Hi John,
I have published over 50 Financial Case Studies so far, and each one is very different. How they make money, and how they support their lifestyles. You can read some where the couples are making 6-figures a year with their online businesses and putting in relatively little time for it. Here is one (of many) examples: https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/financial-case-study-dariece-nick-goats-on-the-road/

But ask anybody who is making a living with their online business, and they will tell you that they started exactly where Jessica and Will are at the moment – at the bottom, putting in a ton of hours for very little (if any) compensation. As with most business development practices, your biggest investment in the beginning is time.

So if you’re looking for an alternative where the reward justifies the time spent (like you say), then it’s best to take a long-term view of that time spent and project it out 3-5 years.

Alternately, you can look at a telecommuting type of job, where the investment of time to build a business isn’t there, and instead you’re trading your time for wages. It depends on what skills you have and whether they’re marketable in this industry, as to whether, again, the time spent will provide enough of a reward for your liking.