I am not one for doom and gloom, and in particular I think a lot of the financial skepticism is overbaked in an effort for the media to sell more newspapers and garner more viewers.
That said, I am also not naive enough to think that it is all hype, the signs are all around us that people and business are worried, struggling and looking for solutions. At first we were told that the UK was well placed to ride out the storm, now they are saying we could go the way of Iceland and even that the UK PLC could go bankrupt. I don’t think it will get to that, but better to have a Plan B, eh?
Could making an income online be a way for you to protect your family lifestyle?
Business folks often talk about diversification and spreading risk. If the whole of your household cash comes from one or two sources, located in one geographical area, your risk of having that money taken away is greater. Adding another source of funds outside of your primary pay packet could be a wise move. If you find you don’t need it, then you have a nice bonus.
We know earning at least a partial income online is possible. The Blog Herald is staffed with people who make their living online. Lorelle even makes her living all over the world in a kind of 21st century nomadic kind of approach. If we can make our whole income online, surely you can make a grocery bill, or your mortgage or rent payment?
I’m not just talking about blogging to sell advertising, although that is obviously one option. Look at Freelance Blog Writing as one alternative. While the initial pay might not be exciting, it can work up to a good income, and has a low barrier to entry with hardly any overheads – if you are reading this you likely have everything you need. Check out Freelance Writing Gigs for more information about what kind of work is on offer.
More and more bloggers and webmasters are hiring editors, both to correct their text and also to manage the sites to stop housekeeping becoming a full-time job. If you have an eye for detail and are organized, that role could be well matched for you.
If you have skills other than writing, there are tons of opportunities for virtual assistants. programmers, designers, project managers. Networking will gain you better rates than the Elance/Rentacoder type sites, but if this is a side job then you will likely be able to accept a lower rate of pay while you build up a portfolio.
There are a variety of ways that you can gain a fresh income through the web, but some take longer or more investment than others. You might consider writing an ebook, but keep in mind that most people underestimate the work involved in creating a product from scratch. Before launching your own product, test the market as an affiliate.
I obviously make money through writing, consulting, selling books, and my Authority Blogger online course, and thankfully the work comes to me rather than me having to go hunt for it, but I had to take time to get those streams of income working.
Every opportunity I mention above can be helped greatly by having your own blog and making yourself social on at least Twitter, but if you have the time maybe other social sites too. Get yourself known for having something valuable to offer and people will be much more likely to pay you and pay you well.
The main thing is if you are worried about what the future might hold, better to put something in place now rather than when you actually need it!
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments …
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