Listeners of my podcast know I have yet another free eBook coming out within the next couple weeks: 5 Paths to an Online Income. In that book I walk you step by step through various ways I’ve made a living online: self-publishing, podcasting, and more.
In the meantime, here are three good ideas to start with.
(1) Zapable. I know absolutely nothing about building mobile apps for local businesses, and chances are, neither do you. Thanks to Zapable, that doesn’t matter. All around your town are local businesses that would love a mobile app, but think they need millions of dollars in volume to afford one. Meanwhile, Zapable makes the process easy, and you can add tons of neat features any business would love. Check out the demo videos on their site. It really is that easy.
A local, non-franchise restaurant could take reservations and take-out orders through an app. A bar could send out messages to all app users to alert them when they’re having a 2-for-1 drink special.
They’ll definitely stand out, and they’ll almost certainly earn higher profits.
My eldest daughter is only 12. If she were a few years older, I’d encourage her to consider going into business with her dad, designing mobile apps for local businesses using Zapable. This would teach her that the correct posture in the 2015 economy is not to sit around hoping someone will hire you. It is to make your own opportunities.
Think of the benefits.
- She’d acquire a marketable skill.
- She’d gain self-confidence.
- She’d understand entrepreneurship.
- She’d have a sense of accomplishment.
- She’d have a leg up on her peers.
A pleasant, self-confident young woman who can march into an office with a product she’s designed for them and tell them how much it will benefit them is exactly the kind of person I see her becoming. It would be a perfect fit for her.
It could be a perfect fit for you, too, or for a young person (a college student, perhaps?) in your life. They’ll show you exactly how Zapable works, and discuss how it can become the basis of your own small business.
Let’s face it: most people behave in very conventional ways, and rarely show much initiative. Nobody else is going to be visiting businesses in your town with proposals for a mobile app. That leaves the field clear for you. Give Zapable a look.
(2) Freelancing.
If you have a skill that other people value, the Internet is a dream come true for you. For the first time in mankind’s history, you can pitch your services with ease to the entire world. You can find jobs as a freelance writer, web developer, coder, designer, audio engineer, video editor, transcriptionist, and so much more. And conversely, of course, you can very easily hire people to do any of these things.
The two freelance sites with which I have the most experience are Upwork and Fiverr. I’ve hired people to design eBook covers, do the interior layout for eBooks, give me a tutorial on the Facebook Power Editor (where Facebook advertising is done), remove noise from audio, design websites, transcribe podcast episodes, design graphics, create logos, turn my audio files into a format acceptable to audiobook companies, and much more.
Of the two sites, Fiverr tends to offer less expensive services. There, freelancers sell their services in five-dollar chunks – five dollars for so many words transcribed, etc. If you have a larger job, you add additional five-dollar chunks. Miscellaneous upsells make it possible for freelancers on Fiverr to earn still more.
Incidentally, just in case you can’t think of anything you could offer on a freelance basis, consider this. In 2013, my kids and I were thinking of unusual things we could do for their mother for Christmas. For five dollars each, we got her a Christmas wish from (1) a guy on a unicycle, (2) someone dressed as a savage barbarian, (3) a guy in a loincloth eating through the rind of a watermelon until he found her Christmas message hidden inside, (4) a series of falling dominoes revealing a message for her, and much more.
But regardless of what your skill is, it’s easy to get started on either of these services. If you’d like a little coaching, Udemy offers several courses on how to get started successfully on Fiverr. Just visit Udemy and do a search for Fiverr, and you’re off to the races.
(3) Podcasting. Most podcasts never earn a dime. Let’s be frank. But if you know what you’re doing, you can make it work. To my mind, by far the best authority on this is the fantastically successful John Lee Dumas, host of Entrepreneur on Fire. (I interviewed him for episode 268 of my show.) You will learn a lot, including about monetizing a podcast, by listening to his free podcast course on your device.
Good luck!