Hey Owlets,
As the world turns to normal and tries to forget about the trauma of the last few years, it’s completely understandable to be missing the comforts that working from home brings. Whether you prefer being surrounded by creature comforts, appreciate being able to balance work and home responsibilities or simply enjoy an extra few minutes in bed in the morning thanks to not commuting, going back to the office can be a big shock. While a lot of companies are returning to a hybrid working policy, there are ways to pay the bills without needing to leave the house. From remote jobs to side hustles or starting a business, there a huge variety of ways to make money online - keep reading for a few ideas to get you started.
Finding a Remote Job:
How Easy is it? 10/10
How to Get Started:
One of the easiest ways to find a job that allows you to be fully remote is simply to keep an eye on job listings. While some companies have implemented a requirement to return the office, other businesses have chosen to embrace the change and offer permanent remote working. Jobs boards like Indeed have actually implemented a way to search for fully remote jobs only, and because it’s not location-dependent you could land your dream job without having to move to a big city.
Of course, being able to work remotely might be your biggest driver when looking for a new job, but don’t entirely rule out your current job if you like the company and your colleagues. Try discussing the potential for home working with your boss - if the company has allowed home working before or has a hybrid working policy, they may allow you to work remotely full time if you have a good enough reason.
Freelancing:
How Easy is it? 6/10
How to Get Started:
“Freelancer” seems to have become somewhat of a dirty word in recent years, thanks in part to scammy TikTok marketers promoting “work from anywhere” schemes that don’t actually exist or are impossible to get into.However, it’s entirely possible to be a full time freelancer, or even supplement your income with freelance work.
There are freelance opportunities to suit just about any talent/ Think about what you’ve been doing in your current job - there will likely be someone who wants to hire a freelancer to perform the same tasks. You could offer coaching services, social media marketing, administrative services, accounting, graphic design or even content writing. The options are endless, and there’s potential to turn your freelance career into a service-based business further down the line.
The quickest way to secure freelance jobs in the beginning is to join freelancing websites like Upwork or People Per Hour. The pay for a lot of jobs isn’t the best compared to what you’d get when finding clients direct, but it’s a great way to gain experience as you build your own client list - I’ve personally had a lot of repeat clients that have come from these websites.
Creating a Software as a Service Platform (SAAS):
How Easy is it? Debatable
How To Get Started:
SAAS businesses have become huge in recent years. With a good idea, great execution and on point marketing you could have a huge success on your hands. However, coming up with a great idea is only the start. It doesn’t have to be something revolutionary - it could just be something that makes you think “I can’t believe no one has done this before”.
So, why have I said the ease of getting started is debatable? Simply because there are so many variables. If you’re skilled at coding, great. Otherwise you’ll need to hire someone. Then there’s convincing people to actually use the product, not to mention all of the admin that goes along with a growing web-based service.
Starting a Blog:
How Easy is it to Get Started? 5/10
How to Get Started?
The internet seems to fall into three camps when it comes to blogging - the people that say it’s already over, the people who tout it as a get rich scheme and the people who’ve actually done it. Obviously you know where I fall there.
Blogging can be a great way to make money online, but it’s not a get rich quick scheme. Google’s own way of calculating a website’s worth takes into account the age of the website. It takes months or even years to build a following, rank in Google and build your brand. Having said that, building your own website can be a great way to ensure a long term income with a variety of ways to diversify and an element of passive income. If you’re willing to put the work in then it’s sure to pay off - just don’t expect it to happen overnight.
How To Market Your New Venture:
One of the most important things to consider when working towards the launch of your new venture is how you’re going to tell people about it. After all, if no one knows about you then how would they know to hire you? Think about all of the different ways that you could find someone - it could be through a Google search, on freelancing platforms, through social media, word of mouth or even LinkedIn. Here are a few important methods to consider.
Create a Strong Website with Great SEO -
Building a great website is imperative to the success of your business, as is implementing the proper techniques to ensure your site appears in web searches. For a simple but eye-catching website you can use a pre-built template available on a variety of websites either for free or for a small fee. They’re not very unique and don’t offer many opportunities for personalisation, but they’re a quick way to get started. For a more unique website, consider contracting a web builder to create a bespoke website that perfectly fits your needs.
While user experience is important, getting your website content right is also vital. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of making your website searchable with the aim that it will appear in Google. Good SEO starts with answering your target customers’ questions, using keywords and generating conversations that will encourage well known websites to link back to you.
Sales Funnels -
Sales funnels are a really important mechanism to employ when your business involves selling a product or service. Sales funnels answer all of your customer queries while directing them to complete a sale; if you’ve ever signed up to an email list in order to access a discount or free product then you’ve experienced a sales funnel. Once someone signs up for the freebie or reads an article on your website, you should have an automated sales funnel ready to capture the traffic and convert readers into customers. There are lots of services that you can use which will set up the sales funnel for you, and this is by far the easiest way to boost sales.
If you’re planning to create a full time business out of your website then consider headless commerce website development. Headless commerce is where what the customer sees (the front end) and what you need to access (the back end) are separated. This looks much more professional - think ASOS or Boohoo rather than a Shopify website which is often branded and offers a login section. Utilising headless commerce website design also allows you to personalise the backend of your website, allowing you to set up automation processes and introduce third party tools that might not necessarily be supported by e-commerce tools.
Social Media Marketing -
Finally, social media marketing is hugely important to master if you want to create a successful business. Whether it’s an e-commerce website, an SaaS platform or a blog, social media marketing is one of the best ways to reach new customers and interact with existing fans of your brand.
There are lots of different ways to interact with potential customers- most people offer a mix of entertaining and educational posts, which encourages people to share your content. Sharing posts that start conversation are an excellent way to build a community, and if you’re a business then sharing testimonials from previous customers are a great way to bring in more customers.
Final Thoughts -
There are so many ways to make money online, and while scammy TikTok accounts will make it feel easy it’s not. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible - you can absolutely make money online but it takes time and effort. Put time into researching the methods of making money online that appeal to you, and then work on getting started. You’ll make mistakes to begin with, but there are likely so many people that have been where you are now and are happy to share tips and information to make your life easier. Sign up for courses, read blogs and eventually you’ll find a path that works for you. Good luck!!!
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