As of May 2020, there are 4.6 billion internet users across the globe. For ambitious people looking to start their digital career, that is 4.6 billion opportunities to generate an income. We are living in the digital age, where people can create incredible opportunities for themselves with nothing more than an internet connection and the right website. It is possible to do this in your spare time while holding a full-time job.

So, how do you get started? 

1. Start a Blog

Blogging is one of the best ways to start making money online. For years, people have been creating blogs to share their insights and ideas.

2. Consider opportunities that pay decent profits or have financial rewarding compensation plans

There are many online opportunities that enable you to earn a profit on sales and have equally rewarding referral compensation plans.

3. Become a Web Designer

With the technology and products available today, like WordPress and Wix it is now easier than ever to learn how to design and manage websites. There are also many free courses and resources online that can assist you to learn the necessary skills.

4. Launch an Affiliate Website

Promoting products from other companies is one of the best ways to make money online.

5. Build an eCommerce Site and sell products

eCommerce sites have been growing in popularity in recent years, thanks to the growth of platforms like WordPress and WooCommerce. If you like the idea of selling tangible products to customers, an eCommerce store may be right for you.

6. Sell Services that you have experience in 

If you want to sell something online, but do not want to deal with physical products, services can be a great alternative. For example, if you have a background in graphic design, you can help people design their websites and even install new WordPress themes for them.

7. Design and sell a Digital Course

Speaking of ways to make money online with your existing knowledge, why not sell what you know to people in the form of an online course or webinar?

8. Design and sell Ebooks

You can also go the content marketing route and publish e-books on a subject you consider yourself an expert in. There are no strict rules to follow here, but you will need to do some research on your target market and the competition before following through. 

9. Sell Advertising Space

Plenty of websites use advertising banners and promotions from other companies to monetize their content. Once you have a website up and running you will be able to sell advertising space.

10. YouTube 

If you are not comfortable in penning down your thoughts through blogs and content writing, make use of your camera to create a video presentation. Create your YouTube channel, upload videos, and start monetizing them.

We can go out and get a second job to earn some extra income. As you are aware, however, that is not what is ideal. When assessing how you can generate multiple income streams, consider these factors:

Flexible: The ideal source of extra income will allow you to determine how you apply yourself when it comes to your time. Particularly if you have a full-time job. The last thing you want is being tied down to working a set number of hours each week at a second job. However, discipline and hard work are paramount.

Scalable: Look for income sources that have at least the possibility of generating substantial amounts of income, offer great investment opportunities, and can grow into a full-time business.

Sustainable: The ideal extra income source will continue to generate cash even when you are not working at it. The idea is to build something that can eventually function and grow without you.

Enjoyable: Generating additional sources of income is not easy and takes a lot of work.  So, enjoying what you are doing is crucial.

Inexpensive: At this point in time most of us are already under financial pressure and income-generating ideas that require a big financial investment is not an option.

There is nobody that I know of that has not been impacted in one way or the other by the Covid pandemic and even more so by the Lockdown. Most of us have been severely impacted financially and are struggling to make ends meet.

Unfortunately, this situation is not going to go away and may even get worse with economic decline. There are many that have lost their jobs through retrenchment and companies closing.  Many of my friends are now facing retrenchment with little possibility of future employment opportunities.

Everyone that has investments whether in Property, share portfolios and endowments have lost value with no hope of long-term improvement. People that have been living off returns from the investments are now finding themselves not being able to make ends meet. Business owners are finding themselves in trouble and their businesses may not survive this crisis. Considering solid investment returns is crucial.

One of the only solutions I have found to improve my financial woes is to earn a second source of revenue, considering solid investments and to focus on other potential income-earning streams. Even if you have lost your job and are unable to find employment there are opportunities out there to earn an income especially in the social networks and internet space.

Many times in my life I have depended on a single income, and when times have got tough it has placed me in a very difficult situation. This time I have learned my lesson and will now consider all ways of earning extra money.

Generating multiple streams of income can have a major impact on your finances. Even an extra income of R1000 each month could go a long way towards paying debt or increasing your investments. We often hear about the importance of diversifying our investments, but diversifying our income streams is just as important, particularly in these difficult economic times.

There are opportunities that can become a full-time business, are very lucrative and can offer a path to financial freedom.