I swear, every time I go online, I see article after article about how you can increase your income and make $1 million by piling on side gigs and becoming a hustler. Work your tail off and you might get to be rich!
While it is true that you can build a really nice income with side hustles, taking on a bunch of part-time jobs and businesses can be really overwhelming for some people, and burnout rates are high.
Side Hustle Gig culture isn’t the only way that you can increase your income. Here are 10 Ways to increase your income, and they’re not all just different ways of making more work for yourself.
1. Ask for a Raise
If you are really good at your job and are legitimately helping your company grow, make sure you are getting paid what you’re worth.
When I started my first real job, I was hired on at a lowball salary because I was fresh out of college. After about 3 months of working there, I knew I was taking on way more than was expected for my position. Everyone in the office loved me and felt confident in my abilities so I requested a meeting with my boss.
In this meeting, I shared the additional duties I had taken on in my time there and some of the accomplishments I’d helped the department achieve. After my boss agreed my performance had been stellar, I asked him for a raise.
He was totally on board and went to talk to the company owner that week. The following pay period, I was making an extra $6,000 a year!
Always remember, that you don’t get what you don’t ask for.
Research what you are worth and go for it when you deserve it.
2. Build a Side Hustle
I know, I promised this list wouldn’t be all about side hustles, but building a side hustle is a great way to grow your income.
In order to grow a side hustle that won’t just feel like extra work, try to build your side hustle from an activity or hobby that you enjoy doing anyway and figure out how to monetize it.
- Enjoy knitting? Maybe you can put your creations on Etsy and sell them
- Are you a great golfer? You could offer to teach or coach others on the weekends
- Maybe you enjoy discovering local breweries and could make tasting tours for visitors to your town
- If you absolutely love doggies, you could offer dog walking or boarding services in your town
- Is writing or drawing your passion? Start your own side business (Sites like Fiverr are a great place to start)
Try to choose an activity that you would be doing anyway, that way if it becomes a profitable side hustle, great! If it does not, at least you had fun doing what you like to do.
3. Change Careers
Did you know that the Washington Post had an article stating that only 27% of college graduates have a job in their related college majors? You may start your career thinking you want to do one thing but realize that is not what you want to do for the rest of your life.
Many people are passionate about their job but realize that they will never earn a large salary from it. If you are no longer passionate about your job or just feel that you need a change in order to increase your income, you may want to change careers.
With all the information that is available online nowadays, it’s easier than ever to get certifications to help you start a new career. Google offers certification courses that can get you in the door to many companies.
And just reading 3 books on a subject, will allow you to know more about that subject than about 90% of the population. Can you say, easy expert?
Whether you want a simple change of department in your current company or to completely change your industry, there are so many ways that you can easily accomplish this by spending just a few months learning and moving to a higher-earning career.
4. Become a Contractor or Consultant
If you know your current job inside and out, there could be the possibility of becoming a contractor or consultant. When large companies (possibly like your employer) charge clients, they charge knowing that they will have to pay their employees actually doing the work, any overhead like rent, and the senior employees managing the work, as well as making a profit. If you have a large enough client base, there’s the possibility that you could move out on your own and charge the same amount that large companies charge and only have to pay yourself. Instant pay raise!
Becoming a consultant or contractor may be something you could do in your off-work hours so long you don’t have a non-compete agreement with your current company. You could start it on the side and eventually turn it into your own full-time business.
5. Add More Value to the People Around You
You know what they say, if you put good energy out into the world, good energy will come back to you. Adding more value to the people around you may not directly increase your income, but it opens you up to a lot more opportunities.
Look for ways to help others
- If your boss is looking to finish a project so that they can leave for their family vacation, you could help them to achieve an early deadline. Hopefully, they will remember how helpful you were and look out for you in the future.
- Maybe your Community Outreach Center is looking for volunteers and you become involved. You may get to know a lot of people in your community who have different connections to potential clients or projects in the future.
- If you help your sister’s friend create a resume to land a job with a company that you know the hiring manager for, that friend may become one of the best workers that hiring manager has ever had and remember that you recommended them.
You want to make sure that the help you are putting out is genuine. Do it out of the goodness of your heart and don’t expect anything in return. Do not keep score. You are putting out good energy in hopes that good energy will come back to you.
But while you are doing all of this good for those around you, make sure you are not constantly giving and being taken advantage of with nothing in return ever. Remember back to way #1 of growing your income, “you don’t get what you don’t ask for.”
When you know you have a friend that could potentially help you, make sure to nicely ask for the help you need. They may have never realized how they could help you and be happy to do it.
6. Become a Better Negotiator
In order to get what you want in life, you should learn to become a better negotiator. Negotiation is all about figuring out how to get what you want and at the same time meeting the other person’s needs. If you are able to fulfill their needs while also getting what you want, you can ensure a win-win situation.
This can come in handy for:
- Negotiating raises
- Lowering rent payments
- Buying a new car
- Or even getting your spouse to go to the restaurant you want
Negotiation is not about taking advantage of others but finding a common ground to achieve a successful outcome for both of you.
There are many books, podcasts, and YouTube videos out there that can help you to hone your negotiation skills.
7. Become a Better Public Speaker
Becoming a better public speaker allows you to build your confidence and assert a better presence wherever you are. If you are looking to become a high level whatever in your career, you are going to need to be able to talk to people:
- Collaborating with peers
- Reporting to senior managers
- Instructing subordinates
- Interviewing new potential hires
- Pitching to potential clients
- Interacting with customers
The best way to build your public speaking skills is to practice often. Groups like Toastmasters provide opportunities to practice your public speaking in a positive and encouraging environment. Check out your local area to see if you can find a Toastmasters group.
8. Develop a Skill You Can Sell
Developing a skill you can sell kind of goes with #2, side hustle building. If you do not have a hobby or skill already that could become profitable, try to build one.
Something as simple as being able to cook ethnic dishes could open up your horizon to different entrepreneurial opportunities.
Learn something marketable:
- Computer coding skills to build websites or programs for people
- Ethnic cooking techniques to teach classes or provide catering
- Wood working to create furniture to sell or home improvement skills
Whatever it is you want to do, figure out a new skill that you can learn that will not only improve your life and personal knowledge but could also become profitable for you in the future. Always be learning.
9. Increase Your Efficiency
So many people nowadays are becoming lazy in the way they go about their lives. Something as simple as completing a project by a set deadline can set you apart from the competition.
Become the type of person that other people can count on:
- Get up early and lay out your day
- Set goals and timelines to get things done
- Follow up with clients and contractors to keep projects moving
- Get to places on time and be ready to fully participate in the meeting or activity
- Do what you say you will do
Become the type of person that people can count on, it will mean a lot to your employer, clients, and your friends and family members.
10. Invest in Assets
When you get to the point in your life where your bills are paid and you’re able to live simply, make sure that you are investing in assets that will provide you with money without ever having to do much more than own them.
- Open a retirement fund through your employer or an individual retirement fund (IRA) and contribute every check.
- Buy real estate or land that will appreciate over the years or provide rental income
- Open a brokerage account and invest in stocks and bonds outside of a retirement fund
- Purchase alternative investments like fine wines, gold or silver, cryptocurrency, fine art, or other appreciating assets. Just make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into
Don’t take all of your new hard-earned income and spend it unwisely. Make sure you can live a comfortable lifestyle now but also invest in your future to become financially independent.
Wrap-up
Sometimes, earning extra income is taking on extra work and advancing your skill-set through hustling and career training. But sometimes, opening yourself up to the possibilities of extra income in the future by growing your personal skills and putting positive energy into the world can have an even bigger impact on your income growth possibilities throughout your lifetime.
But most of all, please remember, you won’t get what you don’t ask for in life. So, don’t wait for it, go get it!
10 Ways to Increase Your Income
- Ask for a Raise
- Build a Side Hustle
- Change Careers
- Become a Contractor or Consultant
- Add More Value to the People Around You
- Become a Better Negotiator
- Become a Better Public Speaker
- Develop a Skill You Can Sell
- Increase Your Efficiency
- Invest in Assets
If you’re looking to change careers, check out this article from my friend at Thousandaire.com to see 3 Crucial Questions to Ask at an Interview.
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