There’s a running story line on the legal show ‘The Good Wife’ which starts when the lawyers run into a judge who insists that they say ‘In MY opinion’ after every statement. One lawyer protests ‘Oh course it’s in my opinion - that’s implied in everything we say.’ He promptly loses the case. So from then on all the other lawyers know that they have to say ‘In MY opinion’ or risk the wrath of the judge and a potential loss!

So, in MY opinion (!), online courses and coaching are a superior way of building when it comes to building (increasingly) passive income! Now let me defend it!

To be fair, when it comes to online income, there’s no shortage of methods out there and I am far from an expert in all of them. From dropshipping to affiliate marketing, Bitcoin trading to online stores, it can feel like there are a hundred different paths to creating sustainable online income and the potential of financial freedom. But the reality is, not all methods are created equal.

In my experience, few approaches offer the same potential for meaningful income, personal fulfilment, and scalability as creating online courses or offering a coaching or mentoring programme. And I’m not just talking about making money—I’m talking about building something sustainable that makes an impact on people’s lives.

If you’re trying to decide which online income stream is right for you, let’s break down why courses and coaching stand head and shoulders above the rest.

1. Low Initial Costs

One of the biggest barriers to starting an online business is the upfront cost. If you’re looking at creating an online store you’ll quickly realise that you need a significant investment just to get started. Between purchasing stock, setting up a website, and paying for marketing, it adds up fast. Some of these costs are eliminated by dropshipping (or print on demand) where the stock is supplied by a third party. But you’re then faced with very stiff competition from hundreds if not thousands of others doing the same thing and potentially huge marketing costs with increasingly diminishing returns.

With online courses or coaching, the initial investment is far lower. You don’t need physical products, warehouses, or manufacturing partners. All you need is a bit of time, some basic tools, and the knowledge you already have. Your expertise is your primary asset, and putting it into a structured course or coaching programme costs far less than launching a product-based business.

I started my course ‘Finish IT! Write your First Book’ with nothing more than my laptop, a cheap webcam, and a few simple tools to put everything together. It didn’t cost me thousands to get started, but it’s made a lasting impact on those who’ve enrolled.

2. Use Skills You Already Have

When you’re looking at methods like affiliate marketing, print on demand, or even Bitcoin and Forex trading, success often depends on skills you may not have right now. You’ll need to spend time learning how to navigate those worlds before you can start making any real money. In some cases, it might take years of trial and error before you see any kind of return.

With online courses or coaching, you’re working with knowledge and skills you already have. If you’ve spent years honing a craft, developing expertise, or even just nurturing a hobby, you’re already halfway there.

One of my coaching clients is a book keeper building courses to help small to medium sized charities upskill their bookkeeping team - many of whom have little if any training. He didn’t need to learn a whole new skill set; he took what he already knew and is repurposing it into something others are already willing to pay for. This is the beauty of courses—you’re packaging the expertise you’ve already built.

3. Scalability Without the Time Drain

Let’s talk about scaling. Many online business models are hard to scale without throwing in more time, money, or effort. I ran a pretty successful eBay store, for example and scaled it to 10’s of thousands of pounds of turnover each year in my spare time.

However I then hit a wall when I realised it couldn’t be scaled any more without taking on employees - something I was loathe to do. With online stores scaling up often means managing more stock, shipping, and customer service. Dropshipping or print-on-demand businesses have their own headaches—you’re still dependent on third parties for manufacturing, and margins are often razor-thin.

With courses and coaching, once the course is created or the coaching structure is in place, your income potential isn’t tied to the number of hours you put in. You can sell that course to 10 people or 1,000 people with the same amount of effort. That’s true scalability.

In contrast, affiliate marketing (where you sell someone else’s physical or digital product for a commission) often requires a constant hustle to keep traffic coming to your affiliate links. You’re at the mercy of algorithms and traffic sources you don’t control. Even in the best-case scenario, your income is tied to someone else’s products or decisions.

4. No Need for a Large Social Media Following

One of the biggest myths about building an online income is that you need a massive social media following to succeed. While social media certainly helps, it’s not a requirement for building a successful online course or coaching programme.

Unlike affiliate marketing or print on demand, where your income depends on getting in front of as many people as possible, courses and coaching can thrive with smaller, more targeted audiences. You don’t need to be an influencer with thousands of followers. You just need to reach the right people—those who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer. One of my YouTube videos has less than 100 views and I found a client through it who paid me a good amount to coach them.

When you learn to focus on one particular type of person and help them in one particular way, you can build a very small audience and still find clients. If what you offer is a medium or higher priced course, coaching or mentoring package (which of course must be worth the higher price) then you typically need only a tiny proportion of the number of customers that you need for a dropshipped product where you’re making a few dollars per sale.

5 You’re Building Digital Assets That Truly Help People

When you create an online course or a coaching programme, you’re not just selling a product or promoting someone else’s goods. You’re building something of lasting value—a digital asset that helps people improve their lives in some way.

Compare this to something like dropshipping or Bitcoin trading. Yes, you can make money, but are you really adding value to the world? Does it feel meaningful? With courses and coaching, you’re impacting others by helping them learn, grow, and achieve something important to them. That’s a fulfilling way to generate income.

When I created my ‘Finish IT!’ Write your First Book course, the goal wasn’t just to make money. It was to help aspiring writers finally complete their books and share their stories with the world. I’ve had some clients where, to be honest, I would’ve helped them for free - it’s been so rewarding to help them get their book shaped, written and out into the world.

6. The Variety is Huge

To be fair this is true of many other online businesses. There’s a million different products you can dropship, T-shirts or clothing items you can print on demand and products or course you can affiliate market. But what truly has been eye opening for me is realising how many different types of online courses and coaching there are out there.

From learning to play saxophone like a pro, to helping people treat their dogs and horses with herbs, to creating an apartment garden, to developing your squash/racketball game to learning Excel to helping someone grow in confidence. There’s almost an unlimited list of things people are willing to pay to learn online.

One question people ask me is ‘with so much information for free why would anyone pay me to learn this.’ It’s a great question and one I had myself. The reality is that there's lots of information but few people who can help others get transformation - guiding them from where they are to where the want to be. People will pay for that.

Conclusion

In my opinion(!), while there are many methods for building online income, few compare to the benefits of creating courses or coaching!

So, if you’re interested in learning more, check out my free workshop where I’ve done a deep dive into some more things I’ve learned and an outline of how I help people develop their first online course, coaching or mentoring programme. You can find it here..

Standing with you

Simon