Hey friends, what’s going on?

Sometimes people ask me “Do you ever regret quitting pharmacy? And do you actually make a living doing what you do?”

Over the years, I’ve tried various things, including agency work, freelancing, copywriting, and affiliate marketing. However, it wasn’t until this year that I felt I really cracked the code of what works for me.

As this year is coming to an end, I’m reflecting how I made my revenue, focusing specifically on the 20% of work that led to 80% of my profits.

To be transparent, it was only in this last quarter that I figured everything out – what I wanted to do and, more importantly, what aligned with my vision, mission, and energy.

Back in pharmacy, I made a decent amount of money, but it always left me feeling drained. The same happened with high-ticket closing. I would take on clients, but the “Clickfunnel guru” culture and demanding client workload would just drain me.

And when people told me to “sell courses,” I never felt good about it. I see it as a dying industry, especially with more free YouTube content being uploaded every day. At the end of the day, do people really need another course?

So here’s how I make all my revenue, with the estimated numbers.

Affiliate Marketing ($500-$1000 / month per review)

My journey with affiliate marketing began back in 2017, during my days as a pharmacist.

I joined this affiliate marketing community called the MAD society, where I read about people making over $1,000 per day through Facebook ads and RevContent.

While that was cool, the problem was that half of these offers were scammy ClickBank offers for products like “The Diabetes Cure.” I mean how unethical would that be, especially as a pharmacist?

It wasn’t until years later that I discovered an ethical approach to affiliate marketing – reviewing products I genuinely love.

In the past, I reviewed courses that I bought but soon realized the limitation: there are constant changes in the content. And even though a single sale could bring in $500 or even $1,000, it was only a one-time transaction.

That’s when I started to focus on subscription services, particularly with SaaS companies (software-as-a-service). Not only do I find it more ethical, but people are usually happy to pay month-to-month for a longer time period. And as a result, I make monthly commissions from it.

If you’re curious about how I’ve generated monthly revenue with my reviews, I’ve done affiliate review videos for Shortform, Readwise Reader, and GoHighLevel.

My earnings from these reviews vary, ranging from $100 to $1,500 / month. And before you go like “OMG I NEED TO DO THIS,” keep in mind these videos are time-intensive, requiring 100-200 hours of research, editing, and reviewing. Plus, the commissions aren’t always consistent.

I also try to make exclusive offers for those who purchase using my affiliate link. For example, I negotiate special deals, partner up to offer bonuses, and even jump on a Zoom if I have the time.

Like with my GoHighLevel review, I teamed up with Mike Kim to promote Brand New Funnels to provide templates for high-ticket sales, along with 24-7 support.

While affiliate marketing isn’t life-changing money for me, the revenue primarily goes towards paying my YouTube team.

YouTube Creator Mastermind ($500-$600 / month per client)

The mastermind is my newest venture, and honestly, it’s what I’m most passionate about right now.

If you’re asking “What is a mastermind?”, then in short – it’s a peer advisory group for YouTubers.

Sometimes YouTubers need help with their video packaging—topics, thumbnails, titles—or at times, they just need someone to listen to them.

It’s like being a party host where my role is to bring together the right mix of people and create a synergistic group.

There’s an art and skill to this because not everyone gets along with each other. And part of my job is to help everyone feel comfortable and connected.

Behind the scenes, I work on securing deals on courses, editors, and group discounts for hiring specialists to hold office hours for my program.

From a business standpoint, the mastermind generates monthly recurring revenue but it’s also a lot of work. I’m constantly gauging what people need and checking up on them. If someone is feeling down, I tend to shoot them a personal phone call just to check up on them.

Right now, I charge $6,000 but I could see myself charging a bit more because it is quite a bit when I start adding all of the operational costs over a year.

The people that tend to join are business owners and some creators; more established creators.

Overall, running this creator mastermind and providing a supportive space has been incredibly rewarding.

⚠️ By the way, if you’re interested in applying for the waitlist for my mastermind, apply here.

High Ticket Sales Services ($3000-$30,000 / month)

High Ticket Sales Services, also known as High Ticket Closing, is where I provide remote freelance sales services to clients.

Recently I started working with Ali Abdaal (AKA my dream client since 2020) as his unofficial “Head of Sales” for his Part Time YouTuber Accelerator.

Working with Ali is amazing because of our shared values, his strong authentic brand, and his team trusts my work (thank god lol). Did I mention we both hate the Wolf of Wall Street vibes?

Lately, my earnings range from $500 to $1,500 per day. This can vary due to market fluctuations, lead generation, and advertising costs, but for now, I’m thrilled to work with clients who align with my values and make new friends on these Zoom calls.

You might be wondering, “What exactly is high ticket sales? And what is your daily routine?”

“High ticket” refers to premium offerings, such as consulting packages or agency services, requiring a nuanced, consultative sales approach due to their complexity. Sometimes the problems and solutions aren’t always clear-cut.

Some examples of the client products that we “sell” include consulting packages, coaching, or agency services.

My day typically involves 1-3 hours on Zoom per day, doing consultation calls (kind of like my days as a pharmacist).

An easy way to imagine this is like visiting your doctor or pharmacist for a cough that could be anything from asthma to a medication side effect, like ACE inhibitors or ARBs.

Like a healthcare professional navigating through various options (including thousands of medications), I guide clients to the most suitable solutions for their situation.

For those new to this field, a commission of 10-20% is standard but that depends on factors like brand reputation, lead quality, and the number of appointments booked.

These days with my experienced role, I set a minimum retainer to offset this risk, ensuring that the client’s commitment to lead generation and my continued involvement.

When I start with a new client, I usually negotiate a base of $3,000-$8,000 per month plus commission, or whichever is higher. This ensures stability considering the variables out of my control, like lead flow.

As Peter Drucker once said, “All profit is derived from risk.” So if I’m taking more risk, I have to make sure the profit justifies my involvement.

High Ticket Sales Advisory ($10,000-$30,000 per engagement)

Sometimes clients want advice rather than hands-on involvement, especially when they have established sales teams in place.

Think of this as management consulting.

I help both large, established companies and business owners and beginners looking for high ticket sales coaching.

My goal is to help my clients find the high-leverage opportunities to maximize their conversions without hurting their brand.

Often times that means removing the “sales vibe” from the conversations and optimizing the offer.

But of all my business models, this one is the most energy-intensive for me.

In the past, I was deeply involved in cohort-based programs, helping beginners get into high ticket sales. But I quickly realized helping newbies was way harder than experienced businesses.

Beginners just have so much to learn like how to sell, get a client, and keep your client – all with zero experience.

So it doesn’t surprise me when they burn out.

That’s why I shifted my strategy. I now offer my programs and courses free for beginners and focus my active efforts on established businesses like Ali Abdaal.

To give you an idea of how much I make, a recent 7-8 figure business reached out to me to help them with sales team coaching for the whole organization and had a budget of $10-12K / month just for team coaching and sales team training.

Working with these existing teams is far more rewarding for me.

The results are quicker compared to helping a beginner who doesn’t have an offer or client.

YouTube AdSense ($100-$800 / month)

YouTube AdSense – the classic YouTube revenue stream.

YouTube ad money is one of the most passive ways to earn as a YouTuber yet it’s also incredibly unpredictable.

In the good old days, I’d pocket anywhere between $500 to $700 monthly through AdSense. But with a dip in channel views after removing some popular videos, my earnings now fluctuate between $80 to $120 per month.

Many larger channels like Vanessa Lau, Chris Do, and Ali Abdaal typically use AdSense to cover their YouTube team’s operational costs.

I used to do the same but with the current lower earnings, it’s no longer a reliable main income source for me.

Something I have been strategizing with Vanessa Lau’s YouTube strategist is strategically placing ads to increase the CPM and RPM on my videos.

To give you an idea of how much I make, for business videos, it can be anywhere from $50 to $150 for every thousand views. If I do relationship videos, those are usually $5.

Sure, I enjoy making those lower-paying relationship videos but they don’t contribute much financially. At the moment, it’s just a small addition to my overall revenue – but every bit counts lol.

Next year will be my highest revenue year.

I’m excited because next year is projected to be my biggest financial year yet.

Looking ahead, I wouldn’t be surprised if I start raking in a quarter million or more next year.

This journey hasn’t been short or easy. It’s like being in a PharmD program, but for entrepreneurship.

Despite the ups and downs, and trust me, there have been plenty, I’m genuinely thankful for every lesson learned and every time I had to pick myself back up.

This is how I make my current money and those are all the revenue streams that I have.

Of course, there are other things like random consulting or power hour gigs but I didn’t count them because those aren’t always consistent.

By the way, I don’t think people can just copy what I’m doing because these things align with my strengths, not yours.

For example, if I were more of a numbers guy, I’d probably do e-commerce. But since my superpower is relationships and seeing things differently, I was built for masterminds and advisory.

I’m wired to investigate, learn, experiment, and find the real truth behind how things work. So naturally, content creation is my arena.

Everyone’s path is different and this is what works for me.

Anyways, I was thinking about doing a video on the business models that were a complete disaster for me. So if you want to see more insights on that, let me know.

I’ll catch you next time.

Happy holidays,

-Kevin

When you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:

1. Power Hour ⏳ – Book a single coaching or strategy session
2. High Ticket Sales Call Review 🔎 – Get your sales calls reviewed
3. Creator Mastermind 🧠 – Apply for my YouTube creator mastermind
4. Work with me 1:1 ⚡️ – Apply for 12 week personalized coaching or consulting
5. Join the High Ticket Sales Accelerator 🔥 – Join the waitlist for the next accelerator
6. Free High Ticket Closing Course 🎓 – Learn how to start high ticket closing in 7 days