How to make money

If you’ve realised that you really need to make money [well, more of it anyway] to achieve your financial goals, there are a number of ways you can do it.

• Get a pay rise or negotiate different conditions.
• Get a better job
• Get a second job
• Start your own business
• Try your hand at making money on the Internet

But what ever you try, remember the golden rules to make money:

Rule No. 1: You can’t get something for nothing! You either have to put in effort (ie your time and skill) or cash.

Rule No. 2: High returns usually mean high risk – don’t get tricked by high risk schemes and don’t put in more than you’re prepared to lose. Read the section on 'investments' to understand this more.

Rule No. 3: There is no such thing as a “foolproof, get rich quick” scheme – they are all scams.

Rule No. 4: Even if you make more money, you still need to manage it - budget, save, invest, insure your wealth, protect your assets and reduce your debt.

The key thing to remember is not to let the pursuit of making more money cloud you vision – remember what really matters to you and make this your measure of success and happiness.

Keep reading to find out more.

How to get a pay rise

Before asking for a pay rise, make sure you do the research and consider the following first:

• What is the standard salary or wage for someone of your skill and experience? There are many career websites that will be able to give you an indicative salary range for your job – how does your current pay compare? If it’s less, then you may have a good case for getting a pay rise. If it’s in the range or above, you can still make a case, but may need to be more convincing.
• Do you think you deserve a pay rise? It’s all about value to your employer - they want to make money too. Think about how you personally contribute to your employer’s business and how you add value. Think of specific examples of what you have done and use these to build your case.
• Are you doing more than what’s required by your job description? Pull out a copy of your job description – you need to be doing at least this to warrant a pay rise, after all if you’re not doing the job you’re already paid to do…. But also remind yourself of your companies goals and objectives and think about what you have done towards these goals, that are outside of your job description – this is the ‘value’ you are bringing to the company.
• Is there any bad blood or poor performance issues that may affect your chances of a pay rise? What was the outcome of your last performance review? How were these resolved? By talking frankly with your boss about these issues and how you’ve improved, you can still justify a pay rise.
• Your relationship with your boss – you don’t need to be best buddies with your boss, but he needs to at least know who you are and what you do. Of course, if you already have a strained relationship with your boss, then asking him for a pay rise could be difficult for both of you.
• Your approach – think about how you are going to make the approach. Do you want to put it in a letter first or simply make an appointment to see your boss to discuss? If you do send a letter, you MUST follow it up in person – otherwise he’ll disregard it.
• Or instead of asking for a pay rise, you may be able to negotiate different working conditions instead – try negotiating for long working hours (with pay to suit of course), or cashing in some of you annual leave if this is allowed.

Most employers are reasonable enough to give you a good hearing on your claim for a pay rise – you may not get it, but you and your boss should still be able to come out of these discussions with amicable respect.

Most employers also realise that it is the human resources of their company that are the most valuable, and are often accommodating in remuneration – but remember that no-one is irreplaceable. Not even you.

The key thing is that you need to be able to convince your boss that you deserve a pay rise because of the value you offer his business. If you can’t do this, why should he give you the extra cash?

And what ever you do, don’t demand a pay rise or threaten to quit, but simply persuade him that it’s the best thing for him to do for the security of this company.

Get a better job

• Look around for the same type of job, but with a company that offers better pay.
• Or perhaps you could try for a promotion to a better paying job, that challenges your abilities as well as meets your financial requirements.
• Try registering with a job search agency, and see what they find.
• Try re-training yourself for a better career – this can take time though, so only attempt this if you are serious.

You could also take on a second job to make money, with working hours that fit in with your existing work schedule. Be warned though, this can be very tiring and leave you felling drained, so it’s only recommended for a short term boost to your income.

Start your own business

It is obviously risky to start your own business – many new businesses fail in the first 12 months because they haven’t done their homework in business establishment.

Things to consider when starting your own business include:

• Are you really ready? You will need drive, commitment and energy to start your own business. Be prepared to put in much longer hours than you are currently working while you get your business established. Are your technical and management skills up to the task?
• Who are your competition – do a competitor analysis and find out everything you can about them. Find out what they offer, their fees/ prices and what gives them their market edge.
• What is the market – who are you trying to sell your products or services to? What do they really want? How can you reach them?
• What is your 'edge’? How are you going to set yourself apart from your competitors?
• What is it going to cost to start your own business – as well as lost wages from your current job, there will be set-up costs for your new business. Detail exactly what these are and work out how to finance them sustainably.

The most important thing is that if you are really serious about starting your own business, get some professional advice first. It may cost for this advice, but it is well worth it in the long run if it ensures you start off on the right foot and actually make money.

And if you're interested in starting your own E-business, check out these great E-business Tools.

Make Money on the internet

It also provides an opportunity for unscrupulous operators to take advantage of Internet users, with promises of get-rich-quick schemes and offers. There are probably more scams on the internet than genuine schemes, so be ware!

Yes – you can make money on the Internet, but there are precautions you need to take and some schemes you just need to avoid.

If you’re considering using the Internet to make money, then keep the following golden rules in mind:

• If it sounds too good to be true, it is. You can’t get money for doing nothing (or very little). Ask yourself “what are they getting out of this? Why are they doing it?” People won’t make offers if they don’t get something in return – what is that something and are you prepared to be part of it.
• The benefits of schemes are always over-stated. There may well be benefits, but all too often these are exaggerated. Always view these claims as the ‘best case’ scenario, and not likely to be achieved just by signing up.
• Always investigate an opportunity before committing – particularly if payment is involved. There are a number of sites and forums that discuss scams and schemes on the Internet. Failing that, use your search engine to search for the scheme you are considering and include the word ‘scam’ in the search. Sometimes you’ll be surprised what you find.
• Be wary of any scheme that asks you for money. Also be wary of schemes that ask for your credit card details, even if they claim ‘no cost/ payment’ required.
• Set your limits. How much money do you want to spend and make (or do you just want to muck around for fun) and why? How much time do you want to commit? What are you prepared to do for this money – involve your friends? Ethics?

Input can either be your financial input (ie your money) or your time – both of which are important to you. It is therefore important that before considering any internet money making scheme, you determine realistically what you are prepared to input to the process in terms of your time and your money.

You also need to be prepared to lose this input, as any venture has a degree of risk associated with it.

Money making schemes on the Internet generally fit into one of the following types:

• Pay for surveys and reading emails: There are many sites where you can register to undertake market surveys and receive marketing emails. You then get paid to complete issued surveys and read the marketing emails.

  You don’t get paid very much though, and it can take along time to make money out if these schemes, but they can at least be interesting and don’t test your brains!

  If you want to try this option, it is worth while registering through a survey register that then links you to survey providers. But NEVER pay to join such a program – these ones are usually the ones with dodgy providers.

  And don’t feel pressured to take up any of the marketing offers either – they are hoping you will, but you are under no obligation to do so.

  You may come across some low cost or free trial offers in these schemes too – again, don’t feel pressured to accept these offers, unless it’s something you really want anyway.

• Referral schemes, affiliate programs and web page advertising: If you have your own website, you can use tasteful and relevant affiliate programs and advertising to increase revenue from your site and make money. If you don’t have a website – build one! Anyone can do it (even me)!
• Share trading and Exchange trading: If you’ve happy to put up some cash, you can try day trading in shares or foreign currency and make money through capitalising on the natural and daily highs and lows of these markets. This is RISKY business though, so be prepared to lose.
• eBay and other auction sites: You can sell unwanted possessions or even market your own products through sites like eBay and make money. Of course, it doesn’t guarantee that you are going to make a lot of money – people still have to want what you are selling and want to compete for it in an auction.

  You can also trade on eBay – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! Trade up and up and up – again, it takes time but you can do some remarkable things!

Given that you can’t get something for nothing, you can either put up some cash and try your hand at share or exchange trading – remembering that there is a high level of risk that go with these – or put in some long hours.

By far the best return on your time investment to make money is if you become an infopreneur – develop your own unique website to share your knowledge with the world! You can then earn money from this website through advertising, affiliate programs and maybe even selling some of your own products or services.

Remember though that it does take time – and a lot of it! You won’t make a successful website overnight, but you can do it and make money over time with the right direction.

If you're interested in becoming an infopreneur, then you’ve got to at least look into Site Build It! We used it to build this website - it really does take the uncertainty out of the process using it's block-by-block website construction method [great for those of us whose kids have more IT savvy than us!]. The site also includes heaps of FREE information and advice about HOW to build a content based website, or check out the E-business tools in the ToolBOX.

Don't think you've got the time to do all this? These FREE e-books from Rigdha Acharya of ”Manage my Time Now” may help. Just click from the list below!

• Time Management for working at home
• Time Management for Moms
• Time Management for Parents
• Time Management for Writers
• The Secret of Time Management
• How to Manage Procrastination

Related Topics:

• Wealth Creation
• Investments
• Assets
• ”The Secret”
• The Law of Attraction