25 Real Money-Making Methods for 2026 — Full Breakdown & Tra

[00:02] searching the internet for the best ways to make money online. Every day, thousands of internet gurus tell you to try affiliate marketing or drop shipping, and they're all full of Those things don't work in 2026,

[00:15] especially not in the new era of AI. In my AI venture studio, Martell Ventures, now generate millions, and I can tell you there's only a few real ways to make money online. To make it simple, we're

[00:28] breaking everything into four buckets. Trash, the stuff you shoulding run away from. Easy, businesses you can launch in under three months, earning 5 to 10K a month. Medium, skills that can be profitable within a year, making 10 to

[00:43] 50K a month. And hard, long-term plays that may take more time, but can make you millions if done right. I'll tell you the income potential, difficulty, how long it'll take to make money, and who is best for each bucket. So, without

[00:59] further explanation, let's get into the real ways to make money in 2026. [music] Starting with bucket number one, the trash bucket. The income potential for this bucket is zero or even worse, could be negative. Difficulty, I mean, it

[01:13] looks easy, but it gives you nothing back. time frame wastes months [music] before you realize it was dead on arrival. Who is it best for? No one. NFT flipping. The hype is freaking done. Look at all the projects that launched.

[01:28] Nobody made money. The ones that thought they made money have lost money. And if you're going to start there and you haven't made money ever online, that's a haven't made money ever online, that's a losing recipe. Next, crypto trading

[01:40] moves really fast. Most people don't have the patience and it's [music] without any crazy skill. Unless you're the person that tries to frontr run the whole freaking trade, most people lose money every freaking day. Next,

[01:52] multi-level marketing. If the way you make money is getting paid to recruit people to join your thing and you don't shape the business and you don't actually sell anything and you actually spend more money to buy product to try

[02:05] business you want to be in. Most of these are scams. Next, basic caption or subtitles. [music] Now, AI does it faster, cheaper, and way better. After that, we have low-level data entry. This is wild to watch that people still think

[02:21] they're going to make money on this because AI tools have replaced this work completely. Fiverr Microtask, my favorite website on the internet 5 years ago. Trying to make money this way. It's not the worst on the list, but it has

[02:35] zero long-term growth. Next, we got print ondemand. Here's the thing, it's really crowded and everyone sells the same stuff. And last but not least, my favorite, day trading. Here's the deal. If you're not completely into it,

[02:50] obsessed on it, and just want to just live the day trading life, it is way easier to lose money than to make any. Basically, all these are like trying to race across the ocean in a car. [music] You keep drowning because you need a

[03:04] different vehicle. So, to make sure your idea isn't in this bucket, I need you to run your idea through the trash filter. Three simple questions. One, is AI

[03:16] already replacing this? Two, is the industry shrinking or going obsolete? Three, is it easier to lose money than to make money? If you answer yes to any,

[03:29] move on immediately. Now, let's talk about the first bucket that actually pays real money. Bucket number two, easy bucket. The income potential, 5 to 10k a month, no problem. The difficulty, low, simple skills, fast turnaround. Time

[03:46] frame, 30 to 60 days to actually get paid. And it's best for beginners trying to gain some momentum and build some skills. You don't need a degree for these. These just need basic execution and learning how to talk to customers.

[04:00] Just get your first dollar online. Build some confidence and learn how clients work. Here are some examples. The first one, basic short form editing. If you like these clipping accounts and people like edit these short form videos all

[04:13] over social media, I mean, the demand is [music] huge. Every person now seems to be a content creator and AI makes it incredibly easy. So, it's easy to get paid fast. Love this one. [music] Next, we got social media copywriting. Every

[04:27] business in the world needs to learn how to use words to get customers to buy and they need somebody to help them. And the tools are getting so good. Just get the client, do the work, get paid. Next, we've got the AI chatbot setup for small

[04:42] businesses. I love this one because every small business needs more time back. And if you can be the person that comes in and help them set this up, they will pay you money because it's easy for them to redeploy their time to make more

[04:54] money than what they paid you. use this one. Next, we've got the AI receptionist. Along those same lines, it's crazy today when you can use tools like your.com that you can get paid to set up for small businesses to take all

[05:07] the inbound calls to qualify, [music] sell, fill up schedules, answer questions, and it'll do it without being upset, complain, take time off, or call in sick. Helping businesses do this is a great way to make money. Next, we've got

[05:22] great way to make money. Next, we've got UGC content. Brands want to pay for real people showing their products, not professional models. Helping a brand connect with a creator and you're the middleman and you get a piece of this.

[05:34] business and they're already doing 100K [music] a month. So, you can make 5 to 10 starting with this one. And last, the virtual or executive assistant. It's one called Buy Back Your Time. See, rich people hate wasting time and they'll pay

[05:49] you to get it back. The best part is you get paid to hang out with smart people that can teach you about life to help them get done. Nob brainer. A great example of this bucket is my buddy Mark. No background, no experience. He decides

[06:03] them take long form content that they were creating using AI to break it down into short form clips. And that simple process of using AI tools, making it

[06:15] quick has scaled now. Whereas a freelancer, he earns $30,000 a month with only seven clients. This bucket is about learning how to master a high income skill. Because if you already knew how to make millions, you'd be

[06:28] going to have to invest in yourself to develop the skills to add value to the world. If you want to try any of these ideas, follow these specific [music] steps. First, create your outcomebased offer. Don't sell your time. Map to a

[06:43] pain the customer already has. help them make money or save time around an area that they're really in pain around because pain is a perfect way to figure out what they're willing to pay for. Make a promise that's specific around a

[06:56] result in a very specific time frame. That's how you create a compelling offer and then just remove all the risks. Just tell them what the guarantee is and then can only take so many clients, so I'm only looking for three or five clients."

[07:09] to buy right away. And for what it's worth, if you [music] want to make this super easy, I can send you my exact offer template. So, all you have to do is copy and paste it. It'll save you hours of tweaking and adjusting and

[07:22] testing. Just DM me the [music] words YouTube offer on Instagram or click the send it over. So, once you have your offer, just do one daily outreach. make money online, set it and forget it. It's just a habit. So, reach out to one

[07:37] potential client every day until you get customers. But you just have to have a clear offer. That's what this bucket will teach you. That skill of crafting it, and paying you. [music] This will get you the best chance to be successful

[07:50] in this bucket. That being said, if you already have experience [music] or you want income that's more consistent, the medium bucket might actually be better choice. Bucket number three, the medium bucket.

[08:02] Essentially, the income potential is 10 to 50K per month minimum. Difficulty level, it's medium, but multi-kill work tied to real business outcomes makes you money. You're not just doing task anymore. You're solving revenue and

[08:15] growth problems for businesses. And the time frame to make real money could be 3 months, maybe worst case 12 months, but you're setting up your future. And it's best for people that have some skill but want more stability and scale. When I

[08:29] look at Sam on my media team, Sam didn't ask for a step-by-step instruction to be successful. He just framed the outcome. He took ownership and he delivered. Because of that, he got opportunities to step up. That's why you've probably seen

[08:42] the video of me giving him his dream car, a Porsche GT4. It wasn't because he It's because he actually delivered the outcome. And for me, that became vastly different about this bucket. You're no longer just doing the skill. You're

[08:57] actually tying your pay to an outcome. The only way for your clients to make solving bigger problems which mean you come in and take the smaller [music] problems off their plate. So what are some examples in this category? The

[09:09] first one automation agencies. This one's the new hotness. Why? The demand for this alone makes it a fantastic opportunity and it makes you bulletproof for the future. businesses are literally drowning in opportunity to automate and

[09:23] it makes them money quickly and it saves them time at scale and it's going to futureproof [music] you for other companies. Next, we got LinkedIn growth systems powered by AI. Every CEO or leader out there, they need more reach.

[09:36] They need people to know, like, and trust them. And if you're the kind of person to come in and own that outcome of getting that attention, that pay you to help them grow. Next, we've

[09:48] got micro SASS, near and dear to my heart, and really AI tools for small businesses. These are like really small, tiny tools that help save people time. So, you can have like a plugin, an extension, an app for a marketplace,

[10:01] [music] but the cool part is you charge monthly for simple, clear value, and that's how you stack revenue. Next, we've got an AI content agency. This one is super fun, especially if you love content. I mean, brands are always

[10:14] looking for more content that's aligned to help them create associations [music] to help their business. So, you use AI to produce high volumes without shooting. It's crazy. So, look into like Hey Genen, 11 Labs, and other tools like

[10:27] that that'll make this job easy. And for these last two options, just take a put up on screen so that you can make this option way easier. And last, we have highquality motion graphic [music] designers. The more AI can do all kind

[10:41] shooting more and more content. What's missing is somebody to understand how to do motion graphics. This is the separator. This is where you make learn After Effects plus all the AI tools that help you make and deliver

[10:55] premium assets fast. And for these last two options, take a screenshot of all these AI tools that will make it so much easier for you. If you fall in love with this bucket, here are two pro tips that you need. One, build three to five

[11:08] measurable case studies that you can tell to other people. That way, it'll So, if you're just starting off, maybe you find people that represent your ideal customer profile and offer to either do it at a discount or free. I

[11:21] And in return for that discount, they agree to let you use their project as a case study to talk to other customers about. Two, sell outcomebased monthly retainers instead of one-off projects. I still see people in today's age that are

[11:36] selling their time for [music] money. You have to disconnect from that. Don't get stuck in it. Don't start there. Don't get in the trap. When you can sell retainers for a specific outcome, that creates predictability and reoccurring

[11:49] revenue in your business. And that is the most beautiful place to get. And that is how you make real money online. But if you want to build something way could actually [music] change your entire life, the hard bucket is where

[12:03] it's at. Bucket number four, the hard bucket. The income potential here could be like a million plus a month. Honestly, millions. The difficulty level though is high cuz it's going to require systems, leadership, and honestly

[12:16] long-term thinking. It's hard to get into and it may need some capital or expertise, but you will see a massive return. And the time frame to get to this level, if you start from zero, could take two to 10 years or more,

[12:29] depending on your level of effort. It's best for people who want to build Essentially, an asset or even better, an empire. [music] And the reason why is because you're building something that someone else might actually buy. The

[12:42] people in this bucket are my kind of people. So, let's run through some examples. The first, [music] investing in AI first founders. This is my world. See, back in the day, I've been doing AI investing for over seven years.

[12:55] Companies like Flex Pay or Intercom, etc. These are all companies I was what's cool about it is that if you have the capital and you invest in them, when they win, you win. When you get equity without running the company yourself,

[13:08] a great way to create leverage and create an empire. I've personally invested in over a 100 companies using this method. And starting from 2026, of people are going to be able to do this one. Next, we got software AI

[13:23] This is what I build at Martell Ventures. We have built or partnered with people that have launched a new AI company every month for the last year this one has made me more money than anything I've ever done my whole life.

[13:37] The key to make it work is you got to build tools that solve real problems in a way that's unique. Most of the applications that I'm working on, honestly, the AI [music] isn't powerful enough yet for it to work. Not only is

[13:50] revenue because it's software, but you build some value where people will pay you 10 [music] to 50 times more than your topline revenue for the business. Next is buying small businesses and using AI to automate 30 to 50% of it.

[14:05] It's so crazy how there's like these really simple businesses that are still stuck in the 80s. My friend Jason bought a campground a couple years ago and all he did was put in AI powered booking software, management software,

[14:17] maintenance software, and the thing prints cash today, but buying a boring business that somebody else is done with using AI is a great way to create real wealth. Next, we've got personal brand or content machine for deal flow. I

[14:30] break it into content and commerce. You've seen this with Mr. Beast and Paul and Prime. You've seen [music] this with all these content creators. But if you can build a personal brand, build distribution, then you have a way to

[14:43] introduce customers to a product that creates equity, that creates enterprise because most people are willing to stick with it. It takes time. It takes commitment. It takes dedication. You got to be consistent. Most people would

[14:57] it's in the hard bucket. Next, we've got subscription communities powered by AI curation. I've seen so many of these online communities now where essentially people pay every month to be part of a group so that they have access to

[15:11] knowledge and experience and the AI is designed to answer their questions to support them. It's faster, it's easier, and you can build a business from it. and you can build a business from it. And last, licensing AI playbooks. This

[15:23] is where most companies don't realize their system prompts is their new IP, their intellectual property. So, if you have a business that has created these copy paste those and sell them to other businesses by making them passive

[15:37] income. Like, just go look at all the custom GPTs you can buy. A lot of people their own business and licing it to other companies [music] and making a ton I think a lot of people are sleeping on. The hard bucket is near and dear to my

[15:51] life. I mean, a lot of people see me today and they see all the success and the accolades, but they don't know where I started. I started as a software programmer at 17 writing code and it took me almost seven years to finally

[16:04] find any software any traction what I was doing and eventually at 28 I sold my company and I became a multi-millionaire and it's the thing that ultimately made me financially successful but better than anything it created the confidence

[16:17] in my abilities that I could then apply to my other companies. So don't forget you don't get the hockey stick without the flat first year. So, you have to learn how to invest and reinvest and recommmit if you ever want to be

[16:30] successful. Here's [snorts] how you do this for yourself step by step. One, tie your strongest skill to a fast growing industry. If you don't know what that industry. If you don't know what that is, ask AI. It'll tell you. Second is

[16:43] systematize your service. Don't sell your time. Sell an outcome so that you can build the system around delivering that outcome and create automation so it's systematized. Third is build a small team slowly. Surround yourself

[16:57] people that come into your business will dictate your success. You want to be fit for what you're trying to do. And for what it's worth, avoid adding headcount where AI could do the job for

[17:10] you. Number four, layer AI into your operations to increase your margins. Get rid of the cost. Get AI to build that automation. And last, use content to have known when I started creating

[17:24] opportunities to me, but it would bring talent, it would bring friendships, it would bring invites to things that you couldn't even pay for, I would have what you decide to do in this bucket, just make sure you create content around

[17:38] into the trap that destroys more businesses than anything else, the shiny object syndrome. Most people fail not because they were in the wrong bucket, but because they switch buckets every

[17:51] few weeks. I got a friend, he's the same age as me. I've watched him go from like one idea to the other idea to the next idea to another idea, and he hasn't found any traction. Why? He keeps resetting every time. Every 2 or 3

[18:04] cuz of this. I'm going to do this now." Here's why. When you start from scratch, enough with something it doesn't work, then it can feel demoralizing. But the real way to win is to stay in the game long enough to win. See, winners lose

[18:19] more than losers by definition of being a winner. I know it sounds crazy, but that's what it's going to take. So, don't get distracted. Focus. Follow one course until successful. Pick one of these options out of these buckets and

[18:33] execute. Just remember, you can do anything, just not everything. So, here's how you avoid the shiny object syndrome. One, commit to a,000 days of syndrome. One, commit to a,000 days of focus. Don't stop. Be consistent. Two,

[18:46] document [music] the journey. Put it in public. Build in public. It'll actually going to be waiting to see what you're going to post next. If you just do these probability of success more than anything else you could do. And the most

[19:01] important thing is that you commit. Don't just hear all of this and do Don't just hear all of this and do nothing. The separator in 2026 is the are the folks that make it this far. So, if that's you, I want a commitment. Type

[19:14] commitment below. Look me in the eyes and let me know you're one of the people that's not just going to do shelf help, listen to a lot of stuff, and put it up on a shelf, but you're actually going to focus until you get results. And

[19:26] entrepreneurs out there and you want my exact offer template to help you get clients, just DM me the word YouTube offer on Instagram or click the link below and I'll send it right over. And if you want to learn how to scale any

[19:39] business from absolutely very beginning to the end, click here and I'll see you to the end, click here and I'll see you on the other