can you make money online with no experience? my honest answer

I get asked this all the time. Can you actually make money online with no experience?

My honest answer: yes — but the word "experience" is doing a lot of work in that question, and it's worth unpacking.

What "No Experience" Actually Means

When most people say they have no experience, they mean one of several things:

• No experience running an online business specifically
• No experience with tech, web development, or marketing
• No audience, no followers, no email list
• No track record of selling anything online

These are all different situations. And for most of them, the answer is still yes — you can make money online. But the path looks different depending on which kind of "no experience" you're starting from.

What You Don't Need (That People Think You Do)

Here's what I thought I needed when I started, that turned out to be unnecessary:

A large following. I had zero social media presence. My first sale came from a post in a Facebook group. You don't need followers to make your first dollar online.

Tech skills. I don't code. I use platforms that handle the technical side. The tools available now — including MadeThis for digital products — are built for non-technical people.

A lot of money. I started for free. There are platforms with no monthly fee that take a transaction cut instead. You can get from zero to first sale without spending anything on tools.

A track record. My first product sold before I had any testimonials. I priced it at $7 and wrote an honest description. That was enough.

What You Actually Need

Here's the honest list:

1. Something to sell or a skill to apply. This is the one requirement that trips people up, but it's more achievable than it sounds. You don't need to be an expert by someone else's standard. You just need to know something — or have made something — that solves a problem for someone else.

I made a budgeting guide because I'd built a system for myself. A teacher could sell lesson plan templates. A graphic designer could sell Canva templates. A project manager could sell a productivity system. Most people have something usable — they just haven't packaged it yet.

2. Patience for the learning curve. The first few months online are slow. You're figuring out what works, what your product page should say, how to find buyers. This is normal. The learning curve is real, but it's not steep.

3. Willingness to start before you're ready. Almost everyone I know who makes consistent income online launched their first product before they felt fully prepared. Done is better than perfect when you're getting started. You can improve as you go.

The Honest Part: What Takes Time

Making money online with no experience isn't a 24-hour thing. Let me give you real expectations:

• First sale: usually 2–4 weeks after getting a product live, depending on how you promote it
• Consistent monthly income: 3–6 months after launch, if you're building content and traffic steadily
• Income that feels meaningful: depends on how you define that — but getting to a few hundred dollars a month is realistic within 6 months for most people who stick with it

The people who say they made $10,000 in their first month usually either had an existing audience or are not telling the full story. For someone starting from zero, the growth is real but it's measured in months, not days.

What I'd Do Starting From Scratch Today

If I had zero experience and was starting right now:

1. I'd think about one problem I've personally solved — in any area of life
2. I'd write a simple guide or template around that problem (one weekend)
3. I'd list it on MadeThis for $7–$17
4. I'd answer questions about that problem in relevant online communities and mention the product where relevant
5. I'd write two or three blog posts targeting keywords related to that problem

That's it. That's the whole starting move.

The experience builds as you go. Your first product teaches you what to do differently on your second. Your first blog post teaches you more than any course about writing blog posts.

The only experience that truly matters in online business is the experience you get by actually doing it.

Practical Takeaway

Yes, you can make money online with no experience. The honest caveat: you'll need to develop some experience in the process, and that takes a few months.

The barrier to entry is lower than it's ever been. The tools exist. The platforms exist. The buyers exist. What's left is the decision to actually start.

Check out how I built my digital product business at /copilot or browse the products I sell at /products.