What I Would Do If I Had to Rebuild My Income from Scratch
Part 1: What I Wouldn't Do
This is the first article in a four-part series where I walk through exactly what I’d do if I had to start over and build an online income stream from scratch. No audience, no email list, no reputation. Just me, the AI tools available today, and the knowledge I have now.
But before I get into what I’d actually do, I need to start with what I wouldn’t do. Because the fastest way to waste your first 90 days is doing things that feel productive but don’t actually move you forward.
I’ve watched it happen over and over. Smart, motivated people who genuinely want to build something burn through their first three months chasing things that don’t matter yet.
So if I were starting over, this is what I wouldn’t do.
I Wouldn’t Focus on Multiple Income Streams in the Beginning
I’m a huge advocate of multiple diversified streams of income. I talk about it all the time. But that comes after you’re established in one lane, already monetizing, already producing results. If I had to start over from scratch, I would focus on one thing to start with.
There are real ways to make money online right now: services, digital products, coaching, affiliate marketing, memberships, and platform monetization like Facebook or the Amazon Influencer Program. But trying to do three or four of them at once before any of them are working is how you end up six months in with nothing to show for it. Every income path requires its own skill set, content strategy, and offer structure. When you split your attention across multiple paths too early, you never get good enough at any of them to see results.
I’d pick one path that fits my life and my constraints, commit to it for at least 90 days, and then evaluate whether to pivot or expand from there.
I Wouldn’t Follow an Overhyped Influencer Selling Dreams
If I were starting over, I’d run the other direction from anyone promising overnight results, passive income with no work, or six figures in 30 days. The flashier the promise, the emptier the delivery. Every single time. I’d look for people who actually teach systems and show the real work, not just the highlight reel. People who’ve built what they’re teaching and can explain how it actually works. The best training I’ve ever invested in came from people who were honest about what it takes and clear about the work involved.
If someone’s marketing makes you feel desperate or behind or like you need to buy right now before you miss your chance forever, that’s a red flag. Good education doesn’t need manufactured urgency. It stands on its own.
I Wouldn’t Spend a Month on Branding
No logo, no perfect color palette, no three-week deep dive into fonts and brand voice documents. I’d pick a name, grab a simple headshot or a clean stock image, and start building. Branding can wait until your first 90 days are done and people actually know you exist.
The people who spend a month on branding before they’ve made a single piece of content are hiding. It feels productive because there are decisions to make and deliverables to check off. But really, it’s just avoidance. If I were starting over, I’d give myself one day max to pick a name and set up a basic profile. Then I’d move on.
I Wouldn’t Build a Complicated Funnel
No 47-step email sequence, no tripwires into upsells into downsells into cross-sells, no “marketing automation” before I had anyone to market to.
Funnels are useful when you have traffic. When you’re starting from zero, all you need is an offer and a way for people to find you. I’d build one clear offer, talk about it consistently, and give people a simple way to buy or sign up. That’s it.
The complicated funnel can come later, after you know what’s working and what people actually want.
I Wouldn’t Try to Be Everywhere
Not TikTok and Instagram and YouTube and Pinterest and LinkedIn and Twitter and Threads and Facebook all at once. I’d pick one or two platforms where my people actually spend time, and I’d show up consistently there. Everything else can wait.
Being everywhere sounds like good strategy, but in practice it means being mediocre everywhere. Followings get built by showing up consistently in one or two places until something gains traction, not by posting occasionally across eight platforms.
I Wouldn’t Wait Until I Felt Ready
This is the one that kills more people than all the others combined.
Waiting for the perfect offer, the polished content, the moment when you finally know enough or have enough or are enough. If I were starting over, I’d publish before I was ready. I’d put out an offer before it was perfect and start the content system before I felt confident about what I was doing.
The feedback you get from putting something real into the world is worth more than months of planning in your head. Clarity comes from doing and adjusting based on what happens.
What I Would Do Instead
Clear the clutter. Pick one income path and start building a simple system to create content consistently. Put out an offer before it’s perfect, and stay focused for 90 days before adding anything new. That’s the foundation, and that’s where I’d start.
In the next article, I’ll walk through exactly what my actual rebuild plan would look like. The specific steps, the order I’d do them in, and how AI fits into each phase. But before any of that matters, you have to stop doing the things that waste your time.
What are you going to stop doing this week?
This is Part 1 of the “Starting Over in 2026” series. Subscribe to get the next article when it drops.
Want the full system in 90 minutes instead of waiting for the series? We’re hosting a live training called AI Revolution Secrets where we walk through everything: how to pick your income path, build your AI systems, and launch your first offer without wasting months on things that don’t matter. Register and block it out on your calendar.
Not sure which income path is right for you? Download the AI Monetization Map for a 10-minute decision matrix that helps you choose based on your life, skills, and constraints.