Thomas De Maesschalck blog

17-year old girl makes up to $70,000 a month with MySpace site

ashley_qualls.jpgFast Company published a fairly long article in the September edition of their magazine about the 17-year old Ashley Qualls.

This girl runs a MySpace layout and graphics site called Whateverlife. I never heard about this site before but she seems to be doing amazingly well, according to the article the three-year old site receives 7 million unique visitors and 60 million page views a month and this earns her up to $70,000 a month. Most of this revenue seems to come through Google AdSense and ValueClick.


At 17 going on 37 (at least), Ashley is very much an Internet professional. In the less than two years since Whateverlife took off, she has dropped out of high school, bought a house, helped launch artists such as Lily Allen, and rejected offers to buy her young company. Although Ashley was flattered to be offered $1.5 million and a car of her choice–as long as the price tag wasn’t more than $100,000–she responded, in effect, Whatever. 🙂 “I don’t even have my license yet,” she says.

Ashley is evidence of the meritocracy on the Internet that allows even companies run by neophyte entrepreneurs to compete, regardless of funding, location, size, or experience–and she’s a reminder that ingenuity is ageless. She has taken in more than $1 million, thanks to a now-familiar Web-friendly business model. Her MySpace page layouts are available for the bargain price of…nothing. They’re free for the taking. Her only significant source of revenue so far is advertising.

I already knew that MySpace related sites can bring in a lot of money but this story amazed me, the kind of money she’s pulling in from this site is stunning. Looks like I’m in the wrong niche lol

You can read the full story over here. One of the funny things is that a court ruled in January that neither Ashley nor her parents are allowed to manage her finances:

Until she turns 18, next June, a court-appointed conservator is controlling Whateverlife’s assets; Ashley must request funds for any expense outside the agreed-upon monthly budget.

The arrangement, she says, affects her ability to react in a volatile industry. “It’s not like I’m selling lemonade,” she says. Besides, it’s her company. If she wants to contract developers or employ her mother, Ashley says, why shouldn’t she be able to do it without the conservator’s approval?

So the teenager has hired a lawyer. She wants to emancipate herself and be declared an adult. Now. At 17. Why not just sit tight until June? The girl trying to grow up fast can’t wait that long.

Thomas De Maesschalck

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104 responses to “17-year old girl makes up to $70,000 a month with MySpace site”

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  7. I find it appalling that a court appointed conservator is in charge of her assets….how is this possible? fuck the system.

  11. sonny said: I find it appalling that a court appointed conservator is in charge of her assets….how is this possible? fuck the system.——————————————————————————————
    It’s a science fact, that many of the average teen’s decisions are driven more by emotions, than by their intellect. So, the laws are there to protect you, the average teen. The same laws are holding back the brilliant Ashley Qualls, but As intelligent as she is, I’m sure she understands the limits the government places on pre adult entrepreneurs. Her money is in the bank and will soon be put to good usr.

  14. Thats really cool, good for her. I didn’t realize AdSense paid so well, she must have tons of traffic though, what a great niche and situation to be in. :worship:

  15. *Stumbler passing through*

    Hi, good story! Well done to her, if she keeps it together she’ll be well on her way when she hits 18!

  16. Thank you government for your kindness. :worship: If she generates the revenue and isn’t ripping people off whats the problem? What kind of corrupt judge puts something like that in place. That ticks me off.

  20. Wow. What a smart girl. Proud of her, she don’t need no one to control her money, she have her own brain and better one. :thumbs:

  26. It goes to show that a good idea and some luck is all it takes to make it big. You don’t need to be a big business with huge backing to carve out a niche in this internet. 🙂

  29. Indeed the link above tries to download a virus. Don’t click it if your pc doesn’t have a virus protection.

  33. It’s a shame she quit school, however. Making money isn’t everything – without an expanded mind that appreciates things beyond money, what a bore soemone can become!

  37. And what if she’s fat?
    Great inspiring story 🙂 I stumbled your story also since it’s definitely a ‘thumbs up’ story. Hope that it can inspire more people.

  40. 😯 I thought Adsense had a cap of no more than a certain amount per month, far below that $70,000. Hmm research cometh. 😆

  43. hmmm, I would like more details on how she makes her 70,000…There is a WC Fields dialogue in a film where a kid asks MR Fields how he started…He says when I cam to this town I had nothing but the clothes I wore and the sack on my back….What was in the sack says the kid….OH , Fieilds says…..about 100, 000 dollars!

  44. Smart move on the part of the judge! This girl dropped out of school to design free myspace layouts? It’s cool that she made that much by using AdSense and Valueclick, but it’s not like she has some great life skill now. Why is this being described as a business? And what kind of moronic parents allow their 17 year old to drop out of school for something like this? I think it’s obvious why the judge assigned a conservator.

  48. stumbled here, this girl had a great idea and saw potential in what has grown to be a huge social network.
    @joel, there are a ton of successful people who dropped out of school, as long as she doesn’t complain about it then i support that

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