More and more people are finding value working from home than ever before. Part of this is because of the opportunities that are available online as opposed to local areas. I started my journey simply because I couldn’t find a decent job that pays as much as writing.
Unfortunately, the Internet is also full of scams with the sole purpose of taking your money. And yes, I was taken for a ride once or twice myself. Luckily, I didn’t spend as much money on these “get rich quick” schemes as others.
What I found is that it is possible to work from the comfort of your home. As long as you’re willing to put in the effort, it is possible to replace a full-time income.
I’m not merely going to show you a few ways you can work, though. What I am demonstrating are ways I have made money myself and what you can do to optimize your own efforts. Keep in mind that these will not make you rich overnight.
What Can You Do to Work From Home?
In reality, the number of ways you can work from home are staggering. With a bit of imagination, nearly anyone can start their own business or become self-employed. The trick is to make sure you’re still making money several years down the road. Statistically speaking, most business that start today will shut down within the next year.
Become a Writer
Work for Writers
Being a writer has been my proverbial “cup of tea.” I actually started a few years earlier, but it wasn’t until January of 2012 that I put in the effort to be professional. Since then, I’ve developed more than 5,500 pieces of content for various clients online and off.
Not everyone has the capacity to write full-time, though. It’s a lot harder than it looks, especially if you don’t have a comfortable place to sit and work. However, I find myself constantly working thanks to my efforts in maintaining a good client-base and knowing where to go for jobs.
Start eCommerce
Owning an online store was much easier than I thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, there is still a great deal of work if you want to be successful. However, the overhead is much lower and the operation as a whole is easier than opening your own local retail shop – which I have done in the past.
I have built stores from eBay to using Magento for clients as well as myself. If it wasn’t for issues with the people I trusted, I would still be in operation today. Aside from that, eCommerce is a great way to make money while working from home.
Become a Web Hosting Reseller
Reseller programs are interesting enough, but they can easily exhaust your money rather quickly. Essentially, you’re becoming a micro-web host provider. This is when you “lease” web space from a host and rent it out to customers. You’re provided a share of drive space, bandwidth and can charge anything you wish while partitioning the digital real estate.
The trick to being successful as a reseller is not being in competition with other web hosting companies. Instead, you need to use a bit of imagination and attract a different kind of customer. Otherwise, you won’t make nearly as much as you think you will.
Build Your Own Apps
If you have skill with coding, you can make quite a bit developing apps. That is, if you can develop apps that are well accepted by the community. Anyone can slap together something that works on a mobile device. But not everyone will put together the next Angry Birds or Candy Crush.
What I like about building apps is that it’s incredibly easy to get into. With so many resources online for learning how to code, nearly anyone can get started today regardless of skill level.
Get Involved in Gaming
Can gaming really be considered working from home? Although I didn’t make as much as a gamer on Twitch as some of the other more popular people, it was still an incredible experience. But live streaming isn’t the only way a gamer can make money online. In fact, there are many ways you can put your skills and imagination to work.
Whether you just want to play or you’re curious about developing your own games, the Internet is full of possibility for a gamer to make money working from home. All it takes is a bit of imagination and keeping your thumb on the pulse of trends.
Publish Your Own Books
I see a lot of websites that say how anyone can make money working from home while writing eBooks. Although there is potential to bring in a bit of cash, it’s not as lucrative as many might think. There is a lot that plays into self-publishing any piece of content whether it’s a book or a blog post.
This shouldn’t discourage you, though. In fact, publishing a book can be quite rewarding if nothing more than a resume builder. Then again, you may just become the next big author on Amazon. Who knows? The point is you won’t know until you actually try and put in the effort to get your name out there.
These are only a handful of ways anyone can work from home. These are also six ways that I have either been a part of or currently practice to make money. Although I am far more successful as a writer, I can see the value in any one of the above methods. Just remember that you’re success will be determined by the amount of effort you put into any project.