Gather Little by Little

One of the golden rules of investing is to never have all of your eggs in one basic, meaning don’t place all of your money in any one single investment. What you don’t hear discussed much is why it’s a bad idea to only have income from a single source.

When I almost lost my job 2 years ago, I vowed to never allow a single employer to control my ability to provide for my family again. I was in a situation where if the company decided they no longer needed me, I couldn’t put food on the table or keep a roof over our heads for very long. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, but it was just close enough to literally scare me to death. Fear is quit the motivator sometimes and I very quickly made a few changes to get things under control. One of those changes was to begin looking at other options for alternative income streams.

Alternative income from the internet

I am techy, and have been since I was young. When perusing any job whether your primary or secondary, I think it’s important to do work that you not only enjoy doing but are naturally good at. For me, doing some type of work on the internet was the obvious choice. I had experience in retail and sales as well, so selling goods online would be a great fit. I started absorbing everything I could on running online stores and selling items on eBay.

Around the same time I started Gather Little by Little having no idea at the time that blogging could be a viable business. I started it just as a hobby and to help others. Helping others is still the #1 reason I write here on Gather Little by Little, but I have learned I can monetize it as well and earn a reasonable income.

There are literally more ways to make money on the internet than you can imagine. Here are just a handful of ideas I am aware of:

• Affiliate Marketing – This is where you sell a product for someone else and get a percentage of sale. This is often done either through a blog, a web site, or Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC). Interested in learning PPC? PPC Coach is a great program I’m currently enrolled in.
• Blogging – As I’ve said blogging can be a very viable source of income. Many bloggers have recently gone full time. I’m not there yet, but sure would like to be.
• Online Stores – Have a product you think you can sell? Start an online store. Even if you don’t have a product, you can sell other people products and earn commission. Niche stores are a great way to earn money.
• Consulting or Coaching – Are you an expert in something? How about teaching others how to do your skill or providing consulting services so people can benefit from your expertise. Create a website and begin marketing and telling people about your services. Knowledge is always a very marketable product.
• Complete Online Surveys and Read emails – While you won’t get rich this way, it does provide some extra cash. Options are: MySurvey.com, MyPoints, and CashCrate. There are lots of others, but these are one’s I have used and like.
• Write eBooks – I am not convinced eBooks are a great money making opportunity anymore like they were, but many people still are. Know a lot about something? Compile your knowledge into an eBook and sell it on Clickbank or eBay.

As I said, these are just a few things you can do. The opportunity to earn money and provide a valuable product or service on the internet are limitless.

The internet is not easy money

One of the misconceptions I had early on was that you could just throw a website out there on the internet and it would begin making money. I even thought blogging would easy. Both options are a great deal of work and involve many of the same types of things a brick and mortar business require.

The days of making money quick and easy on the internet are over. Regardless of which option you choose, it will require work. I spend on average 10 hours a week just on Gather Little by Little and then another 10 hours or so on my other sites which include Niche Stores, other blogs and the new consulting service I am in the process of ramping up.

So, if you see and ad or hear somebody telling you that you can get rich overnight, walk the other way. It just isn’t true. Internet businesses like any other require commitment and hard work. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out.

Do you earn alternative income through the internet? If so, how? Share your thoughts and perspective. Add a comment!

Photo by: Kapungo