People are looking for ways to save everywhere. Looking for ways to earn, too, is even better. How far ahead in your financial goals could you get by actively pursuing both? Believe it or not there are easy ways to do that. And even better than earning, is earning and doing something you LOVE.
Sound like a pipe dream?
We’re not talking becoming Trump’s biggest rival in your financial endeavors (although that’s certainly a goal worth shooting for), but doing something a little more modest with that side income, like paying off a loan or a credit card, paying for your child’s education, or even adding to your retirement nest egg. Whatever area you’re looking to increase your cash flow in, y ou can do it and do it with pleasure.
Sign me up!
What is it that you love? Helping people? Writing? Golf? Teaching?
Once you’ve identified that, then look for places to use that passion. Writers can make money from home – especially stay at home moms looking to work when the kids are sleeping or at school. Or if you like helping people, maybe you could start by helping the elderly in your area get around or take care of their errands. People with a penchant for teaching could tutor online. The Helping Industry is a bottomless one, so there are many opportunities available.
So now that you know where you want your passion to go to work for you, what do you do next?
Invest in it. Don’t expect any return if you aren’t investing in you first. That doesn’t mean go all out. It means be smart. And something you can’t live without as a business owner are business cards (you can even get them free at Vistaprint). You’ll also need to rely on something besides word of mouth (and Facebook) to advertise for you. Use your investment money wisely and get going. Look for places that need your passion and put the word out there.
Work hard. But that’s really the easy part because you are doing what you love. Although, it does require a little sacrifice, it isn’t impossible to work full time, handle family responsibilities and nurture your side business. It just means you’ll need to be a little creative to find the right time to work on it. Working one or two weekends a month might be an option for the kind of work you want to do. Or maybe you can even work from home daily. But, as long as you are willing to make that sacrifice, you will soon see a return on your passion.
Be patient. The first 100 people you approach may not work out, but that 101st person might end up being the boost you need to pick up your momentum. Patience and perseverance are the name of the game when you’re promoting your passion to make a profit.
So don’t get discouraged. Take this time to learn as much as you can about business management, marketing, and your passion in your spare time. And you’ll put yourself on top of your game while you’re waiting for that 101st person to notice you and what a magnificent job you do.
Eventually, you will find that 102nd person who appreciates your work, and that will lead to the 103rd and 104th. When that day comes, then you have to push forward in your original financial goal. You set out to put away cash for your son’s education, so once you start bringing the money in, stay that course and don’t let anything sway you from your goal.
Now comes the hardest part
When the money starts coming in, it’s easy to let the dollar drive every business decision. Situations will arise and ideas will develop, but by not letting those shiny objects distract you, you’ll be able to reach that goal one dollar at a time. Always think long term.
Putting these steps into place, your passion will soon become a part time profit procurer that helps you reach your financial goals. And you never know, that part time passion could even give you the freedom you need to one day walk away from a job that doesn’t fulfill you the way your “side business” does.
What are your financial goals? How do you turn your passion into cash flow so you can reach your dreams?
{ read the comments below or add one }
You have to push forward in your original financial goal.
That was a geniune peice of advice, thanks
I’m actually in the process of paying off a small student loan. I’m actually working on increasing funds to put towards this loan, because I refuse to pay excessive amounts in interest ;o)
Turning your passion into a profitable business is surely a dream for everyone. Who doesn’t want to get paid to have fun after all. But once you are able to do that, you will realize soon that it is not all fun but in fact, some fun is sapped out of it under the pressures and expectations of the business itself. But overall, it still beats working a regular job!
-Jean
I definitely agree that doing something you enjoy is the best way to make yourself some extra cash. Money doesn’t grow on trees and you’re going have to work hard for it. I came across this article that I believe would be great for parents, http://bit.ly/yauGga. It is includes money skills for parents who have kids that move back in.
That is a great article, thanks for sharing it.
-Jean
Thinking that I’m stressing too much about it. If I can relax, perhaps my brain will kick in and I’ll come up with some great idea to give something my twist and help them at the same time.
Business cards? Really? Seriously?
I’m now poised to start a freelance business that will be advertised (hopefully) solely by word-of-mouth (still waiting on the tax agency, but otherwise it’s all in place). I’ve done a good job with my current boss–and in fact, I dare say he was quite relieved when I told him my plans and didn’t ask to keep my trained-monkey job.
It’s not about putting your own twist on things. That’s nice, but nobody wants *your* twist on things. People want things that will fix *their* problems. The hard part is figuring out how your twist on things fix their problems.
Bonnie,
Don’t give up. Research what others are doing and try and put your own “Bonnie” twist to it. Social media is FULL of ideas. Yours doesn’t have to be 100% unique. It just has to represent 100% YOU:)
What if you aren’t that creative regarding working your passion? I try to think of unique ways to share about an item I sell, (essential oils), but no ideas are coming to me.
Working hard and being patient are crucial to anyone’s success! Something great is not going to happen to someone who doesn’t put their hard work into their dreams!
One of the things I love to do is create websites. I struggle a bit with the design sometimes, but I really love the coding part. I can get lost in it for hours if I have the time and I actually want to tinker with the numbers and the tags to get things perfect. However, I have only recently been considering taking it up as a freelancing job for some side income and my only idea of advertising would be asking prior clients for recommendations to others. At the very least, I would like to start out that way and advertise only if I have the time to handle more or no work is coming in through recommendations.
I am still thinking about how I can turn my biggest passion into work. I am absolutely obsessed with Mars, want to go there, would love to do anything related to it, and have been looking for engineering jobs that would allow me to work with the satellites or rovers (though my willingness to commute has kept me from doing that lately).
I think you are well on the way to developing your passion KM. However, it sounds to me like it needs honing – perhaps you can link the two ideas to form one masterful passion. It is a passion I think which has the potential to earn you a lot of money if managed well.
I sense your willingness to commute will come from the passion and the excitement.
Best of luck to you – I only wish I was advanced in a passion again as you are now.