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I love making goals, and I love making plans on how to accomplish my goals. I know hat not everyone loves making New Year’s Resolutions – but I freaking LOVE them (keep reading if you hate resolutions, I promise it will be worth it.)
In 2021, one of my BIG BIG BIG goals is to make more money (I want to break $200K, at least), and I’ve been doing a lot of personal finance education in the last 2 years to be able to do this.
Today, I wanted to share 7 ways you can make more money in 2021, that don’t involve pyramid schemes or selling off an organ. A lot of these money making strategies seem obvious – but don’t discount them unless you’ve implemented them.
Money Making Tip #1: Change Jobs & Know Your KPIs
Notice that #1 doesn’t read “Ask for a raise.” As a career coach, I see my clients make the MOST money when they find a new job and negotiate a higher starting salary. Waiting around for your current job to see your brilliance probably ain’t gonna cut it.
When you get your new job, be sure to ask, “What are my top 5 KPIs?” You need to know your KPIs to know if you’re doing a good job or not. These are super easy numbers to know, for a fact, whether or not you’re spending your time on what your boss wants you to do.
What’s a KPI?
A “KPI” is aa Key Performance Indicator, and nailing these is one of the easiest ways to make more money – doing what you’re already doing when you go to work.
A KPI is a quantifiable metric (ie a number) that you either hit or you don’t. Examples of a KPI could be:
- % of projects completed under budget or on budget
- # of new followers or customers
- Improvements in site speed or operations
- Increase in customer satisfaction
You see, many people toil away at their jobs, working hard and running themselves ragged on STUFF THAT DOESN’T EVEN MATTER! Seriously. I bet if you were to ask y.our boss or manager, “What are my KPIs?” you’d find that you’re spending 80% of your time on stuff that doesn’t contribute to them.
Knowing your KPIs allows you to structure your job around them, get clear on priorities and ultimately negotiate a higher salary.
Money Making Tip #2: Add “Consulting” to Your LinkedIn Summary – Seriously!!
This next tip is my favorite, and it’s so easy! There are loads of people scouring LinkedIn, trying to find a professional that they can hire for a few freelance consulting sessions.
Now, I know LinkedIn can be a bit of a snoozefest – but I see a pretty big income difference between my clients who use LInkedIn and those that do not. People who use LinkedIn tend to have a higher salary.
Okay, so where do you go to do this? We all want to make more money, but we don’t want a long drawn out process.
On the summary section of your LinkedIn (that long paragraph at the top), you’ll go in and add, “I also offer one-off consulting sessions in (main topic 1), (main topic 2) and (main topic 3).”
Pick three topics to include that you get a lot of questions about, or 3 topics that will help people save time or make money.
Note: If you’ve signed a contract saying you won’t take on consulting or freelance clients, obvi don’t do this!! ^^
Money Making Tip #3: Hire a Virtual Assistant (VA) for Low Hanging Tasks
One of my favorite financial books is The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. In it, Ferris explains how to change your work-life around to make money – and have a boatload of time for all of the experiences you want.
- “If you spend your time, worth $20-25 per hour, doing something that someone else will do for $10 per hour, it’s simply a poor use of resources.”
Look at your salary or hourly rate. If you make $50,000 a year then you get paid $25 per hour. It’s a bit more complicated with taxes and healthcare, but let’s keep things simple.
If you make $25 per hour, it makes sense to hand off low hanging tasks and then use that time to make money. From opting for a grocery store delivery to handing off other tasks, look at where you can redirect your time.
Now, this only works if you actually use the time to make more money (maybe as a consultant or freelancer?). If you’re intrigued by this proposition, then I definitely recommend checking out Tim Ferris’ book on making more money HERE.
Money Making Tip #4: Learn How to Negotiate
A great way to make money is to a) get paid more for what you’re doing and b) pay less money for other stuff.
In other words, NEGOTIATE.
There are a variety of ways to negotiate, and you don’t have to be a total jerk to make more money. But, you do have to have firm boundaries – and that may make you *feel* like a jerk.
Here are 2 easy negotiation tips:
- Get a counter offer. If you’re negotiating a freelance rate or salary, say a high number that makes you choke a little bit. Your goal is to get them to counter-offer. If they accept your rate or salary without negotiating, you’re too lo (in my opinion).
- Be wiling to walk. In order to make more money, you have to be willing to leave the negotiation table. If someone is offering too little, get your butt out of there. Sometimes, leaving shows you ain’t messing around, and the other party will meet your rate. Other times, they won’t – and that leaves you open to work with people who WILL pay you what you want. Voila! More money.
Money Making Tip #5: Check Your Bills & Automatic Payments
Technically, this is about saving money – but trust me, this is super easy and doesn’t require you to stop eating takeout!
About a year ago, I went through my PayPal statement and found out that I had paid something like $500+ for a subscription I *wasn’t using*!! The subscription had been billing automatically for two years, and I missed it!
Take 20 minutes to quickly scan through last month’s billing statements and your PayPal. No, your goal ISN’T to feel more guilty about how much you spent on takeout. Instead, look for small random charges or subscriptions you totally forgot about.
2020 was pretty stressful, and it’s understandable that stuff slipped through the cracks! Get those payments canceled.
Money Making Tip #6: Earn Residual Income
Okay, this one is a bit more complicated, and it also can be found in The 4 Hour Workweek, the book I talked about above. (Can you tell I love this book??)
Warren Buffet is famous for saying, “If you don’t find a way to earn money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
Buffet is specifically talking about investing here, which is a type of residual income. If you’re new to the concept of residual income, it’s basically where you earn money without an input. So, put another way, a smart way to make more money in 2021 is to stop trading time for money.
There are a variety of ways to do this, from dropshipping t-shirts, to writing ebooks (I have a few ebooks here) to blogging. I recommend snagging The 4 Hour Workweek (I like the audible version) to learn a bit more, and brainstorm ways you can make money without trading it for your time.
Money Making Tip #7: Look for Ways to “Double Dip”
This last money making tip is a bit dangerous, so handle with care. A good way to make more money is by double dipping money. Could you get paid to house sit while working remotely? That’s double dipping.
Look at how you’re spending your time, and ask yourself, “How can I make more money with the same amount of time?” As you noodle on this, new ideas will pop up.
“What’s so dangerous about this?” you may be wondering. Well, some folks like do “double dip” by working on freelance stuff at their salaried job, which can get them fired. So handle this one with care!
More Money Making Blog Posts
I love talking about making money, and here’s a few other blog posts that may catch your fancy:
- How to Raise Your Freelance Rates | Step-By-Step Guide
- 5 Resume Tips to Make More Money
- How to Save Money and Still Go to Starbucks
More Money Tips in 2021!
I’m excited to be sharing more learnings about money – and having fun with it – in 2020!. Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss out!
[FTC Notice: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if you purchase a product through my link. Affiliates help me write more great content, and I only endorse products I truly love.]
