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Is your dwindling bank account impacting your health? The American Psychological Association (APA) released a survey showing that money stress impacts Americans’ health nationwide. And, as it turns out, the wealthy are also stressed about money — not just those in lower-income households.
You can eliminate some of that financial stress by earning extra income, even if you have a full-time job. Steve Chou of MyWifeQuitHerJob famously started two six-figure businesses while continuing to work at his day job.
Related: 9 Ideas to Make a Side Income While Growing Your Business
Whether you’re looking for cash to launch your startup or make new investments with, or dig out from mounting debt, a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month can change your life. Here’s how to get started.
Start a service business
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Launching a service business can be done without a large network, an online presence or much overhead. The easiest way to start is by telling people in your existing network what you’re offering and asking them to spread the word.
Noah Kagan from AppSumo nailed this concept. He decided to see if he could earn $1,000 in 24 hours, starting from scratch. He ended up founding a successful beef jerky subscription business that he gave to one of his students to run.
You can steal his concept, with a business like dinner catering, freelance writing or online marketing. Start by crafting a killer outreach email to get yourself up and running in just a few days.
Related: 105 Service Businesses to Start Today
Invest in real estate
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Becoming a landlord isn’t always practical for those who are employed full-time and already strapped for cash. But you can look at buying a condo or small property in another country as a vacation getaway instead. The price tag is typically cheaper, even when you hire a local property management group to manage renters while you’re away.
Commercial real estate can also be a lucrative way to invest and earn passive income, even without a large down payment. Get started with a site like Realty Mogul, and invest in commercial real estate for as little as $5,000. You’ll get vetted deals and access to high-end listings you wouldn’t otherwise find.
Read This: The Book on Investing In Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down by Brandon Turner | Amazon
Launch an online resource
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Share your expertise by launching an online ebook or course to help others while you earn passive income. My own ebook, 100 Days of Growth, ended up generating more income than my day job. It was a ton of up-front work, but once it was ready to go, it took minimal effort to maintain and to keep up with sales.
If writing ebooks isn’t your strong suit, launch a video course or bootcamp instead. I didn’t stop at books — I also launched a content marketing bootcamp through ContentMarketer.io to help my clients master content-marketing abilities in 10 weeks.
Read This: Start Your Own eLearning or Training Business by The Staff at Entrepreneur Media and Ciree Linsenmann | Amazon
Leverage the power of Amazon
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It’s always an admirable goal to launch your own online store and build a customer base, but you’re also talking about wearing many different hats. You need to research products, find a manufacturer, market your site and figure out how to fulfill orders. Don’t forget about customer service and refund requests.
Instead, you could sell a product and develop a presence directly on Amazon without the need to take on so many roles. Some sellers even have their products shipped directly to Amazon’s fulfillment center and never touch the product itself.
Read This: amazon FBA: Step-By-Step Instruction To Start A Fulfillment By Amazon Business by Robert C. Hawthorn
Join the sharing economy
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It’s not hard to nail down a few hundred to thousands of dollars a month by leveraging the sharing economy. But it’s not just about renting out your spare bedroom or basement on Airbnb. Rent out your car on Turo and bike to work or carpool instead. Rent out your camera equipment lying around your house on Cameralends, your snowboard or bike on Spinlister or your sailboat on Sailo.
And if you are going to rent on Airbnb, consider helping your revenue skyrocket by renting out your entire house instead, and using the opportunity to visit family or go on vacation.
Host an event
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You can make money hosting events without aiming for thousands of sign-ups, vendors and high-profile guest speakers. Instead, form a free MeetUp group on a topic you’re knowledgeable about, like growth hacking, and run free events.
After you secure a loyal following, charge for an event with a reputable guest speaker. Rent out a small, upscale conference room at a nearby hotel, and grow your new MeetUp by hosting exclusive, sought-after events that charge a premium for fantastic content.
Read This: Start Your Own Event Planning Business by The Staff at Entrepreneur Media and Cheryl Kimball | Amazon
Get paid to do what you’re already doing
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Take inventory of what you’re doing in your free time. People who love skydiving (like me!) can get certified to teach and do jumps on the weekend. You get to do what you love while earning extra money at the same time. Ask your local bar if you can help run its trivia night, or bartend a few nights a week while hanging out and getting to talk to interesting people.
Related: 7.1 Steps to Create Multiple Streams of Income
Even if you’re not interested in doing much but relaxing and surfing online, you can earn money by testing websites and recording your opinion with a site like UserTesting.
So, get out there. Use your imagination to start a flow of extra income today.