By Damien Würsten — Shipping & Commodity Academy
If you want to make money online in the world of commodities, shipping, and global trade…
this post is for you.
I’m going to give you five online business ideas I’ve tested, built, or nearly built myself.
And these aren’t “I made $2 selling cat memes on Fiverr” type ideas.
These can realistically produce $5k–$20k/month if you commit for a few months.
I don’t pursue them anymore because I’m working on bigger things — fund management, niche trade flows, and building multimillion-dollar companies — but if I were starting again at 18–25?
I’d run straight at these.
And yes… if you execute and get rich, feel free to send me a commission.
(Just kidding — but not really.)
Before the ideas, a quick bit of context…
The Backstory: Why I Know It Works
I’ve always had online businesses.
Even when I was a trader covering West Africa.
Picture it:
You travel to Lomé 20 times.
You sit in the same hotel room.
You run out of things to do by day three.
So… you start building online projects.
I did affiliate sites, shady SEO blogs, FB ads, everything.
Some worked shockingly well… until Facebook nuked them.
Online businesses are like that.
You can make money fast — but competition is global.
A kid in Nigeria or India can out-hustle you in two weeks.
Physical commodity firms?
They last centuries.
Online businesses?
They last until Google sneezes.
But that doesn’t matter if you’re young and hungry.
It’s the fastest way to get your first real money.
Let’s dive in.
Idea #1 — Lead Generation for Freight Forwarders
(Passive-ish income selling the one thing freight forwarders desperately want: leads.)
Freight forwarders work HARD.
Low margins, constant problems, nonstop calls.
The one thing they will always pay for?
👉 New customers who want to ship containers.
Your job is simple:
Step 1 — Build a huge SEO website
Use AI to generate thousands of pages answering very specific shipping queries like:
- “Price of 20ft container Shanghai → Singapore”
- “Cost to ship 40ft reefer Rotterdam → Dubai”
- “Freight quote Santos → Antwerp dry container”
Every origin × destination × container type = one webpage.
This easily becomes 60,000+ pages.
(Yes, AI makes this possible.)
Because no one else is doing it, you’ll rank.
Step 2 — Convert traffic into leads
Visitors fill a simple form:
“Get 3 freight quotes for your shipment → enter email + container details.”
Step 3 — Sell leads to forwarders
Simple pricing:
- $10–$50 per lead
- $500–$1,000/month subscriptions
- Or even retainers for exclusive territories
You become the “freight quote machine.”
No operations.
No logistics headaches.
Just SEO + lead selling.
This alone could be a six-figure business.
Idea #2 — A Commodity Job Newsletter
A job board for commodity roles…
but packaged as a newsletter.
I built one before — KOJobs — and it exploded quickly.
Why it works:
- Commodity jobs are spread across 20–30 sites.
- Commodity recruiters have big budgets.
- People are ALWAYS curious about jobs (even when employed).
Monetization
Two easy revenue streams:
- Ads — IT vendors, risk systems, trading software, training programs
- Recruiters paying to promote roles or access segmented subscriber lists
Recruiters in this industry earn huge commissions,
so they happily spend money to find the right candidates.
Growth Strategy
I literally grew KOJobs by:
- Creating fake LinkedIn accounts
- Connecting with thousands of commodity people
- Automatically sending: “Hey, we launched a commodity job newsletter — want in?”
Tools like PhantomBuster automate everything.
Effort? Annoying.
Results? Huge.
If I had time, I’d still run this.
But I don’t.
You should.
Idea #3 — Selling Lists of Verified Importers & Exporters
(The “dark” idea. Lucrative but questionable karma.)
Let me be honest:
This idea works.
But it preys on clueless brokers… so think twice.
You basically sell:
👉 Excel lists of verified buyers/importers/exporters
for specific commodities.
Example:
- “Verified copper cathode buyers – 2024”
- “Legit sugar importers in MENA”
- “Top ammonia buyers Europe”
These lists come from real customs data.
You collect the HS code, connect to databases like Vujis, and extract all companies that genuinely import the product.
Then you sell the list for $99–$299 on a small website.
Who buys them?
“Brokers” on LinkedIn who think:
“If I could just reach REAL buyers… I’d make millions.”
(They won’t — but they believe it.)
Search LinkedIn groups like “Copper Cathode Buyers”
and you’ll find thousands of comments from lost souls posting things like:
“LDC Zambia 18% discount available DM ME FAST”
That’s your market.
Again: it works.
But it’s dark.
Proceed at your own karmic risk.
Idea #4 — Shipping Document Templates (Huge Demand)
New exporters have NO idea what correct documents look like.
They Google:
- packing list sample
- certificate of origin template
- bill of lading sample
- phytosanitary certificate format
- certificate of conformity example
- draft commercial invoice
Most results are outdated, ugly, or wrong.
Create beautiful, clean, editable templates in Google Sheets, Excel, or Word.
Sell them on:
- Shopify
- Gumroad
- Etsy
- Your own website
Price: $5–$20 each.
This works because you solve a simple problem:
“I don’t want to look stupid or get rejected by the bank.”
Fear = conversions.
Traffic comes via SEO.
AI can help you generate tons of content around “What is a COO?”, “How to fill a BL?” etc.
Zero downside.
Easy to start.
Scales nicely.
Idea #5 — AI Commercial Assistant for Traders (The Future)
This one is the future of sales — and it WILL happen.
A lightweight AI assistant that connects to:
- Telegram
- CRM
- Slack
- Calendar
Every morning you ask:
“What follow-ups do I need to do today?”
And the AI answers:
- “Send contract draft to XYZ.”
- “Follow up with the buyer on shipment delay.”
- “Offer 500MT to ABC at $X.”
- “Reply to this WhatsApp message from last night.”
It can even:
- draft emails
- draft WhatsApp messages
- log data into CRM
- prepare reminders
- spot forgotten tasks
This will save hours per day for traders, brokers, forwarders, and sales teams.
Someone will build this.
Maybe it should be you.
Final Thoughts
The online space is brutally competitive.
But commodities + shipping?
Still underdeveloped. Still full of gaps.
These five ideas can all make money:
- Freight Forwarder Lead Gen
- Commodity Job Newsletter
- Verified Importer/Exporter Lists
- Shipping Document Templates
- AI Sales Assistant for Traders
Pick one.
Execute.
Ignore perfection.
Sell early.
Learn fast.
And when you make your first $10k, DM me.
I’m always happy to see ideas executed.
What other online business ideas should I explore?
Drop them below — I read everything.
Ciao.