When you were young, did you ever complain about not having money? It’s likely that your parents told you that money didn’t grow on trees — that you’d have to earn it through chores or working for others. Some of you did exactly that, while others committed to waiting until you were old enough to get a real job.
Whatever your relationship was to making money when you were young, now is the time to think seriously about your financial future. If you have prior experience at hitting the grindstone, then good for you! If not, jump right on in — the water’s just fine.
It can be hard to figure out how to make money on your own when you want to be your own boss, though. It’s rare that you have an immediate skill to sell to others that’s worth enough to pay the bills…so how do you start to make money on your own in order to begin your journey to entrepreneurship?
Freelancing
Having a marketable skill is of course your best case scenario. Not sure you have one? Don’t worry, there’s a market for everything out there on the Internet.
However, learning something that’s simple and useful can be what launches your career as a dedicated blog owner or YouTube celebrity. Companies out there are constantly looking for people who can write simple blog articles, post to social media for them, edit content or filter through comments. Do these tasks sound banal and dull? They are. That doesn’t mean they aren’t lucrative, though.
Remember that your first shot at entrepreneurship and being your own boss will likely be for chump change compared to what you really want to make. Start small and work your way up — also, price yourself reasonably. Don’t undercharge, whatever your services are.
Get Creative
If you’re artsy, you’d be amazed at where your talents can take you. Will you be selling million dollar paintings in a day? No. You’re likely to be selling magnets on Etsy for a while before graduating to art exhibits, but a place to start is a place to start.
Yes, if you have any marketable art skill then you definitely have a place online and within the world of making money. Whether it’s digital art commissions, film editing skills or hodge-podge craftiness, someone out there is going to absolutely love your work and want to pay for you to do more of…whatever it is you’re doing.
Start Finding Investors
Let’s say you want to skip the training wheels step altogether — you’re ready for that big kid bike. That’s definitely doable, but you also must understand you need to spend money to make money.
It’s absolutely possible to dive right in and get started on that startup, but most fledgling entrepreneurs don’t have that kind of capital lying around. However, if you’ve got a winning idea on your hands, someone will pay for you to make it a reality.
Making money can be difficult — if it was easy, no one would be poor or hungry. Just start low and aim high. Eventually you’ll get the hang of working for yourself, which makes being a full-time entrepreneur much easier to handle.
