Unexpected -- and brilliant -- ways these people made tons of money

We all dream about inventing the next best thing, making tons of money, and packing our bags for an early retirement in Belize. But we rarely act on it. Some people wait for some kind of epiphany, that brilliant and extraordinary idea that no one would ever conceive that will lead to a real hit. But the key just might be to dumb it down a bit.
 
People all over the Internet are coming up with brilliant – but simple -- ideas and making a lot of money doing it.
 
YouTube Millionaire
 
What do you think are the hottest YouTube channels? It’s not make-up tutorials by PixiWoo or videogamer PewDiePie. One of the highest-earning YouTubers right now is a mysterious faceless toy whisperer who goes by the name of DisneyCollectorBR. Her videos fall into a category known as “unboxing,” and she never reveals her face or identity in her videos. She begins each one in a soft childlike voice by saying, “Hey guys, Disney Collector here. Today I’m going to show you…”, and then goes on to carefully open the box that houses a brand-new toy. (Think unveiling combined with an online product review.) Her most-watched video, in which she unwrapped an Angry Birds toy of plastic eggs holding tiny trinkets, has over 100 million views. She’s a big hit with children and their parents (for some reason), the channel’s target audience. According to Social Blade, which tracks social media data, DisneyCollectorBR, which has more than 4.7 million subscribers, generates an estimated $1 million a year on the low end and $16.3 million at the high end.

Cat Memes
 
Taking a picture of your overweight cat and adding a silly caption – now the most basic formula for Internet LOLZ – is pretty much what made Eric Nakagawa and Kari Unebasami millionaires. One of the original cat memes started when Kari (aka Tofu burger) sent Eric (aka Cheezburger) a photo of a fat cat which she captioned, “I can has cheezburger?” in an attempt to cheer him up. The photo went viral and they launched Cheezburger.com where readers can submit their own funny pics. In 2007, the site was sold to entrepreneur Ben Huh for $2 million. Cheezburger.com now has more than 40 employees, more than 18,000 daily submissions, 16 million unique visitors, and rakes in seven-figures.
 
Insta-Star
 
Australian fashion Instagrammer and blogger Sara Donaldson could quit her day job and live on her blog income alone. Donaldson goes by @harperandharley on Instagram, where she has over 296,000 followers who come to see photos of her travels and chic outfits. By day she is a sales and marketing manager for the jewelry line ManiaMania. Thanks to Donaldson’s large following, she has been able to work with fashion lines like of Gucci and Swarovski. She told Cosmopolitan magazine: “I could support myself on my blog income, but I love my job. And it’s important to have something to fall back on just incase anything goes bust. I don’t want to be a washed up blogger at 26!” Besides her day job salary, Donaldson brings in $50,000-$100,000 a year.  
 
Mommy blogger
 
Heather Armstrong is known as the OG (original gangster) of mommy bloggers. Since 2001 Armstrong has written about her kids, her husband, and her daily life in her blog Dooce. She told NYMag.com, “I honestly just thought no one would ever read it.” Armstrong has been a success story which estimated monthly earnings between $30,000 and $50,000. New York Times has called her “The Queen of the Mommy Bloggers” and Forbes has listed her No. 26 Most Influential Women in Media in 2009.
 
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