Last week at the “Shutdown? StartUp!” free webinar, we talked about how you can identify your passions, pursue them as a startup business, and monetize them along the way. Today we’re going to talk about how to earn money.
If you’re furloughed, underworked, underpaid, or in-between jobs, you don’t have the time to wait for a paycheck while you build a business because you need food on the table today.
So today I’m going to talk a bit about how you can put money in your pocket THIS WEEK. Because there are a ton of apps and services you can start using NOW!
Sometimes you have to earn money to earn money. What I mean by that you need to invest in your passion/dream/business in order for it to succeed! But the best of both worlds is when you can earn some money in your field to build towards your bigger goal of starting a business in that field, because it’s like a double bonus! You’re working on things that are paying you that are directly in line with where your business should be headed.
Here’s my top four apps to make money on the side while you build your business or brand:
1. Gigwalk – the largest on-demand mobile work marketplace connecting Fortune 1000 businesses with smartphone-enabled job seekers. Businesses post Gigs such as store audits, retail merchandising, field photography, in-store demos, stockroom work, customer surveys and much more. These are instantly delivered to user’s phones through iPhone and Android apps, where users can earn money by completing the Gigs.
2. TaskRabbit – an online and mobile marketplace that allows users to outsource small jobs and tasks to others in their neighborhood. Users name the task they need done, name the price they are willing to pay, and a network of pre-approved TaskRabbits bid to complete the job. Tasks include cleaning, setting up furniture and data entry.
3. oDesk – the largest global online workplace where savvy businesses and professional freelancers go to work. oDesk allows clients to create online work-teams coordinated and paid through the company’s proprietary software and website.
4. Online Freelancing – Upload your skills and build your profile on an online freelancing site and start marketing yourself! Two I love are eLance and Guru. You may know your skills but you may not know how to charge or make use of those skills outside of what you might do at your day job. So check out both of these sites and look up YOUR skills and then see how other people are setting up their profiles, how they’re positioning themselves and what rates they’re charging. Then you can use this knowledge to set up your own profile and start going after some gigs!