This article was written by Todd Sepulveda and originally posted on Ed That Matters.
What Would You Do with More $$$ – Micro-Businesses for Extra Streams of Income
Photo by 401k from Flickr
I really believe that as the economy continues to drag along towards an inevitable decline, that anything a prepper can do to shore up their income streams will be a valuable asset to their financial security. You can’t and shouldn’t depend on your day to day job! Yes, you should work hard, be an asset to your company, desire to move up, etc… But you should also think of other ways you could bring in income. You should, like so many other preppers have already done, consider a micro or small business to supplement your income.
What could you do with extra income? Would you pay down your debt, which would put you in a better position during an economic crisis? Would you buy more food or preps? Would you put away some money for a rainy day?
The fact is, you are probably doing something right now that others would consider valuable enough to pay money for. You are not looking to move from one boring job to another boring part-time or micro business. You want to do something that you are passionate about!
What do you do right now that you can translate into a micro-business? What skills or talents do you have? Don’t disregard anything! Think about what you do on a daily, weekly basis and write them down. You will come up with something.
Warning, when you are thinking about starting a micro or small business, you will find a lot of info. online. However, there are a lot of online gimmicks that will try to sell you on buying a “home-based business.” Don’t watch their videos, don’t send them any money, just stay away! They are all crap! Just start with something that is your passion and get it out there! Your hardest problem is going to get the message out there that you are selling a product or service.
The key to marketing a micro business is word of mouth. Do some work for free or at below cost and ask the customer to tell their friends and even write a testimonial for you. You can sell your items/services at craft shows or even put them on Craigslist, Etsy or Ebay. You might want to talk to a traditional brick and mortar store owner to see if they will put up some of your work on consignment.
You should probably have a website now-a-days. Many people will disagree with this, but I suggest getting a free one. You can get a free WordPress or Blogger website easily. If your business begins to take off, you can always purchase a domain and move it. You might want to spend the $15 to secure your domain name now though. But at least you won’t have to pay for hosting.
I’m not going to try and list a bunch of business ideas here. A quick search turned up a number of lists. Some of these lists are all online based. They might not transfer over to the Preparedness community. But it might be a start and enough to get the juices flowing. Here are a few lists:
One last thing and one of the reasons why I’m writing this article. If you have a micro or small business already, or you start one, I would like to invite you to list your business for FREE at Prepper Small Biz. PSB is a small business directory for preppers to support other preppers! It is also a place for customers to review and comment on your work, thus providing future customers valuable information.
I hope this article has inspired you to at least start thinking about your everyday activities as skills that you can use to further your income. The possibilities are limitless.
I wish you the best!
Peace,
Todd
