How to Make 6 Figures As A Occupational Therapist? (11 Best Ways in 2024)
So you want to make six figures as a occupational therapist? Good for you! Being a occupational therapist is a highly respectable and well-paid profession, and there's no reason why you can't earn a high income if you put your mind to it.
In this blog post, we'll look at some of the best ways to make more money as a occupational therapist - business ideas you can start to achieve such income. Keep reading to learn more!
1. Start a freelance writing business ($62.6K/month)
Starting a freelance writing business could significantly supplement your income as an occupational therapist, making it possible to reach six figures. Given the flexibility of freelance writing, you could balance your writing projects with your therapy practice. You could work from home at any time, allowing you to manage your own schedule and optimize your work-life balance.
Occupational therapists have unique expertise, which could be leveraged to write specialized content for healthcare blogs, academic journals, or industry magazines. Strong writing skills, the ability to meet deadlines, and staying up-to-date with current writing tools and trends would be essential. By combining your professional knowledge with these skills, you could become a sought-after freelance writer in your niche, thus opening new revenue streams and enhancing your overall earning potential.
How much you can make: $700 — $500,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 56 days (?)
How David Tile turned a freelance writing gig into an $80k/month business, discussing lessons learned through managing growing demands and maintaining a remote team operation.
2. Digital products ($242K/month)
As an occupational therapist, you could boost your income significantly by creating and selling digital products. These could range from informational ebooks and online courses about therapy techniques to membership sites offering exclusive content and community support. Given your specialized knowledge, you have the unique advantage of offering valuable, niche content that can attract a dedicated audience.
Digital products are highly scalable and low-risk, as you don't need to worry about managing physical inventory. You have the freedom to develop and distribute these products yourself, keeping overhead costs low. By strategically marketing your digital offerings, you could easily build a successful side business that complements your existing practice and helps you reach six figures.
How much you can make: $10,417 — $1,766,666/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
FilterGrade is an eCommerce platform offering digital assets such as photo filters and video templates; attracting over 450,000 monthly users and generating approximately 30k a month, the founders worked hard to build a valuable marketplace for creators while focusing on digital marketing, partnerships, and content creation.
3. Become a social media influencer ($57.4K/month)
Leveraging your expertise as an occupational therapist to become a social media influencer could significantly boost your earning potential. By sharing valuable insights, tips, and educational content on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or TikTok, you could establish credibility and attract a dedicated audience. This opens up opportunities for brand collaborations, sponsored content, and affiliate marketing, enabling you to supplement your income and potentially reach six-figure earnings.
Additionally, you could offer online workshops, e-books, or courses related to occupational therapy, providing additional revenue streams while simultaneously enhancing your professional reputation. The key is to identify a popular niche within occupational therapy that resonates with your interests and consistently create engaging and informative content tailored to that audience. By doing so, you'll position yourself as a trusted authority and unlock numerous entrepreneurial opportunities.
How much you can make: $2,500 — $166,666/month
How much does it cost to start: $800 (?)
How long does it take to build: 155 days (?)
How one mother built a profitable frugal motherhood, life, and travel blog from scratch, using Instagram, Pinterest, and paid sponsorships to grow from 0 to 18.5K followers and generate $1,500-$3,000 per month in less than two years.
4. Start a career coaching business ($48.5K/month)
Starting a career coaching business could be a lucrative way to boost your earnings as an occupational therapist. By leveraging your expertise in healthcare and transitions, you could offer personalized guidance to professionals navigating career changes and growth opportunities.
You could design custom sessions focused on resume building, interview preparation, and workplace advancement, tailoring each consultation to meet your clients' specific goals and aspirations. With the flexibility to conduct coaching sessions either in-person or virtually, you could build a diverse client base and provide specialized advice and accountability.
This entrepreneurial venture could allow you to monetize your natural motivational abilities and human resources skills, all while setting your own schedule. The combination of your healthcare insight and coaching proficiency could make six figures an attainable milestone.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $235,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
Wall Street Oasis, the largest online community focused on careers in finance, has over 100 million visitors during its 14-year history and is currently receiving over 2 million visits per month, offering interview courses and mentorship services, in addition to building and investing in a thriving online community.
5. Start an ecommerce store ($287K/month)
Starting an eCommerce store could provide Occupational Therapists with a significant opportunity to supplement their income and work toward making six figures. By leveraging your specialized knowledge, you could create and sell products tailored to your field, such as ergonomic tools, therapeutic aids, or custom rehabilitation plans. The lower overhead costs and wider reach of an online business allow you to efficiently connect with a broader audience, maximizing your sales potential without significant upfront investments.
Moreover, the convenience and growing popularity of eCommerce make it an ideal platform for busy professionals. Consumers can easily purchase your products from the comfort of their homes, enhancing your store’s accessibility and appeal. With the right website setup and effective inventory and payment management, you could build a profitable side business that complements your primary career and substantially boosts your overall income.
How much you can make: $350 — $13,500,000/month
How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
Southern Elegance Candle Company, founded by D'Shawn Russell, started as a side hustle making around $200 per weekend at a local Farmers Market, but now averages approximately $20,000 per month in sales across their retail site, wholesale site, and Faire.
6. Start a youtube channel ($146K/month)
Starting a YouTube channel could be a lucrative way to supplement your income as an occupational therapist. By sharing valuable insights, tutorials, and advice on occupational therapy, you could build a community of engaged viewers who trust your expertise. This engagement could help you reach the YouTube Partner Program's requirement of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months, paving the way for monetization through ads, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing.
Additionally, leveraging YouTube's incredible popularity, you could attract a broader audience interested in health, wellness, and rehabilitation topics. Over time, this channel could open up opportunities for paid collaborations, online courses, and even consulting gigs, turning your side hustle into a significant income stream. By consistently posting high-quality content, you could transform your passion into a successful YouTube Channel Success story, contributing to your goal of making six figures as an occupational therapist.
How much you can make: $800 — $1,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $750 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
Learn how this entrepreneurial couple made $5-7k a month by helping others find legitimate work from home jobs and creative ways to make money online through their blog and YouTube channel, as well as offering two flagship products designed to help beginner freelancers and new bloggers accelerate growth.
7. Become an affiliate marketer ($55.3K/month)
As an occupational therapist, venturing into affiliate marketing could be a lucrative way to supplement your income and potentially grow your earnings to six figures. By promoting wellness products, ergonomic tools, or therapeutic equipment that align with your expertise, you could earn commissions for every sale made through your referrals.
This opportunity allows you to leverage your knowledge in the healthcare industry to create content that drives traffic to these affiliate products. Given that the business model requires minimal upfront investment and is budget-friendly, you could start this venture alongside your primary job, making it a flexible and scalable side income.
How much you can make: $18,000 — $83,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $100 (?)
How long does it take to build: 150 days (?)
This case study explores how Spencer Mecham founded Buildapreneur, an affiliate marketing business, and has made over half a million dollars in profit with no employees, relying solely on content marketing through platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
8. Start a podcast ($97.9K/month)
Starting a podcast could offer a variety of opportunities to supplement your income and potentially help you reach the six-figure mark as an occupational therapist. By creating a podcast focused on occupational therapy topics, you could establish yourself as an authority in the field, attract listeners who are eager to learn from your expertise, and build a loyal audience.
With a growing listener base, you could monetize your podcast through sponsorships, advertisements, or offering specialized content behind a paywall. Additionally, it provides a platform to market other services or products you might offer, such as online courses, consultancy, or books, further diversifying your income streams. This entrepreneurial venture not only increases your earning potential but also enhances your professional profile.
How much you can make: $400 — $1,020,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 2 hours/week
A successful podcast production company that grew from one client making $15/hour to a team of 10 contractors producing over 30 shows per week with revenue of over $10k/mo, primarily through referrals and with a focus on providing high personal touch and being picky about working only with clients who are a good fit.
9. Create an online course ($82.8K/month)
Creating an online course could help you make six figures as an occupational therapist by leveraging your specialized skills and knowledge into a scalable business. You could identify educational gaps that are not adequately covered in existing resources and develop engaging video lessons and supplementary materials to address these needs.
With the flexibility of self-paced or cohort-based structures, you could build a loyal student base, offering them convenient and impactful learning experiences. By launching an online course platform, you could generate passive income while serving lifelong learners, all with relatively low startup costs.
For those who enjoy sharing information, this entrepreneurial venture not only enhances your income but also amplifies your role as an expert in the field. This could ultimately lead you to significant financial success while fulfilling the educational demands of your audience.
How much you can make: $275 — $1,000,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 88 days (?)
Learn how one couple created a successful personal finance blog, The Savvy Couple, that now makes over $20,000 per month and has sold thousands of digital workbooks and courses, by focusing on purposeful content and optimizing their ROI with efficient time management.
10. Start a social media marketing agency ($386K/month)
Starting a social media marketing agency could help you make six figures as an occupational therapist by leveraging your existing network and professional insights. You could efficiently manage this side business with minimal time commitment by automating processes using social media marketing tools. This way, you could clear your utility bills, finance further education, or save for vacations without sacrificing your primary career.
By developing a good social media marketing strategy, you could serve clients efficiently and build their online presence, which taps into the growing demand for digital visibility. Additionally, creating a robust agency portfolio to market your services could attract customers eager to enhance their social media presence. This entrepreneurial venture could provide a substantial supplementary income, sustaining your financial goals and aspirations.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $4,166,667/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 75 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 30 hours/week
How David Tile turned a freelance writing gig into an $80k/month business, discussing lessons learned through managing growing demands and maintaining a remote team operation.
11. Start a blog ($44.9K/month)
Starting a blog could provide you with a creative and lucrative opportunity to supplement your income as an occupational therapist. By sharing your expert knowledge and experiences, you could reach a broader audience and establish yourself as a trusted source of information. In fact, blogs are rated as the 5th most trustworthy source for gathering online information and 77% of internet users read them, offering a large potential readership.
This location-independent venture allows you to work anytime and anywhere, making it an ideal side hustle or even a full-time career. With approximately 409 million people viewing more than 20 billion pages each month, there's a significant chance to attract a large following. By consistently posting engaging content and building a mailing list, you could monetize your blog through ads, sponsored posts, or even by selling eBooks and courses, potentially elevating your earnings to six figures.
How much you can make: $100 — $650,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
Learn how one couple created a successful personal finance blog, The Savvy Couple, that now makes over $20,000 per month and has sold thousands of digital workbooks and courses, by focusing on purposeful content and optimizing their ROI with efficient time management.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
