I Tried 10 ‘Get Rich Quick’ Schemes – 1 Actually Worked (And It’s Insane)

Hey there, fellow hustler! You’ve seen the ads, right? “Make $10,000 in a week from home!” or “Get rich while you sleep!” Yeah, I’ve been there too. Tempting, right? Who wouldn’t want to make a quick buck and skip all the hard work? Spoiler alert: It’s mostly a scam. But (and this is a BIG “but”), one of them actually worked for me, and it still blows my mind. Let me take you through my rollercoaster journey of testing these so-called ‘get rich quick’ schemes—and how one of them flipped everything upside down.

1. Survey Sites – Spoiler: I didn’t get rich.

Alright, so I started where everyone does—taking online surveys. You know the type: “Answer a few questions and get paid!” I thought, This is it! Free money for sharing my opinions. A few hours in and I had racked up...a grand total of $5. And that’s not even in cash. It was in coupons for some random stores I’ve never heard of. Verdict: Unless you’re looking to get paid in coffee gift cards, this is not your ticket to wealth.

2. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) – AKA my biggest regret.

Ah, MLMs. The dream they sell you is like a fantasy—passive income, luxury trips, a network of successful people. I signed up for one because a friend (who I later realized was also just trying to make money off me) convinced me. Let me just say, it did not go as planned. Instead of passive income, I ended up with a garage full of products I couldn’t sell and relationships strained from trying to “recruit” everyone I knew. Oof, that one stung.

3. Online Courses and E-books – Takes more effort than you think.

I thought this would be easy money. I mean, everyone’s doing it, right? You create an online course or write an e-book, and suddenly you’re swimming in cash while the money rolls in on autopilot. But what they don’t tell you is that building a course or writing an e-book is hard work—and then you have to market it like crazy.

I poured weeks into creating a course about a topic I was passionate about, but getting people to actually buy it was a whole other beast. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of marketing it took to make a sale. At the end of the day, I made a few bucks, but it was definitely not the easy payday I imagined. This one is a marathon, not a sprint.

That said, if you’re passionate about teaching, platforms like Coursera make it easier for creators to get their courses out there and get paid for sharing their knowledge. And if you’re looking to level up your skills instead, Coursera offers thousands of courses that can help you grow in almost any field. You can give it a try for free from here.

4. Crypto Pump-and-Dump Schemes – Don’t even get me started.

I thought I was slick getting into the crypto scene. All I had to do was buy low, sell high, right? Wrong. So wrong. Turns out, these pump-and-dump schemes are mostly organized by people with way more power and influence than you or I have. By the time you get in, they’re already cashing out. Lesson learned: If it sounds too good to be true in crypto, it probably is.

5. Penny Stocks – My wallet still hurts.

Okay, I’d heard all about how penny stocks made people rich in the past. Figured I could do it too. But man, I had no idea what I was doing. It was like throwing money into a black hole. The stock prices tanked faster than I could hit refresh on my screen. I quickly realized this is more like gambling than actual investing. Verdict: Stay away unless you have nerves of steel and money you can afford to lose.

6. Freelance Gig Sites – Quick money, but tough competition.

Freelancing seemed like a quick win. Platforms like Fiverr and Upwork promise fast cash for your skills. I figured, Why not? I can offer a service and make some extra money. But here’s the thing: the competition is fierce. You’re up against people with years of experience and stellar reviews, so getting noticed as a newbie can be tough.

I got a few gigs, sure, but it wasn’t the quick and easy cash I had hoped for. It’s a grind, and you need to constantly market yourself to stand out. That said, if you have a skill—whether it's graphic design, writing, video editing, or anything else—you can definitely make good money with enough effort. And if you need help getting work done, these platforms are full of talented freelancers ready to lend a hand.

You can sign up for Fiverr or Upwork to get started.

7. Selling Stock Photos – Great for photographers, not so much for me.

I’m no pro photographer, but I gave it a shot. I uploaded a bunch of random photos to stock photo sites thinking I’d get paid every time someone downloaded one. But turns out, you need to be REALLY good at photography (and upload hundreds, if not thousands, of photos) to make anything significant. I made enough for a fancy coffee and called it quits.

8. Flipping Domain Names – Not a goldmine, but still profitable.

You know those stories about people buying a domain name for $10 and selling it for $10,000? Yeah, I wanted that to be me. I researched, bought a few promising-sounding domain names, and to my surprise, I actually managed to flip a couple of them for a decent profit—not life-changing money, but enough to make it worth the effort.

Turns out, while the domain gold rush might be over, you can still make money if you’re strategic and find domains with potential. It’s all about timing and finding the right buyer. While I didn’t strike it rich, I did come out ahead, and it’s a fun side hustle if you enjoy the process.

If you want to give it a shot, platforms like NameCheap and GoDaddy make it easy to buy domains for cheap and see if you can flip them for a profit.

9. Dropshipping with Shopify – This one worked, but it’s no free ride.

Okay, this one really surprised me—in a good way. After a couple of false starts, I decided to dive back into dropshipping, but this time with Shopify. The platform makes it pretty easy to set up a store, and I found the right products that people were looking for. It’s not an overnight success story, though. There’s upfront work involved: finding the right niche, setting up your store, and running ads to get traffic.

But once you put in that initial effort, things get easier. The key is automating as much as you can, using tools like AutoDS to find winning products and Tidio to manage customer service automation. That way, you’re not glued to your computer 24/7.

If you’re curious about how to do dropshipping without putting in all the time and stress, I actually wrote a detailed post on how to automate everything and save yourself a ton of headaches. You can check it out here. Trust me, it makes a huge difference when you let the tools do the heavy lifting.

10. Affiliate Marketing – The one that actually worked!

Now, here’s where things get really interesting. I got into affiliate marketing thinking it would just be another “try it and see” situation. But, man, was I wrong—in the best way possible. At first, I signed up for a few affiliate programs (like Shopify, AutoDS, Tidio, and through Impact.com, which lets you connect with tons of brands). I started promoting tools I actually believed in. I didn’t even think much of it at first. I set up a blog, threw in some affiliate links, shared it through social media and honestly, I kind of forgot about it.

But then... one morning, I checked my email. There it was: my first affiliate commission. It wasn’t much, but it was the spark I needed. I doubled down. I started sharing my story—what worked, what didn’t, what tools were helping me—and it resonated with people. Slowly but surely, my commissions grew, and before I knew it, I had a legit side income flowing in.

It wasn’t overnight, but it was consistent. The best part? Once I had the systems in place, it became pretty hands-off. I didn’t have to hustle 24/7 like I did with the other schemes. I just had to keep being honest, sharing what I used and loved, and the money started rolling in. If you’re interested, platforms like Impact.com are great and connecting with tons of affiliate programs to get started.

The Takeaway

So, there you have it. I tried all the get rich quick schemes, and most of them flopped hard. But affiliate marketing? That one’s the real deal—if you do it right. It’s not “get rich quick,” but it’s the closest I’ve come to making money in a way that feels effortless after the initial grind.

So, if you’re like me, tired of wasting time on the latest “miracle” money-makers, give affiliate marketing a shot. Who knows? It might just surprise you like it did me.