COVID-19 pandemic changed the ways people make money.
Traditional 9-5 jobs no longer provide a sense of financial security and stability as many businesses shut down due to the imposed restrictions set by governments across the globe.
Many people were left jobless. Yet, it opened up several money-making opportunities that anyone can do even just at the comfort of their own homes.
Transitioning to work-from-home (WFH) schemes led people to come up with innovative products and services. Some have set up their own businesses and have become their own boss.
Others turned to freelance and monetizing blogs. (Here are a few ways to make free money)
Now, the experience they gained from navigating a changing digital landscape made them ninjas on making money online.
Those who were able to adapt to these changes know how to use different tools to reach more audiences, and offer solutions.
Fret not! It’s never too late to get in the groove of earning extra money in the new normal. Here are some of the top ways on how you can add income and thrive in this pandemic.
Earning Extra Money from Home
There’s no denying that the pandemic had major effects on the price fluctuations of essential goods.
Vitamin C-rich food, canned goods, medicines, alcohol, etc became more expensive and cash flow is more restricted than ever.
Extra cash for the rainy days will definitely come in handy should the worst happen.
Also, the change in lifestyle sometimes requires you to shell out extra cash. For example, a subscription to your favorite movie-streaming service to keep yourself occupied during your leisure time!
Or, enroll in online classes that will add skills to your arsenal!
If you still have your full-time job you can still become a freelancer. And if you lost your job due to the pandemic, then you can become a freelancer and potentially double your income.
There are many ways to become a freelancer. You can become a writer, a video/image editor, a bookkeeper, or a mobile app developer.
However, there are some things to keep in mind about freelancing as it can be a feast or famine. Sometimes, you’ll have tons of projects lined up, and in some months, you won’t have any clients.
Here are some tips on how you can thrive during famine months- when job requests aren’t as plentiful:
Don’t hesitate to set prices for profits
Those who are new to freelancing tend to make the mistake of setting the prices low and agreeing to bargain deals.
If you do that, you won’t be able to make enough profits since your income might just be enough to cover your operational costs.
You want to be able to cover all of your expenses easily while getting enough profits to pay for yourself.
You don’t have to be scared to set a higher price if you know that you can exceed your clients’ expectations.
Set a bare-bones budget
During famine months, you need to learn how to manage your expenses and work lower than your regular budget.
Preparation is the key to do this efficiently. List your most essential expenses and make a budget plan around it.
Doing this won’t leave you shocked and crammed whenever the unexpected famine month/s hit!
Freelancers who are able to thrive in this type of setup have learned how to manage their time efficiently.
They know which type of projects would fit in their schedule or the set of services that they can offer.
Here are some of the top freelancing jobs that you can check out:
- Programming and software development
- Social media management
- Content writing
- Graphic design
- Web development
- Video/image editing
When it comes to freelancing, you need to build rapport and meet your clients’ expectations. That way, your clients will trust you and you might even get referrals from them.
With this, you’re on your way to becoming a successful freelancer!
Running a business from home
Several bricks and mortar businesses have shut down their operations because of the imposed social distancing, curfews and lockdowns across the globe.
If you are a business owner who experienced the harshness of this situation, you need to find ways to ensure that you will still have a source of income.
Or, if you were planning to open your business this year, but unexpectedly had to hold it off due to the pandemic, you would need to find another way to open up and reach your potential customers.
Fortunately, there are several technologies that sprung up over the past years. These recent developments have now become more useful than ever.
You can use these to relocate your business to your own home. What this means is that you’ll potentially reduce your overhead costs since you don’t have to worry about paying a hefty monthly rent for a commercial space.
With this alone, you’ll have more resources to spare and you can use it to improve your products, revamp your marketing and client acquisition strategies.
So, if you want to run a business at your home, then you have to evaluate some aspects and make sure that it connives with the new normal.
Here are some of the factors you need to consider:
Procurement
Logistics have changed drastically in this current global situation. Deliveries have longer lead times and sometimes, your previous supplier may no longer be available.
With this, you may need to forego or cut down some of the office supplies. You wouldn’t need large reams of paper, cleaning supplies, or several boxes of pens.
To cut down costs, it’s also ideal to keep finding new vendors or become a member of a group purchasing organization (GPO).
This type of organization will help you find better deals in the market.
Marketing
Marketing has a constantly changing landscape. Right now, these changes are more apparent as businesses switch to digital strategies.
Businesses that are thriving in the new normal are always keeping their marketing tactics up-to-date so they maintain their visibility.
As the landscape becomes more saturated, you have to re-evaluate your campaigns, mix up your strategies, and explore!
Daily operations
Transitioning your staff to WFH can be challenging. There are many distractions which can affect their productivity.
Also, you have to consider that your team may feel more isolated. So, you have to find ways on how you can maintain excellent communication with all your members.
And if you already have leaders in your company, it is best to set aside a time for them to be trained on remote leadership.
Managing your business remotely can be done efficiently with the help of different tools:
- Asana – Asana is a project management tool to help you track your team’s progress on their tasks. That way, you’ll get a picture of where everyone is at and ensure that the members of your team are on the same page.
- Slack – You might be surprised how the WFH scheme can affect your staff’s communication. Slack is one of the apps that you can use to communicate and announce any updates towards your employees.
- Zoom – Zoom gained wide recognition when the pandemic started to hit several areas across the world. If you need to show presentations to your employees, then this video conferencing app is a great choice.
- Timedoctor – Since you’ll be running your business and team remotely, you need a way to track your employees’ time. Timedoctor will help you with this!
- Airtable – Your database is essential to your business! To make sure that everyone can organize and collaborate on information, use Airtable.
With all these tools, you’ll be able to smoothly relocate and run your business at home without affecting too much of your budget or revenue.
Become a Ninja and Conquer the New Normal
Ninjas are those who are good at what they do – they understand the ins and outs of a situation and can nimbly navigate the market.
In this new normal, you can become a ninja in earning extra money online by understanding the market you want to enter, doing research, and creating a plan.
With this, you’ll get a headstart and adapt to the changes in the market in no time! You’ll be able to stay ahead of your competitors and become successful in today’s global situation.
