How many times has the lack of resources limited you from starting your own business?
It has surely happened to you many times and it is more common than you imagine. Therefore, today I share some useful ideas that will help you earn extra money by putting the best you have to work: your knowledge and skills.
The good news is that all of us, regardless of our level of education, have been endowed with different skills or valuable knowledge that we have acquired over the years and that we can exploit perfectly well for our personal and financial improvement.
It happens that many times pressures or lack of time can prevent us from taking advantage of those resources that we have to generate additional income that helps us pay our debts, the study of our children or the letter of our house.
Best of all, with a willingness to work and a good dose of creativity you can do many things that transform those skills into small businesses.
Guide To Turn Your Skills Into Extra Money
- Identify a trade that you know how to do. What do you do best? Perhaps you are an electrician, carpenter, pilot, painter, teacher, or perhaps a cook.
What do you like to do and that with a little effort you could turn into extra income? The answer might seem obvious, but a basic first step in this process is to identify it and make the decision to exploit that trade in which you are already an expert.
- Think what knowledge you could exploit. Similar to the previous one but a little more intellectual. Did you ever learn to repair cell phones, maybe you know how to do specialized installations, do you know how to manage a warehouse or just drive a motorcycle? Clearly define what valuable knowledge you can take advantage of.
- Make a plan. Once you decide what you can do to earn extra money, the next step is to come up with a plan.
A plan has to do with putting your ideas on paper and scheduling a date for each of the activities it represents. If you want to combine it with your current job, you will have to establish certain hours or days in which you can offer your services. Analyze your time and determine exactly how much you can dedicate to your extra activity. Include in your plan a list of services you can offer.
- Set your prices. Write on a sheet the list of services you can offer and the prices either per service, per hour or per task depending on the trade you have. If you are a painter, establish how much you can charge per square meter, if you are an instructor, establish your price per hour of the course taught, and if you are a pilot, establish your price per kilometer traveled.
Although it sounds easy, setting the price of your services is essential because remember that if your services are very expensive, no one will hire you and if they are too cheap, you will feel that it does not pay you. I recommend you establish an average market price at the beginning that allows you to compete with the quality of your work.
- Promote your services. Like any small business you need to publicize your services. This doesn’t have to come at a great cost, and I’m not talking about fancy advertising. Start with some flyers that you can print and photocopy at any nearby cyber café and distribute them in your area or wherever you can potentially find customers.
Give your prospects business cards as well as your friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and family to help you find clients. Tell them that you are starting your own business and that you want to make yourself known. Rest assured that you will receive the first calls soon. If necessary and feasible, prepare a catalog with photos and a description of your work or products to show it to your potential clients.
- Commit to taking care of the quality of your work. The key to success for any business is to guarantee your client total satisfaction, which requires a great commitment and a huge desire to grow.
Serve is the word that defines the attitude of a successful man or woman. If your work is excellent and your client perceives it that way, they will surely recommend you and soon you will have more potential clients. Do not skimp on an extraordinary service and without a doubt you will see the fruit translated into extra money.
- Always offer added value. If you prepare dishes or snacks, always offer a small extra dessert. If you are an auto mechanic, deliver the vehicles washed and vacuumed. If you are a stylist, always offer a newspaper or magazine to your clients. If you’re babysitting, give parents an extra call in the morning to let them know that everything is fine. Giving your customers more than they expect is called added value and is the best formula for business success.
- Reinvest a percentage of your earnings. In the beginning, you will be the only and the best employee of your company. But this should not be the case for life.
The only way to ensure growth is by reinvesting a percentage of your extra income to grow your business. It can be 5% or 10% or if you want up to 15%, but you should always invest that small percentage in tools, advertising, personal training, etc. This is the perfect strategy to multiply yourself.
- Be patient. Patience is the mother of wisdom. Very important. Do not intend to formalize your company in three months. And much less buy you a new car in a year.
If you work with effort and dedication, surely in a few months you will have accumulated enough capital to take the step of formalizing your business. Even if it isn’t, don’t rush. Making rash decisions could throw your valuable small business-building efforts overboard.
Be patient and wait for the snowball to start rolling and soon you won’t be able to stop it. Be moderate with expenses and generous with services and added value.
- Make alliances with your collaborators. Along the way, look for alliances with other merchants or entrepreneurs like you who can help you and exchange jobs.
For example, if you are a carpenter you could partner with an upholsterer to make some furniture. If you know how to do computer maintenance, you could partner with a programmer to offer problem solutions to your clients. If you are a photographer, you could partner with an event company to do joint work. Your only limit is creativity.
In conclusion, you will discover that the possibilities are many and mostly simple to implement.
What is not easy and where many fail is to be orderly, plan, intelligently manage the money earned and be patient to grow.
I want to leave you a final advice that is very important and it is learn to sell your services.
If you don’t consider yourself a good salesperson, go ahead and learn sales techniques. According to Robert Kiyosaki, the number one skill in business is learning to sell. This skill will help you get your business off the ground.
From now on I wish you much success in what you undertake and remember, leave me a comment and tell me what skill you have that you would like to turn into a business.
