The 2026 Revenue Reset

Let me ask you a question that might sting a little.

If you lost your job tomorrow, how long would it take you to replace your income?

For most men, the answer is terrifying. Because despite having skills, experience, and hustle, they’ve never built a revenue stream that exists outside of their 9-to-5.

They’re one layoff, one bad quarter, one corporate restructuring away from financial chaos.

I know this because I lived it.

In 2018, I was making $140K as a senior consultant. I thought I was killing it. Then the company lost a major client, and suddenly my “secure” position wasn’t so secure anymore. I had 60 days to find something new or face a significant pay cut.

That’s when I realized I’d built my entire financial life on a foundation I didn’t control. I was trading time for money, and the moment I stopped trading time, the money stopped flowing.

Never again.

Since then, I’ve built multiple revenue streams that generate income whether I’m working or not. And in 2026, with the economic landscape shifting and AI changing how work gets done, having diversified income isn’t just smart. It’s survival.

The 2026 Economic Reality

Let’s talk about what’s actually happening in the market right now.

Corporate consolidation is accelerating. Companies are doing more with fewer people. AI is eliminating entire job categories. The “safe” corporate career path is becoming less safe by the quarter.

But here’s the flip side: the barriers to building your own revenue streams have never been lower.

You can launch a digital product in a weekend. You can start a consulting practice with nothing but a laptop and expertise. You can build an audience and monetize it without spending a dime on advertising.

The tools, the platforms, the knowledge—it’s all available. The only thing missing is execution.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to fix.

The Three Revenue Stream Archetypes

After building and testing dozens of revenue streams over the past six years, I’ve identified three archetypes that work consistently for men with expertise and ambition.

Archetype 1: Knowledge Monetization

This is where you package your expertise into products and services that people pay for.

Examples:

The beauty of knowledge monetization is that you’re selling something you already have. You don’t need to learn a new skill or build a new product from scratch. You just need to package what you know in a way that solves a specific problem for a specific audience.

I built my first $10K month using this archetype. I took the frameworks I’d developed for executive presence and packaged them into a 30-day program. Sold it for $47. Got 213 customers in the first 90 days.

$10,011 in revenue from knowledge I already had.

Archetype 2: Leverage Arbitrage

This is where you identify gaps in the market and fill them by connecting resources, people, or information.

Examples:

Leverage arbitrage is powerful because you’re not creating the product. You’re creating the connection. You’re the bridge between a solution and the people who need it.

My affiliate revenue in 2025 was $87K. I didn’t create any of those products. I just recommended tools I actually use to an audience that trusts my judgment.

Archetype 3: Asset Building

This is where you create or acquire assets that generate passive or semi-passive income.

Examples:

Asset building takes longer to generate revenue, but it’s the most scalable and valuable long-term. You’re building something that can eventually run without you.

My newsletter is an asset. It generates revenue through product sales, affiliate commissions, and sponsorships. I built it once, and it continues to produce value.

The 90-Day Revenue Reset Framework

Alright, enough theory. Let’s talk about how you actually build your first $10K month in the next 90 days.

This framework has worked for me and for dozens of men I’ve coached. It’s not sexy. It’s not a “hack.” It’s just systematic execution of proven principles.

Phase 1: The Foundation (Days 1-21)

The first three weeks are about clarity and positioning. Most men fail because they skip this phase and jump straight to selling. Don’t make that mistake.

Week 1: Identify Your Monetizable Expertise

You need to answer three questions:

1. What do I know that other people would pay to learn?

2. What problem can I solve that people are actively trying to solve?

3. What transformation can I create that people value?

Here’s how I did this in 2023 when I was building my executive presence offer:

I knew: How to command respect in high-stakes business situations

The problem: Mid-level professionals struggling to get promoted because they lacked “presence”

The transformation: Going from overlooked to influential in 30 days

That clarity made everything else easier.

Week 2: Validate Your Market

Before you build anything, you need to confirm that people will actually pay for what you’re offering.

I use a simple validation process:

If you can’t find 10 people willing to have that conversation, you don’t have a viable market. Pick a different problem.

Week 3: Create Your Minimum Viable Offer

This is where most people overcomplicate things. They want to create the perfect product with all the bells and whistles.

Wrong approach.

Your minimum viable offer should be:

For my executive presence program, the MVP was:

That’s it. No fancy videos. No elaborate platform. Just valuable content delivered simply.

I created it in 6 days. Sold it for $47. Made $10K in the first month.

Phase 2: The Launch (Days 22-45)

Now you’re ready to sell. But we’re not doing a big, complicated launch. We’re doing a simple, direct offer to a small audience.

Week 4: Build Your Initial Audience

You need 100 people who know you, trust you, and have the problem you solve.

Where do you find them?

The goal isn’t to build a massive audience. It’s to identify 100 people who might buy.

Week 5: Pre-Sell Your Offer

Here’s a secret that changed my business: you don’t need to finish the product before you sell it.

I pre-sold my executive presence program before I’d created half the content. I told people: “I’m launching this program on March 1st. If you buy now, you get it for $37 instead of $47.”

I got 47 pre-sales. That’s $1,739 in revenue before I’d finished building the product.

That money validated the offer and funded the creation of the full program.

Week 6: Deliver and Iterate

Now you deliver the product and gather feedback. This is crucial.

Your first version won’t be perfect. That’s fine. The goal is to create value and learn what your customers actually need.

I sent a survey to my first 50 customers asking:

Their answers shaped version 2.0, which I sold for $97 and had a 34% conversion rate.

Phase 3: The Scale (Days 46-90)

Now you have a proven offer and happy customers. Time to scale.

Week 7-9: Optimize Your Conversion

You need three things to scale:

I spent these three weeks:

My conversion rate went from 12% to 31% just by optimizing these elements.

Week 10-12: Increase Your Reach

Now you’re ready to reach more people. But you’re not spending money on ads yet. You’re using leverage.

I used three strategies:

These three strategies took my monthly revenue from $10K to $28K without spending a dollar on advertising.

The Tools You Need

You don’t need a massive tech stack to build your first $10K month. Here’s what I actually use:

For Course Delivery:

Go High Level - This is my all-in-one platform for courses, email, and funnels. It’s $97/month, but it replaces about five other tools.

For Email Marketing & Newsletters:

Beehiiv - Clean, simple, and powerful. I use this for my newsletter and email sequences.

For Content Creation:

I covered this in detail in Wednesday’s edition, but the short version: ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro for AI-powered content multiplication.

I like Galaxy.ai which has both ChatGPT & Claude for a low price

For Project Management:

Notion - This is where I plan everything, track progress, and store all my content.

For Automation:

Make.com - This connects all my tools together so things happen automatically.

Total monthly cost: ~$150

Return on investment: $10K+ per month in revenue.

The Common Obstacles (And How to Overcome Them)

I’ve coached enough men through this process to know exactly where they get stuck. Here are the big ones:

Obstacle 1: “I don’t have anything valuable to teach.”

Bullshit. You have expertise that someone else needs. The problem is you’re comparing your knowledge to the top 1% of experts in your field instead of comparing it to people who are three steps behind you.

You don’t need to be the world’s leading expert. You just need to be a few steps ahead of your target customer.

Obstacle 2: “I don’t have time to build this.”

You’re spending 2-3 hours per day on social media, news, and entertainment. I know because everyone does.

You don’t need more time. You need to reallocate the time you have.

I built my first offer working 90 minutes per day before my regular job. That’s it. 90 minutes of focused work for 21 days.

Obstacle 3: “What if nobody buys?”

Then you learn what doesn’t work and you adjust. That’s called market feedback, and it’s valuable.

But here’s the thing: if you follow this framework, people will buy. Because you’re validating the market before you build, you’re pre-selling before you launch, and you’re iterating based on feedback.

The only way nobody buys is if you skip the validation phase and build something nobody wants.

Obstacle 4: “I’m not a salesperson.”

Good. Neither am I. And neither are most successful entrepreneurs.

You’re not selling. You’re offering a solution to a problem that people are actively trying to solve. There’s a massive difference.

When you have a valuable offer, and you’re talking to people who have the problem you solve, “selling” is just explaining how your solution works.

The 2026 Revenue Reset Challenge

Here’s what I want you to do.

Commit to the next 90 days. Follow this framework. Build your first (or next) revenue stream.

I’m so confident this works that I’ve created a new program specifically for this: The 2026 Revenue Reset.

It’s a 90-day intensive where we build your revenue stream together. Not theory. Not motivation. Actual implementation.

Here’s what’s included:

Week 1-3: Foundation

Week 4-6: Launch

Week 7-12: Scale

You get:

The investment is $297.

That’s less than $25 per week for 12 weeks of intensive coaching and implementation support.

If you follow the framework and don’t hit at least $3K in revenue by day 90, I’ll personally coach you for another 30 days at no charge.

That’s how confident I am that this works.

If you want in, comment “RESET” below, and I’ll send you the details.

The Bottom Line

2026 is going to be a year of economic uncertainty and rapid change. The men who thrive will be the ones who control their own income.

You can spend the next 90 days hoping your job stays secure, or you can spend them building a revenue stream that gives you options.

You can keep trading time for money, or you can build assets that generate income whether you’re working or not.

You can stay dependent on one income source, or you can diversify and create financial resilience.

The choice is yours. But the window is now.

Let’s build something real.

— Marcus Cole

P.S.

— If you’re serious about building your first $10K month, don’t wait. The 2026 Revenue Reset starts January 20th. Comment “RESET” to get the details.

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REFINED • RELENTLESS • UNAPOLOGETIC

The Savage Gentleman