How to Make a Living Online by Making a Difference in the World

What Does it Mean to Live a Bigger Life?

For me, living a bigger life means doing work you love, that makes a difference in the world and for which you’re well compensated, spiritually, as well as financially. It means accepting yourself as you are, yet constantly pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone and toward your full potential. It means creating simplicity amid the chaos of daily life and clearing away the clutter and distractions so you can focus on what matters most.

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -

Online Business – Your Path to Living a Bigger Life

The Internet represents the greatest opportunity in history for people like you and me to express our creativity and share our knowledge, skills and passion with the world. If you have something you want to share or teach – something that can help improve the life of another – you have the main ingredient for a profitable online business that allows you to work from home and earn a generous income while making a difference in the world.

About the Author

Hi, I’m Michael Pollock, creator of Bigger Life Blog. I’ve been doing business online for over ten years, and my mission is to help guide you along on your own path to living a bigger life – an amazing life in which you use the Internet to make a living by making a difference.

My First Online Business – Life Coaching

In May 2000, I began training to become a Life Coach with Life on Purpose Institute (LOPI). Later that same year, I launched my first online business, a life coaching practice focused on helping my clients bring more purpose and passion into their personal and professional life. As part of my new venture, I also began learning all I could about web design and doing business on the Internet.

After I earned my Life Coach certification in 2001, LOPI offered me a position as a Faculty Coach. I happily accepted and spent the next two years training and mentoring new coaches, as well as helping to improve LOPI’s Coach Development Program.

Although I enjoyed my work with LOPI, and I enjoyed working with my life coaching clients, something else was calling me. So, in 2003, fueled by my growing interest and fascination with marketing and online business, I completed my work with LOPI and closed my life coaching practice to make way for something new to emerge.

My First Blog – Small Business Branding

Near the beginning of 2004, as blogging went mainstream, I launched Small Business Branding, a blog about how to build a strong brand on the Internet. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot about blogging, small business branding and Internet marketing.

During the two years I owned Small Business Branding, my proudest moment came when Entrepreneur Magazine named it one of the best marketing blogs on the Internet. After a couple of years though, I was ready for a bigger challenge, and I sold Small Business Branding to Yaro Starak in December 2005.

My First Six-Figure Online Business – Solostream

In mid-2006, I launched a blog design and consulting company named Solostream. The timing couldn’t have been better as blogs had just started to gain credibility as a valuable tool for marketing a small business. Combined with the reputation I developed writing my previous blog, Solostream took off almost immediately. Within a few months, I had plenty of blog design and consulting work to keep me busy, and I left my full-time job to operate Solostream from home.

Near the end of 2007, Solostream started selling premium WordPress themes (templates) that people could purchase and download from the Solostream site. Along with Brian Gardner of StudioPress (and a few others), I helped pioneer the premium WordPress themes market, and soon, Solostream was generating six-figure profits from theme sales. As you can imagine, it was an exciting time for me, but the excitement didn’t last.

While Solostream was doing well and supported me financially, I couldn’t escape the feeling that something was missing from my professional life. And rather than close a successful business or try to change it, I decided it was best to let someone else move it forward while I focused my energy on work that’s more in alignment with my passion. So, inspired to create something new, I sold Solostream in September 2008.

Although I continue to work closely with the new owner of Solostream, my real passion is coaching and teaching people like you how to use the Internet to make a living while making a difference in the world.