Making money online and offline is hard either way, offline caps you depending on how much you can earn. Online is better because you're not capped and don't need a degree to earn 6-figures or more. You don't have to spend years or kiss the bosses ass to move up within the company ladder either to get promoted.
Making money online is difficult at first, but becomes easier once you've found your niche and are earning from it. Then all you need to do is scale from it.
I think making money online is the best route, especially after the pandemic as a lot of methods proved to be pandemic proof. Find something that's evergreen and that you enjoy that way it doesn't seem completely like work. If you do it strictly for the money, you won't have success for it because your patience won't be there. Like everyone else has said, the first few bucks are the hardest to make. Once you get past that line then everything else becomes easier.
I think the mentality is you need to want to be your own boss. Making money online and running your own business isn't for everybody, some people are better off being paid slaves for other people and are used to it and slightly comfortable, so you need to figure that part out too.
The way I look at YouTube is that it's actually great that you're doing extensive research because that's what it takes. When I first started earning from YouTube in 2012, I did research for months, but I was earning at the same time. I became obsessed with the research, but you have to take action though. You can do research, but start taking action right away and keep learning.
