You Must Generate More Income
Throughout the country you keep hearing of companies cutting employees to save on costs. You also have heard multiple times over the past few years that we all need to learn how to budget our money better.
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Although both of these are true, another reality is that one can only cut so much based on the money they have coming in. For all the hate we’ve been showing against the banking industry lately in retrospect they have the right idea. They keep trying to come up with new revenue streams to offset their losses. Sure, we hate their ideas, but at least they’re trying. And we have to try on our own to generate more income as well.
The simple solution is to tell everyone to get part time jobs but that’s not necessarily the best option. If you have kids do you really want to be away from the house all the time? Also, it can be tiring; sure, one must do what one must do but are there other options available?
Actually yes there are, and it’s within each person to try to figure out what other options they have. In essence, every person has a skill that someone else might be willing to pay them for, or a talent that can help them produce something they might be able to sell.
I’m currently reading the book The Barefoot Executive by Carrie Wilkerson, and in it she talks about many people she’s helped mentor over the last 4 or 5 years in helping them figure out both ways to make extra money and ways to actually get their businesses to take off so that some of those people are self sufficient.
I hear you now, ‘what can I do’? Here are 5 general ideas of things to think about:
1. Teaching. Teaching is probably the number one thing to look at because, as I said, everyone has a skill that someone else wants to learn. You can either set up a coaching course, create ebooks on your subject, or advertise to do direct teaching.
2. Sell stuff. Who saw the guest post on making money on eBay? Two weeks ago my wife and I ran into a guy that was buying up lots of one particular product at the Dollar Store. He said that he sold them on eBay for $10 and was making a killing because people loved these things yet didn’t know they could be had for much cheaper. It’s not a scam; this is what retail marketing is all about.
3. Freelance writing. If you can write on certain subjects there are people willing to pay you for your knowledge. They’re always the easiest people to find but if you can find them it can put some nice dollars into your pocket.
4. Consulting. This is different than teaching because you’re going in to help tweak an operation rather than starting from scratch. You can’t get away with this in all industries because of proprietary information, but the overwhelming majority of fields have no restrictions on your sharing thought knowledge. And by the way, who says you have to consult in something you do that you’re presently employed for?
5. Repairs. Do you have special talents for repairing certain things? Maybe you know a lot about computers that you could help others with. Maybe you’re an electrician or an engineer who knows how to fix home appliances. Or maybe you’re someone who knows how to fix lawn mowers and the like. There never seems to be enough people who know how to fix things when you need them.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Mitch Mitchell
This post has 23 comments
November 10th, 2011
Nice post! You’re right. There are many income generating opportunities out there. It only depends on your creativity, skills and perseverance if you’ll make it big or not.
November 10th, 2011
Thanks Tony. I don’t want to kid anyone into thinking it’s easy, but opportunities are definitely out there.
November 10th, 2011
Everything can generate income nowadays.. It all depends on the level of creativity one has.. And the more “unique” it is, the more customers would want to try it..
sandraw2580 recently posted…surgical
November 10th, 2011
That’s true Sandrew, although it could still be hard to market if it’s too far from tradition.
November 11th, 2011
Hey Mitch, I agree with everything you wrote. I just don’t know how to get into teaching or consulting. Since I have absolutely no experience in those fields, I feel like I don’t have the right to.
Allen recently posted…Gmail Backup Software
November 12th, 2011
Allen, there has to be something you know that you can do. Heck, you write a blog after all, so there’s a start.
November 12th, 2011
I agree with the types of additional income that one can generate, but it depends so much on the individual. There are many, like myself, who are hustlers, and will look for ways to generate income. Others, who lack initiative, usually sit back and wait for a job to come to them. With so many jobs being eliminated, it sometimes is good to retrain for another field. I did that myself many years ago and it paid off quite well. Good post.
Gustav recently posted…E File Tax Returns
November 12th, 2011
Thanks Gustav. I can’t classify myself as a true hustler, though I do dabble in a lot of different things. I probably need to be more aggressive on this front myself, but I do okay so far.
November 13th, 2011
Hi Mitch, many moms are now into the work-at-home jobs which they really like because aside from the convenience that they are at home, they can also take care of their children and loved-ones. I think, that’s the most convenient way of getting more income nowadays. 🙂
November 14th, 2011
Emilia, if you wouldn’t mind answering this question, what do you think the top 3 things are that work at home moms do that actually make good money?
November 13th, 2011
I have tried selling my stuff to earn more income. I did it on Ebay and I was glad I did it because I have generated more than what I expected. I sold old things and stuffs and even friends would allow me to sell their items provided that I get a little profit from it. 🙂
Minerva recently posted…Updated Park City Real Estate Stats
November 14th, 2011
Good deal Minerva. What happened when you run out of stuff? lol
November 13th, 2011
There are a lot of ways to diversify your income streams. It’s always a good idea to find different sources of income. Even things as simple of finding as investing your money should be explored. You can sell stuff online as you suggest, start exploring e-commerce, start up a blog, there are a ton of ways, like you say, to diversify your income streams.
Richard recently posted…My Lending Club Investment Performance
November 14th, 2011
There are lots of different ways, Richard, but of course all of them involve figuring out how to drive people to you as well.
November 13th, 2011
Hi Mitch,
Good ideas. The thing is, when you think about it, there are just so many different ways one can earn extra money these days, thanks to the internet.
But like you mentioned in your reply to Tony, its juts not as easy as most people would like to believe it is. It takes work to make money. Thanks.
Satrap recently posted…Ways to Make Money on the Side
November 14th, 2011
Yes it does Satrap, work and time. For every person that makes money the first week, there are thousands that take a few months to make even a few dollars.
November 14th, 2011
I think everything can generate income nowadays.. It all depends on the level of creativity and originality one has.. And the more “unique” it is, the more customers would want to try it..
Isabella recently posted…How To Improve Fertility
November 14th, 2011
As long as one can figure out how to market it Isabella there’s probably a market for it. The hope is that there’s a big enough market to make real money from.
November 16th, 2011
Getting more income for mom out there is to work at home… There are several moms engaging in working at home on web. They can benefit to earn and at the same time have their precious time with their kids.
CorinneC recently posted…My Diet Ideas
November 22nd, 2011
Makes perfect sense. I am fed up of hearing people moaning how there are not jobs avilable and this that company are not treating them right.
There are tons of ways out there to make a living on the internet. I have in the past earned money from selling books online, consulting remotely, web development, blog writing even setting up facebook groups and twitter for people – the list goes on an on…
I still work full-time but I know that if my job was taken away I can still survive by an income online.
November 28th, 2011
Hi, Mitchell:
Generating more income is the only way the middle class is going to survive this incredibly harsh time we are facing.
On my About page, I pontificate (briefly) on middle class values and how we need to do our part to survive – and thrive. Have a look.
http://www.frugalquack.com/about-us
Cheers!
Missy recently posted…Cyber Monday: Dell Vostro Desktop PC With 19 Inch Monitor Only $349
November 30th, 2011
This post is awesome, it generates lots ideas. Because it’s true that we should or we must have options on how to generate additional income.
olivia34newton recently posted…1300 numbers
December 12th, 2011
love the ideas! i think everyone nowadays are looking for a great opportunity to earn extra income.
Ethel recently posted…Black mold health risks you might not know