When people talk about “starting over,” they usually picture someone in their 20s changing careers, not a 69-year-old man with a mortgage, dogs, and a full calendar. But that’s exactly who Neal Fine is.

For 26 years, he worked in advertising & sales, bringing millions in revenue to his company by selling print and digital real estate ads. On paper, it sounded impressive. In reality, he knew he needed a change. One day he looked at his bank account and saw the same thing many of us see:

• A good, steady job
• A decent paycheck
• And still… that paycheck-to-paycheck feeling

No real safety cushion. No retirement confidence. Neal didn’t like that picture.

He didn’t want to spend his 70s worrying about money, or taking part-time shifts just to bring in a little extra. He wanted a different kind of side hustle – one that could grow into a real exit plan from his corporate job.

So he went looking for it and found a way to turn $800 into almost $20,000. How? Keep reading to learn more!

Trial and error

Neal is a very energetic person. He goes to the gym, walks two miles with his dog, lives in a buzzing community in California, and still works full time in sales.

Like a lot of people, he’d been thinking about starting an online business for years. So he tried what felt simplest to him. He’s a sales manager, so he went with affiliate marketing.

He launched a ClickBank website promoting back-pain solutions. It made sense – popular niche, proven products, familiar model.

In practice, it flopped.

There was just too much competition. A hundred sites selling the same thing.

He wasn’t building an asset. He was just another URL in a crowd of clones. The traffic didn’t come, and neither did the sales. Neal was understandably frustrated.

He didn’t give up, though – but he knew he needed something more solid. That’s when someone very important stepped in.

“My wife actually found Sellvia for me”

Neal’s wife is 16 years younger than he is, and as he jokes, “she’s the adult in the family.”

While he was dabbling in different side hustles, she was the one who discovered Sellvia. She found the offer, booked a call with a business advisor herself, and they got on the call together. By the end of that conversation, Neal was motivated.

In his words, Sellvia didn’t sound like just “another hustle” – it’s an actual system:

• A ready-made online store
• Products sourced and pre-loaded for him
• Automation for fulfillment and a big chunk of the marketing
• Real people he could talk to, not just another course to watch at midnight.

He didn’t want to become a tech expert or learn code. He wanted something that fit into his life, not something that took it over. He got exactly what he wanted.

Year one: $800 and a slow start

Neal is very honest about his journey. The first year didn’t look like sunshine and unicorns.

He started in April 2024 with a different domain name and no automated ads yet. He kept working his full-time sales job, figuring things out as he went. By the end of that first phase, his store had done around $800 in sales.

Not life-changing, but enough to see the potential.

Sellvia ads changed everything

Later on, Sellvia introduced something that changed Neal’s trajectory: automated advertising. Instead of trying to become a Facebook Ads specialist from scratch, Neal let Sellvia’s team handle the heavy lifting. He turned on the automated ads, he gave the system some time, and the results were completely different.

Sales went from that early $800 to about $18,450 – and he was already on track to hit $19,000 in just a few days. His new goal? $25,000 in sales by the end of the year.

At the same time:

• Buyers began spending not just $8-9, but $30 on average.
• He set a new target: push that up to $60-80 per order so every sale hits harder.
• He reinvested profits back into ads, SEO, and content – like a real business owner, not just a hobbyist.

Neal doesn’t describe himself as “crushing it.” He says, very calmly:

I’m only at about 25% of where I want to be. But I feel like I’m on the right track.

From zero to nearly $20,000 in sales with a full-time job and no technical background? That’s what “right track” looks like.

What Sellvia actually does for Neal

It’s easy to say “Sellvia helped” – but what does that mean in practice?

For Neal, it looks like this:

• Turnkey setup
  Sellvia’s team built his website, connected everything, and helped him choose products. Today, he has 20,000+ items in his catalog – from drones and high-end furniture to pet products.
• Automated ads that actually work
  He joined Sellvia’s advertising program, where the team creates and runs campaigns for him. He turns ads on for a week or two, waits for the profits, then reinvests. His results really took off after joining this program.
• SEO and content that bring extra sales
  He ordered backlink packages (200–300 backlinks) and blog postings. Just the blog posts alone have already brought in 127 sales and $638+ in revenue – and they keep working in the background.
• Hands-free social media
  Sellvia is now launching and posting on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for him for two full months. After that, Neal plans to take over with a simple daily posting routine.
• A growth manager he actually trusts
  His manager, Andrew, isn’t a pushy salesman. Neal calls him calm, knowledgeable, and genuinely on his side. It’s actually true. We’re on your side because Sellvia’s success depends on our clients’ success.
• Real support, not “you’re on your own”
  If Neal has questions, he doesn’t disappear into a forum. He emails, has video calls, and gets answers.

And that’s the whole point: Sellvia doesn’t just give you a login and say “good luck” – it gives you a team and a structure.

The real win: $12,000 of debt gone

The numbers are nice. But the part that actually changed Neal’s life is quieter. He has already paid off around $12,000 in credit card debt thanks to his store.

His goal now is:

• Pay off all his personal debt in the next 1-2 years
• Grow his store to a level where he can leave his corporate job and work for himself
• Then, smoothly step into managing his wife’s Sellvia store as well – and soon be running a matching pair of strong online businesses.

For someone who once felt like “just a working stiff” after 26 years at the same company, that’s a massive shift.

And he still has time for his life

One of the most important parts of Neal’s story:

• He didn’t trade his life for this business.
• He still works remotely in advertising.
• He still walks his dogs.
• He still goes to the gym.
• He still enjoys his 55+ community, where, in his words, his social life has never been better.

Sellvia handles fulfillment, shipping, and product sourcing. Neal focuses on:

• Watching his ad budget
• Approving and processing orders
• Learning, step by step, how to post and promote on social media

That’s not passive income. But it also isn’t a second full-time job. It’s a scalable system that grows with him.

It keeps you active. It gives you purpose.

You can aim for “a couple of thousand dollars a month” or “several thousand” – both are realistic.

In a world where AI and layoffs make traditional jobs feel shaky, Neal’s online store is his plan B that’s slowly turning into a plan A. And he’s only at 25%.

If you see yourself in Neal

Neal’s situation is one that many of us can relate to:

• Those who don’t want to rely only on their employer
• Those who want a business that can grow while they live their lives
• Who wants support, not another lonely hustle.

That’s what Sellvia gave him:

• A ready store, automation, a real team, and a clear path to turn effort into results.

And his advice to anyone thinking about it?

“Don’t be intimidated. You’re not alone in doing this… you have all the support you need. You can make money – so just go for it.”

START FOR FREE