COVID has led to a lot of lost jobs, but there’s still hope out there. The online economy is still chugging along, and people who have been stuck at home for months on end have been able to find steady work on the internet. Whether you’ve found some of your income streams drying up this past year, or you’re just looking for a way to set a more solid financial footing for you and your family in 2021, here are just a few of the ways you can generate some income online.
We’re going to avoid discussing things like online gambling, taking surveys, or installing widgets to track your search history; while those may make you some money, they’re usually a small payout for the amount of time you spend on them. There are much better ways to create additional income streams for yourself.
Try Freelance Work
Getting into freelance work is surprisingly easy with sites like Upwork. If you don’t think you don’t have any marketable skills for doing online work, you might be surprised. You can find a variety of work on this site, from writing projects to web design. Here are a few questions to ask yourself if you think freelance work might be good for you, but you’re not sure what skills you have:
- What skills do you have on your resume?
- What skills have you developed as a result of your job history?
- What, if any, certifications do you hold?
- Who do you know that may have a small business? What needs do they have you could potentially meet?
- Has anyone you’ve known done online work in some field? What was their experience?
There are plenty of other considerations you should keep in mind before you dive into the world of freelancing (you can find a helpful guide here). Start small, use skills you already have, and work to refine your skills. In short order, you can start landing gigs and making some good money! Even if you work primarily online, don’t forget to have plenty of custom-designed business cards on hand to advertise your new business!
Dropshipping
Mooshe Socks. Wikipedeals. Mini Smart World. What do these online shops have in common? They dropship, and if you’re not afraid of technology, you can try your hand at dropshipping too. In dropshipping, your running an online store, but your job pretty much stops at the website design and taking the order. Once your customers have placed an order, you forward that order on to a supplier who manufactures, packages, and ships the item to the person who orders. You pay a wholesale price on the goods, and keep the profit. Ecommerce sites like Shopify or WooCommerce can help you set up an online webstore in no time, and they even have add-ins that help you manage the relationship with the supplier on the back-end.
However, platforms like Shopify may not be the best option if you are looking to build an Ecommerce store. Integrating other custom features to the website may be a huge chore as it is a closed-source platform. The monthly fees may also be a killer, especially if you have many premium plugins or addons.
In need of eCommerce web design? Fret not, Enchant offers such services. Drop us an enquiry here to learn more!
Crowdfunding
If you’re into investing but you want to diversify your portfolio or avoid sinking all your money into giant corporations, you can look at crowdfunding. This is a sort of catch-all term that can apply to a variety of investment opportunities, but the gist is that you and a bunch of other people invest a small amount of money in a start-up, into real estate, or into a variety of other asset classes. If you want to make money, you’ll be looking at equity crowdfunding, where you’re purchasing a part of the company with your investment. There are a few good websites out there, like CircleUp for individual investors where you can determine the general type of investments you want, and the site will allocate your money accordingly. If you have some spare cash sitting around and you don’t want to get a fraction of a percent in a savings account, consider crowdfunding!
These are just a few of the ways you can get additional streams of income set up online during the COVID pandemic. If you’re stuck at home with nothing to do, why not consider trying to make a little extra cash on the side?
