18 Months Into Building an Online Business: What We Actually Know
If you’ve spent any time in the online business space, you’ve seen the highlight reels, the screenshots of commission notifications and the “I made £10,000 in my first month” stories. The perfectly lit videos of people explaining exactly how they cracked the code.
We are not those people. And we think that’s worth saying upfront.
As a husband and wife team, we come from worlds far removed from the internet. I have spent decades as a PA and dog trainer; similarly, Mick’s expertise lies in engineering and condition monitoring. However, despite these professional backgrounds, we started this journey 18 months ago and consequently, we had to learn everything from scratch because we had absolutely no knowledge of sales or online marketing.
Why we started
We had a few income streams that weren’t performing as well as they should. An aloe vera business that needed better marketing , skills built over long careers that we couldn’t see a clear way to monetise and a growing awareness that our plans for retirement needed a different kind of thinking.
Because of this, we joined an online education program to learn the foundations of building sustainable online income. Furthermore, our journey continues in the program today. Eighteen months later we’re actively attending masterclasses, booking one-to-one sessions with mentors and learning more than we ever imagined.
What 18 months of genuine learning looks like
We’ve worked through the modules methodically, made mistakes, signed up for tools we didn’t need, tried approaches that didn’t work for our audience and spent money on advertising before we’d properly understood our funnel. We have also experienced months where progress felt invisible and months where something clicked.
In the last 12 months we’ve made real affiliate sales which includes 7- Day Fast Start programs and a handful of Launch-Pad products. Not life-changing income but real sales from real people who trusted our honest recommendation.
We’re still figuring out paid advertising. We’re growing our email list and social presence steadily. Mick is developing digital products around engineering problem-solving – root cause analysis frameworks, condition monitoring resources – for an audience in industry who could genuinely use that knowledge. I am exploring what 30-plus years of dog training experience could look like as digital content. Neither of these is generating income yet. They’re being built properly, on solid foundations, without being rushed.
Why we share all of this
Because we think you’re probably tired of following people who make everything look effortless.
- We are learning in public.
- We are happy to share what’s working and what isn’t as we find out.
- We are considerably further along than we were 18 months ago and honest about exactly where that journey has brought us.
That’s what Digital Retirement Generation is. Not a masterclass from the summit. A conversation from somewhere on the path, with two real people who can see both where they came from and where they’re going.
If that sounds like the kind of company you’d like to keep on your own journey, you’re in the right place.
Where to start
If you’re curious about the programme that’s been the foundation of everything we’ve built, we’d encourage you to find out more. We’ve been inside it for 18 months and we can tell you what it’s actually like, not just what the sales page says.
And if you’d like to follow our journey properly — sign up to our newsletter below. We write honestly, regularly and always as Jackie and Mick rather than as a polished brand.