Who should make money online?
There are many reasons to make money online. For one, you can earn money from anywhere in the world. However, not everybody is suited to making money online.
People suited to making money online are:
- Self-motivated. You need to be able to stay focused and motivate yourself to work because being at home or traveling can cause a lot of temptation and distraction.
- Attracted to freedom. If freedom is essential to your happiness, making money online is the perfect option.
- Highly ambitious. If it’s your goal to be in the top 1% of wealthy people, or you have other goals that sound crazy to some of your friends and family – then making money online could make that happen.
- Forward-thinking. The people who make the most money online are open-minded and always looking out for new opportunities to be successful.
People who are not cut out for making money online are:
- Not computer people. This is a real deal-breaker for making money online, however, I believe most people are capable of learning if they’re willing to take some computer classes.
- Struggle to focus. If being at home would make you unproductive or you’re not naturally a go-getter then you probably won’t be able to make much money online.
- Risk-averse. You need to be willing to accept a little risk when you switch to making money online. You might not have your taxes or healthcare covered, and for some people, that is too much of a worry.
Different ways people make money online
There’s a lot more to making money online than founding a start-up. These days, people from all industries and walks of life earn money online.
These are some of the different ways people make money from home.
Intrapreneurs
Intrapreneurship is the model we use at Financer.com, and it means we hire goal orientated and entrepreneurial individuals who take responsibility for a specific area of the business in return for a salary and commission-based payment.
The benefit of making money online as an intrapreneur is that you have many of the same responsibilities as a business owner, without quite as much of the risk.
Intrapreneur traits: self-disciplined, results-focused, and entrepreneurial.
Find opportunities: here
Employees
An employee works for an organization, and generally within a team of other people. However, there’s no reason that this cannot be done online.
Many companies allow their employees to work from home while still benefiting from the usual employee benefits such as a matched pension and sick pay.
If you’re interested in making money online but don’t want to give up the stability of a full-time job, this could be a great option for you.
You can either talk your existing employer into letting you work remotely or find a company already hiring remote workers. In fact, some companies hire exclusively remote employees and don’t even have a physical office.
Employee traits: team players, dependable, and professional.
Find opportunities: Dynamite jobs
Online business owners
Creating a digital business is a great way to make money online. Not only can it earn you a great active income, but it also opens up many passive income opportunities if you have the right mindset.
Your online business could be anything from an eCommerce store to affiliate marketing, and although not everybody makes it, there is no upper limit to your success.
Not sure whether this option is for you? Check out this article to find out.
Business owner traits: passionate, ambitious, future-orientated, and entrepreneurial.
Find opportunities: Rightbiz
Freelancers
Freelancers make up a large portion of people making money online, and this is often the first step an employed person makes into venturing into the world of business.
That’s because you can already build the foundations of a strong freelancing career while you’re employed, and take skills and even clients with you.
You can freelance in anything from writing to web design to voice-overs, and the majority of freelance roles are online.
Freelancer traits: motivated, driven, resilient, and entrepreneurial.
Find opportunities: Upwork
Passive vs active income
Anybody making money has either a passive or active income.
Passive income = continuously making money from a previous time or financial investment.
Active income = earn money as a direct result of their time and work.
Passive income is often seen as the holy grail of making money online.
Why?
By making money passively you’re not constrained by the number of hours you can work, and therefore can take time away for sickness or holidays.
You can also continue to get paid while you build up multiple revenue streams, giving you the potential to earn much more than would be possible from a single income source.
Warren Buffet summed it up perfectly.
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
The pros and cons of making money online
Like everything in life, there are good and bad things about making money online.
For me, it’s clear that the pros outweigh the cons – but that might not be the case for you. Consider these pros and cons before you make your decision.
The pros of making money online
- Unlimited travel. You can make money from anywhere in the world as a digital nomad.
- Ultimate flexibility. Whether it’s the time of day, the location, or even the job – there is nothing more flexible than making money online.
- Fast track to wealth. Many money-making opportunities online far exceed what is possible in a physical job.
- Inclusivity. Whether you have to stay at home because you have young children to take care of or a health issue, making money online is open to people in all situations and backgrounds.
The cons of making money online
- Limited job options. While I’ve focused on how many choices people have when working from home here, there are still limitations to what jobs can be done 100% digitally.
- Isolation. Many people build their social circle around their colleagues and rely on them for social contact. Working from home can become lonely if you don’t put in a lot of effort to socialize and make friends outside of work.
- Scams. The online world can sometimes be a scary place, and people can hide their true intentions behind the safety of their screens. There are things you can do to avoid running into danger online but you need to be vigilant.
