As a young kid, I always had the mindset that you don’t shouldn’t cut expenses. It felt like moving backwards in time to when you were spending less. Having a better lifestyle comes with a price tag. And you shouldn’t sacrifice comfort because of it.
If you want to have a better lifestyle then you need to increase your income. But that’s easier said than done nowadays. Our lives have become a lot more complex. The outside world keeps grabbing our attention and limiting the time we can focus on our growth. Whether that is a family, extracurricular activities and so on.
Thus you need to find an easy way to create more income by not putting as much time into the task. This is quite easy to do and here are the steps and breakdowns to start to create change in your lifestyle.
Find out what your budget is
You can’t know where you want to go unless you know where your journey is starting. It is a hard commitment for most people to get into. But like doing your laundry or washing the dishes, it’s ugly until it gets done. This is something you don’t want to sweep under the rug. It can grow to haunt you over time if not taken care of.
I use two different budgeting systems during the month to keep me on track. A post-it that sits in front of my desk listing all the major expenses I have during a month. This will include fixed costs such as: rent, car payments & miscellaneous (Netflix, Amazon etc.). Then a tracking sheet I update with every other little thing I buy. This will usually stay attached to my miscellaneous list so I know if I am overspending for the month or not.
List the things you are good at or passionate about
Now the fun part begins. Knowing where you are might give you some lightbulbs. There might have been some numbers you didn’t expect. This awareness helps to keep your spending habits under control. Even without cutting expenses, it will be at the back of your mind that some things, you might not need.
Now you have a second list to create. Listing things that you are good at, even if you don’t like doing them helps. The reason is that you can charge a higher premium for the services you will offer in the next step. You are good at something because you know how to do it well. The things that you are passionate about are going to drive you to do something that will take more effort. But you’ll want to because they offer you inspiration.
Offer your services online or in your local community
Websites such as Upwork or Freelancer allow you to showcase your body of work. But on top of that, you are also able to bid for work that is a good fit for you. Say you are good at editing pictures in photoshop. If a job description fits that skill, you can give them a proposal for that scope of work.
As of now, I am not aware that other platforms such as Fiverr allow you to do so. Instead, you have to market and attract clients to fulfill those services.
You can also go to your local community. Find out and post your skill with which you can help others grow. Or if there is a class you can teach that is currently missing. “Basics of photo editing” or something similar. This will get people out of their homes and you are also able to market it on classified websites or billboards. Driving more people to your events or services.
Calculate your revenue
You’ll have to account for expenses when teaching at a venue. Compared to doing it for free online or outdoors. This is usually minimal based on the amount of money you charge or how many people you bring in.
You can make an extra $1,000 with this breakdown. Decide how much free time you can dedicate to your side hustle. If it is only 10 hours per week then you have a total of 40 hours a month to look for opportunities and fulfill.
You choose the medium but that means that for each hour of work you need to make around $25. Now using the example above, if you are already skilled at the task you want to do, it will take you much less to complete. Thus increasing your revenue faster. If you are passionate but not efficient, find a side hustle that has more volume or is high-end.
Let’s say you are passionate about making websites. But it takes you a long time to think about the design and take into consideration your client's needs. Website design is a higher-end service as it requires a specialized skill. If the project takes you an entire month to complete then you can still charge the $1,000. As it is a higher-end product people expect to get.
If you are in the middle of both categories then you’ve scored big time. Because now you get to do things that you love while you’re efficient at it. Allowing you to increase your income much higher than from a traditional job.
So go out there and take action. Find the things that get you to start this new adventure and get rewarded for the work that you put in. If you have any side hustle ideas for people, drop them down in the comments. I’ll be seeing you again tomorrow.