Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2014; Nick Walter’s age and earnings, Udemy’s revenue split (97% to the instructor for sales through their own link, 50/50 for sales found on the platform) and the $99/$199 course prices are as reported then. Udemy’s terms have changed since.
Nick Walter was a young man like any other who, after finishing university, started using what he knew to make some money. His entrepreneurial streak, together with his knowledge of app development, led to his first way of earning money: building apps for local businesses in Utah, where he lived.
He made money, but it took a lot of effort on his part. Eager to earn more, Walter began reading Tim Ferriss’s famous book The 4-Hour Workweek, whose message is that working more won’t make you more money. Money often comes when we find a way to do something today and receive steady income from it for a long time.
One of the business ideas Tim Ferriss recommends is creating an online course, taking advantage of the platforms that exist today and make the process easier. And that was the part that most caught young Walter’s attention.
But of course, once Walter knew he could make a lot of money teaching a course to others, the obvious question arose: “What knowledge can I use to teach others that they will be willing to pay for?” In short, the young man didn’t know what to teach.
As it happened, Apple announced its first new programming language in more than a decade, called Swift, and Walter saw his opportunity when he noticed that everyone was trying to learn it.
(Read: From petrol station attendant to millions in revenue thanks to Facebook)
Although time was against him, Walter decided to learn the language quickly so that he could teach it to others; he says he spent four days straight reading all of Apple’s Swift documentation.
Apple announced the launch on 2 June, and four days later Walter already had 50 videos (a complete course) up on the online learning site Udemy, where any professional can create a video course and sell it. Walter priced the course at $99.
So many people were looking for something like this that Walter earned $45,000 in that first month, as reported by Forbes.
Udemy charges users a fixed price ($99 in this case) for access to the online course as many times as they like. If users find the course through a link sent by Walter, he receives 97% of the course price. If they find it through Udemy’s own platform, the money is split 50/50 between Walter and Udemy.
The following month Walter earned another $7,500, and then had several months of earnings of $5,000 and $3,000. He then decided to create a second course on how to build iPhone apps, which he priced at $199.
That month, Walter earned $66,000, a full year’s salary for many people.
Despite the large amount of money he has made in just a few months, and the fact that he will probably keep receiving income from it for some time, Walter has shown great maturity in managing his money. The only big purchase he has made is a new car. He says the rest has gone into building an emergency fund and investing in mutual funds.
It is often said that the best way to make money is to use our knowledge to do something others would be willing to pay for. As easy, or as hard, as that.
Today it is easier than ever to bring our knowledge to people who might be interested in it, and you have all the tools you need to build a profitable business without having to invest.
So if you know how to do something, or you are better than others at something, if you have a talent others would like to have, the money will come, but only if other people know that you have what they are looking for.
Further reading
- How to work out what to do for a living: the perfect job or business for me
- Ideas for making extra money from home or online
Featured image: Spottyoctopus123, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
