Last year, a 35-year-old woman earned more than $500,000 through her various income streams, some of which were completely passive.

Julie Berninger, 35, has had multiple online income streams for years.

Since 2015, Berninger has been earning tens of thousands of dollars in passive income through her blog, Millennial Boss, while working as an engineer manager at Amazon. In 2017, she started her Etsy store, where she sells printables like bachelorette party activity lists, and it has also been bringing in thousands of dollars in passive income every year.

In 2019, she and Cody Berman founded Gold City Ventures, an online course company that teaches users how to start an Etsy store selling printables. The course has generated millions in revenue.

In 2023, Berninger and Berman established a new business, Auros Agency, which mirrors the success of Gold City Ventures for creators with a substantial following. "We're applying the same business model we use for the Etsy seller community," she explains, "but in different niches."

What she earned in 2023 and her plans for the upcoming year.

With Etsy, 'you can run it on autopilot'

Millennial Boss focuses on personal finance topics, including ways to monetize a blog and a list of the best budget planners on Etsy. The website generates revenue through affiliate links and display advertising. Berninger updates the content annually, replacing outdated references with current ones. Otherwise, she says, "I just kind of leave that running on the side."

The blog made about $35,000 in 2023.

She spends only an hour a quarter on her Etsy store, which may not be the best strategy. Instead, she suggests running it on autopilot but regularly updating it with new products and old ones to keep getting attention.

Her Etsy shop is not just a source of income but a tool to help her community through Gold City Ventures. She often mentions the store in her course as an example, and it's part of her teaching method. When she has a good product idea, she prefers to share it with her community rather than creating it for her store.

Her Etsy store brought in about $3,000 in 2023.

Gold City Ventures grossed more than $2 million

Gold City Ventures continues to grow.

Berninger states that the company offers a course on starting an Etsy store for printables, along with a membership that includes coaching from successful Etsy sellers, feedback on listings, and access to a Facebook group for members to ask questions. The course costs $197, while the membership is priced at $29 per month. Currently, the course has approximately 4,000 members.

Berninger and Berman have recently hired new coaches and introduced new community activities, such as 30-day challenges, to help members achieve success. Members receive a template to create a new printable and are given 30 days to start producing new products using it. This approach promotes accountability and motivates members to continue creating.

"The April templates were tear-off flyers, similar to what you would see in a coffee shop offering guitar lessons or babysitting services," she says. Additionally, they have introduced a new bundle of courses called Beyond, which teaches individuals how to sell digital products on platforms such as Shopify.

Berninger's take-home pay for 2023 was more than $500,000, despite working only 10 to 15 hours per week on the business.

'We'd be an eight-figure business'

Berninger came up with the concept for Auros Agency after a discussion with a reality TV star (whom she wants to keep anonymous as they haven't signed a contract yet) inspired her to explore the possibility of replicating their course success with influencers, who already have established followings.

She suggests providing a digital product in their niche with monthly recurring revenue to their followers.

Auros offers course creation, community building, and marketing funnel services to their clients. They have signed three clients, including realtor Brooke Coughlin, social media marketing expert Seth Cottengim, and fitness coach Ashton Pienaar from reality TV show "Below Deck." Cottengim's course on growing your Instagram following was launched in late May and has already generated thousands of dollars. The course and membership are available for $179 per month or $2,497 per month with one-on-one coaching.

Auros offers free course and community creation services to their clients, and when these products are sold, the agency splits the profits 50/50 with the creators. Berninger and Berman each invested $10,000 to launch the business, and she spends approximately 20 to 25 hours per week working on it.

Berninger, Berman, and their COO, Taylor Smith, have high hopes for Auros. If the success of Gold City Ventures could be replicated across five different niches, they would be an eight-figure business, says Smith.

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