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Is Online Revenue the Way to Protect Your Income?

Is Online Revenue the Way to Protect Your Income?

I am not one for doom and gloom, and in particular I think a lot of the financial skepticism is overbaked in an effort for the media to sell more newspapers and garner more viewers.

That said, I am also not naive enough to think that it is all hype, the signs are all around us that people and business are worried, struggling and looking for solutions. At first we were told that the UK was well placed to ride out the storm, now they are saying we could go the way of Iceland and even that the UK PLC could go bankrupt. I don’t think it will get to that, but better to have a Plan B, eh?

Could making an income online be a way for you to protect your family lifestyle?

Business folks often talk about diversification and spreading risk. If the whole of your household cash comes from one or two sources, located in one geographical area, your risk of having that money taken away is greater. Adding another source of funds outside of your primary pay packet could be a wise move. If you find you don’t need it, then you have a nice bonus.

We know earning at least a partial income online is possible. The Blog Herald is staffed with people who make their living online. Lorelle even makes her living all over the world in a kind of 21st century nomadic kind of approach. If we can make our whole income online, surely you can make a grocery bill, or your mortgage or rent payment?

I’m not just talking about blogging to sell advertising, although that is obviously one option. Look at Freelance Blog Writing as one alternative. While the initial pay might not be exciting, it can work up to a good income, and has a low barrier to entry with hardly any overheads – if you are reading this you likely have everything you need. Check out Freelance Writing Gigs for more information about what kind of work is on offer.

More and more bloggers and webmasters are hiring editors, both to correct their text and also to manage the sites to stop housekeeping becoming a full-time job. If you have an eye for detail and are organized, that role could be well matched for you.

If you have skills other than writing, there are tons of opportunities for virtual assistants. programmers, designers, project managers. Networking will gain you better rates than the Elance/Rentacoder type sites, but if this is a side job then you will likely be able to accept a lower rate of pay while you build up a portfolio.

There are a variety of ways that you can gain a fresh income through the web, but some take longer or more investment than others. You might consider writing an ebook, but keep in mind that most people underestimate the work involved in creating a product from scratch. Before launching your own product, test the market as an affiliate.

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I obviously make money through writing, consulting, selling books, and my Authority Blogger online course, and thankfully the work comes to me rather than me having to go hunt for it, but I had to take time to get those streams of income working.

Every opportunity I mention above can be helped greatly by having your own blog and making yourself social on at least Twitter, but if you have the time maybe other social sites too. Get yourself known for having something valuable to offer and people will be much more likely to pay you and pay you well.

The main thing is if you are worried about what the future might hold, better to put something in place now rather than when you actually need it!

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments …

View Comments (7)
  • I did exactly this, not because of the credit crunch but because of the impending birth of my son.

    My experience is that it takes time building connections/reputation etc especially when there are so many people out there trying the same.

    I’m only now just starting to make some decent money and my son has just 18 months old!

  • This is an interesting question. It is certainly a great sales and marketing channel for many businesses. The dynamics of knowledge-based work has been radically changed by the growth in online interaction, social networking and speed of technology development.

    I expect many will go to the internet for income creation out of necessity after a job loss. For some, this economic climate may be seen as an opportunity to change their lifestyle and online income could be a big factor in that. And for others it has, and will continue to be, a natural way of connecting to the business world. I think online incomes will be on the rise in a big way, but like all other business, there will be successes and failures depending on the knowledge, skill and commitment of those involved.

    As someone in ‘snowed -in’ England, I can say that working online has been great – we haven’t skipped a beat. Its been ‘business as usual’.

  • “overbaked in an effort for the media to sell more newspapers and garner more viewers”
    I don’t really think that the media is over-baking it all. Watching a BBC news bulletin makes everything seem a lot better than it is and some of the more shocking numbers are being avoided. If anything the things I read outside of the mainstream media is way way more shocking than anything I see on TV or the regular newspapers.

    With £900,000,000 being given to banks in the U.K alone it can’t be ignored how big this really is. Finding out that figure in the first place was a real challenge.

    Also the U.K went bankrupt in the 1970s and was bailed out by the IMF and many other economies have been bailed out in recent history.

    I’m seeing a number of people suffering in some way – from a self-employed plumber having considerably less work, to someone being without a job. Now the prospects of very high tax increases are on the horizon in the U.K too.

    I’ve found being aware of what is going on to have a massive impact on my life. I can plan my business a lot better, I can minimize being caught out by exchange rates, savings rate drops etc. and can invest spare money I have and make money even when most things are going down.

    I also have a better idea of where our government is taking us.

    It took me sometime to grasp the basics of how economy works and I’ve still got a lot to learn, but thankfully I’ve found a number of people who’s predictions are largely very accurate, especially from a wider perspective.

    I used to think ignoring this sort of thing was fine as it never really effected me. I feel that I was niave with this view. While my everyday life seems to carry on regardless, many things fundamental to my life are effected by this, but previously I just wasn’t connecting the dots.

  • I’ve been in both worlds. I used to make a full-time living from the Internet as a copywriter and small business coach. Now I work a full-time job that came about as a result of consulting for a client.

    I’m beginning to think that diversification of income streams is the best route for me. As a single-dad with a 12 y.o. boy at home, business travel is tough. But the benefits of a good health plan can’t be overrated here in the States.

    My strategy continues to be: work the day job to keep the benefits in place and build the freelance/Internet empire by night. ;-)

    Good post, Chris.

  • If a person isn’t developing ways to generate multiple income streams they should be. They must develop their own brand to survive.

    I live in Silicon Valley California, USA, and it seems every other person I meet is a “consultant”. (Tech lingo for unemployed.) Many smart people have been caught totally surprised to find they no longer have a good paying job. Some, like myself, are following Chris’ strategy while others are in a stupor.

    @Chris T – If anything, the press here locally under-baked the issue until late last fall. The numbers showed unemployment at below 6% but the statistics overlooked thousands of people who were no longer getting unemployment compensation. They are still out of work but are not counted.

  • I think diversification is the way to go. The wisdom of not putting all of your eggs into the same basket is perhaps more obvious today than in times past.

    Especially if you want to feel in control of your own life. If one avenue chokes off, there are more, but it can take time to get them flowing, and get used to structuring your time to keep them all working well.

    Good post!

  • To be massively successful you need to have at least 7 streams of income. And the internet is a perfect vehicle to take you there. There are countless ways to make sales and provide services to the community. I actually use article writing to supplement my income, and it is working out for me. On to the next stream!

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