THE VIFLY GUIDE · CHOOSE AN ACTIVITY
Earn money online.
Which activity
suits you?
Freelancing, coaching, courses, digital products, UGC, affiliate marketing, subscriptions or e-commerce: understand what you sell, to whom, and under what conditions the model can work.
A skill.
A problem to solve.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Choose a problem first.
The income model comes next.
If you can already deliver a useful result, consider services and consulting. If you can teach it, test a workshop before building a full course. If you have an audience that trusts you, look at affiliate marketing and subscriptions. A shop also requires you to manage purchasing, delivery and returns.
If you do not yet have a skill you can sell, first create a sample of your work and learn to produce it properly. The first goal is evidence of demand, not subscriptions to ten tools.
FIND YOUR ENTRY POINT
Your starting point
changes the right choice.
Three pointers to explore an initial direction. This is editorial guidance; it predicts neither your sales nor your income.
AN INITIAL GUIDEPOST
A useful skill, a clearly defined deliverable.
To start without an audience, freelance services let you offer a result to an identified client. Consulting requires demonstrable expertise; UGC suits creative work based on a brief.
Explore freelance services ↗- A skillA service or advice
Prospect, deliver and manage your time.
- Practical knowledgeA workshop or digital product
Prove its usefulness and find buyers.
- A relationship of trustA recommendation or a subscription
Maintain trust and remain transparent.
- A product you understandAn ecommerce sale
Finance, deliver and handle returns.
EIGHT MODELS, DIFFERENT REQUIREMENTS
What to do to earn
income online?
These activities can complement each other. For your first test, choose one audience, one offer and one acquisition channel.
Services & expertise
Freelance services
You can write, edit a video, design a resource, organise data, support a team or configure a tool. You can show an example of your work and meet a deadline.
- At the start
- Low if you already own the equipment; software and insurance need consideration.
- The actual work
- Allow for production, discussions, revisions and prospecting.
Services & expertise
Coaching and consulting
You have relevant experience, know how to ask questions and can explain your method. You are willing to recognise the limits of your work and refer people to a qualified professional when necessary.
- At the start
- Video call equipment and simple tools; qualifications and insurance depend on the activity.
- The actual work
- Include sessions, preparation, a written summary and follow-up.
Knowledge & digital products
Courses and workshops
You have mastered a skill, can demonstrate it and know how to explain the steps. You are willing to design exercises, address difficulties and keep the content up to date.
- At the start
- Significant design time; recording, hosting and support costs need to be calculated.
- The actual work
- Initial creation, assistance, revisions and updates.
Knowledge & digital products
Digital products
You understand a recurring use case and can design a reliable resource that is easy to open and use. You are willing to document the product and help customers with reasonable difficulties.
- At the start
- Production and tools can be accessible; include acquisition, fees and support.
- The actual work
- Initial design, demonstration, assistance and updates.
Services & expertise
UGC creation for brands
You can film a product or situation, build a message and deliver polished content. You can work from a brief, explain your choices and meet a brand's requirements.
- At the start
- A phone and lighting may be enough to start; accessories, travel and software depend on the brief.
- The actual work
- Brief, preparation, filming, editing, revisions and prospecting.
Audience & recommendations
Affiliate marketing and recommendations
You know an audience and can compare offers while explaining their limitations. You agree to recommend only what meets the need, even when another option pays more.
- At the start
- Content and acquisition need work; paid advertising is risky without reliable measurement.
- The actual work
- Research, comparison, distribution, updates and tracking approvals.
Audience & recommendations
Content and memberships
You already help an audience with a recurring topic and know the questions that come up. You can maintain a reasonable schedule and explain what subscribers will receive during each period.
- At the start
- Tools, production, moderation and payment; few physical costs.
- The actual work
- An ongoing commitment to content, relationships and support.
Commerce
Selling physical products
You know a product and its audience, can check its compliance and are willing to handle logistics. You have enough cash to cover purchases, returns and payment delays.
- At the start
- Purchases, shop, packaging, delivery, returns and acquisition; working capital is needed.
- The actual work
- Suppliers, orders, logistics, customer service and cost tracking.
No activity matches this search.
Try “video”, “expertise” or “course”.
CHOOSE ACCORDING TO YOUR CONSTRAINTS
Compare what the model
really requires of you.
Compare up to three activities. This comparison describes working conditions; it does not rank activities by expected earnings.
Three activities are selected. You can change this choice using the cards.
| Your criterion | Freelance services | Coaching and consulting | Courses and workshops | Digital products | UGC creation for brands | Affiliate marketing and recommendations | Content and memberships | Selling physical products |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The right context | You can write, edit a video, design a resource, organise data, support a team or configure a tool. You can show an example of your work and meet a deadline. | You have relevant experience, know how to ask questions and can explain your method. You are willing to recognise the limits of your work and refer people to a qualified professional when necessary. | You have mastered a skill, can demonstrate it and know how to explain the steps. You are willing to design exercises, address difficulties and keep the content up to date. | You understand a recurring use case and can design a reliable resource that is easy to open and use. You are willing to document the product and help customers with reasonable difficulties. | You can film a product or situation, build a message and deliver polished content. You can work from a brief, explain your choices and meet a brand's requirements. | You know an audience and can compare offers while explaining their limitations. You agree to recommend only what meets the need, even when another option pays more. | You already help an audience with a recurring topic and know the questions that come up. You can maintain a reasonable schedule and explain what subscribers will receive during each period. | You know a product and its audience, can check its compliance and are willing to handle logistics. You have enough cash to cover purchases, returns and payment delays. |
| Budget and costs | Low if you already own the equipment; software and insurance need consideration. | Video call equipment and simple tools; qualifications and insurance depend on the activity. | Significant design time; recording, hosting and support costs need to be calculated. | Production and tools can be accessible; include acquisition, fees and support. | A phone and lighting may be enough to start; accessories, travel and software depend on the brief. | Content and acquisition need work; paid advertising is risky without reliable measurement. | Tools, production, moderation and payment; few physical costs. | Purchases, shop, packaging, delivery, returns and acquisition; working capital is needed. |
| Acquisition and audience | A public audience is not essential; targeted prospects are. | Trust and recommendations can come before a large audience. | A relevant audience and proof of teaching ability; a large community alone is not enough. | Access to a specific niche; search visibility also requires work. | A large audience is not required for production without publishing on your own account. | A relevant audience or qualified search traffic is needed. | A core group of interested people and existing trust are useful. | Verified demand and an acquisition channel compatible with the margin. |
| Time and follow-up | Allow for production, discussions, revisions and prospecting. | Include sessions, preparation, a written summary and follow-up. | Initial creation, assistance, revisions and updates. | Initial design, demonstration, assistance and updates. | Brief, preparation, filming, editing, revisions and prospecting. | Research, comparison, distribution, updates and tracking approvals. | An ongoing commitment to content, relationships and support. | Suppliers, orders, logistics, customer service and cost tracking. |
| Stock and delivery | No physical stock; your delivery capacity limits sales. | No stock; limited appointment slots and available energy. | No physical stock; content to maintain and learners to support. | No physical stock; compatibility, licences and versions to manage. | No stock to sell; arrangements for sending and returning products need to be agreed. | No stock; dependence on the programme's terms and tracking. | No stock; a recurring promise and access to manage. | Stock or supplier dependence; compliance and availability need checking. |
| When to pass for now | Pass for now if you would need to learn the entire skill during an urgent assignment, or if the client expects availability that does not fit your schedule. Start with a practice project instead. | Avoid this model if you want to sell a transformation you cannot support. Calling yourself a coach does not authorise medical, psychological, legal, financial or other reserved professional activities. | Postpone the project if your expertise consists only of automatically compiled content. An expensive course does not become legitimate because a tool can produce it quickly. | Avoid creating numerous files before observing a need. Reselling content found elsewhere or generated without checks creates rights issues and may offer little value to the buyer. | Pass for now if you would need to recommend a product you do not know or accept questionable claims. A portfolio justifies neither a fake customer review nor an invented experience of using a product. | Avoid this model if you only plan to copy links into messages or buy traffic without doing the calculations. Without a relevant audience or useful content, the advertised commission says nothing about potential income. | Wait if you have not yet observed recurring demand. An active free community does not, by itself, prove that its members will pay for a regular offer. | Avoid running ads if you do not know the delivered cost, returns or supplier quality. Dropshipping does not remove the seller's obligations towards the customer. |
GUIDANCE, NOT PROMISES
What the figures tell us.
And what they do not tell you.
Market data, a statistical income measure and your sales scenario measure different things. Always keep the period and population beside the figure. The suggested actions alongside them are our editorial analysis.
2024 data · INSEE
330 €median monthly business income for micro-entrepreneurs
Half of micro-entrepreneurs earn less than this amount, excluding zero incomes.
All occupations and working hours combined. This is neither turnover nor an online earnings target.
Read the source and its scope ↗2026 Barometer · France Num
46 %of SMEs obtain at least 5 % of their customers from the Internet
A starting point to explore: helping a specific profession present and sell its offer more clearly.
Reported usage does not prove an available budget or demand for your offer. Check this with real buyers.
Read the source and its scope ↗2025 report · FEVAD
€196.4 bnin French ecommerce revenue in 2025
The market includes products and services, including travel and major websites.
The size of a sector does not measure what a small shop earns. Purchases, returns and fees reduce the margin.
Read the source and its scope ↗Understanding the average and the other reference points
2024 data · INSEE
680 €in average monthly business income for micro-entrepreneurs
The average does not describe a typical case: incomes vary widely.
A statistical measure of business income, not net profit after all your actual expenses. No particular online occupation is isolated.
Read the source and its scope ↗2026 Barometer · France Num
17 %of very small businesses and SMEs earn more than half their revenue online
Digital tools can support a business, but not all models depend on them to the same extent.
This proportion indicates neither a beginner's income, profit nor chances of success.
Read the source and its scope ↗2026 Barometer · France Num
21 %of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises took digital training in 2025
A signal to assess against your expertise and a specific learning problem.
The survey does not state the budget paid to an independent trainer.
Read the source and its scope ↗2025 data · Eurostat
34,8 %of EU internet users have used online learning
Courses or learning materials used during the three months before the survey.
Free content is included. This figure does not represent the proportion of people buying courses.
Read the source and its scope ↗We have not identified representative official national statistics that allow reliable comparisons of beginners' earnings from UGC, affiliate marketing, templates or subscription content. The simulator's amounts are therefore adjustable assumptions, rather than average earnings for these activities.
MAKE THE PROJECT'S ECONOMICS WORK
A sale does not become
your entire income.
Use the same period for every field: a pilot, a month or a launch. Start with sales actually received, after refunds and excluding VAT.
- Price × salesRevenue excluding VAT
- - purchases, tools, fees, advertising.Full costs
- − a reserve you chooseScenario balance
TEACHING EXAMPLE · NO GUARANTEED INCOME
- Revenue excluding VAT
- 1 000 €
- Balance after costs and reserve
- 600 €
- Balance per hour spent
- 18,75 €
Understand the starting example
Hypothetical example over a period of your choice: four services at €250 would generate €1,000 in revenue excluding VAT. With €200 in costs and a reserve of 20 % of revenue, the balance would be €600, before other amounts due according to your circumstances. This scenario predicts no sales.
This balance is not net income for tax purposes. The calculation determines neither social contributions due, income tax nor VAT. It does not replace a complete budget or a check of your applicable regime.
Check the framework for my activity ↗Repeat the calculation with fewer sales, higher costs and more hours. If the balance turns negative, the model needs adjusting before you increase the budget.
30 DAYS TO LEARN, WITH NO PROMISE OF EARNINGS
A starting plan
that keeps its feet on the ground.
The best first version is small enough to deliver and useful enough for a real customer to evaluate.
- 01
Week 1 · listen
Choose one audience and one problem. Speak to five people concerned: how do they handle it now, what holds them back, and what have they already tried? Five conversations are a practical exercise, not statistical validation.
- 02
Week 2 · propose
Describe a deliverable, a price, a deadline and what is excluded. Prepare a demonstration or sample. Offer a limited first version to people with a genuine need, without fabricating testimonials.
- 03
Week 3 · deliver
If a customer agrees, formalise the terms and deliver the pilot. Record all hours, including prospecting and revisions. If there is no sale, analyse objections before producing more.
- 04
Week 4 · decide
Compare payments received, costs, time and client feedback. Continue if the problem and margin are confirmed; otherwise adjust the audience, format or price. This schedule organises a test and promises no sales within thirty days.
Understand the need
Structure questions and gather enquiries with VIFLY Forms.
Prepare a questionnaire ↗Make your offer visible
Bring evidence, your offer and the next action together in a LinkHub.
Present my offer ↗Choose useful AI tools
Compare tools for a specific task after choosing the need.
Explore resources ↗BEFORE THE FIRST SALE
A professional framework
suited to your activity.
French guidance checked on the guide's verification date. The applicable regime depends on your profession, customers and circumstances; consult the sources and get help where needed.
Register and invoice
Choose the appropriate framework, check the formalities and organise quotes, invoices and payment tracking. Receiving payment online does not make the activity invisible.
Official procedures ↗Inform and respect the customer
Clarify the seller's identity, offer, price, deadlines and applicable rights. A digital product does not automatically exclude the right of withdrawal.
Online selling rules ↗Check the rules of the profession
Coaching does not remove the qualification requirements of a regulated activity. Vocational training has its own formalities; a platform does not create eligibility for funding.
Training requirements ↗ · Regulated professions ↗For data, prospecting and creative work: CNIL ↗, commercial influence ↗ and VIFLY AI guide.
QUESTIONS BEFORE CHOOSING
Straight answers.
Which activity should a beginner choose to earn money online?
Start with a problem you already know how to solve and a group of people you can reach. A focused service may be easier to test than a shop or a complete course. Without a skill ready to sell, begin by learning and producing evidence of your work; do not sell expertise you do not have.
Can you start without an audience and on a small budget?
Yes, certain services, qualified consulting and UGC creation can be sold to identified customers without depending on your follower count. You still need time, suitable equipment, prospecting and a professional framework. Having no audience does not mean there is no sales work.
How much can you earn from an online activity?
There is no universal income figure. The price, the number of sales actually paid for, costs, time and the rules applying to your activity all affect the result. The research figures in this guide have a specific scope; the calculator only shows the consequences of the assumptions you enter.
Can AI create passive income for me?
AI can help you write, edit or organise work. You still need to choose a problem, find clients, check quality, respect rights and provide follow-up. Generated content is not evidence of market demand. Compare tools in the Useful Resources guide for a specific task.
What is the difference between remote employment and self-employment?
Remote working describes where you work, not an income model. An employee is hired for a job; a self-employed person sells a service or product and bears the costs and administrative responsibilities. This guide compares self-employed activities. If you want a salary, also look at job vacancies and verify the employer.
METHOD & SOURCES
Help with choosing,
with visible limitations.
Guide written by VIFLY and checked on 24 October 2026. Recommendations reflect editorial judgement. Calculations are hypothetical, and statistics retain their original period and scope. We do not give occupations profitability scores or present turnover as disposable income.
The links to studies and public authorities below contain no referral parameters added by VIFLY. VIFLY pages help you put the guidance into practice. To report an error or information that has changed, contact us.
View the guide's sources
- INSEE · self-employed income 2024 ↗30 June 2026
Economically active micro-entrepreneurs on 31 December 2024, France excluding Mayotte and agriculture. Online and offline activities, both main and supplementary.
- France Num · survey 2026 ↗Updated on 12 October 2026
A survey of 9 655 French micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Business practices, rather than service providers' earnings.
- FEVAD · ecommerce review 2025 ↗11 February 2026
The French market for products and services, including major players. Sector revenue, not an individual's margin.
- Eurostat · online learning 2025 ↗19 March 2026
European Union internet users, with usage during the three months before the survey. Free and paid resources combined.
- Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr · task scam ↗7 October 2026
Warning signs and procedures for victims of fake online jobs.
- DGCCRF · pyramid schemes and MLM ↗28 August 2025
The distinction between real sales and payments mainly linked to recruitment.
- Service Public · selling online ↗19 June 2026
Seller information, contracts, consumer rights and obligations according to the customer group.
- Service Public · training activity declaration ↗27 November 2025
Vocational training, formalities and the distinction from leisure courses.
- French Ministry for the Economy · commercial influence ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Transparency in commercial content and creators' responsibilities.
- CNIL · prospecting by email ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Consent, information and the right to object according to the audience and channel.
- DGCCRF · dropshipping responsibilities ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
The seller remains responsible even when a supplier ships directly.
- Service Public · starting a business ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Formalities and a regime suited to the activity; check your personal circumstances.
- Ministry of the Economy · copyright and image rights ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Permissions and limits on using content.
- Service Public · regulated activities ↗Accessed on 24 October 2026
Qualifications and authorisations to check for the profession concerned.