Femi, like many other regular guys I know, has a 9-5 job. He gets up as early as 5.30am to get dressed for work so that he can beat the harrowing early morning Lagos traffic. He works so hard every day, yet his regular income is not even enough to last him through the first three weeks of the month, let alone save. He had to do something about the situation really fast.
Many of us find ourselves in such financial misery and often times resort to unscrupulous means just to augment our regular take homes. What if there are other things we could do legitimately to earn extra incomes?
Before I go further, let us examine what it really takes to earn an extra N50,000 for people with the following assets;
1) Rental Property: For you to earn an extra income of just N50,000 every month from a rental, you must have a rental property that will earn you at least N600,000 in rent every year. In Nigeria, properties that can earn you that much are worth at least N8.5million.
2) Invest in Fixed Income Security: Several times, I have discussed investing in treasury bills, bonds, etc. However, for you to earn N50,000 (N600k per annum) in Treasury Bills every month, you must invest an average of about N6,000,000 annually (as per today’s market).
3) Invest in Stocks: Investing in stocks is also a very good way of making an extra income by the side. However, that comes with a lot of downside risk and it requires financial skills. The stock market has returned about 35% year to date. Therefore, to earn N50,000 every month based on that return you will have to invest a minimum of N1.7 million every month and pray that you win all the time.
4) Lottery: If you play the lottery regularly and believe you have the luck and skill to win then maybe you can earn N50,000 every month but we all know that is not possible
The business below can earn you the multiple earning streams you desire without even having to invest so much in initial capital.
A) Blogging – Owning a blog is big business these days in Nigeria, thanks to the likes of Linda Ikeji. For those who don’t understand, blogging is simply an art of writing short articles about various sources of interest and publishing it online. They can be about your personal life, the society, politics, entertainment, gossip or a combination of all of them.All you need is a computer, phone, laptop or tablet. You can start blogging within minutes and there are numerous articles on the web about how to start a blog. You earn money from blogs when you have a lot of visitors. Advertisers see your visitor counts and can pay you top Naira just to have their ads on your blog. People can earn between N50, 000 to N2million per month by simply being a popular blogger.
B) Use your skills or talent to Provide a service: Businesses and individuals always have a need for some form of service every now and then. It could be laundry, taxi, cleaning, teaching, coaching etc. Making money from a service depends on the type of skill you have and how much people value it. For example, if you are good with math’s you can start a math lesson in your neighborhood for kids writing Jamb lessons.
If you are good at sports like football, you can start a coaching session for kids in your estate. Parents are willing to pay for these services when they see them. Do you like to write, then why not start guest-blogging for a fee? By the time you write ten articles a week you could earn enough to earn you that extra pay.
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C) Use your profession: As a Lawyer, Accountant or Engineer working full-time it is not unlikely that your services may still be required on an ad hoc basis. You can provide these services at your spare time upon request in exchange for a decent fee.
D) Own a Business – Many Nigerians augment their income by owning businesses that they operate at home or in shops. Nothing stops you from doing this too. Some actually make so much money they end up facing the business full-time.
E) Be a Virtual Assistant – Virtual Assistants are people who are employed to remotely work from home or in any location that is not your typical office place. All you need is a laptop, Internet and telephone. It’s increasingly getting popular as a source of earning income for stay at home moms
F) Buying and Selling – This involves petty trading of consumer goods. It’s time tested and still works quite well for many people. It is often better to start by selling things you are used to. It could be dresses, shoes, jewelry, smart phones, tablets etc. Your first customers will typically be your colleagues at work and members in church.
G) Work Weekends or On off days – If you have the strength to work an extra day or two then why not trying working weekends for a few extra hours. You can take an extra job in places where weekend jobs are needed. Jobs that come to mind are ushering jobs, clubs and restaurants, teaching, singing, dancing etc.
H) Start an online business – The likes of Facebook, Google, and Amazon are all online businesses. Africa’s most visited website Nairaland is also online business. And so is Jumia, Dealdey, Konga. Online businesses make money through advertisements on the websites, commissions or selling a product or service.
To make money from an online business you must either have a forum where people regularly interact, sell products or services people need etc. Most successful online businesses started from people’s bedrooms.
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I) Be a Marketer – Being a part-time marketer can involve selling products in exchange for a commission. If you are good at this, then why not help companies sell their products at your spare time? Network marketing is increasingly popular in Nigeria and a viable form of marketing.
J) Be an Agent – Agency jobs involve providing unique services for organizations. You can have a license to clear products at the ports, sell air tickets or supply unique services or products. People who don’t have such licenses can even rent them from you providing an extra source of income.
This list is not exhaustive but I believe you get the drift. Always remember that to earn money from multiple income streams as an employee you have to do things that you like and are also less expensive to start but have the possibility to grow. You must be nimble and able to adapt to change.
This modified story originally appeared on Nairametrics in 2013