Here is a simple question:

“How is it possible to make money on the side at home?”

That’s why you’re reading this post. You’re at a place that I’ve lived a few times in my life. And I’ve tried many ways to take on an extra income source. Some a bit more successful than others. I’ve found my groove, but let’s cover three different ways to generate extra income. At at the end, I’ll give you my recommendation.

Let’s start with two questions, why do you need extra money and why do you want to generate the extra money from home instead of someplace else?

The first question has three different answers. I list three reasons and put those in three levels of need. What level do you desire to be? 

Level 1: Pay expenses

Sometimes our expenses start to get ahead of our income. I know for me, that was a huge deal earlier in my life. And it wasn’t because I over spent or wasn’t making decent money, it’s because expense get more much faster than incomes.

Level 2: Save More

Another reason is to save more for something that you don’t have enough within your current income source. Maybe for college, a house, vacation, or even a car. But it doesn’t matter; you don’t have enough to save in the time that you need the item.

Level 3: Gain Freedom

What about gaining your freedom? Have you thought that you could be generating income to supplement your entire income and significantly more than you could ever imagine? I know I never thought that possible until now.

The next question, why at home? For me, it was because I was already working a job, I had my kids, and I wanted to not be out again at some other gig late at night. Plus, I needed to set my hours and not let people control when and how much time I could spare no a side income.

What’s your reason?

I’m not sure about you, but being at home allowed me to control my hours. I have to give up time, stay up later or get up earlier, but it becomes so worth it.

Here are the three ways to generate income on the side at home.

Selling Products on eBay

 

 

A popular option for many people working from home is to sell products on eBay. eBay is the largest auction site in the world; it’s like a world garage sale. Also, many people build real storefronts that sell brand new items. You can find wholesalers either local or offshore manufacturers through Alibaba. You can mark up the price and take the margin (difference from the sale price and cost).

There are many good and bad reasons for eBay sales at home. And yes, you can make some decent money.

Pros:

  • You can sell items you have in your home that you don’t need any more
  • You can find products on sites like Alibaba or other wholesalers that align with what people are searching to buy
  • People are continually searching on eBay for items, and you can take advantage of focused customer needs
  • The platform takes care of all the admin work

Cons:

  • Marketplace fees are high, so you need to keep that in mind when you price your items
  • You may need upfront money to purchase items at bulk and wholesale to increase profit margins
  • Maintaining inventory unless you can find a drop shipper
  • You need to manage your inventory at home
  • You can only make money on items you sell, and you always need to make sure you’re keeping your ratings and reviews high, it matters
  • Very competitive without anything other than price to compete

 

CONSULTING AT NIGHT

 

Another great option is using your skills to do consulting after work. Maybe you’re a software developer, a graphic artist, editor, life coach, or whatever. You could use those skills as a consultant to help others solve their problems and get paid. Consulting on the side is truly enjoyable. You get to work with clients anywhere.

Instead of finding clients willing to purchase consulting services, you can also post your skills in places like Upworks or Fiverr. These sites allow you to bid for projects or promote yourself. The benefits of a Upworks or Fiverr, they take care of the legal items for you. Sure they make some money from you, but when you’re new, having a middle broker to help with payment and terms is super helpful. 

Pros:

  • You get to promote what you’re good at doing
  • People pay you for your service
  • Doing great work gets you referrals to other clients
  • Once you make a name for yourself, you can begin to charge a higher rate per project or hour
  • You get to chose when you want to take on projects
  • If you get a more significant project, you can outsource some of the work and make money from other people doing the job

Cons:

  • You only get paid if you work
  • You need to find clients and still bid on projects
  • You take a risk on your output and skills
  • There may be a lot of competition
  • The job may be more significant than you initially scoped
  • Even though you are at home, you may get deadlines that take away some of the flexibility during busy times for you during the day or night

 

Build a Website and Promoting Affiliate Programs

 

 

The first question: What is Affiliate Marketing? It’s simple, and it’s been around for a long time. Huge companies like Amazon and Target have affiliate programs. An affiliate program means those companies pay you a commission for promoting their product. Once a visitor goes to their site through a special link and purchases a product, you get a commission. Most likely, you’ve contributed to someone’s commission through an affiliate link by reading a product review then clicking on the product within that review. Also, there are affiliate banks that have a huge selection of affiliate products to promote – check out ClickBank.

Unfortunately, you also see a lot of people just trying to sell you crap all the time. But honestly, you’ve run into plenty of sleazy salespeople over the years, no different in online sites than a retail salesperson. Some are honest and truthful, and some aren’t. I truly believe, if you’re going to do this work, you need to be honest and have integrity. It always pays more in the long-run.

Next, you may be thinking; I don’t have the skills to build a website. Or maybe, you’re thinking; I can’t sell anything and get the traffic to a website. Yes, it’s scary. But, it is so worth it because it has the potential to get you to level three on the reason why you want to make money on the side at home.

It’s actually super fun, but you have to patient, as it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, but if you can enjoy the journey and be part of a like-minded community, you’ll have a blast and the potential is unlimited. People can buy from you when you’re not working on your business, this part I love the best as it’s the ultimate freedom.

Pros:

  • Working with programs like Wealthy Affiliates are good ways to have web hosting and building out a website through easy to use tutorials – zero experience needed
  • You get to focus on subjects you may enjoy like surfing, pets, wine, country line dancing, ultimate fighting, or whatever you like
  • Writing good content isn’t difficult, and you can do it at your pace
  • Traffic comes with good content writing and some keyword alignment by using tools like Jaaxy
  • Affiliate programs pay you and do the hard work of selling, but you make a commission
  • You can make money while you sleep
  • Companies like Amazon, Target, and a vast variety of companies have affiliate programs

Cons:

  • If you’re new to technology, you may be more intimidated even if the tutorials guide you through it all
  • If you aren’t a good writer, you will become a good writer
  • If you want to do more face to face work, this isn’t a good option
  • Its time and effort without seeing a return right away

 

Conclusion

Making money at home takes work, effort, and is amazingly fun. I’ve given you three options, all three I’ve tried with success. But honestly, my favorite is the last option. Yes its hard work, but the benefits, freedom, and success outweigh all of the cons. The other two are good options, and for some people, this is the right option so I could be wrong.

My recommendation, explore all three. And when you’re ready, sign up for a free start account with Wealthy Affiliate (Read Review Here), go through the week-long course, set up a website, and learn. If the thought of generating income while you sleep isn’t necessary to you, then try eBay or Consulting.

 

We’d love to hear some of your recommendations, comment below. And if you have questions, leave a comment, we reply.

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