This is going to be a foundational article. I’ll cover several ways of making money from the comfort of your home but because this is the first post on the topic, I want to approach it from the bird’s eye view so you have a solid understanding of the big picture. And then we’ll talk specifics.
Let’s dive in.
As you can imagine, with the birth of the internet people started making money off of it. I remember one of the first ways to make money online that I discovered was coming up with cool domain names, registering them, and then selling for a higher price. Simple “buy and sell”.
I’m sure you know what a domain name is but just in case, it’s the name of the website that you type in the address bar to go on that website; youtube.com is a domain name, usa.gov is another domain and so on.
.com BUBBLE
On August 9, 1995, everything changed, and the Internet craze began. That was when the small internet startup called Netscape went public. By the end of the first day of trading, the company was valued at nearly $3 billion. The ensuing gold rush is now known as the dot-com bubble.
Here are some numbers to make it tangible for you.
Domain fly.com was sold to Travelzoo in January 2009 for $1,760,000
vodka.com $3 million;
porn.com $9.5 million;
hotels.com $11 million;
sex.com $13 million;
voice.com was sold less than a year, on June 18, 2019, for 30 million. Business.com – that’s out of this world number – a whopping $345 million. However, this particular purchase did not bring much luck to the buyer who 2 years later declared bankruptcy.
Of course, there are many more and I can keep going on and on. But I’ll wrap up this with an interesting one.
On December 9, 2018, Elon Musk twitted
Domain names are still considered a wise investment – even after all the “good ones” are taken.
Do you want to get into the business of registering and reselling the domains? It’s up to you, I personally wouldn’t, not my cuppa tea. And most certainly not the only opportunity to make good money online. I think there are way more interesting and fulfilling ways to do it, especially if you care about purpose and meaning as much as you care about the money.
Let me remind you that the dot-com race started in 1995. That’s 25 years ago. That goes to show that people have been making big bucks on the internet for decades now.
So if you are still thinking that online moneymaking is this rocket science for the tech-savvy people who are good with the internet and the devices, you better upgrade your beliefs.
Because looking for a “normal job” in 2020 is like being a cave person.
With the explosion of e-commerce (see, if this word has just intimidated you, then I’m going to put it simply) e-commerce is just selling stuff online, think Amazon. And with the explosion of social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) in the last 10 years, the business has shifted to the internet. That’s where the transactions, the money, and the opportunities are.
Nowadays, there are no successful companies making good money that don’t have a website at the very minimum. And if they are smart, on top of the website they also have a robust online presence.
Heck, even cats and dogs have their personal websites and Insta pages.
All of that is not intended to make you feel ancient or intimidated but rather serve as a wake-up call. Realize one thing:
Being a digital dinosaur today means going extinct tomorrow.
There are countless – literally countless – ways to make money online.
In order for you to get a better grasp of how it can be done, I’m going to paint with broad strokes. I came up with 5 categories, starting from the arrangements that are closest to a “traditional job” to more independent and innovative ways of making money.
Category 1
To make money online, you can be a corporate employee who works remotely, from home.
I have a friend who used to work for Bloomberg just like that. He did have to show up at the office a few times a week but, for the most part, he was working remotely and had a somewhat flexible schedule. Nowadays, many big corporations have 100% remote jobs, where you don’t need to show up at the office at all, aside from some special occasions. Other than that you are working from home or a coffee shop or a park – when they reopen, right?!
A few quick links with corporate job offers
Liveops, the modern call center, remote jobs
Kelly Services, office staffing company, remote jobs
One important remark.
Even if you are hard-pressed for money, please, don’t just apply anywhere and everywhere. First of all, desperation is palpable. And second, at the very least you’ve got to agree with the company’s mission, values, and what it represents. You don’t need to be over the heels in love with it (although, that should be the case with the next options I’ll be covering) but make sure you believe it’s a good company to work for.
Hopefully, I’m preaching to the choir here and all of these things are obvious to you. It would be best if you find a company and a position that genuinely interest you. There are plenty of openings so make sure you research thoroughly and do not settle for mediocrity. Ever.
If you are one of the lucky ones and still got your job, once all of this is over, you should speak to your boss and try to convince him or her to work from home a couple of days per week if possible. Why? Plenty of reasons and I’ll reveal the biggest one when we get to option 5, so stick around.
Category 2
You can be a remote employee for an online business.
This is the next generation of businesses that have emerged in the last 20 or so years. And every year new virtual startups come onto market.
Unlike remote corporate jobs, these companies usually allow you way more flexibility with your schedule to a point when at times you are allowed to work as much or as little as you wish.
One of the very well established companies in this category is called VIPKid. They provide English teaching services for Chinese kids. The company has been around for over 6 years and I’ve heard a lot of great things about them. People who work there earn up to 22 bucks per hour. There is an abundance of videos on YouTube from teachers who have worked for VIPKid. Check those out if you are interested in this path. You can find answers to any questions, starting from the requirements and the hiring process, to how you can work and how much you can potentially make, to even examples of lessons that others are teaching.
Category 3
You can work online independently, for yourself.
See what we are doing here? Not for a company but for yourself.
Here are some fun statistics. US workforce population is around 165 million people, and around 57 million of those perform some type of freelance work. That’s every third person.
Now, what exactly a freelancer is? It’s a person who is self-employed and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelancers usually work independently or use websites to get work.
Among the most popular sites to find gigs are freelancer.com, upwork.com, and fiverr.com. In a nutshell, those websites act as online marketplaces where freelancers can offer their services and get hired for a gig or make offers to businesses who posted ads for particular services they need.
Let’s say you can proofread texts. You can go on one of those sites, finds gigs that are looking for proofreaders, and offer your services.
I used to work as a freelancer for quite a few years and here’s my take on it: you can definitely earn a decent living, enough for bread and butter, and even caviar if you have good self-discipline. But it is not an easy path at all. You see, to me freelancer is synonymous to self-starter and you cannot overestimate the challenges that come with that.
Yes, if you choose this option, you ultimately make your own decisions about when to work, what kind of projects to take on, how much to charge. But from my personal experience and from what I’ve seen over the years, oftentimes it is easier for people to succeed with options 1 and 2.
I don’t mean to scare you off. If you are confident and thrive under your own directions then go for it, it’s definitely a viable option.
Category 4
You can create an online presence for your offline business.
The big takeaway for brick-and-mortar businesses that were deemed non-essential and shut down during this crisis is pretty simple: if you don’t have an online presence in your business, you don’t have a business.
The US has roughly 30 million small businesses.
Thinking about how many people are feeling like their hands have been tied pierces my heart. They were forced to close and watch how the bills are piling up. Of course, there’s government help but talk to any business owner who was running a non-essential (but so dear to his or her heart) business, each and everyone will tell you that no amount of help is going to make up for it, they would just rather work.
And guess who is working and even experiencing unprecedented growth? Amazon. They are hiring 100 000 people. See the link to their job postings above, in Category 1.
What’s the lesson here? 2 words: get your butt online. Okay, that’s 4 words. I can make it 2: get online. Create that website, figure out how to sell stuff on it and when the next virus – or whatever else – hits, you’ll just put up an announcement as all the banks did: “Don’t come to our physical location, make all the payments from your phone”. And just like that, you’ll keep your boat afloat.
I hope that was convincing.
Before I reveal the last category, let’s review what we’ve covered so far with the previous four.
The first way to make money online is to become a corporate employee who works remotely.
The second option is to become a remote employee for an online business. It usually comes with more flexibility.
The third option is to become a freelancer. But as I said, it’s rather daunting.
The fourth option is to create an online presence for your existing physical business. In 2020 it is non-negotiable. Catch up before it’s too late.
Category 5
You can start and run your own 100% virtual online business.
Yep, you can and honestly, you should. There are thousands of online business options and ideas. From e-commerce, which means selling stuff online, to Amazon FBA, which means selling stuff on Amazon, to affiliate marketing, which is a pretty effortless way to make money once you do the initial set up, to selling consulting services online via Skype or Zoom, to creating an educational course and teaching it on Udemy or on your own platform, to running a YouTube channel or an Instagram account and making money from the ads. The options are truly inexhaustible.
Here’s the idea that I’d like to emphasize in this blog post: online business is the new reality of making money and there’s no way around it. So instead of ignoring or resenting it, I invite you to embrace it.
Remember, in Category 1 I said you should talk to your boss? Well, that’s the reason why – so you can have the flexibility and the opportunity to start your own location independent money-making chutzpah-boosting super fulfilling thing. Give birth to your own baby and explore the depths of your creativity and your greed. Just kidding 😉
But it absolutely can be an adventure of a lifetime if you decide so.
Maybe it’s time you stop waiting for an employer to help you reach your career goals and become your own CEO. Get in the driver’s seat of your life and start driving in the direction you’ve always wanted to!
Phew! I think I got pumped.
That’s actually all I’ve got for you today.
But before you go, leave a comment below. Tell me, which one of those options appealed to you the most? I would love to hear from you.
If you found this article useful and you know anyone who could take advantage of this info, send them the link, they’ll appreciate it.
XO,
Peter
