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5 Hugely Successful Self-Made Web Entrepreneurs to Get Inspired

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We see and share a lot of Internet marketing success stories because we need to learn by example and motivate ourselves to move further.

However today’s list is not just another one of that kind. The people featured today have much in common:

  • They are 100% self-made independent entrepreneurs who have built their businesses from the ground;
  • They never received any funding from outside: all they have earned is 100% theirs;
  • They have never been taken over by larger corporations and their projects haven’t been bought by third parties: they have chosen to be independent and continue building their businesses on their own;
  • Lastly, they are very successful and provided the three points above, that’s truly inspiring!

So who are they?

Kyle James1. Kyle James

Site: Rather-Be-Shopping.com, coupon codes aggregator

Making money: Through affiliate marketing

Kyle is an online entrepreneur working on his site since 2000. Kyle has managed to grow the resource into the huge business that generates over 6 million a year in sales for the stores listed on my site. Rather-Be-Shopping.com has been mentioned on MSNBC.com, The Detroit Free Press, Washington Post Holiday Shopping Guide (2001), Reader’s Digest, and L.A. Daily News to name a few publications.

Secret of success: Providing high-quality useful content (While most owners of coupon code directories use affiliate data feeds and little to no original content, Kyle focuses on hand-picked deals and coupons and writes unique descriptions for each retailer he features on the site)

Best articles:

  • How Coupons Work
  • 5 “Money Saving” Tips That Don’t Make Cents
  • How I Got Out Of Credit Card Debt

Interview: 10 Questions with Kyle of Rather Be Shopping and Search Engine Journal Interview of Kyle James, Owner of Rather Be Shopping.

Aibek Esengulov2. Aibek Esengulov

Site: MakeUseOf.com, the daily blog sharing cool websites, software and Internet tips

Making money: Through blog ads

Aibek Esengulov has started MakeUseOf back in 2006 and developed into the huge resource with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, 114, 000 Facebook fans and over 22, 000 Twitter followers. Without any funding from outside, MUO has grown into the huge competitor of powerful blogs like Life Hacker and TechCrunch. MakeUseOf has been recommended by several mainstream sites and mentioned in hugely popular publications such as Telegraph, Fast Company, the Washington Post, and PC Magazine, including their Top 100 Websites for three consecutive years.

Secret of success: Persistence:

As an entrepreneur, I think the single most important lesson or the quality I would suggest to someone is persistence. For the first two years, I would work every day on MakeUseOf without seeing anything back in return. It was really easy back then to give up and start something else. I think persistence helped me here. I had a goal to make a popular website and stayed on it.

Best articles:

Interview: Aibek Esengulov, Co-Founder of MakeUseOf.com, Shares His Startup Story and Tells How Persistence Helped Him Succeed

Onibalusi Bamidele3. Onibalusi Bamidele

Site: YoungPrePro.com, Internet Marketing Advice from a 17-year-old kid

Making money: Providing services

Onibalusi Bamidele did an astounding journey from a poor Nigerian kid to a successful Internet Marketer. He started learning Internet Marketing in 2009 and is now one of the most successful bloggers online.

Secret of success: Trust in his own powers:

Yes. I am special. Not everybody has all the above traits and all the other traits that helped me become a successful blogger

Best posts:

Interview: Interview: Onibalusi Bamidele

ill Smokler4. Jill Smokler

Site: ScaryMommy.com, An honest look at motherhood

Making money: Through writing gigs

ScaryMommy.com averages over 500,000 page views monthly. It has been recognized with numerous blogging awards, including lucky number 13 on Babble’s “Best Mom Blogger” list. Her Scary Mommy Society provides a forum for other “scary mommies,” blogging newcomers, and smart people with something important to say to share their stories in a community setting.

Secret of success: Unique style: ScaryMommy features a unique style combining humor with in-depth insight. Definitely, Jill’s successful due to her writing talent.

Best posts:

Interview: Interview with a not-so-scary Scary Mommy

Note: For more fearless blogging mompreneurs check out and possible take part in the X Factor Awards by Home Loan Finder

Gary Arndt5. Gary Arndt

Site: Everything-Everywhere.com, Around the world travel blog

Making money: Through sponsorships

Gary is special: he is successful without actually sacrificing anything. He lives a dream life of a travel blogger and enjoys his time while still being a solo entrepreneur. Gary Arndt launched his blog soon after he began traveling in 2007. Today, Everything-everywhere.com reaches hundreds of thousands readers a month! It was featured in Time Magazine, CNN and many other highly authoritative online publications.

Secret of success: Authenticity: Gary writes about what he experiences: he travels and blogs about what he sees.

Best articles:

Interview: An Interview With World Traveler Gary Arndt

Note: When it comes to traveling, here’s the list of more travel start-ups and entrepreneurs to follow (via Sell My Timeshare blog)

Any other self-made people that deserve the honorable mention here? I am sure there are many people we can feature here: let’s discuss!

My Blog GuestAnn Smarty is a newbie self-built entrepreneur behind MyBlogGuest, the large, still independent community of guest bloggers. She have had a lot of choices in her life but decided to stay independent and follow her dream. Join MyBlogGuest to find awesome guest contributors for your blog or start guest blogging on your own!

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Ann Smarty

Many know Ann Smarty best as the creator of the guest blogging community MyBlogGuest. Ann is excited to be the community and branding manager of the Internet Marketing Ninjas Team. She is also co-founder of the social media sharing platformViral Content Buzz.
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Comments

  2. These well known entrepreneurs showed us how being an entrepreneur should be. Each of them reached success with their own will and efforts. They strive to reach their goals and fulfil them step by step. Now is the time for us to make our goals and achieve every goal we set. Keep yourself inspired as well as motivated. It will help you a lot during your encounter with obstacles that you think you will never overcome. Just keep on believing in yourself and on your hopes and dreams. Creating a good foundation for your business is the key to your success.
    Ama would love you to read ..Protect Your Brand on AmazonMy Profile

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  3. Hello Asmarty, from the sum total of these distinguished personality, one thing resonates a bell throughout: hardworking and persistence. Somehow, I’m convinced these two traits are the pillars of any successful blogger. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  6. I am very much inspired by Onibalusi Bamidele because I exactly doing like him. Making money doing blogging.

    Thanks for sharing this,
    Abhijit…

    Reply

  7. Nice sharing.
    Articles like those are inspiring other junior bloggers to improve their self over web.
    Thanks too for the information.

    Reply

  8. Great to hear about some less-than conventional online successes. When I read the headline of your post I figured I’d get hit with all the usual millionare-marketer figure-heads: Eben Pagan, Chris Farrell, Matt Ling, etc.
    So nice to hear about people who make a success online doing things other than marketing their marketing skills, which seems to be the most widely-taught method of online success out there.
    Chris would love you to read ..By: Maintaining Your LCD ScreenMy Profile

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  9. Thanks for posting these success stories. Sometimes you can get really down when all your hard work hasn’t proved itself yet. I really do respect those that have put in the time and dedication to make their dreams come true.

    Reply

  10. Another inspiring post!
    I have a lot of respect for people like this.
    It would probably look a bit narcissistic but don’t you fit perfectly on this list Gail?

    Travelblogger that is probably one of the smartest things to do, if you like to travel and you can pull it off.

    I hope I qualify for this list some day, hopefully sooner than later.
    Danny would love you to read ..Remington RM1015P 10-Inch 8 Amp Electric Pole chain SawMy Profile

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  11. Thanks for the information…
    Btw … can I take some part of this post as my blog reference and create a link to it?
    Thanks

    Reply

  12. I haven’t heard of any of these people before today. I’ve read a lot of good information on the subject, but I’m really interested in reading some biographies of top online entrepreneurs so I can adapt their mindsets, learn the details that they may not even realize they do themselves, and to begin to understand the human element. There are only a handful of these running around though.

    Reply

  13. These bloggers are proof that as long as you keep your nose to the grindstone that you can achieve fantastic things. It is great to see people set goals stick to them and then achieve success, provides inspiration for people like me.

    Reply

  16. Success stories will always inspire the little guy. This is the power of marketing we want what we do not have and so we chase. The results of that pursuit is even more marketing and commerce. I mean don’t get me worng all of these things are good for the country but it is how it goes.

    Reply

  18. All of these regular peoples’ stories are extremely inspiring and they prove anybody can be successful in the Internet business if they have the persistence and will to do it. I visit Onibalusi Bamidele’s blog for help with my Internet business and it’s always a treat for me.
    SandraG would love you to read ..Job Application for Mcdonalds – Apply the Smart WayMy Profile

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  19. people thinks blogging is very easy. Not until they venture into it. Blogging is like another other offline business. it takes time to crawl with its belly, walk with its knee and hands, walk with its two legs, jug, run and then fly. And that is just the beginning, you now have to craft strategies to remain at the height you are or even keep going higher.

    The hard work still continues, there is no time to relax.
    Ifeanyi Emeka would love you to read ..Facebook Unveils Video Calling Powered by SkypeMy Profile

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  20. This is a very inspiring story for people who wants to start their own blogging career eventually raise to the top and earn a decent income…

    Reply

  21. I’m inspired with what Aibek Esengulov said about not getting anything in return within 2 years of hardwork. Most people actually think that online opportunities are very easy to start. What they don’t really know is if they want to be successful online, they need lots of hardwork and patience in order to succeed.
    Adrian would love you to read ..DIY Chicken Shed PlansMy Profile

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  24. Thank you for the mention, from the Yukon Territory of Canada!

    I’m not sure I’m a success yet, but I’m working on it.

    Reply

    • Hi Gary!

      I wanted to let you know how happy I am that I read this post and came across your blog; I’m really excited to have a closer look at some of your posts! I noticed you were recently in Istanbul? How did you like it? Of all of the places I’ve seen, it’s by far one of (if not my most) favorite!

      -Petra

      Reply

  25. Nice Post.

    I am Inspired by these entrepreneurs especially bamidele onibalusi because he is a very blogger and successful at that.

    Reply

  29. All these people are successful with their personal efforts and are cause of learning and progress for us.

    Reply

  31. Interesting article and was surprise to see a comment coming from Aibek of Makeuseof.com, inspiring at least for new starters like myself. Thanks.

    Reply

  33. Hi Ann,

    What an interesting mashup of blogs! I’ve only ever heard of Scary Mommy, but it’s hard to have a mom blog and not know the bigger blog name moms out there. But it’s still not all that unique; Erma Bombeck was combining humor, honesty, and less-than-perfect motherhood with great insight when today’s “unique” big mom bloggers were the toddlers Erma was writing about! Yet no one mentions her for some reason.

    Gary’s travel blog, on the other hand, was a refreshing read! I had never heard of him before, but he is going to quickly become one of my favorites, I can tell!

    Delena

    Reply

  34. Hey Ann,

    Thanks for the mention. MUO wouldn’t be the same without you or any other staff author or editor. Thanks for being part of it!

    Aibek

    Reply

  35. Thanks for the motivation and inspiration, it’s nice to get to know some other successful bloggers than Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan or Seth Godin 🙂

    Reply

  36. Most people can only dream out being as successful as these folks. It is proof that anything is possible and that hard work pays off. A little luck would probably come in handy too. I think I could handle traveling the world and writing about it for a living like Gary Arndt.
    Ray would love you to read ..Dolphin 7 Cache TweaksMy Profile

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  38. Hi Ann,

    I’m really honored to the featured on this great list amongst several great minds.

    I read MakeUseOf and it is really great to see the brain behind it – the site is really awesome!

    Thanks so much for the wonderful opportunity and have a great day!

    -Onibalusi

    Reply

  40. Onibalusi is a great inspiration for many newbie bloggers who are just starting out in the blogging world and his blog is an interesting place to visit when you need to get motivated every once in a while.

    Reply

  42. Hi Ann, great to see you here guest posting on Gail’s blog.
    This is my first time seeing the man behind Make Use Of. It’s one of my favorite sites and I always stop by before I record any of my video tutorials just to make sure I’m not forgetting anything – or that it hasn’t been covered already.
    I’ve watched Oni grow his blog and become an authority practically overnight and I’m so very proud of what he has accomplished!
    I’ll be sure to check out Kyle, Jill and Gary asap!! Thanks for the heads up 🙂

    Reply

    • Thanks for stopping by, Ileane! One of the most unbelievable that so many people love MUO but only few of them know Aibek! It deserves admiration, how a person can create a huge resource and a great team behind it without any attempts to self-promote his own brand!
      asmarty would love you to read ..Searching Google… by Author!My Profile

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  43. This is David. Hello to all. As I am new to the internet and blogging in particular,I have a lot to sort out and to learn. Thankfully, bloggers are some of the classiest and most informative people anywhere. I need all of the information I can get and this post helps a whole lot. Thank You for posting this. I am determined to hang in there because I believe in the process.

    Reply

  44. fantastic post! i think these post really inspired me to take my business from ground to success and nice to meet with these successful peoples.
    dedicated website hosting would love you to read ..stompMy Profile

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  45. Such a great list! These are certainly people to be inspired by. They have passion, they have drive and because of these, they have success.

    A great article to wake up to in the morning. Thanks for this, Ann!

    Reply

  46. Interesting topic. I haven’t heard about most of these entrepreneurs before. It’s great to hear about people that don’t go for the huge funding rounds and company backings that is so common nowadays.
    Corey would love you to read ..10 Best SEO Pages on the InternetMy Profile

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