We live in a time like none other, a time when our physical presence is no longer needed; we can sign a deal, or develop a relationship remotely. With little effort we can be anywhere in the world while connecting to any market in the world. Many jobs and businesses can successfully be done online. Historically, innovation happens when opportunity meets necessity, I believe that is happening now. The need for remote work and the ability to produce quality work remotely, has come to that sweet spot of innovation. Will you take advantage of the next big ideas?
There are plenty of advice posts about how to make money online, which can pay some bills, or provide extra income, but that’s not what I’m discussing. You can go anywhere to learn about survey monkey, or teaching online. I want to help you find the inspiration to create something you can grow- something you can be proud of.
I’ve been working remotely since 2016; negotiating million-dollar contracts while I’m taking conference calls on the beaches of Normandy, Belize and Croatia and closing deals while shopping in Florence, anywhere I am- I can work. I’m going to encourage you to do the same. Here are some ideas of how you can make money online for free, or little investment depending on what you’re doing. The biggest investment you’re going to be spending will be time. There are some great work online ideas in this post, and I also update with new work online posts with new work online ideas every year: Make Money Online in 2022, New Ways to Make Money Online in 2024, and 24 Business Ideas for 2024.
How to make money online in 2021 by finding or creating an online earning source
Sell products for companies as an agent: If you have a sales background, this is easy to do; if you don’t- it’s a little more difficult, but not impossible, and I’m here to help you with bi-weekly posts and book suggestions, so don’t fret. First, choose some industries similar to your own, look for channel programs where you can sell their products with help from their own employees. This exists in telecommunications, food and beverage, financial, insurance, beauty and in some other industries.
Become a project manager: If you’re organized and well put together you can find a job on LinkedIn as a remote project manager. Look for project manager positions in fields you have worked in the past. Get really good at organizing and share details of the projects and the expected completion dates once you start- many project managers don’t do this, doing it would make you stand out. Once you build a good reputation you can be a freelance project manager for a couple different companies. A good project manager can assist on a sales team for a percentage of the project value.
Become a virtual event organizer: So many people are doing webinars, podcasts and web events these days. Create a business managing their events. Find people and companies who already do webinars, or web events and reach out with your services. These are the days for virtual events, take advantage by learning zoom, YouTube and other platforms really well, then offer your services as a virtual event organizer. Take some time and think it through, put a plan together and figure out how many hours it will take to develop customers and how much money you would need to earn to make it worthwhile- don’t work for free. You can try looking on event platforms like Eventbrite and Meetup.
Start a directory of products and services in a hot area: health and wellness, spirituality, fragrance, bridal, small businesses in a region… Once you have the website built and traffic to it you can develop relationships with the businesses you mention and show it to them. Then ask for a cut of their profits for the advertising. I had a friend who did these in south Florida, he had dozens of directories fifteen years ago, he did really well with them. It was before the time of social media influencers and I think this is a seamless way to become an influencer. Ethical Elephant has a directory for cruelty free brands, I’ve been loving their site for ages.
Become great at Pinterest : offer your services the way people do with IG and FB, Pinterest is the 2021 way to social media. It’s more of an advertiser friendly social media and it’s growing quickly. I think this site will beat IG and FB because advertisers can showcase their products in a clear and more organized way.
Learn LinkedIn and offer your services to businesses: This is not as fresh as Pinterest and there are ways to block e mails, but there is still opportunity here if creative. You can start with a LinkedIn group and attract people to discussions. Then use the discussions to find clients for marketing, or sales, or maybe try the customer excellence approach. I’ve been hearing that companies are having trouble with quality customer service so that might be an in.
Become a head hunter: You can work this sort of job remotely and build your experience and relationships until you feel you have enough to branch out and be independent. I knew a guy in New York who got a % off his client’s million-dollar salaries, he hunted MIT alumni for Wall St. firms. He did it totally remotely and worked his own hours.
Do you like teaching? Use Skillshare to teach something obscure that everyone else isn’t doing. What about teaching tiling to people stuck at home in California who want to do renovations, but can’t find anyone to work. I have a client who needs her kitchen and bathroom tiled, but can’t find anyone available to do it because in her area in Connecticut every contractor is booked for months. If you are creative and like mosaic then here is another area to capitalize on.
Inbound call center: I have retail and other clients who have decided to migrate their existing call center out into the internet world of remote work. They are hiring people across the US to work remotely. As a remote employee people can have guaranteed income while living where they choose. Having a remote job is fantastic for earning income while building a side business and call centers can provide a good schedule. If you’re good at customer support and you like people maybe you can work out a better deal than the hourly one call centers have paid in the past.
Photographers can sell stock photos on Shutterstock
Look for freelance jobs to earn income while you’re creating your big idea:
Jobstodo EU
UpWork
I think it’s important to be narrow and focused, but also- you need to make money while you create your plan, work more than one activity to get the money you need. Some people like throwing a bunch of things against the wall and seeing what sticks. I don’t agree, the only things that stick to a wall are yucky. Take your time, think clearly and do your research.
Ask yourself what you’re good at, what do you enjoy doing? Then start a list of the positive things you want to do with your work. I don’t agree that you are going to find what brings you joy 24/7, but you can find something that you enjoy. Take your time, wait, research what you want and clarify your vision of what you want. I don’t think it’s a good idea to sign up for everything and try to do all the work you can. This can be too scattered and will just run you dry. Get specific about what you’re good at and then narrow the areas where you can work.
Don’t quit your job yet, do your research, write business plans, think through your plans and get started- while you’re working. Years ago, I wrote three business plans, then after months of research I realized the business ideas wouldn’t make enough profit. It’s better to find out ahead of time that the profit isn’t there. Work smart and have fun.
