A young Indian woman is earning Rs.44,000 a month at the ripe age of 22, working from home with average skills. What are you doing?

When I was living in the Bay of Plenty area in New Zealand, I used to go to the nearby lake every Saturday afternoon and spend the time in silence enjoying the sight of the serene blue water and swimming ducks. On one of those Saturdays, I met Thara, an Indian student from Pune. Her face was dull. She asked me, “Would it be possible for you to get me a part-time job, please? I have financial problems. As I am on a student visa, I prefer cash jobs.” I replied, “You are unnecessarily inviting trouble from visa office. What’s your problem?”

“I wanted to get my higher degree from an American University. I did a lot of research about it on web. Because of visa problems I could not go the USA. So, I came to New Zealand a few months ago. Before coming here, I thought I could easily get a weekend job and manage my financial affairs with that income and with the money my father would send me every month. But our calculations have gone wrong.” Her eyes grew wet as she spoke.

“Everyone is an expert in something. From what you said I believe you are an expert in overseas education,” I said. “Uh? I am just a student!” she exclaimed.

“I am sure you know more than what most students know. Even if you know nothing now, if you do research on the Internet for a few days, you will become an expert,” I said and continued, “Education is a field that will never become obsolete. Generally higher education and career growth have a direct relationship. Millions of students believe that getting a degree from a reputed university in a developed country is a passport to prosperity. Help them and you will make money.”

“How do I do it?” Thara asked me. “If you want to reach thousands of people in a matter of few days, the Internet is the best, inexpensive medium. It is easy to learn how to create a simple website. Fill that website with useful content and promote it through search engines. Think about a special category within education. Build your website around that topic,” I told her.

“Can you suggest a niche, please?” she asked me. “Online degree programs are increasingly becoming popular. Many reputed Universities accept students from other countries. An online degree program saves a lot of money and at the same time you get an overseas degree. Though online degrees have lesser value than offline degrees, still getting an online degree has its own value in career growth,” I told her.

“I have seen many overseas Universities advertising in India. They charge several lakhs of rupees. But many students are not very happy with local teachers even if they are good,” said Thara. “That’s because when people pay such high fees, they want everything from abroad. Online degree courses solve this problem. The best overseas teachers give lectures through online multimedia facilities. The course fee is low as course delivery is automated and middlemen are eliminated. These factors are pushing the demand for online degree programs.” I told her.

“How will I make money?” she asked me. “For beginners, affiliate programs are the best route to online business. After you have built a website you need to send a simple online application to online universities that have affiliate programs. They would give a small piece of code that you place on your website. When a visitor clicks on your link, goes to their website and does something you will get referral fees.” I told her.

“How much do these Universities pay?” Thara was curious. “Some pay $5 if the visitor requests a free information pack. When a visitor enrolls as a student, you may get as high as $500 (Rs25,000).” I replied. Thara’s mouth slightly opened and she looked at me with suspicion and asked, “I hope you are not kidding. How can that be true?”

“Don’t you know that the retailers get high discount from the manufacturers? But the University pays you just 10% of the fees they collect,” I told her. “Yes. Now I understand. Can you please give me a list of these Universities?” she asked me. “I suggest that you do your own research and find them out. That is the best way to create your own unique website. There are hundreds of Universities. Become an affiliate of a dozen good Universities and start making money,” I replied.

When Thara called me after a few months, I asked her, “How much do you earn?” She replied, “Initially I worked for a few weeks continuously on my website. Now it needs only maintenance work. Though I get thousands of visitors per month, only two or three visitors enroll as students. On an average I make $1,000 (Rs.44,000) a month.” “How old are you?” I asked her. “22” she replied.

That was three years ago. Nowadays whenever I see a young woman, I wonder how much Thara would be earning now.

(Click here for a special article on online degree programs.)