One of the best feelings I had was when I first setup Droid Island for e-commerce and I woke up in the middle of the night to see my first order. Making money while you sleep…Booyah! The 2nd best feeling was going through my first week of the 9-5 job I started some days ago and while training is going on, still getting emails for new orders. Nothing like getting paid from other sources while you are making money.
I wanted to talk about why you should have an online biz with your 9-5. While you are making that secure money, this is the best time to start looking at how you can start taking that earned income and setting up systems so that you can start generating passive income.
This is definitely a movement I would love to champion and get behind. The general perception amongst many people is that things are hard right now in the Caribbean. It’s something as you know that I hate to hear because we have so many opportunities at our fingertips and we are just 1 Google search away from changing our lives.
We are 1 Google search away from changing our lives.
Keron Rose
Now I have spoken about high-income skills and how to get started building a business with little to no money (see here if you haven’t) and what people who are working a job should start looking at are all of the opportunities they can make money online, rather than finding another job that requires their physical presence.
Now there isn’t anything wrong if you got another job that you physically need to be at, especially if you enjoy it. But whenever you can try to stay clear of trading your time for money, its best to do that and also, it starts to take a toll on you at some point.
I am up early and I’m knocked out before 11 pm. I have learned over the past couple years that whenever I have hated my job or didn’t like doing something, the drain on me mentally & physically was at an all-time high. When I started enjoying my business and doing my own thing, I never felt tired or exhausted from the day. I have been energized to wake up earlier and go to bed a little later, simply because I am doing the things I love to do.
So here are my 3 reasons why you should have an online business to accompany that 9-5:
- Earn more money
- Earn while you work
- Doesn’t require your physical presence
Earn More Money
Well, Duhhhh Keron…we didn’t need you to tell us this lol. Hey, sometimes we just need to be reminded of the basics and see things written down before we internalize it. Why should you start an online business while you are working a 9-5, to earn more damn money!
If your side business really starts to grow and generate money, you will be faced with some gratifying decisions. Typically when you side hustle surpasses the 70% threshold of your monthly earned income from your job, you can decide to quit your job and go into your business full-time ORRRRR because it’s an online business, you have the luxury of continuing to work that 9-5 and continue to earn that online revenue.
The most important thing is to have your systems in place and look at hiring a virtual assistant so that your business doesn’t require your presence as much.
Droid Island is set up in such a way that people can order products from me without having to actually speak to me. I create blogs, sales pages, videos and share a bunch of content that educates and builds trust with my audience, so they can go ahead and order online without speaking to me or if they don’t have a credit card and need information on my other payment methods, they usually shoot me an email or WhatsApp to get the info.
Nothing better than going to a bathroom break at work and looking at your emails to see new orders coming in #winning.
Earn While You Work
This is following up on my first point. If you are trying to get to the point where you can eventually leave your day job, you need to ensure you get to that threshold where your side business is earning over 70% of your salary.
Building an online business gives you the flexibility to build from the comfort of your home, without having to rush to another venue and punch the clock. There is just so much energy you save when you can build your business from the comfort of your home, on your time.
A few good side businesses to start while you are working are:
- A dropshipping store
- Freelance Writing
- Virtual Assistant
- Web Design
- Affiliate Marketing
- Social Media Manager
- Online Courses
- Tutoring
- Youtuber
- Graphic designer
- Proofreader
Those are 11 quick ideas off the top of my head of businesses that you can start from home and earn money. Now I also believe that if there is a business you are passionate about that requires a lot of capital to get started, I think there is a way you can start with parts of it being online first to build your brand, make some money and then reinvest it to take it offline if you choose.
Now is the time to start experimenting and learning new skills while you have that secure income coming in.
Doesn’t Require Your Physical Presence
Mannnnn…I cannot tell you how much this has helped me. Learning how to build a business that runs on automatic or at least semi-automatic, one that doesn’t require me to do something for it every single day, has helped me mentally and kept me motivated.
You see, you might see my content show up on your feed every day but many times, I haven’t actually done anything that day. I’ve learned how to schedule content and repurpose old content if I am not in the mood to create something fresh.
A basic understanding of SEO and having a website helps me gain clients through Google searches and the more content I have created over the years has helped with my organic traffic back to the website.
Let’s face it, you will not be in the mood every day to work and that online business allows you to pick and choose when and where you work. Not everybody will see your content when you post it the first time because of the algorithms, so repurposing that content is always great because it might be the first time people see it, even though it’s been posted a few times prior.
Learning the systems, having a basic understanding of SEO and digital marketing, having an e-commerce website and working with a Virtual Assistant, will ultimately free up your time to do other things, even if it’s to just relax. Allowing your business to run without having you physically be in it or interacting with it every single day.
For many years, people told you that you needed to save up months and months of your salary before you should go about jumping into your business, and while that may work for some, it’s not going to work for everyone. Especially when you are living hand to mouth, just trying to survive.
The best thing you can do is to start learning how to build a side business online, that will allow you to take back your time and still earn money doing something that you actually like to do.
As much as I preach about building a business you are passionate about, you can start doing something that you may not be passionate but you are good at.
Starting off with something as simple as learning how to build a dropshipping business, may not be something you are overly passionate about but you might see an opportunity for you to bring in things that are in demand and people might not be able to get in your market. Then learning about the various fulfilment services will allow you to get your products from point A to point B.
There are various things that can be done with very little technical skills, you just need to keep your eyes and mind open to spotting the opportunity and going for it.
Don’t put your eggs in 1 basket by just having a 9-5. Business needs are changing rapidly and there is no such thing as job security anymore. Technology, automation, robots, these are all real things replacing jobs at speeds no amount of “immigrants” could ever dream of doing.
I urge everybody to start learning high-income skills and start learning about what types of businesses they can build online without much technical skills so that they can have various sources of income.
Trying to get hired for a job in Trinidad or another Caribbean island may be getting tougher but the opportunities to extend beyond your shores are growing and you will no longer have to settle for making money in just your country or fall victim to your country’s economy.
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