Because we live in a world of abundance, there are virtually countless ways of generating income in the world. I’ve only shared here 7 ideas I’ve learnt to generate income streams. Let me quickly state that these ideas are not the “ best ideas ”; they are just the ones I’ve learnt and have worked for me so far in my short journey in finances. So, I sincerely hope they are helpful to you too. I usually stress the importance of “ increasing your income streams” to emphasize two main important points about Financial Intelligence. They are:
1. It is NOT Financially Intelligent to have less than 4 income streams(Also, know that you can even create over 1000 income streams if you desire)
2. More income streams help you to quickly build streams of passive income that leads to financial freedom! (Read more… http:///FCgYpuUX )
THESE ARE THE 7 IDEAS: All these ideas require commitment/discipline and time. They are not quick-fix schemes! By personal experience, I know that it will depend on your commitment and persistence, but they work!
1. DEVELOP A SKILL AND OFFER IT AS A SERVICE: Obviously, once you develop a skill , you almost immediately become SELF-EMPLOYED. Once you offer your skill as a service, you get paid for it . This is awesome, because the skill is yours and you can take it wherever you go. The following are few skills that come to my mind that you can offer as a service: a.) Typing skills b.) Teaching skills c.) Graphic/Web Design skills d.) Catering skills e.) People Management Skills f.) Leadership Skills g.) Etc. One of the things I love so much about skill development is this “ Once you develop the skill, it becomes yours—forever!” Obviously, no one can deny that you should be paid when you offer value to them as service! I’m involved in few of the skills above—typing, teaching, and graphics.
2. SAVE UP TO BUY THINGS YOU CAN “RENT OUT ”: The word “ Rent” is a very important word in the school of financial intelligence. It must become part of your vocabulary. Rent says, “ Use this for a period of time, Pay me for it…and RETURN IT” . And there are varieties of things you can rent out… a.) Projector and Screens b.) Modems c.) Generators d.) Musical Instruments e.) Events instruments (Lights and Sounds) f.) Books for personal development g.) Cameras h.) Chairs and Canopies i.) Cooking Utensils j.) Etc. All the things above do not really consume a lot of your time. And they are quite sustainable.
3. DO A PART-TIME JOB: Generally, I do not recommend a full-time job that takes the whole of a person’s time. The challenge I have with a full-time job is that it stands in your way of being able to do other important productive things—like building extra income streams, personal/skill development, attending seminars, taking/seizing opportunities, etc. But a part-time job gives you extra hours to build other streams of income I’ve mentioned here in this article. (If a full-time job) you should at least ensure you have about 2 days off in a week—so you can spend extra hours for extra income or personal development. Examples: a.) Part-time teaching/working b.) Jobs involving shifts (preferable half-day) c.) Etc.
4. REFERRALS: The key word here is “ leverage ” (i.e. other people’s resources, etc.). “Referrals” involve leveraging on the skills, talents, experience, time, etc. of your friends (or your network) to earn some income. You can do this by referring people to them and collecting your share. It’s like this: If someone comes to me and wants to design a website, I can tell him to hold on. Then call a friend of mine who designs websites that I have a job for him. Then ask for my percentage. And then link the two of them together. Finish! Once the deal is done, I collect my share! So, you qualified to be paid because you were the one who “ made the deal happen” ! This is the concept network marketing is based upon. Network Marketing is also called “ Referral Marketing ” or “Direct Selling”.
5. START BUILDING A NETWORK MARKETING BUSINESS Network Marketing is a way in which a company sells its product DIRECTLY TO CONSUMERS through relationship referrals. The customer becomes the distributor. As a distributor, your network marketing business provides for you an extra income stream. A network marketing business may take a little time to “ take off” depending on your commitment. Interestingly, network marketing also potentially can generate for you a strong stream of “passive income” if built committedly over a period of 5 years. It can be done at flexible hours. It gives you the necessary education/training/personal development you need to be able to get even more results. It helps you to develop fantastic relationships. It can also help you to ultimately become financially free if built over a period of 5 years. I recommend the one I’m involved with; Avenues to Wealth: Read more here… http:///zqnH19
6. TRADING/RETAILING/SELLING: Everyone agrees that “Trading ” (i.e. buying and selling) is great only when you have an access to cheaper cost price…such that you can offer a good selling price to your market. Most people engage in this but usually not at the best deals. However, in A2W, we have as part of the privileges in ther Privilege Pack access to such deals in the part of the Privilege Pack called “ Retail ”. The Privilege Pack is the Product of A2W (Read more… http:// /YeHdBJN7 ) and with this privilege you can make extra income by leveraging on the amazing deals in “Retail” (in Nigeria), with products from Acer, LG, Samsung, Haier Themocool, Unilever, Dangote, McNicols, MasterChef, Kitchen Wonder, etc. and the list is growing by the day. If you are already in A2W, zone into the area you want to distribute for and start retailing!
7. SELL CONSUMABLES Consumables—food, snack, etc., are interesting products to sell. Why? Because they generally have customers in large quantities. One of the four most basic needs/desires is “ food ”. Offering such is a good business strategy. Interestingly, I’m involved in the first 6 ideas above —Offering my skills, Renting out Stuffs, Doing a Part-time Job, Referrals, Trading and Network Marketing. And the more I do these, the more I realize that I need to increase my income streams. Let me quickly state it again categorically: “ The reason why you need to increase your income streams is because it helps you to easily build “passive income streams” that leads to financial freedom ”. I define Financial Intelligence as the part of our total intelligence that we use to solve financial problems… towards financial freedom. Obviously from the definition, if you don’t have financial freedom as a goal which guiding your current financial decisions, you are still not financially intelligent. The truly financially intelligent person is the one that commits himself to building the 5 vehicles/avenues of passive income streams (Read about them here… http:// /FCgYpuUX )
By Tolulope Ahmed