Ever wonder how online business owners are actually making things work in 2025? So did I. That’s why I just wrapped up my latest State of Online Business survey, where I asked over 300 entrepreneurs to spill the details on how they’re running their businesses right now—what’s working, what’s not, and what’s keeping them up at night. (You can see last year’s report here!)
I heard from brand-new business owners figuring things out as they go, as well as seasoned pros who’ve been in the game for years. They shared real insights—like how much they’re making, the tools they swear by, where their best leads come from, and how AI is shaking things up. And beyond the data, they got real about their biggest struggles and hopes for the future.
Now, I’m passing those insights on to you. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, practical strategies, or just a little reassurance that you’re not alone in this whole business thing, you’ll find something valuable here.
Also, huge thank you to friends who helped share the survey on social and email: Maggie Wilkinson, Melissa Mitt, Jenn Zellers, Prerna + Mayank, Deborah Smith, Erin Ollila, Samantha Burmeister, Jill James, Fran Rescigno, Carolyn Leasure, Coaches & Company, Ashley Clayton, and many others that I may have missed.
Who took this survey?
Location
| United States | 72.2% |
| Canada | 11.4% |
| Europe | 10.1% |
| Asia | 2% |
| Mexico | 1.3% |
| Africa | 1.3% |
| Caribbean | 0.7% |
| Other | 0.7% |
| Oceania | 0.3% |
Based on the data, the U.S. has the most evenly distributed revenue ranges, with a strong presence of businesses making less than $50k. Canada shows a higher percentage of businesses earning $100-300k. And in Europe, more businesses fall into the $50-100k and $20-50k range.
Type of Business
| Service-Based | 73.4% |
| Group Coaching / Programs | 13.2% |
| Digital Products | 5.9% |
| Memberships | 4.3% |
| Other (most said a mix of some options) | 3% |
| SaaS / Tech | 0.2% |
Years in Business
| 5-10 years | 29.9% |
| 3-5 years | 28% |
| 1-3 years | 18.4% |
| 10-15 years | 12.8% |
| Less than 1 year | 5.4% |
| 15-20 years | 3.9% |
| More than 20 years | 1.6% |
Time Spent Working Each Week
| 20-30 hours | 36.2% |
| 30-40 hours | 27% |
| 10-20 hours | 18.4% |
| 40-60 hours | 12.5% |
| 0-10 hours | 4.9% |
| 60+ hours | 1% |
Size of Business (Employees)
| Just me | 85.2% (almost the same as last year!) |
| Two employees | 9.9% |
| Three employees | 2.3% |
| Five or more employees | 1.6% |
| Four employees | 1% |
Size of Business (Contractors)
| None | 46.7% (down 5% from last year!) |
| One | 20.1% |
| Two | 16.4% |
| Three | 6.6% |
| Five | 5.9% |
| Four | 4.3% |
41.6% of people who responded are running their business without any contractors or employees, which is down 5% from last year! Of this same group, no one reported making more than $300k; in fact, 37% reported making less than $20k last year.
So, as you’re reading the rest of the data below, keep in mind that most survey respondents are service-based business owners who’ve been going strong for 5-10 years and run their operations solo, working about 20-30 hours per week.
Business Financials
Annual Gross Revenue for 2024
| $20-50k | 21.4% |
| $50-100k | 20.7% |
| $100-200k | 20.4% |
| Less than $20k | 19.1% |
| $200-300k | 8.9% |
| $500-750k | 2.3% |
| More than $1 million | 1% |
| $750-1 million | 0.7% |
Interesting data points about the revenue:
Last year, 21% of people who had been in business more than 5 years reported their revenue as $50k or less. This year, that number was up 3%.
While many assume that 1:1 business models are less profitable, the data tells a different story. Among businesses earning over $200K in revenue last year, 1:1 services accounted for the highest percentage—leading by a 14% margin. Even when narrowing the focus to those making over $300K, the gap remained consistent at 14%
For those earning over $500K, there was a diverse mix of business types. However, most had been in business for many years, operated with teams ranging from 2 to 10 people, and, despite high revenue, the owners themselves typically took home $100K–$200K.
Annual Business Owner Salary in 2024
| Less than $20k | 30.9% |
| $20-50k | 31.6% |
| $50-100k | 23.4% |
| $100-200k | 10.9% |
| $200-300k | 2.0% |
| $300-500k | 1% |
| $1 million | 0.3% |
A breakdown of 2024 take-home pay for each type of business, highlighting the largest percentage within each category:
- 1:1 providers: $20-50k
- Digital product business owners: $100-200k
- Group coaching: a tie between $20-50k and $50-100k
- Membership owners: a tie between $20-50k and $50-100k
Business Technology
Website Platform Used
| Squarespace | 29.3% (up 4% from last year!) |
| Wordpress | 28% |
| Showit | 21.7% |
| Other* | 5% |
| Kajabi | 4.3% |
| Wix | 3.9% |
| No website | 3.3% |
| Webflow | 1.6% |
| Shopify | 1.3% |
| Go HighLevel | 1.0% |
*Other included a variety of platforms like Canva, GoDaddy, Podia, Kit, and more. No platforms in ‘Other’ were mentioned more than once!
90% of those without a website had an annual revenue of less than $50k in 2024. For those making more than $300k, Showit was the most popular platform, with Squarespace close behind.
Email Marketing Platform Used
| ConvertKit | 30.3% (up 6% from last year!) |
| Flodesk | 25.7% |
| MailerLite | 10.2% |
| I don’t do email marketing | 8.9% (down 4% from last year!) |
| Kajabi | 5.3% |
| Mailchimp | 4.9% |
| ActiveCampaign | 3.9% |
| Other* | 1.9% |
| Go HighLevel | 1.6% |
| Kartra | 1.6% |
| Squarespace Campaigns | 1.3% |
| Klavyio | 1.0% |
| Beehiiv | 1% |
| Drip | 1% |
| FG Funnels | 0.7% |
| Substack | 0.7% |
*Other included Email Octopus, Encharge, Sendfox, Simplero, Systeme.io, and Zoho.
Of those who said they don’t do email marketing, 37% had an annual revenue of less than $50k in 2024.
Based on these last two data points, it’s safe to say that you should prioritize your website and email list to break beyond the $50k revenue mark!
CRM Platform Used
| I don’t use one | 29.3% |
| Dubsado | 28% |
| Honeybook | 14.1% |
| Airtable | 6.3% |
| Other* | 5.5% |
| Notion | 3% |
| Clickup | 3% |
| PracticeBetter | 3% |
| Go HighLevel | 2.6% |
| Moxie | 2% |
| Hubspot | 1.3% |
| Bonsai | 1.3% |
| Funnel Gorgeous | 1% |
*Other included 14 different platforms like 17Hats, Google Sheets, MeisterTask, Monday, and more.
64% of those who said they do not use a CRM at all run a 1:1 service-based business. This percentage is up 18% from last year!
Task Management Platform Used
| ClickUp | 20.1% |
| Asana | 17.4% |
| Notion | 14.1% |
| Google Docs / Sheets | 12.2% |
| I don’t use one | 10.2% |
| Trello | 6.6% |
| Other* | 5.2% |
| Physical planners or notebooks | 4.9% |
| Airtable | 4.6% |
| MeisterTask | 1.3% |
| Monday | 1.3% |
| Keeper.app | 0.7% |
| Basecamp | 0.7% |
| Todoist | 0.7% |
*Other included 14 different platforms like Amazing Marvin, Bonsai, Moxie, Teamwork, Things, and more.
87% of those who said they do not use task management software at all run a 1:1 service-based business. Additionally, 3.9% out of all survey respondents do not use a CRM or task management system at all, which is down almost 10% from last year!
Business Marketing
How do you market your business online?
*Keep in mind, people could select more than one option on this question.
| 84.3% | |
| Email marketing | 73.9% |
| Threads | 55.6% |
| Collaborations | 48% |
| Guest podcasting | 45.1% |
| Blogging | 44.8% |
| Workshops | 43.8% |
| 37.9% | |
| SEO | 36.9% |
| 33.7% | |
| My own podcast | 30.1% |
| Virtual summits | 22.9% |
| YouTube | 21.6% |
| 21.2% | |
| Paid ads | 10.5% |
| TikTok | 10.1% |
| Online directories | 9.5% |
| Substack | 6.9% |
| Bluesky | 3.6% |
| None of the options listed | 2.9% |
| X (Twitter) | 1.6% |
| SMS marketing | 1.3% |
| Reddit / Quora | 1% |
*There were a handful of “other” responses that included memberships, speaking, bundles, and in-person events (…which are not online, ha!).
High earners build trust through collaborations, referrals, and SEO rather than relying solely on social media; while the lowest earners are very dependent on social media, and lacking diversified or authority-based marketing methods (SEO, guest podcasting, referrals, collaborations). Businesses that scale beyond $100K tend to prioritize email marketing and SEO as core strategies.
What do you consider your #1 lead source?
| Referrals (incl. word of mouth and affiliates) | 47% |
| 20.1% | |
| 7.6% | |
| Threads | 4.6% |
| SEO | 4.3% |
| Podcasts (either being on one or hosting) | 3% |
| Workshops | 2.3% |
| 2.0% | |
| Other* | 1.9% |
| Networking | 1.6% |
| YouTube | 1.3% |
| 1.3% | |
| TikTok | 1% |
| Collabs | 1% |
*Other included: blog, cold pitching, directories, their summit, Upwork, and unknown.
Interesting data points:
- While many businesses use multiple marketing methods, strong relationships and personal recommendations drive actual conversions more than any one platform.
- While some businesses report using paid ads (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), very few cite them as their top client source.
- 73% of businesses use email, but only 7.5% consider it their number one lead source! (Only 4% listed it as their #1 lead source last year.)
AI Usage
Do you use AI in your business?
| Yes, for myself and for client work | 46.4% |
| Yes, only for myself | 42.4% |
| No | 11.4% |
51% of respondents who don’t use AI reported earning less than $50K in revenue last year, and only one non-AI user surpassed $500K. The most common struggles in this group? Attracting enough clients and scaling their business. This highlights a clear takeaway—leveraging AI tools for content creation, automation, and customer engagement could be a game-changer for business growth and efficiency.
What do you use AI for in your business?
*This is another question where people could mark more than one answer.
| Written content | 70.9% |
| Idea generation or brainstorming | 69.6% |
| Market research or analysis | 44.4% |
| Custom GPTs | 33% |
| Troubleshooting problems | 29.1% |
| SEO and keyword research | 26.5% |
| Task automation / workflows | 23.2% |
| Writing code or software development | 16% |
| Customer support (like chatbots) | 13.1% |
| I don’t use it. | 11.4% |
| Design (like DALL-E) | 7.2% |
| AI-generated video | 0.7% |
*Other write-ins included things like using Fathom for note-taking, proposals, transcripts, SOPs, outlines and editing, contracts, and more.
Inside The Business
How would you characterize your business based on 2024?
| Steady | 40.2% |
| Growing at a good pace | 38.2% |
| Declining slowly | 11.8% |
| Growing rapidly | 6.9% |
| Declining rapidly | 2.9% |
44.4% of those who said they were declining (slowly or rapidly) have been in business 5-10 years.
How was 2024 compared to previous years?
| Steady | 25.8% |
| Still grew at a good pace | 24.2% |
| Declined a little | 23.5% |
| Grew rapidly | 16% |
| Declined a lot | 10.5% |
Do you think you’ll be in business in five years?
| Yes | 88.2% |
| Maybe | 10.8% |
| No | 1% |
Only 31.4% of those who answered “maybe” or “no” to this question also said they would hire someone to improve their business. This aligns with the fact that many in this group reported earning less than $20K last year. Hiring help can be so helpful, but it’s also tough—how do you scale your business when you can’t yet afford to invest in support?
How do you prefer to learn things to improve your business?
*This is another question where people could mark multiple items.
| 1:1 Coaching | 49% |
| Podcasts | 48.7% |
| Figure it out on my own | 44.8% |
| Buy an online course | 44.8% |
| Hire someone to do it | 39.2% |
| YouTube | 37.3% |
| Books | 35% |
| Group coaching | 34.3% |
| Live workshops | 30.1% |
| Join a mastermind | 21.6% |
| Join a membership | 19.9% |
*Other mentions include communities, free resources, courses but only if they have a private podcast, ChatGPT, events, and asking peers.
YouTube, podcasts, and books are universally popular learning tools across all revenue brackets. Higher revenue businesses ($300k+) tend to invest more in 1:1 coaching and masterminds.
How long do you estimate it takes someone to become a customer after discovering you?
| 2-6 months | 31.4% |
| 1-2 months | 26.1% |
| 1-2 weeks | 15.4% |
| 6-12 months | 14.7% |
| Immediately / a few days | 7.8% |
| 1-2 years | 5.2% |
| 2+ years | 0.3% |
60% of those who said it’s an immediate conversion cited Referrals as their #1 lead source.
What is your current biggest struggle?
| Not enough clients | 25.7% |
| Scaling my business | 15.8% |
| Marketing | 11.2% |
| Lack of visibility | 7.9% |
| Work-life balance | 7.2% |
| Cash flow | 5.9% |
| Burnout / mental health | 5.6% |
| Lacking systems | 3.3% |
| Profit margins | 3.0% |
| Chronic illness | 2.6% |
| Boundaries with clients | 2.6% |
| Not knowing my niche or offers | 2.3% |
| Boundaries with work | 2.0% |
| Other* | 2.0% |
| Competition | 0.7% |
| Employee or contractor turnover | 1% |
| Project management | 1% |
| Lead generation | 0.3% |
*Other items included time, desire to work harder, business changes, uncertainities with the US, and traffic.
For those earning $50K or less, struggles varied widely, though ‘not enough clients’ was the most common challenge. Among those making over $300K, the challenges were even more diverse, with ‘not enough clients’ and ‘marketing’ tied as the top concerns.
Not enough projects, scaling, and marketing were also the top three struggles last year!
Looking forward into 2025…
While some people are busy perfecting their Instagram aesthetic, the folks quietly banking $500K+ are investing in something entirely different: authority. They’re not just posting pretty pictures; they’re building SEO-driven blogs, nurturing email lists, guesting on podcasts, and leveraging their networks for referrals.
If you’re still stuck in the under-$100K club, it might be time to put down the phone and pick up some owned platforms. As you saw above, the data doesn’t lie: 90% of businesses without a website earned under $50K. That’s not a coincidence; that’s cause and effect.
Overall for 2025, it seems businesses that implement authority-driven marketing as well as more automation will have a better chance at beating any revenue plateaus.
Top three takeaways for 2025:
- Focus on referrals, SEO, and email marketing instead of relying solely on social media.
- Adopt AI, automation, and better systems to streamline operations and scale smarter.
- Prioritize high-ticket offers first before jumping into digital products or memberships.
