me everything.

That clarity—hard-won as it was—became the catalyst for what came next.

Year 2 (2017): $75,000 Gross Revenue | ~$25K Profit

• Shifted focus to SEO and blogging only (ditched social media).
• Saw massive traffic growth.
• Still doing everything myself= long hours and limited scalability.

Head Down, SEO Up

At the beginning of 2017, I made a decision that changed everything. After a full year of trying to do all the things—and feeling like I was spinning my wheels—I knew something had to shift. I was tired of chasing trends, trying to crack the code of algorithms, and forcing myself to show up on Instagram even though it drained me.

So I decided to go all in and focus on blogging and SEO.

No more distractions. No more half-hearted attempts to master every platform. Just one thing: writing valuable content and making sure people could actually find it.

And it worked.

That year, my business grew from $6,500 in 2016 to $75,000 in 2017—all through blogging and search engine optimization.

Years 3-5 (2018)-(2020): Revenue Climbing | Profit Growing

• Hit my first six-figure year in revenue (2018).
• Launched my first digital course (2019).
• Took 2 maternity leaves (2018 and 2020) while my business continued running.
• Made my first 100k in profit (2020)

By 2018, the strategy was working. Really working.

My revenue doubled again to $150K.

But my net income stayed relatively low—around $45K. And nearly all of it still required me to be “on.” I had no evergreen offers. No real systems. Just me hustling behind the scenes to keep everything running. I’ll also note here that it took me nearly 3 years to pay myself $45k so it felt like a slow burn at the time.

2019 my profit grew to $69K with a 35% margin. One big shift was that in 2019 I started selling my own digital course – which was the impetus to skyrocket my income in 2020.

I wasn’t rolling in it—but I had proof that scaling was possible without burning out. I loved that things were growing, but I was starting to feel like I was growing a machine that might crush me if I wasn’t careful.

These year’s laid the groundwork for everything that came next.

2020 was the year it all clicked.

In year five, my gross revenue hit $430K and for the first time, I paid myself $100K.

It’s not surprising that that was the year that I launched my first paid product (that’s why I HIGHLY recommend all bloggers sell a course, product or service of their own)

But here’s the wildest part? I did it all while preparing for maternity leave (actually 2 maternity leaves!) My maternity leave was key because it gave me a clear deadline to get my products out there, evergreen funnel published, and a traffic system that kept leads coming in. I had to systematize. I had to automate. I had to build something that could run without me.

And I did.

Yes, 2020 was a golden year for online business. But it wasn’t just luck. It was years of groundwork, plus a whole lot of urgency that finally pushed me to stop tinkering and start trusting the process.

Year 6 (2021): $775,000 Gross Revenue | ~$500K Profit

• Sold Root + Revel for multiple six figures.
• Highest profit year ever, thanks to the sale.

2021 was, financially speaking, my best year in business. I sold Root + Revel for multiple six figures. I paid myself mid-six figures.

And my net profit that year was nearly $500K.

But here’s the thing: it cost me a lot to make that kind of money. In time, energy, and emotional bandwidth.

I was hitting massive numbers— I hired a big team to support the growth. But then talks of a recession hit, industry shifted, and we started seeing the COVID whiplash to online business.

Years 7–8 (2022–2023): Revenue Decline | Profit Dips

• The coaching industry shifted post-pandemic.
• Expenses ballooned (too big of a team).
• Went into the red for the first time.

Lopsided Overhead + A Wake-Up Call

The market shifted. People went back to traditional jobs. And the online business space got quieter.

Meanwhile, I was operating like it was still boom time. My team was too big. My expenses were too high. And I found myself in the red—fast.

Looking back, it’s clear: I was trying to maintain a past version of success, instead of adapting to what the business (and I) needed now.

It was humbling. And it was necessary.

Year 9 (2024): $200,000 Gross Revenue | $140K Profit

• Took a 6-month sabbatical.
• Streamlined to a lean team + minimal expenses.
• Highest profit margin ever (70%).

By the end of 2023, I was done.

Emotionally, financially, energetically—I needed a reset. So I took a six-month sabbatical. I let go of almost everything. One contractor. Bare-bones hours.

I worked less than five hours a month.

And still—I made a six-figure profit.

My revenue was lower, yes. But my margin was the highest it had ever been. And more importantly, I reclaimed my time, my energy, and my peace.

Today, I don’t care what my gross revenue is.

I care about what I keep. I care about how much time I spend with my kids. I care about how often I can rest without guilt. I care about building a business that supports my actual life—not one that performs success for strangers online.

TL;DR: 4 Big Lessons from 9 Years in Business

1. Success isn’t linear.

You will have record-breaking years followed by hard resets. You will change your mind, your model, and your metrics. That’s not failure—it’s evolution.

2. Systems > hustle.

My business started thriving when I stopped doing everything manually and built automation into the foundation. Evergreen funnels, recurring offers, and smart email sequences are what made real freedom possible.

3. Focus creates momentum.

When I focused exclusively on blogging and SEO, I went from $6,500 to $75K. When I focused on one course and one funnel, I made six figures during maternity leave. Every big leap came from narrowing my efforts, not expanding them.

4. Rest is a revenue strategy.

My sabbatical taught me this more than any strategy ever could. When I slowed down, my profit went up. When I stopped chasing more, I found enough.

My Best Advice for Reaching Steady Income Faster

• Start building your email list yesterday.

• Focus on one thing until it’s selling consistently.

• Create evergreen systems so you’re not stuck launching every month.

• Invest in mentorship to shorten your learning curve.

• Stop comparing your Year 1 to someone else’s Year 5.

If there’s one thing I want you to take from this post, it’s this:

There’s no magic timeline.

Building a steady, sustainable income in your online business is less about hitting some arbitrary benchmark—and more about finding a rhythm that actually works for your life.

It’s about choosing focus over frenzy. Margin over more. Alignment over algorithms.

And yes, it’s about staying the course even when the numbers are slower than you hoped, even when your inner critic gets loud, and even when someone else seems to be “doing it faster.”

Steady income doesn’t come from doing everything perfectly. It comes from doing the right things consistently—while giving yourself grace through the messy middle.

Wherever you are on your journey, you’re not behind. You’re right on time.

Want Support as You Build a Steady, Sustainable Business?

If you’re nodding along and wishing someone would walk with you through the messy middle—join us in The Room.

It’s our monthly mastermind for values-driven online entrepreneurs who want coaching, accountability, and community—without the pressure to do it all.

Come for the strategy. Stay for the soul.

👉 Join us today and get your first month for just $7.