Ever wonder what running an online business really looks like right now? Me too. So I went straight to the source and surveyed 475 online business owners and asked them to get real about how things are actually going in 2026. The good, the bad, and the stuff they don’t usually talk about publicly. (Check out last year’s report here!)
Whether you’re looking for ideas, a gut-check on your own business, or just some reassurance that everyone’s dealing with the same messy stuff you are, there’s something in here for you. (And new this year, you’ll see where we had places for more generalized input / thoughts at the very bottom.)
Huge thank you to everyone who shared it on social media, to their email list, and to friends. An extra special thank you to our giveaway sponsors: Melissa Mitt, Maddy Aucoin, Jaci Schreckengost, Megan Kachigan, Erin Taylor, Rachael Mueller, and Carolyn Leasure.
If you find this data useful, consider buying me a coffee — it helps fund the time spent collecting, cleaning, and crunching the numbers so I can keep putting out reports like this each year!
Who took this survey?
Location
| United States | 71% |
| Canada | 13% |
| Europe | 8% |
| Oceania | 2% |
| Asia | 2% |
| Africa | 1% |
| Caribbean | 1% |
| South America | 1% |
| Other | 1% |
What type of online business do you run?
| 1:1 Services (DFY, DWY, etc.) | 60% |
| 1:1 Coaching (life, business, etc.) | 12% |
| Even mix of 1:1, group, membership, etc. | 10% |
| Group coaching / programs | 6% |
| Digital products | 5% |
| Membership | 3% |
| SaaS / Tech | 2% |
| Other | 2% |
How long have you been in business?
| Less than 1 year | 4% |
| 1-3 years | 17% |
| 3-5 years | 23% |
| 5-10 years | 36% |
| 10-15 years | 13% |
| 15-20 years | 5% |
| More than 20 years | 2% |
How many hours do you work per week (on average)?
| 0-10 hours | 4% |
| 10-20 hours | 20% |
| 20-30 hours | 38% (about the same as last year!) |
| 30-40 hours | 27% |
| 40-60 hours | 9% |
| 60+ hours | 2% |
As you look at the data below, keep in mind that the majority of people who responded are US-based, 1:1 service providers, who’ve been in business 5-10 years, and work about 20-30 hours per week.
How many employees are on your team currently?
| Just me | 88% (up a little from 2025) |
| Two employees | 7% |
| Three employees | 1% |
| Four employees | 2% |
| Five or more employees | 2% |
How many contractors are on your team currently?
| None | 53% (up 7% from last year!) |
| One contractor | 18% |
| Two contractors | 14% |
| Three contractors | 9% |
| Four contractors | 2% |
| Five or more contractors | 4% |
48% of respondents do not have any employees or contractors, which is up 7% from last year! The jump to 88% solo operators (up from 2025) and 53% using zero contractors (up 7%) is interesting. People are shrinking their teams, not growing them. This runs counter to the “build a team to scale” narrative that’s been dominant in online business for years.
What was your annual gross revenue in 2025?
| Less than $20k | 22% |
| $20-50k | 21% |
| $50-100k | 27% |
| $100-200k | 18% |
| $200-300k | 6% |
| $300-500k | 2% |
| $500=750k | 2% |
| $750k – $1mil | 1% |
| More than $1 mil | 1% |
What was your take-home pay in 2025?
| Less than $20k | 35% |
| $20-50k | 29% |
| $50-100k | 25% |
| $100-200k | 8% |
| $200-300k | 1% |
| $300-500k | 1% |
| $500=750k | 1% |
| $750k – $1mil | None |
| More than $1 mil | None |
With the above data, we know that most people who took this survey have been in business 5-10 years, have little to no team, and made $50-100k in revenue, taking home less than $20k.
Take-home pay broken down by annual gross revenue
| Revenue | Top Take-Home Pay Tier |
| Less than $20k | Less than $20k |
| $20-50k | Less than $20k (but was 1% away from being $20-50k) |
| $50-100k | $20-50k |
| $100-200k | $50-100k |
| $200-300k | $100-200k |
| $300-500k | $100-200k |
| $500-750k | $100-200k |
| $750k-1mil | $200-300k |
| More than $1mil | $500-750k |
Revenue by type of business
| Type of Business | Top Revenue Tier | Second Revenue Tier |
| 1:1 coaching | Less than $20k | $20-50k |
| 1:1 services | $50-100k | $20-50k |
| An even mix of 1:1, groups, products, etc. | $50-100k | $100-200k |
| Digital products | $50k-100k | Less than $20k |
| Group coaching | Less than $20k | $50-100k |
| Membership | $50-100k / $100-200k (tie) | Less than $20k |
| SaaS / Tech | Less than $50k | Mixed distribution |
| Other | Less than $20k | $20-50k |
1:1 services led in $750K+ revenue businesses, but was also the segment with the largest group making less than $20k.
Revenue by years in business
| Years in Business | Top Revenue Tier | Second Revenue Tier |
| Less than 1 year | Less than $20k | $20-50k |
| 1-3 years | Less than $20k | $50-100k |
| 3-5 years | $50-100k | $20-50k |
| 5-10 years | $50-100k | $20-50k / $100-200k (tie) |
| 10-15 years | $100-200k | $50-100k |
| 15-20 years | $100-200k | $50-100k |
| More than 20 years | $50-100k | $100-200k / Less than $20k |
Revenue based on hours worked per week
| Hours worked | Top Revenue Tier | Second Revenue Tier |
| 0-10 hours | Less than $20k | $20-50k |
| 10-20 hours | $20-50k | Less than $20k |
| 20-30 hours | $50-100k | $100-200k |
| 30-40 hours | $50-100k | $100-200k |
| 40-60 hours | $50-100k | $100-200k |
| 60+ hours | Less than $20k | $50-100k / $200-300k (tie) |
- While high-hour categories like ’40-60 hours’ and ‘More than 60 hours’ do not have the highest total number of businesses, they contain significant segments of businesses in the higher revenue brackets (‘$500-750k’ and ‘More than $1 million’).
- The highest revenue category, ‘More than $1 million’, is almost entirely found in the ’30-40 hours’, ’40-50 hours’, and ’50-60 hours’ work week segments.
A look at the $750k-$1mil+ Group
Since this is the smallest group, I wanted to show a snapshot of what’s working and what struggles they have.
| Respondent 1 – Membership – Main lead source: email marketing – Declined a little bit in 2024, declined slowly in 2025 – Investing in masterminds, hiring a service provider – Biggest struggle: marketing | Respondent 2 – 1:1 Services – Main lead source: referrals – Grew in 2024, grew at a good pace in 2025 – Investing in group coaching, small events, hiring a service provider – Biggest struggle: scaling my business |
| Respondent 3 – 1:1 Services – Main lead source: Threads – Steady in 2024, grew at a good pace in 2025 – Investing in small events, memberships, paid workshops – Biggest struggle: not enough clients | Respondent 4 – Even mix of 1:1, group, etc. – Main lead source: Podcast – Declined a little in 2024, steady in 2025 – Investing in 1:1 coaching or mentorship, hiring a service provider for a project and/or on retainer – Biggest struggle: Other |
| Respondent 5 – 1:1 Services – Main lead source: referrals – Declined in 2024, steady in 2025 – Investing in 1:1 coaching or mentorship, group coaching programs, small events, conferences – Biggest struggle: client retention | Respondent 6 – Group coaching provider – Main lead source: Meta Ads – Grew in 2024, still grew in 2025 – Investing in 1:1 coaching or mentorship – Biggest struggle: scaling my business |
| Respondent 7 – Even mix of 1:1, group, etc. – Main lead source: Instagram – Grew a lot in 2024, grew rapidly in 2025 – Investing in 1:1 coaching or mentorship, group coaching programs, masterminds, conferences – Biggest struggle: other | Respondent 8 – SaaS / Tech – Main lead source: Meta Ads – Steady in 2024 and 2025 – Investing in courses, paid workshops, 1:1 coaching, group coaching, hiring a service provider, masterminds – Biggest struggle: client retention |
| Respondent 9 – 1:1 Services – Main lead source: Instagram – Steady in 2024 and 2025 – Investing in small events – Biggest struggle: competition |
If this data resonated with you, you’re going to love The Ordinary Business Summit — a free, 2-day online event on April 1-2 where real business owners pull back the curtain on the strategies, systems, and stories that actually work for businesses like yours.
What do you use for your website platform?
| Canva | 1% |
| Carrd | 0.2% |
| Framer | 0.4% |
| Funnel Gorgeous | 1% |
| GoDaddy Website Builder | 0.4% |
| GoHighLevel | 2% |
| Google Sites | 0.2% |
| Kajabi | 4% |
| Kartra | 0.2% |
| LeadPages | 0.2% |
| Notion | 0.4% |
| Payhip | 0.2% |
| Podia | 0.2% |
| Self-coded / custom built | 0.4% |
| Shopify | 1% |
| Showit | 16% |
| Squarespace | 33% |
| Systeme.io | 1% |
| Webflow | 2% |
| Wix | 4% |
| WordPress.com | 8% |
| WordPress.org | 18% |
| No website | 1% |
| Other | 4% |
Of the 7 people who marked that they don’t have a website, only 2 people said they made more than $50k last year! The group varied from less than 1 year in business up to 5-10 years in business. Four of them also don’t do email marketing nor do they use a CRM.
What platform do you use for email marketing?
| ActiveCampaign | 2% |
| Aweber | 0.2% |
| Beehiiv | 1% |
| Constant Contact | 0.1% |
| Drip | 1% |
| Email Octopus | 0.4% |
| Encharge | 0.4% |
| Flodesk | 27% (just four more people than Kit!) |
| GoHighLevel | 4% |
| Kajabi | 4% |
| Keap | 0.2% |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | 26% |
| Klaviyo | 1% |
| Mailchimp | 3% |
| MailerLite | 12% |
| Mailersend | 0.2% |
| Omnisend | 0.2% |
| SendFox | 0.2% |
| Squarespace Campaigns | 1% |
| Substack | 1% |
| Systeme.io | 1% |
| Zoho | 0.2% |
| I don’t do email marketing | 9% |
| Other | 3% |
Of the 43 who said they don’t do email marketing, only 7 said they make more than $100k. These were almost entirely 1:1 service providers, with the majority being in business less than three years.
What CRM do you use for invoices and contracts?
| 17Hats | 1% |
| Airtable | 4% |
| Bloom.io | 1% |
| Bonsai | 1% |
| Clickup | 0.4% |
| Dubsado | 24% |
| Funnel Gorgeous | 2% |
| Google Workspace | 6% |
| GoHighLevel | 2% |
| Honeybook | 12% |
| Hubspot | 1% |
| Indy | 0.2% |
| Moxie | 4% |
| Notion | 3% |
| Paperbell | 0.4% |
| Pipedrive | 0.2% |
| PracticeBetter | 2% |
| Simple Practice | 0.2% |
| Something custom / separate softwares for each | 7% |
| Zoho | 0.4% |
| I don’t use a CRM | 19% |
| Other | 11% |
38% of those who said they don’t use a CRM had less than $20k in revenue. 37% also said they run 1:1 service-based businesses.
What project or task management tool do you use?
| Asana | 15% |
| Airtable | 6% |
| Basecamp | 1% |
| ClickUp | 20% |
| Google Docs / Sheets | 12% |
| MeisterTask | 0.2% |
| Milanote | 0.2% |
| Monday | 2% |
| Moxie | 1% |
| Notion | 15% |
| Physical planners / notebooks | 3% |
| Sunsama | 0.4% |
| Teamwork | 0.4% |
| Things | 0.2% |
| Todoist | 1% |
| Trello | 6% |
| Wrike | 0.2% |
| Zoho | 0.2% |
| I don’t use one | 11% |
| Other | 7% |
4.4% of respondents said they do not use a CRM nor a task management tool. This is up half a percent from last year!
Where do you market your business online?
People could select multiple platforms in this question.
| Marketing Channel | Percent that use it | Percent that consider it #1 lead source |
| Affiliates | 18% | 1% |
| Blogging (on your own website) | 52% | 1% |
| Bluesky | 1% | – |
| Bundles | 14% | 0.4% |
| Collabs | 36% | 2% |
| Email marketing | 75% | 6% |
| 31% | 2% | |
| Google Ads | 2% | 0.4% |
| Guest podcasting | 36% | 0.2% |
| 72% | 10% | |
| 36% | 1% | |
| Meta Ads | 16% | 3% |
| Online directories | 17% | 1% |
| Paid ads (other than Google/Meta) | 2% | 0% |
| 21% | 0.4% | |
| Podcast (your own) | 23% | 3% |
| Reddit / Quora | 1% | 0.2% |
| Referrals / relationships | 67% | 57% |
| SEO | 43% | 3% |
| SMS marketing | 1% | – |
| Substack | 6% | 0.2% |
| Threads | 48% | 2% |
| TikTok | 9% | 1% |
| Virtual summits | 19% | – |
| Webinars/workshops | 35% | 1% |
| X (Twitter) | 1% | – |
| YouTube | 24% | 1% |
| None of the above | 1% | – |
| Other | 4% | 4% |
Main lead sources by industry
| 1:1 services | Referrals, Instagram, SEO |
| 1:1 coaching | Referrals, Instagram, Email marketing |
| Even mix of everything | Referrals, Instagram, Podcast / Email (tie) |
| Group coaching | Referrals, Instagram, Email |
| Digital products | Email, Instagram, Blogging / Ads (tie) |
| Membership | YouTube / Email / Referrals (tie) |
| SaaS / Tech | Meta Ads, Workshops / Email / Instagram (tie) |
| Other | Referrals, Other |
Everyone’s optimizing Instagram and posting Reels, but the actual revenue engine for most people is relationships. The $500k+ group clusters around Instagram, Meta Ads, Referrals, and SEO. Notably, all channels that are either relationship-based or long-game strategies.
How long would you estimate it takes someone to become a client after discovering you?
| Immediately or a few days | 10% |
| 1-2 weeks | 16% |
| 1-2 months | 24% |
| 2-6 months | 31% |
| 6-12 months | 13% |
| 1-2 years | 5% |
| 2+ years | 1% |
What do you use AI for in your business?
| Idea generation | 63% |
| Outlining content | 61% |
| Writing content | 57% |
| Note-taking or transcription | 53% |
| Summarizing long content | 45% |
| Market research analysis | 40% |
| Troubleshooting problems | 32% |
| Creating SOPs | 30% |
| Task automation | 30% |
| Analyzing client data | 29% |
| Creating custom GPTs | 29% |
| SEO and keyword research | 25% |
| Creating proposals | 14% |
| Writing code | 14% |
| Editing video or audio | 11% |
| Sales scripts / DM frameworks | 11% |
| Design | 8% |
| Customer support | 8% |
| Creating contracts | 7% |
| I don’t use AI in my business | 5% |
| Other | 4% |
| Creating AI videos or voices | 2% |
Of those who said they don’t use AI in their business, the majority have been in business 1-5 years, don’t have a team, and make less than $20k. (The other highest income brackets were $20-50k and $50-100k.)
95% use AI, but usage is concentrated in ideation and content writing…. the surface-level, easy wins. Only 29% are using it for analyzing client data, 30% for automation, 29% for custom GPTs. Some might say the businesses likely to pull ahead are the ones moving into that second tier of AI usage where it actually changes operations, not just speeds up content creation.
How would you characterize your business based on 2025?
| Growing at a good pace | 33% |
| Growing rapidly | 7% |
| Steady | 38% |
| Declining slowly | 17% |
| Declining rapidly | 5% |
46% of those who said they were declining have been in business 5-10 years. This is the cohort that built systems for a pre-AI, pre-saturation market and hasn’t restructured. They’re also the largest group overall (36% of respondents), which means the “declining” signal in the data is disproportionately a veteran problem, not a beginner problem.
How was 2025 compared to previous years in business?
| N/A (wasn’t in business then) | 7% |
| Grew a bit more than usual | 20% |
| Grew a lot more | 15% |
| Steady | 22% |
| Declined a little bit | 24% |
| Declined drastically | 12% |
Do you think you’ll be in business in five years?
| That’s the plan! | 88% |
| No, I’ll be retiring | 2% |
| No, I don’t enjoy this. | 0.4% |
| No, this isn’t profitable. | 0.2% |
| Maybe? | 9% |
A Look at the “Growing Rapidly” Group
| Hours: mostly 20-40 hours per week | Type: heavily in the 1:1 services |
| Years: 1-5 years in business (5-10 years being next) | Team: No employees, some contractors |
| Income: $100-200k | Marketing: Referrals and Instagram |
| Spending money on: coaching, hiring a provider, small events | Struggles: scaling, work-life-balance |
A Look at the “Growing at a Good Pace” Group
| Hours: mostly 20-40 hours per week | Type: heavily in the 1:1 services |
| Years: 5-10 years (followed closely by 1-3 years) | Team: No employees, some contractors |
| Income: $50-100k | Marketing: Referrals and Instagram |
| Spending money on: hiring a provider | Struggles: not enough clients |
If you found this data useful, consider buying me a coffee — it helps fund the time spent collecting, cleaning, and crunching the numbers so I can keep putting out reports like this each year!
What is your current biggest struggle?
| Boundaries with clients | 2% |
| Boundaries with work | 3% |
| Burnout / mental health | 9% |
| Cash flow | 12% |
| Chronic illness | 4% |
| Client communication | None |
| Client retention | 1% |
| Competition | 1% |
| Content creation | 3% |
| Team turnover | None |
| Keeping up with technology | 0.4% |
| Lacking systems | 3% |
| Lack of visibility | 6% |
| Marekting | 6% |
| Not enough clients | 27% |
| Not knowing my niche or offer | 1% |
| Profit margins | 1% |
| Project management | 1% |
| Scaling my business | 7% |
| Time management | 4% |
| Work-life balance | 6% |
| Other | 3% |
27% cite not enough clients as their biggest struggle, yet only 18% use affiliates, 19% use online directories, and people are quitting organic social. There’s a mismatch between where people look for clients and where clients actually come from. The platforms people are exhausted by (Instagram) are the same ones driving the most leads outside of referrals.
What’s your #1 metric of success right now?
| Revenue | 37% |
| Profit | 17% |
| Free time | 7% |
| Impact | 4% |
| Flexibility | 11% |
| Creativity | 2% |
| Client results | 8% |
| Stability | 14% |
What are you spending money on in 2026?
Outside of usual software costs, team, etc.
| Online courses | 22% |
| Paid workshops / one-off trainings | 22% |
| 1:1 coaching or mentorshipo | 24% |
| Group coaching | 19% |
| Hiring a service provider 1:1 | 44% |
| Hiring a service provider on retainer | 17% |
| Memberships | 25% |
| Masterminds | 12% |
| In-person retreats / small events | 25% |
| In-person large events / conferences | 17% |
| Other | 12% |
Want to see more BTS of online businesses? Sign up for The Nosy Nelly Files to get bite-sized tech hacks and tips from 15+ people! Instead of vague advice on “scaling,” you get specific, actionable instructions on how to make your day-to-day life easier.
We asked, “What was the biggest shift in your business in 2025?” and 219 people responded. Here’s what we found:
1. Strategic Shift: Moving Beyond 1:1 Services
Many respondents’ biggest shift involved evolving their business model to reduce reliance on intensive one-on-one service delivery and stabilize income.
- Diversifying Income: A common shift was moving away from strictly 1:1 services to “focusing on my membership, courses, and digital products” or “Starting to move away from just 1:1 services and starting to diversify my income.”
- Productizing and Signature Offers: Some focused on refining their core offerings, such as “Honing in on my signature offer and improving it dramatically,” or experimenting with productized services, though one response noted this productization “were the worst performing” and prompted a return to customized services.
- New Revenue Models: Other notable structural changes included “Going subscription-based” or “Launching!” a new business entirely.
2. Operational Restructuring and Team Changes
A significant portion of the shifts involved internal decisions about team size, hiring strategy, and workflow management to either scale up or gain back control.
- Strategic Hiring: Businesses focused on hiring for better leverage, such as “Hiring subcontractors to take on more volume of work without working more” or “Hiring a senior (vs. junior) designer” to gain back time.
- Downsizing and Consolidation: Conversely, some businesses made the shift to simplify, exemplified by responses like “Doing it all alone. Fired an assistant,” suggesting a move toward consolidation for efficiency or better control.
- Formalizing Operations: One respondent made a shift from a contractor role to an official agency model: “I decided to make my business an official email marketing agency instead of just being a contractor. I hired a copywriter and an account manager for this.”
3. Focus on Systems, Marketing, and Mindset
Underlying these strategic and operational changes was a deliberate effort to build better foundational systems and adopt new technologies.
- System Overhaul and Automation: A key realization for many was the need to stop doing things manually, with one respondent recognizing “my systems needed overhauled and how much I was doing manually that could be automated.”
- Marketing Focus: Many shifts were centered on getting marketing right. This included “Building out my funnels and marketing systems,” and working “really hard on our marketing systems and content in 2025,” an effort that often took many months to pay off.
- Technological and Mindset Shifts: The adoption of “AI. Hands down.” was noted as a major technological shift. Additionally, a focus on internal clarity and ownership was a shift for some, such as “Realizing that I actually need to lay off seeking external validation from coaches and focus on actually doing my work.”
We also asked, “What’s one thing you’re thinking about switching away from or quitting in 2026?” and had 200 people respond.
The responses are varied widely, but one thing kept popping up: businesses are moving away from what feels time-consuming, expensive, or no longer aligned with their growth goals.
1. A Clear Pivot Away from Time-Intensive 1:1 Services and Programs
The most significant theme is the conscious effort to scale back or eliminate service models that do not offer leverage or are personally draining.
- Quitting 1:1 Clients: Multiple respondents indicated they are “Leaning towards not taking on anymore 1:1 clients” in favor of focusing on other income streams or existing long-term clients.
- Quitting Group Coaching: One respondent explicitly stated they are thinking of quitting “Group coaching programs!” as a service offering.
- Focusing on Leverage: This push reflects a desire to move up-market or shift from “done-for-you” work to scalable, productized income. One person noted they moved away from Executive Assistant services to go “all in on Operations,” which often involves more strategic, leverage-based work.
2. Rationalizing the Tech Stack and Subscription Costs
Respondents are taking a critical look at their technology expenses, suggesting a focus on reducing overhead and consolidating platforms for simplicity.
- CRM and Email Marketing Switch: Specific tools were named as candidates for quitting, including “HoneyBook and chatgpt,” “Wix and maybe Dubsado,” and the potential to move away from “Kit (ConvertKit) after the price increase.” This points to frustration with high-cost or overly complex systems.
- Subscription Scrutiny: One person implemented a strict cost-cutting measure: “I turned off all my auto-renew subscriptions! That way, I have to think about if I want to renew it or not.” This shows a desire to be more intentional about recurring business expenses.
- AI Tool Optimization: There is also a micro-trend of switching AI tools, such as the thought of moving from “ChatGPT to Claude,” or the decision to use “Less ai for content and more trusting that I know my audience best.”
3. Reducing High-Effort, Low-Return Marketing Activities
There is a clear desire to move away from the “hamster wheel” of short-form, high-frequency content in favor of more sustainable, evergreen strategies.
- Quitting High-Effort Social Platforms: One respondent is quitting “Using Instagram lol I’m so tired of it” in favor of using TikTok, Threads, and YouTube. Another simply noted they plan to quit “Organic social media posts.”
- Shift to Evergreen Content: This reduction in short-form content is often paired with a strategic shift, such as planning to “shift into more evergreen forms of marketing” by “re-doing my website, starting a blog, and hopefully shifting away from having to post so much short form video content.”
- Quitting Ineffective Outreach: One business owner decided to stop “responding to rando LinkedIn calls for freelancers” which was “exhausting and depressing” despite yielding few clients, and instead focus on more direct outreach.
If you found this data useful, consider buying me a coffee — it helps fund the time spent collecting, cleaning, and crunching the numbers so I can keep putting out reports like this each year!
In Summary
If there’s one thing this data makes clear, it’s that you’re not alone in whatever you’re navigating right now. Whether business is booming, you’re in a slow season, or you’re quietly restructuring everything behind the scenes — that’s the reality for hundreds of people just like you. The online business landscape is shifting, and most people are figuring it out as they go, just like you are.
The online business market is maturing, costs are being scrutinized hard, and the people winning are either very lean solopreneurs with strong referral networks, or they’ve built genuinely scalable systems. The middle (big team, high overhead, hustle-heavy marketing) seems to be getting squeezed. There’s no single “right” way to do this, but the data is a good nudge to get intentional about where you land.
Thanks for being part of this survey, and I’ll see you in next year’s report!