Money Making Opportunities - A Few Thoughts

There are more money making opportunities in this world than anyone could count. The problem is that many are presented as "easy" or "instant," and few actually meet those criteria. What's more, when we chase after the easy money we often go against our own values and interests, as well as putting off the more realistic paths to making money.

The following are some of the basic money making opportunities and what might find with each. This isn't just about how well they work in the crudest sense - do they make you rich or not - but also whether they will be satisfying to you. In many cases finding those paths that fit with your interests and values are also the best way to get rich.

Jobs

I haven't had a job in years, and the thirty or forty I had in the past did not thrill me. On the other hand, they did pay the bills and allow me to save the money needed for future investments and businesses. Don't settle for a lifetime of jobs you hate, but on the other hand, don't underestimate the power of a job or two to move you towards your goals.

It's all about how you use them. If you are only paying the bills with your current job (or worse, falling further behind), look for a better option. But if you can learn to live below your means, you can use a job to save for starting a business, or to start investing in real estate. Also, consider whether there is a job that you might truly love. It happens I hear, and if the money isn't great you can always start a small business on the side.

Investing

Yes you can get rich by investing. But it takes a long time to make much money with passive investments. Warren Buffet, who is perhaps the best stock picker in the world, has averaged double digit returns during his career. that's great, but it will likely take years to achieve his level of knowledge and skill, and even then many years more to build your fortune if you are starting out with say $10,000.

You have to be honest with yourself about whether you'll enjoy this kind of investing enough to stick to a plan. And will you sleep at night when the market drops 20% in a week? The daily ups and downs are too stressful for some people.

Real Estate

Real estate investing is as much business as investing. The inefficiency of the market and the creative ways in which one can invest make for some great money making opportunities. You can start with nothing, for example, making offers and then selling your position in accepted offers to investors with money to properly invest and profit with a property. I once talked to a man who sold several contracts every month for about $5,000 each. All he ever risked was a few hundred dollars for the earnest money deposit.

I personally love to talk about real estate just because it can be so creative, and I love numbers. But I don't enjoy investing in it. I have done so in several ways over the years, but it just isn't one of my favorite ways to make money. It is difficult to sustain the enthusiasm and work required when you really don;t want to be doing something. Then there are those who love the business of real estate, whether subdividing land or flipping fixer uppers. You might be one of these.

Businesses (offline)

Business is where the biggest returns in the shortest amount of time happen (unless you want to count lottery tickets). Get rich quick? Maybe. But a major commitment is usually necessary to make a business succeed. I have seen people work 60 hours weekly for many years just to build their income up to $50,000 annually.

On the other hand, you might build the kind of business that can be expanded and managed for you, or sold for millions. That might be worth years of hard work. Also, there may be a business that you could truly enjoy. I like ours, which brings us to the last of these money making opportunities.

Online Businesses

Although there are many ways to make money online, there are a few that allow you to make money while living or traveling wherever you wish. that's what we were after when my wife and I started our first website. Our particular model is to build websites on subjects that we know something about and preferably enjoy. We then use these informational sites to attract visitors who either click on ads that we are paid for or on links to products we get a commission on.

I hated computers when we started, and don't much care for the technical part of the business now. But I get to spend most of my time doing what I enjoy: writing articles and ebooks and pages just like I am doing right now. We've left the business alone for more than a month while traveling, doing nothing more than checking email a few times each week, and the revenue kept coming in day and night.

I love that "residual income" aspect of this business. Do the work when you want, and if you do it right the income is more or less automatic from that point forward. We work to grow, but I could probably maintain our current income working at it four hours or less per week.

To learn more about how we do it, read my ebook, You Can Make Money Writing, or sign up for the free course.

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