You’ve probably heard the saying, “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.”
Well, this is *especially* applicable to your personal finances.
Diversifying your income provides you with a stronger personal safety net in case you’re
fired or hit with an unexpected emergency.
Plus, at the risk of sounding too obvious, having multiple income streams also improves
your earning potential.
So today I’m going to break down 8 ways to build wealth with the opportunities already
around you.
Sorry, Sumo-lings, this isn’t a get-rich-quick video.
But we do have some innovative money-making opportunities that could reinforce your safety net.
So let’s dive in.
Our first tip is to sell your skills as a freelancer.
You don’t have to be one of the top performers in your craft -- you just have to be better
than the person you’re helping!
Beginner freelancers looking for work can connect with their first projects through
their network, freelancing sites like UpWork, or by cold pitching to relevant companies.
Once you’ve been freelancing for a bit, a pro-tip is to upsell your services.
It’s almost always easier to retain a client than score a new one.
So when you complete a project or create a proposal, throw in an upsell for another service,
course, program, or tiered offering!
The client may not bite, but if they do, that’s more cash money for your bank account.
Tip #2: Create and sell your own physical or digital product.
For the former, you can sell locally through Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, or expand
your reach with an online e-commerce store on Etsy or Shopify.
You might even consider promoting your products for free on HaulDrop.com!
Alternatively, you can monetize your smarts with digital products like online courses
and ebooks.
AppSumo has a few tools in our store to give you a hand with your curriculum, including TeachableU’s
*FREE* online program designed to help you create a compelling virtual course.
Alright, this next tip goes out to all of the Sumo-lings who aren’t as creatively inclined.
Tip #3: Resell!
There are loads of options here.
First, there’s a huge industry of resellers on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and Ebay
who find vintage, luxury, or name-brand items at garage sales, auctions, and thrift stores
to resell online at a significant markup.
You can also sell someone else’s products with your killer marketing skills.
This can be done in a few ways.
There’s dropshipping, when you become the middle man between a supplier of a product
and a buyer.
Or you can participate in a company’s affiliate program and receive generous kickbacks when
you help score them a sale.
AppSumo has one of these ;).
There’s also self-advertising space in the form of yard billboards, paid ads on your
vehicle, or advertisers on your blog, YouTube channel, or podcast.
And for the commitment-phobes out there, you can rent the things you already own to others.
You already know you can list a spare bedroom on Airbnb, but you can also rent or sell your
stuff on FatLlama and lease your bike on Spinlister.
Tip #4: Try gig work!
This includes running errands, delivering food, and other suuuuper helpful services.
You’ve probably heard of or even use Uber, Postmates, and TaskRabbit.
But there are a few unconventional ways to find gig work, as well.
You can check Craigslist and local forums for informal gig work like cooking, organizing,
and nannying - you name it, someone will probably hire you to do it.
You can also scour job sites for part-time work, reach out to online influencers and
entrepreneurs about assistant jobs, or even join Surkus to get paid to party!
Tip #5: Invest for long-term wealth.
Investing in the stock market or real estate won’t put immediate money in your pocket…
and you might actually lose some.
But if you’re in this for long term financial success, then investing is for you.
And if you have the capital, you may find house flipping to be a fun hobby.
Now, Sumo-lings, you may have noticed I am NOT a financial advisor.
But I *can* advise you to make personal finance and investment decisions with the help of
a certified financial expert.
Tip #6: Use high-interest savings accounts.
Every financial advisor will tell you to have a 3-6 month emergency fund… and some banks
will even give you a bonus just for letting your money sit there.
With high-interest savings accounts from VIO Bank, Gateway First Bank, and Capital One,
you’ll be rewarded for sticking to your savings goals!
Tip #7: Cut down your expenses.
I know, I know, it’s *way* more fun to talk about how you can make money… but one key
to having more money is to spend less of it.
So, first you’ll want to use apps like Truebill to help you cut down your spending by locating
hidden subscriptions you might’ve forgotten about, and connect your bank account with
Mint to keep track of where your money goes every month.
Did you know that you can negotiate some of your expenses, too?
Yep, as soon as you work up the courage to get on the phone, you can save hundreds on
your cell phone bill, internet bill, and much much more.
Next: pay off your credit cards.
For many, the best investment you can make is paying off your debt, especially credit
card debt.
You can approach this in a couple of ways: either by paying off the highest-interest
card first, or by tackling your lowest-balance cards first and using that momentum to pay
off the next one… and the next one…
Finally, Tip #8: Get Lifetime deals instead of monthly subscriptions.
You probably noticed during the last tip that monthly subscriptions add up!
AppSumo is on a mission to make sure the software you need to run your business never puts you
out of business.
That’s why we ditched the lofty monthly subscriptions for massively discounted lifetime deals.
It’s all about saving you buckets of money in the long-term.
Sumo-lings, we’d love to hear about your side hustles and how you’re diversifying
your income.
Let us know your favorite strategy in the comments, and if you haven’t already, make
sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel.