HOW TO EARN EXTRA CASH

Doing what you love
I know everyone do have something inside of them that they are passionate about, something that irrespective of what you are doing now for a living, you would pursue as your lifetime's work if only you could earn enough money doing it.

Like a stay-at-home mum who runs a podcasting website for other stay-at-home mums. Being an investor lets you pursue your passion, it lets you make in ways that work for your lifestyle, your family commitments and your schedule. It gives you the freedom in deciding on the kinds of projects you take on, in choosing whom you want to work with and ultimately in making independent decisions about your finances.

In the pages below, I have not only detailed the exact steps required to become an investor and make money outside your regular job but, I have also introduced you to types of businesses that can generate cash quickly using the extra cash strategies. Many of these occasional projects require only your own expertise. I will show you how to minimize the hassle factor so that you can focus on actually executing the short term, minimum-commitment strategies.

For instance, instead of starting a business that requires up-front cash, ongoing rent, personal guarantees and regular business hour, I want you to be free to concentrate on finding the best money making projects fro expertise and skill set rather than tying yourself to a product or service long term because you have invested in the business.

Instead of spending your time running the business, I want you to automate the most time-consuming work using inexpensive services and software that are available to everyone. Instead of being tied to a side business that takes up every weekend, I want you to work nights, weekends and holidays during a two or three week period then take the next three or four months off while still enjoying the income you created. Instead of working at a second job, I want you to evolve to creating a second income streams.

Paying off your debt
Earning extra cash benefit you in lots of ways. For instance, imagine making an extra income of $1000 a month, you will suddenly begin to pay off your debt, invest more money for retirement, send your children to private schools, move to a better estate and spend a total of $12,000 a year on luxury vacations, increase your donations to charity, help your elderly parents with in-home care and start spending more on your own health and well-being. You would probably feel less stressed about your finances, you would actually use your vacation time from work and you would probably find ways to work smarter at your regular job so that overtime and weekends at the office became a thing of the past.

Extra income sources that bring in extra cash
There are probably a million ways to make a million dollars. And when it comes to making something a lot easier, the list of possible opportunities increases exponentially. So which of these opportunities are right for you and most importantly work best with the extra income strategy?

What makes an income opportunity an extra cash opportunity?
While these criteria are important enough when you're producing any business income, they become even more important when you're seeking to create quick cash. The more of these criteria that are met by your chosen opportunity, the easier it will be to use the extra cash strategies to generate revenue quickly.

1. Identify and locate potential buyers
Many potential businesses have prospective customers who are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. They are everywhere, but you can't identify who they are, what niche market they're associated with, which joint-venture partners they might already be customers of, and so on. This makes your advertising and marketing job much more difficult. But think how much easier your promotional efforts would be if you could clearly identify exactly where to find these prospects – it could be on the internet, in your local geographical market, within specific industries and as past buyers of other companies.

2. low start up capital
Instead of budgeting tens or hundreds of dollars on starting up a business, think about funding your start up costs out of sales by spending just few dollars like $150 to $250 to run a press release and teleseminar, or nothing at all to make a deal with your very first joint-venture partner.

3. Match your skills, Passion, Personality and Expertise
Position yourself not as an ideal provider of your products and services but also a major authority on the subject. If you're not comfortable in this role, either reconsider whether you want to pursue this opportunity or decide whether you could instead take on a reporter role – being a messenger for industry information, rather than a leading expert.

4. Competition and Potential Joint-venture Partners Abound
competition is a simple indicator of a viable market for the product or service that you're selling. Besides, there are a different of ways to differentiate yourself in the marketplace. Not only that,but the existence of numerous competitors and others operating in an industry simply means more potential joint-venture partners for your occasional pursuits.

5. Advertising Opportunities are Inexpensive and Accessible
When deciding if an opportunity is for you, be sure to research all possible advertising outlets available for reaching your niche market.

WHAT KIND OF PRODUCT DO YOU WANT TO SELL
The question is, will you be selling a consumer product or a recurring service? The best extra cash business opportunities allow you to sell a customer once, then collect money from that customer for a very long time. In fact, given a choice, most marketers would prefer to sell subscriptions, memberships and other continuity programs. It's how you leverage your limited time as an occasional entrepreneur.

If you have an idea for an occasional business, think through what you might be able to offer on an ongoing basis. Since you may not want to be tied to the business year-round, also think through how you might fulfil these ongoing orders or deliveries throughout the year. Can you contract with an outside firm to do it? Can you produce all the items over just two or three months, then take the rest of the year off while a college student that you hire ships them out?

Or can you simply become an affiliate, a reseller or a representative for other people's continuity programs? Occasional opportunities that fit this qualification include network marketing companies, internet membership sites and becoming an outside sales representative for another company. You can even meet once a month with potential customers and clients, booking all your sales over a single weekend, then outsource the fulfillment to the company you're representing. You could very effectively become a manufacturing consultant, a nutritionist, or some other type of expert who meets with clients, sells them a program, then turns over the order to a manufacturing company, vitamin company or other provider that is in the business of providing customer service and fulfillment on an ongoing basis.

BUSINESS CATEGORIES THAT ARE FAVOURABLE FOR MAKING INSTANT CASH
Of course, some businesses just don't work for occasional entrepreneur. For obvious reasons, retail and manufacturing aren't conducive to making extra income on an occasional basis, except on a very small scale. The cost to purchase inventory to stock a retail store, the cost to tool up a manufacturing facility and other burdensome start up costs and ongoing management requirements make retailing and manufacturing inadvisable for occasional entrepreneurs.

That having been said, it is possible to run a retail or manufacturing operation part-time if it involves highly specialized one-of-a-kind items that you enjoy making and that you can sell at a very high price – unique jewelry, intricate model ships, hand-tied fishing files, couture clothing and other limited manufacturing items. Alternately, you could start a website to sell the parts needed to make these items to other hobbyist. Or consider approaching a large retail chain's clothing or accessory buyer to sell a large quantity of your unique item in a single order that you fulfil over 30 to 60 days.

Still, for most occasional entrepreneurs, retailing and manufacturing take too much time and effort. There are much easier ways to make instant cash on an occasional basis. For instance, there are more than half a dozen major categories of small business besides retailing and manufacturing, most of which are much more conducive to creating cash quickly:

• Consulting
• Professional practice
• Wholesaling/distribution
• Investments/holdings
• Services
• Network marketing and direct sales
• Knowledge product/publishing

Notice that in this list, I did not mention e-commerce as a category. That's because the internet is not a business. It's a marketing and advertising delivery tool that helps you automate and sell more of the product or service you're already selling. That said, however, take a look at the list again. There categories that are naturally favourable for making extra income with very little effort and with even fewer start up costs. These categories – consulting, services, network marketing and knowledge products – also meet many of the ideal criteria for occasional opportunities that I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter.

CONSULTING ON AN OCCASSIONAL BASIS
If you have knowledge or expertise that others don't have, you can earn a superb income as an occasional consultant. In fact, thanks to the internet, there are numerous websites that will connect you with companies that are looking for start up advice, product development assistance, labour relations guidance and countless other help. To help market yourself first determine who needs what you know and which niche markets these buyers belong to. Then target your online marketing and your direct-mail letters to reach these buyers. Online articles, free reports, free assessment tools and other helpful documents are good ways to familiarize potential clients with your specific expertise.

PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ON AN OCCASSIONAL BASIS
Many thousand of people offer services on an occasional basis – whether it's professional organizing, tax preparation, party planning, interior decorating, weed clearing, grant writing, holiday gift buying for corporations, magic acts or one of the hundreds of other types of services that consumers and businesses will pay for.
Almost anything you love to do that is also physically impossible, bothersome or time-consuming to others can be turned into an occasional service earning extra cash. The key to marketing yourself as a service provider on an occasional basis is to approach other providers from whom these consumers and businesses are already buying.

SELLING KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS ON AN OCCASIONAL BASIS
Publishing is exciting, the margins are superb, there's little or no competition within the different categories of subject matter and the methods used to market published works and other knowledge products are easy to execute and manage. In addition, with the advent of the internet, almost anyone can easily and inexpensively promote himself as an expert and sell knowledge products and services.
How is extra cash made on an occasional basis in the knowledge products industry?
• Set up a website selling an ebook, online course or newsletter.
• Offer coaching over the phone on specific days of the month or week.
• Accept paid speaking engagements on an occasional basis – or speak for free but sell consulting services, a coaching program or products at the back of the room.
• Write a non fiction book and sell it for an advance on royalties to a publishing company, which will distribute the book through normal book store and trade channels.
• Begin consulting and training for corporations that need your expertise.
• Become an information marketing consultant who locks up the rights, then leverage the knowledge assets of other companies.

Auto insurance

If you own a car, truck, or other vehicle you are required by law to carry some type of insurance coverage. At a minimum, you are required to carry liability coverage that will cover expenses related to personal injury or property damage. In other words, if you cause an accident and someone is injured or property is damaged, you are responsible for paying for damages.

An insurance policy guarantees payment of a certain amount to cover these expenses should an accident occur. The rates you pay for your car insurance policy are based upon many factors including: age, sex, driving history, credit history, and year, make and model of the vehicle being insured. Other cost factors are determined by the amount of coverage you want.

Comprehensive is the most expensive type of insurance coverage. This type of insurance can offer protection to you, your family, and your car. It covers other things that can happen to your car such as fire, vandalism, or acts of Mother Nature such as hail damage.

Liability is the cheapest car insurance; however, if you do not own your car outright, you cannot purchase liability insurance alone. Lenders require you to have comprehensive insurance covering the vehicle until the note is paid in full.

Liability insurance offers protection to people in other cars when you are at fault for an accident. Typically, liability insurance will cover medical expenses and car repairs, up to a certain dollar amount. In most cases, liability insurance covers you in any vehicle that you drive, whether it belongs to you or someone else.