I’m 68, Retired, and Still Building Multiple Streams of Income
Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon and other affiliate partners. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase through any of my affiliate links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
I retired because I was ready to stop working.
Apparently, nobody told me I wasn’t going to stop building.
Here I am at 68 with a blog, YouTube channels, Pinterest, an Amazon storefront, affiliate partnerships, Substack—and enough ideas floating around in my head to keep me busy for approximately the next 147 years.
And you know what?
I love it.
Lately I’ve been thinking more seriously about something I recently talked about in the VIP Room:
multiple streams of income.
Not because I’m sitting here making thousands of dollars from all of them.
I’m not.
Some are making a little money.
Some are growing.
Some are still experiments.
And at least one has currently made me exactly zero dollars.
Welcome to building something from scratch, baby.
Retirement Didn’t End My Curiosity
When I retired, I didn’t have some grand plan to become a content creator.
I started exploring.
I learned how to blog.
I started making YouTube videos.
I figured out Pinterest—or at least I’m figuring it out.
I became an Amazon Influencer.
I joined affiliate networks.
And somewhere along the way, I realized something:
I didn’t retire from wanting to see what I’m capable of.
That’s an important distinction.
Retirement gave me something I didn’t always have while I was working: the freedom to experiment.
Some experiments work.
Some flop.
Some take months before I know which one they’re going to be.
But I’m still curious enough to try.
Pinterest Just Hit 222,000 Impressions
One of my biggest experiments has been Pinterest.
I’ve been feeding that beast consistently.
Pins.
More pins.
Different titles.
Different images.
Blog posts.
YouTube videos.
Trying things, watching the numbers and learning what people respond to.
And in my latest 30-day numbers, Pinterest showed me this:
📌 222,000 impressions
🔥 17,000 engagements
👆 3,500 outbound clicks
❤️ 1,500 saves — up 911%
I’ll admit it.
Seeing 222K feels pretty damn good.
But from a business standpoint, that’s no longer the number I’m most interested in.
222K Impressions Are Nice. The 3,500 Clicks Matter More.
An impression means somebody had an opportunity to see my content.
An outbound click means somebody saw something I created and said:
“I want to know more.”
Then they left Pinterest and went somewhere I sent them.
That’s a big difference.
Because if I’m going to build income from this little online world I’m creating, eventually attention has to become action.
Those 3,500 outbound clicks tell me people are taking action.
Now I have to learn what happens next.
And that’s where things get interesting.
Traffic and Income Are Two Different Things
Pinterest is growing.
My content library is growing.
People are clicking.
And I’ve already started making some affiliate income through Amazon.
So naturally, I started wondering:
What happens if I build more than one income stream?
That’s one of the things I talked about in my recent VIP Room conversation.
I don’t want everything I’m building to depend on one platform or one source of income.
So I’ve started experimenting with additional affiliate relationships through Awin.
I’ve been accepted into programs.
I’m beginning to receive invitations from brands.
And now I’m learning which ones actually belong in the Gigi’s Unfiltered world.
But here’s the part I think is important to show you.
My Awin Earnings Right Now? $0.00.
Yep.
Zero.
At the time I’m writing this, my Awin dashboard shows:
17 tracked clicks.
0 transactions.
$0 commission.
💗 GIRL TRIBE DISCOUNT
Save 15% on EverProof
Use code GIGI15 at checkout.
Click the EverProof image above to shop.
I’m showing you that screenshot on purpose.
I don’t want to wait until something becomes successful and then come back and tell you how easy it was.
Because it isn’t always easy.
I’m figuring this out while I’m doing it.
And if I’m going to share the wins with you, I think I should share the zeros too.
Seventeen Clicks and Not One Damn Sale
I could look at 17 clicks and zero sales and decide:
“Well, that didn’t work.”
I’m not doing that.
Seventeen clicks isn’t enough information to tell me whether an affiliate partnership works.
But it does tell me something.
People clicked.
That’s the first step.
Now I need to learn which products my audience is interested in, what kind of content creates buying intent, which affiliate partners fit naturally and which ones don’t.
I’m starting to think of it as a simple path:
Traffic → Clicks → Sales → Commission
Right now, I’m somewhere between traffic and clicks.
And that’s okay.
Then Something Happened With EverProof
One of my first Awin relationships has been with EverProof, a company that makes leakproof underwear.
I’ve already talked openly about bladder leaks and some of those other wonderful little surprises nobody bothered to warn us about after 60.
So EverProof wasn’t a random product I had to figure out how to squeeze into Gigi’s Unfiltered.
It fit a conversation I was already having with women my age.
I’ve started sending some traffic their way.
No sales yet.
Then, while I was working on all of this, I received an email from EverProof.
They created a discount specifically for my readers and followers.
Girl Tribe, We’ve Got a Discount
If EverProof is something you’ve been considering, you can now use my code:
GIGI15
for 15% off your EverProof order.
And yes, because this is an affiliate relationship, I may earn a commission if you make a qualifying purchase through my affiliate link—at no additional cost to you.
But there’s another reason this little development excited me.
EverProof is also sending me product images specifically for use on my blog and Pinterest.
Now we’ve got ourselves an experiment.
I’m Going to Test This Instead of Guessing
This is where those Pinterest numbers become even more interesting.
Pinterest generated 3,500 outbound clicks in 30 days.
EverProof is giving me approved product imagery and a 15% Girl Tribe discount.
So instead of throwing affiliate links everywhere and hoping something happens, I’m going to test this intentionally.
I’ll be watching:
Do people click?
Does GIGI15 get used?
Does Pinterest send potential buyers?
Does a personal story work better than a product-focused pin?
Does the relationship eventually generate income?
I don’t know the answers yet.
That’s why it’s an experiment.
And I’ll tell you what happens.
Zeagoo Is Another Kind of Affiliate Relationship
I Was Wearing Zeagoo Before I Became an Affiliate
This is actually the Zeagoo top I wore for my 68th birthday. I bought and wore Zeagoo before I ever became one of their affiliates, which is one of the reasons this new partnership feels like such a natural fit for me.
🎂 The Zeagoo top I wore for my 68th birthday.
👉🏻Shop the Zeagoo top I’m wearing
That’s the kind of affiliate relationship I want to build—brands and products that were already part of my life before there was ever a commission attached to them.
I wasn’t introduced to Zeagoo because somebody offered me money. Their clothes were already hanging in my closet.
And if you’ve been following my Funeral to Boho reinvention, you know I’m experimenting with color, jewelry, boho clothing and figuring out what feels like me now.
Zeagoo fits naturally into that conversation.
You’ll be seeing more of them as I continue experimenting with my wardrobe, but just like every other affiliate relationship I’m building, I’m going to watch what happens.
Clicks. Sales. Conversions.
And most importantly:
Does my Girl Tribe actually care about it?
Amazon Is Still My Foundation
Amazon was my introduction to affiliate income, and it continues to be an important part of what I’m building.
My storefront lets me organize products that connect with the things I actually talk about—from boho clothing and jewelry to gardening, patio finds, coffee, Luna’s stuff and all the other pieces of my life that somehow become content.
👉🏻GIGI UNFILTERED FINDS – AMAZON STOREFRONT
I’ve already experienced that little thrill of seeing an Amazon commission come through.
Was it enough to retire on?
No.
Good thing I already retired.
But it mattered.
Because it showed me:
This can work.
Now I’m learning how to make it work better.
More Affiliate Invitations Doesn’t Mean More Yeses
Something else has started happening.
Companies are beginning to invite me into their affiliate programs.
At first, there’s a temptation to think:
“They want me! YES!”
But I’m learning that the better question is:
Does this company belong here?
I’m building Gigi’s Unfiltered around a handful of worlds:
Style After 60
Home & Patio
Gardening
Reinvention After 60
Life With Luna
If an affiliate partner naturally fits one of those areas, I’ll investigate it.
If I have to invent a reason to promote something?
I’m probably going to pass.
Your trust is worth more to me than collecting another affiliate logo.
Multiple Streams Doesn’t Mean Multiple Paychecks Overnight
People talk about multiple streams of income as though you turn on five little faucets and money starts pouring out of all of them.
That hasn’t been my experience.
One stream might make a little money.
Another might be producing traffic.
Another might be generating clicks but no sales.
Another might still be an idea scribbled in my notebook.
That’s okay.
The goal isn’t instant income from everything.
The goal is to build possibilities.
Then I watch.
I learn.
I adjust.
I put more effort into the things showing potential and stop wasting energy on things that don’t.
I’m 68. I’m Allowed to Be a Beginner.
That’s probably my favorite part of all of this.
I’m learning things at 68 that I didn’t know at 67.
Analytics.
SEO.
Pinterest.
Affiliate marketing.
Video.
Photography.
AI.
Website management.
And approximately fifteen other things that currently have 42 tabs open on my computer.
I don’t need to already know everything.
I’m allowed to be new at something.
I’m allowed to make mistakes.
I’m allowed to make $0.
I’m allowed to celebrate 222,000 impressions.
And I’m allowed to keep going.
If You’re Starting Later, Start Anyway
Maybe you’ve been thinking about starting something.
A blog.
A YouTube channel.
An Etsy shop.
Affiliate marketing.
A little side business.
Or something completely different.
Maybe you’re wondering whether you waited too long.
I can’t promise you it’ll make money.
I can’t tell you how quickly it’ll grow.
Hell, I can’t even tell you when my own 17 affiliate clicks are going to turn into a sale.
But I can tell you this:
You won’t find out what you’re capable of by waiting until you’re certain it’ll work.
I’m 68.
I’m retired.
Pinterest is showing me 222,000 impressions and 3,500 outbound clicks.
Awin is showing me 17 clicks and $0.00.
EverProof just handed my Girl Tribe a 15% discount code.
Zeagoo is sitting in my closet.
Amazon has already shown me that a small commission can become real money in my bank account.
These aren’t separate stories.
They’re multiple streams of income, all pieces of something I’m building.
Maybe six months from now, we’ll look back at these numbers and laugh.
Maybe I’ll discover one of these income streams isn’t worth pursuing.
Maybe one of them will surprise the hell out of me.
Either way, we’re going to know.
Because I’m going to keep trying.
Don’t let your age determine the size of your dreams.
And baby, don’t wait until everything is perfect.
You ain’t got time to wait.
Come Hang Out With Me in the VIP Room
I talk about these numbers—and what I’m learning from them—in my latest Gigi’s Unfiltered VIP Room conversation on YouTube.
If you’re building something after 60, thinking about starting, or just curious about whether this crazy little experiment of mine actually turns into something, come along.
I’ll keep showing you the numbers.
The growth.
The commissions.
And yes…
even the zeros.
We’re just getting started.
