Earning additional income: 5 tips for getting started

If your immediate objective is to earn extra income, your ultimate goal is to stay at home with your children or to quit your current job, there are a few key points to be aware of and a major mindset shift to make before you can make any concrete progress.

Firstly, if you've never worked from home before, it's important to accept that money doesn't just come from an employer. Additional income can come from a variety of sources, ranging from freelancing topurchase resale.

But any online income requires a radical change in your financial perception, especially if you've been a salaried employee for a long time.

It's taken me over a year since I started my online business to really accept that making a living from this income wasn't an illusion. It's a reality for many people and it can be for you too.

However, earning money online is not as simple as in a regular job. When you have a regular job, you get paid whether you work at 50 % or 100 % of your capacity. Unless you work on commission, you will always receive your full salary.

But if you want to earn money online and are only prepared to put in 50 % of effort, your additional income will be limited! Of course, there are easy sideline activities, but you still need to put in a lot of effort to get your project off the ground.

Here are my 5 tips to ensure a decent income online in a realistic way :

#1 Take action

All the best side projects start with a common action: personal investment. If you go home after a hard day's work and an exhausting commute and just hope to relax without doing anything to fulfil your dream of leaving your 9-5, nothing will happen. You'll still be in the same situation a year from now.

A little action, however small, is better than no action at all. Take action every day and the results will add up quickly. The worst thing is to do nothing for months on end. You could then wake up one morning and realise that you're no closer to your goal.

#2 Choose ONE route to additional income

That's my biggest challenge. I'm easily distracted and find it hard to focus on one thing until I get results. When it comes to launching a side activity, spreading yourself too thinly between different ideas and objectives is not productive.

Concentrate on what you want to achieve and how to get there. For example, if working directly with clients doesn't appeal to you, don't offer your services as a freelancer. But blogging or selling products on Etsy might be right for you.

Once you've chosen the side activity that's right for you, make a plan, write your to-do list and stick to it.

#3 Ask for help

There are two types of people who refuse to ask for help: those who are stubborn and think they can do everything on their own, even if they clearly don't know how, and the martyrs who believe they have to do everything themselves and don't like to ask for help because they don't want to be a bother. Women, especially mothers, are often guilty of this.

Ask those around you for help and support. Particularly when it comes to technical issues, which can quickly turn out to be a huge waste of time if you tackle them on your own. Automate as much as possible and outsource repetitive tasks to a virtual assistant. If you always work from 9am to 5pm, use the little time you have to concentrate on profitable activities.

#4 Set yourself clear objectives

If you're starting out with the intention of earning money on the side, work out how much you want to earn this month. Then decide how you're going to do it. Have an action plan or timetable based on this objective and stick to it.

Having a clear objective makes it easier to achieve. If you know you want to earn "additional income" but don't know how much or how to do it, you're groping your way forward. How will you know you've reached your goal if you don't even know what it is? Be specific about your goal and why you want it, and stay focused until you reach it.

#5 Find your passion

Pay attention here: I really enjoy learning, writing, having fun with WordPress, and analysing SEO in detail. If I didn't enjoy all these activities, I wouldn't bother blogging.

But I hate taking surveys. Many blogs on the subject of "earning extra income" advise you to sign up for surveys as one of the best ways of earning money. Sure, some people like it, but not me.

Everyone is different. For some people, running a blog or managing social networks would be a nightmare. They wouldn't want to invest themselves in these activities, so they wouldn't earn any money from them. But they might enjoy answering surveys.

Find what you're passionate about, or at least what you enjoy doing and think you can monetise, and go from there. Earning money on the side can be hard work, especially when you're doing it on top of your main job. Set your goals according to what you enjoy doing. Don't complicate your life and don't force yourself to do what you don't like.

If you have your own tips (or questions) for making money on the side, leave a comment.