Virtual Real Estate: The New Millionaire Makers

There are a record number of millionaires in America. As of the end of 2016, the tally was up to 10.8 million millionaires - 400,000 more than in 2015, in fact! Most of these millionaires made between 1 and 5 million, but 156,000 households had more than $25 Million in net worth. Some say millionaires are “the new middle class”, as working and upper class groups shrink. The question is: How will you make your first million?

Buying Websites Nets Virtual Real Estate Investors Livable Income

Virtual real estate - we’re talking buying and selling websites - is one of the many opportunities where people are making their money. As a Virtual Property Investor, YaroStarak generates $2,000 a month in passive income buying websites. If you do the math, you’d need to invest in four relatively successful sites to make your first million.

Starak knew just what he was looking for - no maintenance sites (like forums or video sites) that were already producing $1,000/month in profit and cost $2,000 - $20,000. He was ready to act quickly if the right site came along. His sites were MiniRidersand Pocket Bike Racing forums and Mini Bike Videos. Like most website owners, he used AdSense and Linkworth, and solicited several sponsors at $150/month. He theorizes, “The longer you hold onto healthy sites, the larger they grow.”

Website Flipper is a Popular Job Title for Aussies

Not everyone chooses to sit on their investments for long periods of time. Australian investors make their millions flipping a website as one would flip a house. “Unlike flipping real estate, it’s easy to add value to websites,” says Melbourne flipper David Jenyns. “To add value to real estate, you must do something significant, labor-intensive and, usually, expensive, like building a new bathroom. But with websites, you can make small changes such as building links from other sites or improving the overall look for little cost. That result can be a significant increase in value,” he explains.

Jenyns bought ForexTradingStrategies.org for $10, spent $100 on SEO-friendly content, and sold it for $10,000. He sold Fireplace-Design.org for $997, WoodWorkingProjects.org for $1,495, and WrestlingMoves.org for $2,000. Each domain cost $10 to acquire and $150 to set up before the flip. “Flipping offers the lowest barrier to entry compared with virtually any other business out there,” he says. “You only need to be able to see the diamond in the rough and have a plan of how to unveil it.” If you lack the technical know-how, you can hire a freelancer in the marketplace to implement your vision.

Take a Leap of Faith to Become a Website Trader Millionaire

Many people begin in the website trader business as a side-hustle to their full-time jobs just to see what will happen. You could make a lot of money playing it safe. Shane and Jocelyn Sams were Kentucky school teachers making $38,000 a year when they stumbled upon their passive income opportunities. They earned their first million dollars in 2013. Now they are averaging $50,000 a month. They invest a combined total of 20 hours per week in the business. If you do the math, they’re getting paid $625/hour! The switched their business model from selling digital products to selling monthly memberships at $50, which has made their growth more exponential. Rather than “starting from zero” each month, they start with 1,500 members that will carry over to the following month.

They eventually ditched their jobs in education to run three sites - ElementaryLibrarian.com, USHistoryTeachers.com, and FlippedLifestyle.com. “We had discovered this system whereby you could invest your time by creating an information product that will never go away,” Shane explained. “Abraham Lincoln will always be the 16^thUS president. If I make a lesson plan about him, that lesson will still be good 50 years from now. We had discovered you could invest your time in products upfront, and then just sell them over and over and over again. It’s on sale 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” He admitted it was hard to get past the idea that you’ll still be able to eat without clocking nine to 12 hours at the office. It takes “strategy, accountability, and mentorship,” they say, but you can get to a point where you’re making millions and living the lifestyle you imagine.