We all need to find ways to make ends meet and not everyone has the resources to start a business.
Relying solely on our jobs may not be enough to meet the needs of a growing family. What makes it more difficult is when only one spouse is working for the family. One way to ease the burden is to look for other sources of income.
ONLINE JOBS
Most stay-at- home moms have taken this opportunity to help their families because of convenience. Online jobs are mostly outsourced from other countries. They do this because:
- it lowers operational and labor cost
- the company is able to focus more on their core business processes
- it gives them a sense of the global market
BLOGGING
Blogging used to be merely a form of expressing oneself, an online diary shared with the virtual audience. But as years went by, bloggers saw the opportunity of being able to earn by incorporating banner ads into their site.
Apart from this, companies would offer them something in exchange for a positive review. Some bloggers just stick to a specific niche, but others may offer to write about anything.
Can the blogger sustain the family’s needs? A good PR ranking would mean that the site has many followers, thus there is a bigger opportunity for the blogger to be known by different companies and be offered a reasonable amount for their services.
FREELANCE WRITING
Blogging may just be concentrated on one’s thoughts but with freelance writing, you take job opportunities by doing research, writing articles and e-books. All you need is a good computer with a reliable internet connection.
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT
We know how much social media has affected the growth of businesses. Unfortunately, companies may not have dedicated employees to harness this. They hire people from outside to update their virtual audience via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
EVENTS COORDINATOR
Putting together an event or a party may be a tedious task. Instead of being able to focus on the event itself, there is so much work to do and there is a need to call different people just to make an event happen.
How hard could it be to get in touch with suppliers in behalf of a client? All you need is to have a list of suppliers that will be needed for a particular event and coordinate with the client on how he or she would want the event look like. The rates differ according to how much coordination is needed.
CATERING SERVICE
If you love to cook, then by all means, start a catering service to your advantage. You may want to start with just asking your friends to avail of your services if they have any special occasions coming up. This will definitely lessen their worries on the day of the event and just be able to focus on their guests.
FASHION STYLIST
Stylists help create an image that an individual would want to present to the community. Stylists help create a distinct brand and a strong professional image by aligning the inner image to the outer image of the individual. This is a good business opportunity especially for those who are really into fashion and wants to travel.
MEALS-TO- GO SERVICE
Sometimes, starting this small business can be the start of a bigger opportunity. Offices do have their own canteens, but sometimes the food can be a bit more expensive. One way of providing the needs of the employees is by offering them cooked food to be delivered in time for their break.
ONLINE BUSINESS (AS A MIDDLE MAN)
When you think of having an online business, you would think that you need enough funds to build an inventory. However, there is one kind of online business that requires just being constantly online to talk to customers.
PROOFREADING AND EDITING
If you have a strong command of the English language and have exceptional skills in grammar, then this one is for you. The rate depends on the kind of materials being edited. Some would charge as low as P150 per page.
These are just few business ideas, which can help you to earn extra outside from your regular jobs. One needs to maintain an open mind and discover what lies beneath an opportunity. It is often said that opportunities may not knock twice, but if you make good at it, you may even earn more from this than your 9 to 5 job.
(Armando Bartolome is known as the Philippines’ Franchise Guru, a business mentor to numerous micro entrepreneurs who are now themselves big names in the industry. This article was previously published on the author’s The Business Mentor column posted by ABSCBN News. For questions and more information, you may contact Armando "Butz" Bartolome by email:philfranchiseguru@gmail.com or on Twitter @philfranguru. His website is www.gmb.com.ph)
