Laziest One-Person Business Model To Start in 2026 ($100/day+)

All right, let me be very honest with you because there are a lot of ways to make money out there, but some quite frankly are just a pain in the ass. You

have to deal with employees and headaches and people and people are emotional and blah and this and that.

And bear in mind, this is coming from someone who employs hundreds of people between my businesses. So, I experience it firsthand every single day. So, this

video is for me if I was on the opposite side and I was like, you know what, I just want to live a good life. I want to have the laziest business where I can just be one person. and I don't have to deal with headaches and managing team

and employees and emotions and people waking up on the wrong side of the bed every day and all this sort of stuff which honestly the more I talk about it sounds very lovely. So I'm quite jealous of you watching this video. So let me get into the laziest one person business

model that can make you over $100 a day.

And we're going to do this by comparing a few different business models and seeing whether it fits this objective.

Now let me be clear. Are you going to make millions of dollars a year from this? Realistically, probably not. But

this? Realistically, probably not. But

for most of you guys, $100 a day or even a few hundred a day is life-changing.

And then from there, you can take the model and you can make it more advanced.

And you know, you can hire people and do all this stuff. But for now, let's just focus on today's objective, which is $100 a day online. Now, first thing we need to do is remove this idea that lazy is bad. You see, Bill Gates once said,

is bad. You see, Bill Gates once said, "I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job because a lazy person will find the easy way to do it. A lazy

person will find a way to make a system efficient because there's no point spending 8 hours on something that can take two. That's not something that's

take two. That's not something that's admirable. So, we want to achieve the

admirable. So, we want to achieve the outcome with the lowest amount of effort. So, isn't it kind of ironic that

effort. So, isn't it kind of ironic that one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time glorifies laziness, but yet it's a trait that's exclusively perceived as a negative by society today? And what if I told you that he's

today? And what if I told you that he's 100% correct? What if laziness is

100% correct? What if laziness is actually an advantage, especially in 2026? I mean, from the day we're born,

2026? I mean, from the day we're born, we get indoctrinated into believing that you must suffer to be successful. The

harder you work, the more you deserve, right? Wrong. That is simply social

right? Wrong. That is simply social conditioning. And the truth is the world

conditioning. And the truth is the world doesn't reward hard work. It rewards

outcomes. Outcomes are the only thing that matter. And it's interesting

that matter. And it's interesting because there's actually a term for this phenomenon. It's called effort

phenomenon. It's called effort moralization. It's the belief that

moralization. It's the belief that working harder somehow makes you a better, more moral person even if the results are worse or at the very least the same. And this is why so many people

the same. And this is why so many people take pride in being busy instead of being effective. It's why everyone is so

being effective. It's why everyone is so blinded by hustle culture instead of asking the most important question of all, which is, "How can I work less and earn more?" So, in today's video, we're

earn more?" So, in today's video, we're going to test this idea by systematically breaking down different business models to understand which business model is truly the laziest but most effective. We're not looking for

most effective. We're not looking for the most exciting or the most glamorous business model. We are looking for the

business model. We are looking for the one that makes the most money with the least amount of effort, stress, complexity, and most important of all for someone who's beginner or intermediate is the least amount of

risk. So, what we're going to do in

risk. So, what we're going to do in today's video is we're going to look at five oneperson business models you've seen all over YouTube and measure them across five specific categories. And

these are the ones that really matter.

For example, if you want to build a business without working around the clock and without intorible amounts of stress that keep you up at night. And by

the end of the video, you're going to know exactly which model gives you the highest income with the lowest input.

And more importantly, you're going to finally understand why the ones winning in this new economy aren't the ones grinding the hardest, but the ones who work the smartest. So, grab a pen and

paper and let's get started. Now, if I'm going to help you find out what's really the laziest one person business, you can't just guess your way through this process. So before we get into the first

process. So before we get into the first business model, let's look at the five categories that we're going to use to rate the laziness of each one of these models. First is capital investment. And

models. First is capital investment. And

in my eyes, this is actually the most important one. And honestly, it annoys

important one. And honestly, it annoys me so much when I see people telling beginners to start businesses that can ruin them financially. Think of a business model like a car and success as

the destination. If you just keep

the destination. If you just keep driving, you're going to eventually get there as long as you don't run out of fuel. But when you pick a business that

fuel. But when you pick a business that burns cash like a sports car drinks petrol, it doesn't matter how good your map is. If you run out of fuel halfway,

map is. If you run out of fuel halfway, you will never get there. You see, most entrepreneurs, they fail because they run out of money, not because they're lazy. And to prove this, let's look at

lazy. And to prove this, let's look at this study that Forbes did on startups.

Studies show that running out of money is the most common reason why businesses fail, with 38% of startups failing for this exact reason. So what we're looking for here is a business model that

requires as little capital investment as possible. So that way you don't risk

possible. So that way you don't risk becoming a part of that 38%. Next, we

need to look at complexity. Basically,

this is how steep the learning curve is and how difficult it becomes when scaling. We're looking for the laziest

scaling. We're looking for the laziest business model. So we're not looking for

business model. So we're not looking for a business model that requires years of dedication to master skills that are required to succeed. We don't want business models that require hundreds of complex systems and processes and a host

of skills on top of that that generally have a high barrier to entry. They come

with a lot of friction. Let's take a software or a tech company as an example. Everyone loves the idea of

example. Everyone loves the idea of building the next big app because it sounds super glamorous and oh, you have a very serious fancy sounding business.

Great. But I can tell you from experience, I started my first software company 5 years ago. In reality, it's one of the most complex business models on the planet. And not only very complex, but it can be very cash intensive. You need to understand

intensive. You need to understand product development, coding, UX design, servers, databases, APIs, and then you're going to need funding where you're probably going to spend months pitching investors who have already said

no to 99 other startups that week. And

even if you do get funding, now you've got to build a team, engineers, designers, sales reps, each with their own moving parts, communication systems, and dependencies. The laziest business

and dependencies. The laziest business models aren't necessarily mindless. They

are designed in a way where there is minimal friction. Now, next up, we have

minimal friction. Now, next up, we have time to profit. How quickly can you expect to make money? If you're watching this video, you're probably looking for a way to make money in the short term.

Right now, also, I want to make something very clear. There's no such thing as get-rich quick. Now, does get rich quicker, okay? Rather than going into a business model where we see returns after 5 years or 7 years, we can get into a model where potentially after

5 to 7 months, we're in a great place.

But don't think that just happens overnight because technically the laziest way to make money is just keep investing money in the S&P 500. But the

problem with that is that you need money to invest and it's going to take a long time for you to see any substantial returns. Let's say the market has an

returns. Let's say the market has an incredible year and it goes up 20%. You

invested $2,000. Great. Your $2,000 is now $2,400. That's not going to change

now $2,400. That's not going to change your life. That's not really going to do

your life. That's not really going to do anything for you. So, the laziest business models are ones that pay early.

And you need to understand that first dollar actually isn't even about the money. It's proof, okay? Proof that it

money. It's proof, okay? Proof that it works. Proof that you can do it. And

works. Proof that you can do it. And

proof that you should keep going. Fast

feedback loops keep motivation high.

Fourth is ongoing management. Ongoing

management is the category that is a true indication of how lazy a business model actually is. If you choose a business model that requires your attention 24/7, you may as well just get a job. We're looking for a business that

a job. We're looking for a business that doesn't demand your constant attention around the clock. You need to understand that if your business demands constant attention where you perform daily tasks like replying to customers, fixing bugs,

managing teams, and putting out fires, well then you don't own the business.

The business owns you. We're looking for a business model that continues to pay even when you aren't actively working on it dayto-day. And the fifth is income

it dayto-day. And the fifth is income consistency. This measures the stability

consistency. This measures the stability of the income that the business model produces. If you make $10,000 one month

produces. If you make $10,000 one month and zero the next, well, that's not really freedom. That's just stress with

really freedom. That's just stress with no security. The issue is you can't

no security. The issue is you can't plan, you can't scale, and you definitely can't relax. You are

consistently in survival mode. A lazy

business model is one that is predictably profitable. So, let's look

predictably profitable. So, let's look at the first five business models and see how it stacks up in these five categories. Number one, Forex trading.

categories. Number one, Forex trading.

Now, I wouldn't even consider this an actual business model, but if you've been looking for ways to make money online, this is definitely a model that you've been seen or pitched. Without

getting into the finer details, traders basically bet on the movements of financial markets. When they take a buy

financial markets. When they take a buy position, they're betting the price will rise. When they take a sell position,

rise. When they take a sell position, they're betting that the price will fall. If you're right, you make money,

fall. If you're right, you make money, but if you're wrong, you will lose money. Sounds pretty simple, right?

money. Sounds pretty simple, right?

Let's look at the first category, capital investment. The capital

capital investment. The capital investment appears to be low because you can open account with a few hundred, but you need to understand that that's a trap. The smaller that your account is,

trap. The smaller that your account is, the faster it can disappear. You need

real capital to make real returns. If

you're trying to make a $100 a day, you can't really trade with $200 in your account. You're either going to take

account. You're either going to take insane risks or you're going to burn out in a week. Most traders need thousands and thousands and thousands to navigate the market's volatility. If you don't have that kind of capital behind you,

one wrong move can lead to your capital being wiped out completely. So, if you want to make a $100 a day as a trader, you need a lot of upfront capital to work with. Now, capital investment might

work with. Now, capital investment might be a problem, but let's take a look at a complexity. I mean, if it is actually

complexity. I mean, if it is actually really easy to make money, well, then investing a bit more than you anticipate it might be worth it, right? I mean,

trading looks super simple, right? From

the outside, charts go up, charts go down. The truth is that behind the

down. The truth is that behind the scenes, it's a war zone. You have to learn how to read technical indicators, track economic data, understand candlestick patterns, use risk management systems, and make

split-second decisions under pressure.

Remember, you're not trading against amateurs here. No, no, no. You're

amateurs here. No, no, no. You're

trading against algorithms and institutions that have faster technology and huge amounts of data. And if you want some data, here's a stat that proves how big the learning curve for trading really is. Just take a look at

this. 72% of traders end the year with

this. 72% of traders end the year with financial losses with only 3% of traders making more than $50,000 per year.

Becoming a successful trader comes with a steep learning curve both on the technical side as well as on the mental side of things. It takes a massive, massive mental toll on you when it comes

to time to profit. It is a deceptive category when it comes to trading because you could technically be profitable from day one. The truth is that many traders spend months, even years, just learning how to not lose

money. Not make money, but just not lose

money. Not make money, but just not lose money. And the average beginner blows

money. And the average beginner blows their first few accounts before they even become profitable. You can win quick, but this will come down to luck, not skill. And for most people, trading

not skill. And for most people, trading isn't going to provide a fast route to profit. Because quick wins are usually

profit. Because quick wins are usually luck, and real profits can take months, even years. Time to profit is slow. And

even years. Time to profit is slow. And

trading is often positioned as a model that requires minimal input. But if you really want to get to the top of the game, you have to live and breathe this.

You need to be watching the charts daily, following the news, and react instantly if an opportunity presents itself. Then when it comes to ongoing

itself. Then when it comes to ongoing management, it well and truly fails a test. If you're looking for a lazy

test. If you're looking for a lazy business model, this isn't it. Traders

that truly succeed are thinking about trading even when they're not trading, analyzing markets, planning their next moves. And the final category is income

moves. And the final category is income consistency. And this is where this

consistency. And this is where this business model really falls short.

Trading is a game of high risk and high reward. You can make $2,000 one day and

reward. You can make $2,000 one day and lose 3,000 the next. You can make 10,000 one month and lose money the next month.

There is practically zero income consistency when it comes to trading.

You will have the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. If you are looking for a low stress business model where you can predictably calculate your income monthtomonth, trading isn't the one. The next business model is the one

one. The next business model is the one that many people view as the original business model that made making money online accessible to almost anyone and that's drop shipping. In simple terms,

drop shipping is sourcing physical products from countries like China at a low price and selling them for a higher price in countries like US, United Kingdom and Australia. And the reason why this business model became so

popular is because you're just the middleman. Instead of buying and storing

middleman. Instead of buying and storing inventory, the supplier takes care of everything. You never touch the product.

everything. You never touch the product.

You don't need a warehouse. and you only pay for inventory after the customer pays you. Sounds amazing, right? Well,

pays you. Sounds amazing, right? Well,

here's what most beginners miss. It's

true that the supplier deals with stock, inventory, and shipping. But you still need to deal with one of the most complex and expensive parts, the marketing. So, let's look at drop

marketing. So, let's look at drop shipping using the five categories.

Starting with the first one, capital investment. Once you find a product to

investment. Once you find a product to sell, you don't know whether people are actually going to buy your product or not. And that means that you have to

not. And that means that you have to test it. The only way to test a product

test it. The only way to test a product is to get eyes on your offer. And how do you do that? you are going to have to run paid ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok. The problem with running paid ads is that it requires

money before you've made a sale and before you even know if the product is even going to work. And this is the first major problem with drop shipping.

You need to invest your hard-earned money just to test if the product is even going to work. And in order to test a product properly, using paid ads isn't cheap. In fact, I've seen many beginners

cheap. In fact, I've seen many beginners burn through their entire savings trying to find a product that works just to run out of money before they ever find their winning product. And for that reason,

winning product. And for that reason, drop shipping capital investment is high. When it comes to complexity, most

high. When it comes to complexity, most of the setup is pretty easy. It is

easier than ever to build store pages, and there are lots of software options to connect you to suppliers and write all of the store page copy for you. The

setup is smooth, but the complexity starts to rise when you are up and running. If you don't master ads, you

running. If you don't master ads, you get no traffic and you start burning cash. If your suppliers let you down in

cash. If your suppliers let you down in terms of shipping times and product quality, well then refunds start to pile up. Now, in comparison to trading, I

up. Now, in comparison to trading, I think drop shipping is slightly less complex with a more manageable learning curve. But with the competition being as

curve. But with the competition being as high as it is currently, I think that there are better options out there.

Next, time to profit. When you see the drop shipping thumbnails on YouTube with those huge numbers on screen, it's easy to think that you can get rich overnight as a drop shipper. The thing is and what you need to understand those numbers

aren't profit they are revenue after paying the suppliers the shipping cost the ad spend etc the profit is only a fraction of that now you might be wondering well how do you know all this is one of my physical product brands I

started 5 years ago it's not the biggest company on earth but it still does a few million a year and outside of that I'm an investor in many many many companies in general I try to stay away from physical product businesses but even on my desk I have a few companies I've

invested in I'm an investor in this company here's the candle on the table right now I'm writing a check this week to become an investor. And of course, none of these three companies are drop shipping businesses. I'm just saying

shipping businesses. I'm just saying it's so frustrating seeing all these beginners see these massive topline numbers and understand that there's a lot of e-commerce shops out there that are making a million in topline and losing money. So, until you know what

losing money. So, until you know what the profit looks like and what the balance sheet looks like, trust me, these are not businesses that you want to get into. Speaking from experience, but not only that, people truly don't understand the amount of money that some

of these drop shipping businesses are spending on testing products before they find the one that truly works. And even

when I ran an agency for six years, we actually had some big-time drop shippers that we were running the ads for. And we

were testing a dozen plus different products per day. It was insane. It was

this constant hamster wheel. So,

especially for beginners, it can take months of testing before you find a winning product that makes you profitable. It varies, but on average,

profitable. It varies, but on average, time to profit is actually slow. And

ongoing management for a drop shipping store can be a real dealbreaker when you're looking for the laziest business model because you're going to have to handle customer complaints and a lot of customers. By the way, listen, it's

customers. By the way, listen, it's different when you have five or 10 customers per month, but when you have thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands of customers per month, it's a lot. You have advertising performance.

lot. You have advertising performance.

You have supplier issues. Speaking from

experience, you wake up one morning and there's some new tariff news. It just

totally changes the financials of your business. You have refund requests. It's

business. You have refund requests. It's

a lot. And as I said, take this coming from someone who not only runs but invests in physical product businesses.

I try to stay away from them. But for

me, it's just passion project stuff. And

I can only do this because I have the real solid businesses, which I'll show you one of them that I helped get me to this point. So, trust me when I tell you

this point. So, trust me when I tell you ecom can be rough. And of course, granted, I've never done drop shipping, so that makes things slightly easier.

But really, just understand that if a supplier messes up the order, the customer blames you. If your ad account gets banned, your entire income disappears overnight. Those who get to

disappears overnight. Those who get to the top of the mountain with drop shipping as their vehicle. They automate

everything. They hire massive teams to manage the chaos or expensive agencies and service providers. Drop shipping

doesn't stay a one-man business for very long, trust me. And finally, we have income consistency. If you build a real

income consistency. If you build a real brand around a product that has longevity, the income can start to become pretty predictable and consistent. As I said, I've been running

consistent. As I said, I've been running my eyewear brand for 5 years now, but once again, it's a real brand. It's not

drop shipped. Okay? Drop shipping and building a real e-commerce business are two very different things with different levels of complexity. With traditional

drop shipping, you're really focusing on trending products. So, if you're early,

trending products. So, if you're early, your income climbs quickly and consistently until the trend ends and your income falls off. I'm sure you guys all remember the fidget spinners. People

made millions with that like 8 or 10 years ago. Do you ever see them anymore?

years ago. Do you ever see them anymore?

No. So, drop shippers are constantly planning this by looking for the next trending product, which means they're always in survival mode. So, if you don't find the next trend in time, your monthly income can drop from tens of thousands to a few hundred before you

know it. And that is why I consider drop

know it. And that is why I consider drop shipping to have a volatile income consistency. Now, for this next model,

consistency. Now, for this next model, let's move away from online business models and look at one of the oldest wealth building models in history, real estate. This model is pretty simple. You

estate. This model is pretty simple. You

buy a property in the form of an apartment, a house, or a commercial property, and you are able to make a return in two ways. You have cash flow and appreciation. And I apologize when I

and appreciation. And I apologize when I was preparing this, I actually did them the other way around. So cash flow, you're going to rent out the property and earn monthly income from the tenants. And then you have appreciation.

tenants. And then you have appreciation.

The property value goes up over time and you sell it for a profit. So there's two angles there. Now, just like with the

angles there. Now, just like with the other models, let's see how it stacks up as a lazy business model. Starting with

capital investment. This is a very obvious roadblock in this business model. Real estate is one of the most

model. Real estate is one of the most expensive assets that the average person buys in their lifetime. So, the capital investment is substantial. Of course,

there are loans available to help people purchase real estate, but it isn't that simple. Banks will do their due

simple. Banks will do their due diligence before approving a loan application, looking into factors such as income stability, debt to income ratio, credit history, property value, as well as down payment. Even if you get

a loan, there are so many hidden costs you may not even think of right now, like closing costs, taxes, agent fees, legal fees, maintenance fees, and many more. So, I think it's pretty fair to

more. So, I think it's pretty fair to say that real estate is a capital heavy business model. So, we understand that

business model. So, we understand that you need a lot of money to get into real estate, but how complex is it as a business model? The purchasing process

business model? The purchasing process is complex with many moving parts that you need to understand. I'm talking

about financing, the legal side of things, as well as property valuations.

And the complexity doesn't stop once the purchase is complete. You need to deal with repairs and maintenance, rental agreements, tenants, and ad hoc issues that are going to occur. And as you add properties to your portfolio, the

complexity just increases. Despite how

simple real estate looks from the outside, it can be a nightmare to manage. Everything requires approval,

manage. Everything requires approval, signatures, and patience. So, for that reason, it's considered a complex business model. And then, when it comes

business model. And then, when it comes time to profit, this one is brutal. Real

estate is a long-term game. You might

hold a property for years before you see any sort of meaningful return. Even if

you rent it out, that cash flow goes straight into mortgage payments, repairs, and property management fees.

Real estate is a slow and steady model.

It's predictable, not fast and exciting.

If your goal is to start a cash flow business that pays you quickly, real estate is not the one. It is one of, if not the slowest vehicle you could choose. Now, you might be listening to

choose. Now, you might be listening to all this and going, "Oh, you're a real estate hater." I've invested well over 8

estate hater." I've invested well over 8 figures personally myself into real estate in multiple countries as well.

So, I'm not a real estate hater, but I can tell you few things. In every

country that I have real estate, I have someone to manage the properties. And by

the way, this isn't like a property management company. These are full-time

management company. These are full-time people that work for me for separate things and also manage the property. I

have no debt. I have no mortgage. And

every single person that is in my properties I know personally. So not

just random tenants that are disrespectful and don't give a and want to cause problems in the place. And

with all that being said, it's still a headache. There's still always a random

headache. There's still always a random thing every month that comes up. So, do

I regret buying all that property? No.

Because a lot of it it's more of, hey, I just want these properties and it's nice. I'll make a little bit of money.

nice. I'll make a little bit of money.

It's not going to be anything crazy. But

I can tell you from firsthand experience, if you try to make this your main occupation, it really is a full-time job. You need a lot of money

full-time job. You need a lot of money to get into it. And as I said, I think real estate's great, but it's not a lazy way to make money. In fact, it's not a way to make money at all. It's a way to invest your money. And those are two very different things. The way you generate your money and the way you

invest your money are two very different things. Now, also bear in mind once your

things. Now, also bear in mind once your investment portfolio is big enough, then at some point that can become your main occupation where all you do is manage your money and invest. But if you don't have at least $3 million in your investment portfolio, in my humble opinion, you should be more focused on

making money rather than just investing it. So, as I told you, listen, there's a

it. So, as I told you, listen, there's a lot of ongoing management. Repairs and

maintenance is always going to be something that needs to be managed, but the level of management required depends on how the property gets utilized. So,

if you buy the property just to hold and sell it for a profit later, there isn't much ongoing management. But if you're buying property to make money, it's unlikely you're going to utilize it in that way because you're going to need a way to cover the mortgage costs and

taxes. Most people buy a property, rent

taxes. Most people buy a property, rent it out, and use the money to cover these costs and hopefully keep some profit.

Now, there are two types of rental properties. You have long-term rentals,

properties. You have long-term rentals, and these are properties that have tenants that occupy the property for long periods of time. Because tenants

stay there for months, even years, the property owner has security, and rental prices are usually lower than short-term rentals. The ongoing management of

rentals. The ongoing management of long-term rentals still requires the owner to take care of repairs, but generally, the ongoing management is manageable. But let's say you want

manageable. But let's say you want better returns. You're going to look at

better returns. You're going to look at short-term rentals, and this is a different story. These are properties

different story. These are properties that get rented out for a few days at a time, maybe even a month at push by listing them on platforms like Airbnb.

Short-term rentals are more profitable because the lack of security allows the owner to demand higher prices. But this

also comes at a cost. The ongoing

management is very intense because the owner needs to take care of everything a long-term rental owner does, but also needs to manage bookings. They need to organize cleaning after every booking and will also need to communicate with

clients regularly. And most short-term

clients regularly. And most short-term rental owners will work with property managers or agencies that provide property management services because of the high ongoing management demands. So,

as you can see, if you really want to make money with real estate, the ongoing management is not as easy as it seems because there are different levels of management depending on how the property is utilized. Ongoing management I'm

is utilized. Ongoing management I'm going to place as moderate. Lastly, is

income consistency. This is where real estate performs relatively well. As long

as the market performs well, you can manage your property portfolio correctly and as long as you did your due diligence upfront, real estate provides a stable income. Now, for the penultimate business model, we're going to go back into the online business

model space. This is a business model I

model space. This is a business model I haven't spoken about much, but with my success on this platform, I really know what goes into being successful with this model, and that is YouTube automation. Now, I'm sure that many of

automation. Now, I'm sure that many of you know that YouTube pays creators depending on the number of views that they get. So, as long as you stay within

they get. So, as long as you stay within YouTube's guidelines, which by the way, their guidelines are becoming more and more strict as days go by, you can monetize your channel and YouTube will pay you depending on the number of views that you get. And YouTube's automation

takes advantage of this by creating multiple YouTube channels in multiple niches in the attempt to rack up views and ultimately get paid. These channels

are often completely faceless, so the viewer actually doesn't know who the creator is. So, let's take a look at

creator is. So, let's take a look at Sunny V2 for example. They have over 4 million subscribers with their videos getting millions of views. Based on the number of views, Sunny V2 is making thousands of dollars a month from this

channel, maybe even tens of thousands of dollars a month. The channel is completely faceless and the videos cover a variety of topics that people are interested in. And as you can see, he

interested in. And as you can see, he has done incredibly incredibly well. And

to be honest, he has a wide array of very interesting videos. So all credit to him. But let's break down YouTube

to him. But let's break down YouTube automation to see if it's as lazy as it seems. Starting with the capital investment. Starting a YouTube channel

investment. Starting a YouTube channel is free, so that's a good start.

However, creating videos that get millions of views is not. Let me

explain. You need hundreds of thousands of views a month, if not even millions of views a month, to make substantial YouTube AdSense. That means that content

YouTube AdSense. That means that content matters and the quality matters. You're

going to need to pay script writers, editors, voiceover artists, thumbnail designers, even researchers. If you

really want to take things to the next level, you are investing money into videos that may not make a scent. And by

the way, take this from someone who knows. Growing an audience on YouTube is

knows. Growing an audience on YouTube is a slow burn. It requires months, even years of testing and improving. And on

top of that, there's always a level of luck involved. In fact, this year will

luck involved. In fact, this year will be 10 years I've been on YouTube, which is crazy to say. I've posted a video pretty consistently every week for 10 years to grow my audience. And even

while showing my face, it took me a while to gain any sort of real traction.

You're going to be burning cash month after month before you even see the smallest return. And for that reason,

smallest return. And for that reason, capital investment is high. Now, despite

the capital investment being a problem, it seems pretty simple, right? Just keep

creating and posting videos until you blow up and start making thousands a month. Unfortunately, it's not as simple

month. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as that. There is an art to growing on

as that. There is an art to growing on YouTube. You need to create and test

YouTube. You need to create and test thumbnails in order to increase the click-through rates to optimize video performance. You need to write scripts

performance. You need to write scripts that keep people watching. You need to find topics people are interested in.

There's so much trial and error involved before you master YouTube. Mastering the

business model is already difficult. And

on top of that, you also need to build systems for your team to operate in effectively. And I speak from experience

effectively. And I speak from experience when I say that building and managing a content team on top of mastering the art of YouTube is extremely complex and the learning curve is steep. Time to profit is also a massive roadblock in this

business model. The combination of the

business model. The combination of the business model's need for upfront investment coupled with the slow burning nature of YouTube means that it can take months, if not even longer, before you break even. If your goal is to make $100

break even. If your goal is to make $100 a day from AdSense, well then you're going to need hundreds of thousands of views with YouTube's payout structure.

From the outside, YouTube automation looks like easy money. But in truth, it's one of the slowest ways to make money online. And ongoing management is

money online. And ongoing management is where you're going to see the word automation fall apart completely. This

business model is full-time because YouTube rewards consistency. You need to keep uploading or your channel starts to die and your income follows that. Even

if you outsource editing and scripting, you're still managing the process, reviewing content, approving drafts, fixing mistakes, and tracking performance. The truth is, those who

performance. The truth is, those who succeed with YouTube automation aren't lazy. They're organized. They treat

lazy. They're organized. They treat

their channel like a media company.

Income consistency is an interesting one when it comes to YouTube automation. As

your channel grows, your income grows steadily alongside it. And there are going to be dips during months where your videos didn't hit the mark, and you will have high income outliers where a video went super viral. As I said before, it is a slow burn. But if you

gain some momentum, you should see steady growth. It's important to keep up

steady growth. It's important to keep up with trends and position your channel in a way that is built for longevity, not just short-lived topics. Now, as you've probably seen, none of these business

models are truly lazy if you just look at them objectively. Now, above the surface, they're going to all present themselves as easy money opportunities.

But today, I've given you some insight into what lies below the surface. And a

lot of this coming from personal experience. They all demand too much

experience. They all demand too much money, too much time, too much expertise, and too much mental bandwidth for anyone that wants to make money the smart way. And I'll be honest with you,

smart way. And I'll be honest with you, I already knew that. I've been in the world of online business for over 10 years, and I have seen business models come and go. I've tested most of them myself, and that's why I know what they

actually require to be successful. Now,

there is one business model for 2026 that has always been extremely profitable. But until recently, due to

profitable. But until recently, due to the rise of AI, in good conscience, I couldn't consider it lazy. In fact, I was actually one of the early adopters of this business model without even realizing it at the time. And that model

is AI shadow operating. And this, my friend, is the laziest oneperson business model. And I am going to prove

business model. And I am going to prove to you that this is truly the laziest business model you can start right now using the same five categories that we've been using. But first, let me explain what AI shadow operating

actually is. There are millions of micro

actually is. There are millions of micro creators out there with 20,000 followers, 32,000 followers, 57,000 followers, making engaging content, building loyal audiences, but still

earning an average 9 to5 income. Or in

fact, most of the times not even making any income from their social media. Now,

yeah, sure, maybe they get some free stuff here and there. They have a few affiliate links that they get some commissions from, and if they're lucky, they get a few small brand deals. But

what they haven't realized yet is that the biggest creators in the world aren't making their money from brand deals and affiliate links. They're making their

affiliate links. They're making their money from digital products, courses, mentorships, communities, even apps.

They understand their audience's needs.

They package the solution digitally and they sell it to an audience that already knows, likes, and trust them. Now, the

macro creators, the people with millions of followers, most of them, not all of them, but most of them already have this method down to a science. But the

microcreators, they don't know how. They

haven't caught up. They don't have the ability. As I said, they either don't

ability. As I said, they either don't know the opportunity even exists, or they don't have the appetite to run a business. They just want to create

business. They just want to create content and get more followers. And this

is where the opportunity lies for shadow operators. As a shadow operator, all you

operators. As a shadow operator, all you need to do is approach microcreators and help them understand how much money they're leaving on the table. Your offer

is very simple. Let me help you build and launch your digital product. You

create the content. I'll handle

everything else. And you handle all the boring stuff they don't want to deal with. For example, like building the

with. For example, like building the offer, creating the launch strategy, and setting up the to process payments and host their digital product. They

stick to what they like doing, which is creating content. And the result of this

creating content. And the result of this partnership, you take a percentage of each sale made, usually 20 to 30% depending on the agreement. And by the way, this isn't a once- off. You get a cut of every sale of that product for

life. Now, I get it. I get it. I know

life. Now, I get it. I get it. I know

that some of the terms that I've used might sound slightly complicated. Terms

like launch strategy or building an offer. Remember when I said I wouldn't

offer. Remember when I said I wouldn't have considered this a lazy business model a few years ago. That's the truth of it. Four years ago or 8 years ago

of it. Four years ago or 8 years ago when I was doing this stuff myself, it wasn't a lazy business model. And it

also wasn't appropriate for beginners because today there are ultra specialized AI tools that build all of that for you. These tools aren't just able to do the job. They build launch strategies as well as marketers with

years of experience. And when you use these tools, AI does 90% of the work for you. These tools can create product

you. These tools can create product outlines, build product offers, create multiplatform launch strategies, write sales copy, everything you need to launch a successful offer. So let's see

how AI shadow operating performs across the five categories that we have used throughout this test. Starting with

capital investment. AI shadow operating doesn't require much capital investment at all because there's no ad cost. The

microcreator already has the audience.

There's no inventory cuz it's a digital product, an info product, a coaching offer. There's no tangible product. So

offer. There's no tangible product. So

there's no headaches with inventory or tariffs and no purchases of physical assets. All you require is a laptop,

assets. All you require is a laptop, internet connection, and some specialized AI software. And that's only needed once. and you have a creator

needed once. and you have a creator partnership in the pipeline. This model

is a car with unlimited fuel. You can go at your own pace without the stress of knowing that you're burning cash daily.

And for that reason, capital investment is low. Now, in many cases, business

is low. Now, in many cases, business models that don't require large capital investments tend to rely on hard work and expert skills. AI shadow operating is a rare case where this doesn't apply.

Now, what's interesting about this model is you're not asking for money upfront.

So, there's no sales. You're simply

providing an opportunity to someone with huge monetization potential and with the help of specialized AI tools helping them execute on that opportunity. Now,

because we have these AI tools, they can do 90% of the work for you, which means that there's no need for complex SOPs and systems. It is a four-step process you execute over and over again. First,

you find a creator who has an audience but no offer. You pitch them on launching a digital product. Bear in

mind, when I say digital product, it could be digital product, info offer, coaching offer. There's actually many

coaching offer. There's actually many things that they can launch, but remember, they're the expert. you're not

the expert, so it doesn't actually matter how you package it up. It's just

different ways to really present the same thing. Then you set up the backend

same thing. Then you set up the backend and create the launch strategy using specialized AI tools. Then you're going to launch and split the profits. Now,

there's one last thing that I will mention that decreases complexity even more. When I was working with creators

more. When I was working with creators and launching their digital product offers for them, they had to reconcile every one of their sales at the end of each month and pay me my cut. And this

was back when I was running an agency for 6 years. And this was the most annoying thing about it, okay? I always

had to chase them for payments in many cases and honestly there was a lot of trust involved. Now, as many of you guys

trust involved. Now, as many of you guys know, I wrote a very, very, very, very, very large check in order to become a co-owner at a company called And we just recently rolled out a revenue split feature which allows payments to be

split in real time, which means all the problems that I faced when I was a shadow operator, but I was like a shadow operator agency, whereas now you can be a one person AI shadow operator. But

anyways, beside the point, all the problems that I faced are now gone. You

don't have the same problems that I had to deal with. So payment comes in and then based on your agreement, let's say for here the shadow operator gets 30% and the creator gets 70 or let's say it's 9010 or 50/50, however you want to split it up. And obviously as you get

more experience and more case studies, you can demand a much bigger piece of the pie. Now the process is simple,

the pie. Now the process is simple, okay? There's no sale involved. You

okay? There's no sale involved. You

don't need a team and all the systems have been optimized to the point where there is minimal complexity left. I

think it's fair to say that this is a low complexity business model. Now let's

talk about time to profit. Considering

you don't get paid up front, this is potentially where this business model could fall short. But in comparison to the other models, this actually isn't the case. There are millions of creators

the case. There are millions of creators out there, so the client pool is massive, and partnering with them is also easy, so it won't take months to find a willing creator. Now, from

conception to launch of a digital product also doesn't take as long as you would think. Many of the creators you're

would think. Many of the creators you're speaking to may opt for group coaching or mentorship to start with. So, there's

no lag time like there is with video courses, even if a creator opts for a video course format because they are so comfortable on camera and they're the expert. They have an audience for a

expert. They have an audience for a reason. Many creators can create a

reason. Many creators can create a product that is ready for launch in 7 days or less. It is very, very realistic that you could be making money within the first 45 to 60 days. But here's the thing. I'm not talking about a few

thing. I'm not talking about a few dollars here and there. If you find the right creator and you trust the specialized AI tools to create the launch strategy for you, you can make thousands of dollars, maybe even tens of thousands of dollars from a single

launch. Now, I want to be very

launch. Now, I want to be very transparent with you. Is AI shadow operating a model where you can make money within day? No. But once you launch and the money starts coming in, it can come in very quick. Now, because

the model requires some patience and some upfront work, I'm comfortable ranking it as a moderate in the time to profit category. AI shadow operating is

profit category. AI shadow operating is a front-loaded business model, which means the majority of the work is done first and then the money starts rolling in. Now, when it comes to ongoing

in. Now, when it comes to ongoing management, there isn't much to it.

After the first launch, you can use the AI tools to create new launch strategies when you and the creator want to ramp up the sales again. But from a day-to-day point of view, there's little to no ongoing management. Your main goal as an

ongoing management. Your main goal as an AI shadow operator is to keep adding new creators to your portfolio because the income from each new creator just stacks onto the monthly income you already have from your current creators. Now, I

personally haven't seen a business model that requires less ongoing management than shadow operating. It is a true oneperson business. So, you can have no

oneperson business. So, you can have no team management responsibilities and all of the work that you do after the first launch has a direct impact on your income and that is why it ranks low in the ongoing management category.

Finally, how consistent is your income as a shadow operator? Like any business model on Earth, it will always fluctuate. During months where you do a

fluctuate. During months where you do a launch with a creator, there will be spikes, but during months where you don't do launches, your income will remain steady. Shadow operators

remain steady. Shadow operators generally see a steady increase in their income because they are always adding new creators to their portfolio. So

unlike some business models, it's not possible for you to go from $10,000 to $0. Major fluctuations tend to be

$0. Major fluctuations tend to be positive spikes in income during months with big launches. So for that reason, the income consistency is stable. Now

let's bring this back to the final table. There is a very very very clear

table. There is a very very very clear winner. And for me personally, as I look

winner. And for me personally, as I look at the online business landscape right now, AI shadow operating is the biggest opportunity on the table going into 2026. That being said, any opportunity

2026. That being said, any opportunity with this kind of potential doesn't stay untapped for long. There are a handful of very private in the shadow people, as the name would suggest, already taking

advantage of this business model, like one of our users, Ted, who saw this opportunity and made the transition from traditional SMMA to AI shadow operating.

And it's been super cool to see it. At

21 years of age, Ted makes multiple five figures per month and has recently moved into his dream apartment. And in fact, during a call with my head of product, Andre, Ted said this about AI shadow operating. I was weighing up the pros

operating. I was weighing up the pros and cons of transitioning into the creator economy, and it was a no-brainer. Getting partnerships is

no-brainer. Getting partnerships is easier than landing traditional clients.

I get to work with people I actually like, and the hardest part is taking care of because they already have a loyal audience of buyers. Remember, you

don't have to be a dancing monkey online or create content or risk money on ads.

They have an audience already. Like,

it's literally a gold mine waiting to be extracted. And this allows me to make

extracted. And this allows me to make more money while working less. I cannot

find a downside in this model. So, for

me, that is every entrepreneur's dream.

A business model that requires no selling. You're not asking them, hey,

selling. You're not asking them, hey, can you pay my monthly fee? Or, hey, can you buy this product or anything like that? You are simply partnering with

that? You are simply partnering with people you love working with and making more money with less input. AI shadow

operating is undoubtedly the laziest, most beginner-friendly model out there right now. And to me personally, I think

right now. And to me personally, I think this is the king for 2026. And if you're looking to start an online business, for me, you shouldn't be looking anywhere else. But at the end of the day, like

else. But at the end of the day, like anything you see online, be skeptical, do your own due diligence, use your brain, and if it still makes sense to you, well then great, because I see a lot of opportunity for you guys out

there doing this in 2026. And as I said, this is coming from someone who has experience with pretty much all of these models. So, on that note, I hope this

models. So, on that note, I hope this video was helpful for you. As always,

I'm watching from afar and I'm rooting for you.