Financial success may come down to luck. A person starts a business and makes a lot of money out of the beginning. It might happen, but it is not typical. One of the best ways to prove the point is to follow up with someone after a while. Guess what I found after doing that.
There is more success.
I wrote about the story of Kelan and Brittany Kline, a couple who quit their jobs and made $100,000 a year working from home. It was time for an update after I caught up with them. $100,000 a year isn't enough for the Kline's to work from home anymore. Most of the $100,000 per month comes from passive income streams.
How have they continued to do well?
Kelan and Brittany were 28 years old when I first wrote about them in my first report. They had created a $100,000-plus income source by building the blog.
The story was remarkable because neither of them had ever run an online business that made six figures. Kelan had held a number of jobs unrelated to teaching. They live in upstate New York, which is not a location you would expect to launch an online business from.
Kelan and Brittany wanted to show others how to better manage their finances, based on their experience providing for their family on a limited income. Their initial hope was that the blog would eventually produce at least $500 per month in additional income.
As time went on, the popularity of the post increased and the income it generated increased as well. After seeing the income potential it presented, the couple quit their jobs and turned TheSavvy Couple into their primary occupations.
It was possible to have an online,work-from- home business. Free from the constraints of traditional 9-to-5 jobs, the Kline's were able to control their schedules, more time with each other, and the possibility of unlimited income.
The combination wasn't the end of their story. Since then the income has continued to grow.
Kelan & Brittany Kline in 2023
The family of Kelan and Brittany and their daughters has grown to four in the last year. They have been able to split their time between their business and parenting. Brittany is able to work when Kallie comes home from preschool in the afternoon.
A family with Kelan and Brittany.
They're living their dreams. They wake up and have breakfast with the girls. They set up their lives to be as free as possible. Taking a lot of days off and going on vacations are included.
Brittany says that this is a different way for their kids to grow up than how they grew up with their parents working. We want to teach them how to create their own life of freedom with hard work, discipline, and dedication. Even though we work from home or online, we still have to meet deadlines.
Kelan and Brittany Kline often go to the beach.
How the Kline’s have Grown their Business Over the Past Four Years
Four specific strategies have been put in place by the Klines to keep their business growing.
Leveraging Talent by Building a Dedicated Staff
You will eventually run out of time if you are a soloentrepreneur. There are so many responsibilities involved in running a small business that it's almost impossible to keep up. The way to overcome this limitation is to hire talented individuals to perform more tasks.
This has been one of the biggest revelations for the Kline's, and a critical part of their ability to expand. They added staff by using part-time contractors.
The first thing that was done was to hire a virtual assistant. The person is a jack of all trades and handles customer service and content writing. An editor, as well as a monetization expert who handles revenue-generating affiliate arrangements for the site, are employed by the Klines. An operations manager is in charge of the big picture.
Kelan and Brittany don't have to work as much as they used to because of the four specialists they use. Existing product lines have been improved and new ones added. The day-to-day details of the business are handled by their part-time staff.
Expanding Within a Very Specific Niche
They have been careful to stay within their niche. Money management, budgeting, saving money, and investing are topics for the website. The main focus is on ways to make more money through side hustles. It is easy to understand why generating additional income is so popular.
Kelan says that they have been writing in the Making Money Online niche for three years. We have focused a lot on search engine marketing and user intent. We have tried to rank for very competitiveKeywords that are lucrative and support our channel. We have been able to scale our passive income.
Brittany is working on developing digital planners, organizers, and printables for their other brand.
The planners and organizers included in those products help mothers organize, simplify, and control the chaos in their lives. Brittany has helped expand their business by creating a membership that helps moms stay accountable.
Brittany says that branching out into something of her own has been exciting. I know how difficult it can be for a mother to juggle multiple responsibilities. If I can help alleviate just a little bit of stress and help a mom feel more accomplished in her day, then I think I have contributed to her well-being and overall happiness.
The Savvy Kitchen was developed by the Kline's along the same lines. The site provides recipes, meal planning, cooking tips, and other resources to help homemakers save money.
The Savvy Couple has 90 videos and more than 10,000 subscribers. The channel helps generate additional revenue and it also builds the brand name and gives visitors more resources.
Staying Focused and Tracking Time
The time for the Klines to get better control of their time is provided by the outsourcing of multiple responsibilities to staffers. Kelan and Brittany pay more attention to the hours they spend in the business than they did when they first started.
Kelan says that a rule of thumb is to track hours and how much you make per hour. I make over $1,000 per hour. Activities that are $1,000 per hour are what I focus on. I have learned that outsourcing will allow me to focus on growing the business.
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Grow the Business
Artificial intelligence is usually used by large organizations. Kelan and Brittany are an example of a small business that uses artificial intelligence.
Kelan reports that they came across artificial intelligence tools back in 2020. Jasper Artificial Intelligence and Surfer were used to create article outlines, write the first draft, come up with titles, unique ideas and perspectives, and more. In the content creation process, our entire team uses ChatGPT, which is used for email marketing, customer service, social media, and more. Koala and Surfer are two new artificial intelligence tools.
Almost every system and process they have has been integrated with the use of artificial intelligence. Kelan reports that the tools allow them to create more content and serve their audience better.
Adjusting to the Changes in Blogging Since 2019
Every other industry is constantly evolving. The field ofBlogging has become crowded and competitive in a short period of time.
One example of a major change is the use of artificial intelligence. Kelan and Brittany have made sure to avoid the kinds of penalties that can ruin a post. They want to create high quality content.
The last few years have made it more difficult to write about things. It would be very difficult to get into the game now that it's very competitive. You need to include experience, authority, and trust in all your content on your site because it is being looked at by the search engine.
Kelan says that you need hands-on experience with the product to present side hustles. First-person reviews and experiences are provided. We spend a lot of time evaluating side hustles and ways to try different ways to make money online. It is no longer simple to open up a website and write an article.
There is a road to success that isn't always a straight line.
There is a process for starting a business. It is the same thing as any other business. Some efforts are producing positive results, but other efforts are going in a different direction. Kelan and Brittany are familiar with it.
Some sources work better than others for the couple to find success in building web traffic through a combination of social media and search engine marketing.
Early revenue generators include sponsorships. Third-party products and services can be endorsed on the blog. The products they sponsor on their sites are more carefully selected by the Klines. Kelan says that they are now very strategic with the brands they work with. Unless we have personally used a brand before, we never work with them. We want our audience to get the best recommended products and services on the market to help them increase their income, manage their money, and reach financial freedom.
Some of the products they have created and offered have caused some rough sledding. Kelan says they tried a bunch of different courses. $100, $200 and $500 per course is what we are talking about. Many have fallen short. That is how you learn and grow. I don't think failure is a good thing. If you don't learn from your mistakes, you'll fail.
The Kline’s Income Picture – 2019 and 2023
The chart shows the income progression of The Savvy Couple since it started making money. We all know that the year of the Covid-19 Pandemic and subsequent economic shutdown was when income rose the most.
When I wrote How This 28-year-old couple quit their jobs and make $100,000 a year working from home, the income finished the year at over $250,000. It went back to its growth pattern in the year 2021.
The three brands under Savvy Media Marketing are expected to make an average of $100,000 a month in the next five years.
The couple made money from the year to the year.
The source of revenue for the site is broken down in a pie chart. Digital products sales make up nearly two-thirds of revenue.
There are revenue sources for the couple.
The Long-term Plan: Reaching Financial Freedom by 35
Kelan and Brittany have a plan to build a seven figure business. The goal is to reach financial freedom by 35. It takes just a few years to make it happen. They are an odds-on bet to reach their goal because of the success they have enjoyed.
That doesn't mean the Kline's plan is to retire. It's quite the opposite. The plan is to keep building web traffic and revenue. They are increasing passive income. Little or no effort is made on the part of the blogs to generate that revenue.
They are putting more money into the stock market because of the money they make from theirBlogging. They want to reach financial freedom at age 35 partly from the passive income generated by those investments.
They will be able to spend more time with their family and pursue their hobbies. The goal is to create more time and money to build a life of freedom for the many regular visitors to their websites and to serve as many people as possible.
Bottom Line
The niche has potential for new entrants despite the challenges. The field was already crowded when they started their website. They still hit the dirt.
Kelan says to pick your niche, refine it, and become an authority in the field. Staying connected with your audience, providing new and useful content, and broadening your income sources are all things you can do to become a successful Bloggers.
It's not as easy as it used to be for people to write about things. It is one of the most popular ways to make money online and to get financial freedom in the process. The Klines are examples of that.
