Keeping it Simple: Start with Extra Income

There are too many income opportunity programs that claim to help people quit their jobs and make a gazillion dollars in one months time. And they can do this all but hitting a single button.

There's yet another tier of legitimate programs that can work if you are willing to put forth the effort. Do it long enough and do it right, and you could actually live the dream of not having to work for someone else any longer.

But why not simply focus on creating some extra income for yourself? This relieves the burden of trying to "make it". You still need to work. But there's certainly no reason why you can't make it happen.

Even if you are only doing for some extra income, there are methods to be learned. Otherwise, you'll be trying all kinds of crazy programs that are doomed to fail right from the start. Learn it right the first time and it will keep you away from all the proverbial snake oil salesmen.​ I'll get to how to learn the principles later.

Who Couldn't Use Extra Income?

Most of us could really use the extra income. With corporations slashing salaries, and even worse bonuses, it's nice to know that it is possible to create an extra source of income.

Taking the Pressure Off

By concentrating on earning extra income rather than trying to build a mega business, you continue to work in your job and you work to build a solid foundation that can bring you that extra money. Do it right and that income stream can become steady. I have several income streams that are bringing small but steady extra income.​

My goal is to eventually build those steady income streams so they are no longer small.

Managing Time Could Be a Struggle

Hey, I get it. We're all busy. There's work and then if you've got kids you want to spend time with them. Then you have your household duties that you need to keep up with. But it's all about priorities. If you start something now that has the potential to earn a steady stream of income six months from now, that can help you motivate to take appropriate action.

It's about taking small but consistent steps. Suppose you created a blog that is going to be the engine that generates that extra cash. You need to update that blog on a consistent basis in order for readers to take it seriously. If you really don't have time, than outsource it. Think of that as an investment.

If you can't afford to outsource it than create the content yourself in the beginning until you start making income and then use that income to outsource to free yourself up. Everyone can chunk out 15 to 20 minutes once every other day or so. It's about scheduling and committing. Focus on what it has the potential to bring you and that should help with the motivation.​

Getting It Right the First Time

I stated earlier on that it is really necessary to learn how to create an online business so that you are not subject to all the noise that surrounds doing this. First you'll need to figure out what type of business you want to create.

Here is a list of some of the major types of businesses that can be easily started online:​

This list is by no means exhaustive and people have found creative ways to get paid online.

Become an Author

Amazon has opened the floodgates for the average person to become an author. Many other book outlets are following Amazon's lead. If you have the motivation and are willing to put in the work, this can be a great way to earn passive income. The more assets you have on these platforms, the more potential you have to consistently earn.

I have written seven books and published them on several of the book selling outlets. Amazon is the biggest player but is not the only game in town. I do get sales from these other outlets. If you think you cannot publish a book, you are wrong. What stopped people in the past was traditional publishers. Self publishing via Amazon and these others have broken down those barriers.​

Publish Your Own Magazine

Smart devices have created a mega market for digital magazines. People crave content. Creating your own magazine with paying subscribers is an obvious way to bring in extra income.​ If you're not sure what to write about, consider your hobbies, or that of your kids. Make it a family project, etc.

Create an Online Store

For me, this is my least favorite because it takes the most amount of work and has the smallest chance of bringing in a return. Unless you have some kind of specialized product line and that line is in demand, it is really tough to sell against Amazon, Walmart, and other big name chains. But this option is available to those that can weather the retail storm.​

Amazon's Sales Programs

I wrote an article about the various sales programs that exist on Amazon.​ The link opens in another page if you'd like to take a look at it. The programs range from getting paid to include links on your website to sending your products to Amazon and letting them handle the order processing for you. The article gives pros and cons of each to help you determine which one is right for you (if any). I do encourage you to check it out.

Sell on eBay

The online auction craze isn't what it used to be. However, eBay still generates a lot of sales. In recent years they started catering to sellers that do volume, which is counter to the whole reason they existed in the first place. You can still sell as an individual but it isn't as easy to do as it once was. Perhaps that is a good thing for the consumer.

I haven't used the platform in quite some time (other than to compare prices of products). But it could be something to look into.​

Create a Blog or Website

With the advent of Content Management Systems (like WordPress), it is relatively easy to set up a blog these days. The traditional website construct is still possible. But you will need to know how to code in HTML and CSS. And you need any kind of functionality on your website you will have to use programming languages like JavaScript or PHP (or some other server side scripting language).

My suggestion is to stick with ​CMS solutions and specifically, WordPress. Why? Because it is well supported and has more add on features than any other CMS. It is much easier to get help using WordPress because the majority of sites using CMS are using WordPress.

How Does WordPress Help?

Going forward in this article, if you are using some other CMS, just substitute the word WordPress for your solution, i.e., Joomla, etc.​

WordPress frees you from having to worry about the design and coding of your website. You can simply produce content. By doing this consistently, you can build a following of readers. When that happens you can more easily make money from that following.

Graphic Design

If you are good at graphic design, your skills are always in demand. Whether it be a quick hit on fiverr or a more long term gig on sites like eLance.com or odesk, you will never be want for work in this field. It does take some selling but once you get established, you should be able to find repeat buyers which is the key to success with this.

Content Writer

Content marketing is becoming huge and people either don't have the time to do themselves or they are not very good at it. So either they won't produce the content they need for their websites to rank or what they do produce is low quality.

If you have a knack for writing, you can fill in for either of these types of people. You'll need to produce quality work however. That's what will make you earn your money. This too has the potential for repeat customers. Again, that is how you make a living from this type of work.

Another way to make this work (and actually free up your time) is to find your own outsourcing group that you trust can produce quality work. When your clients request content written from you, simply assign it to one of the outsourcing staff that you have accumulated. You just have to make sure that you charge your clients more than you pay your outsourcing staff. You simply keep the difference. This is the ultimate way to make money with content!​