This is a guest post by Financial Wolves, a blog about making money with side hustles to help you achieve financial freedom. Let me know if you would like to guest post on Reach Financial Independence.
We’ve all seen the article about making money online and online jobs. These can be great means to unlock additional income that can be used to paydown debt or invest faster than you normally would.
In addition, you can use these money-making opportunities to work on your own terms and wherever you want. That’s pretty appealing if you ask me.
There are so many opportunities out there that it’s truly hard to sift through the right ones that will provide the best opportunity for you.
So, what is the best approach? Is it about trading your time for money like freelancing? Or, do you want to go out and deliver groceries for cash?
My approach
My journey to financial independence was pretty simple. I graduated from college with over $60,000 in student loan debt.
That translated to a severely negative net worth. I had no assets to my name… Except a junky old minivan for a car. I worked pretty hard in college, which translated into decent grades. This helped me land a decent full-time job out of college.
I knew my full-time job out of college wasn’t enough. Who wants to still be paying their student loans when they are 35 years old? I could use things like getting free money by signing up for apps, but that would only go so far. It wouldn’t move the needle fast enough.
So, I ventured into the world of making money online. I learned a lot from the various sources of online income.
Fast forward to today, I was able to use online income and day job income to payoff all my student loans and now venture into the world of real estate investing.
I’ll share with you my steps on where I am and where I plan to go.
How to Use Online Ventures – A Cycle of Scaling Time vs Money
I’ll outline a few steps of the rollercoaster ride of online income, while sharing some helpful tips along the way.
Step 1: Monetize Your Skills for Easy Income
I started out with freelancing as a means for earning additional income on the side. As a finance major, I learned some pretty slick financial modeling skills. This helped me monetize those skills instantly.
As a person with limited assets and resources, I needed to find a way to make money without an upfront cost or investment.
Freelancing works well for people with skills. You can monetize really any skill like graphic design, video editing, proofreading, consulting, translating, talking, etc.
The list goes on and on. Think of what you are good at and like to do… You can monetize it.
Step 2: Time is Money
As I earned more and more income from freelancing, I was paying down my debt at a rapid rate.
One thing came to mind… With freelancing, I was trading my time for money. Over and over again. Yeah, the money was good but it continued to feel a bit like a day job.
I couldn’t scale money without sacrificing time. By earning this additional income, I was able to take a little bit more risk. I wanted to take a shot at blogging. I gave it a try and became hooked instantly.
Blogging checked all the boxes for me:
- Blogging has unlimited income potential
- You work when you want and where you want
- You can write about anything, including hobbies, case studies, advice, tips, lessons learned, etc.
- Most importantly, you can scale the site without putting in too much time
Blogging is a ton of work and requires a huge learning curve. But, sticking to it. It pays off. I eventually was able to scale my blog to earn as much income as my full-time job.
It isn’t just about blogging. This step is about taking risks in your online income or side hustle journey. If you gain some flexibility in your budgeting, take a risk and see where it takes you.
Step 3: Scale & Pair – Stay Entrepreneurial
It’s great to tinker with both freelancing and blogging together as you can pair them to earn additional income. Your blog can be a means to generate additional freelancing income and vice-versa.
Your freelancing business can refer people to your blog about article, helpful tips, etc.
This complimentary nature between the two can be very powerful.
No matter what you do or how you do it. Always view it as a business. One thing that I never considered was scaling my freelance business. I could have hired other people to help do lower level work for my clients.
View everything as a business. Find ways to improve your efficiency without sacrificing income potential.
Conclusion
Making money online is no longer just a pipe dream to unlock financial freedom. There is a ton of noise out there about what is right and what is wrong. Follow what works for you and what is within your comfort zone.
The best way to get on a path to financial independence is by taking action. There is no other way around it.
With reliable online income sources like freelancing, you can unlock additional income and flexibility that will go a long way in improving your financial future.
Author Bio: Financial Wolves is a blog focused on helping you make more money to achieve financial freedom. After repaying student loans, I’ve shifted my focus to make more money from side hustles, real estate, freelancing and the online economy. Follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook.