Alternative Sources of Income During the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a world of change and uncertainties during its wake. As the health and death toll grows, economic damage around the world becomes even more apparent. With the record levels of unemployment, closure of small businesses, and overwhelmed public health systems, the global crisis has impacted many communities that were already in turmoil.
In these turbulent times, many small businesses find themselves braving turbulent seas. The massive lock-downs and restrictions delivered a gut punch to small business owners from daycare centers to massage parlors. While the economy is starting to open up again, many small businesses are still struggling to stay afloat and have expressed the need for government aid and stimulus. Should the economy remain as it is, one out of five businesses might not make it through the year.
Apart from keeping up with the balance of income revenues versus the demands of the overheads, there are other ways in order to save some extra cash.
Take advantage of opportunities
To bloom where one was planted is a proverb that is widely overused but does not lose meaning. It also goes to say that when one door closes, another door (and perhaps the modern take, a window) opens. The current market trends have been toppled and sure enough, the clubbing scene and the dining experience under the entire tourism umbrella are the ones that are hit hard.
There are nevertheless other avenues to fill in the market void. There is always a need that warrants affirmation. When the pandemic started and several local governments implemented quarantine. This took away the necessary freedom for people to buy goods for their needs, especially for those being restricted to go out in the open. Suddenly, a market of odd jobs like running errands or buying food in order to cater to this necessity became a trend.
The current needs of the health anxious market also demanded a shift from the traditional learning module, health care facilitation, banking, and commerce. That said, e-learning and distance learning became widely utilized, theaters were replaced by streaming services, medical appointments, and consults were made online, and a contact-less business transaction was the preferred mode of payment. The wise investor may consider capitalizing on these new income opportunities with the consumer being thoroughly spread out and in dire need of these services.
Wield that which you already know
There should at least be a skill that you have that others do not. Some bored and cooped-up consumers today have found happiness in gardening. If you have nurtured that green thumb sometime in the past, maybe it’s time for those metacarpals to touch the ground again.
If writing is your thing, then plenty of other business owners may have the same trouble as you are and have considered marketing online but are finding it much harder to get by and needs a proper write-up. Go ahead and beef-up your skills with well-known online grant writing certification programs to get you started on earning real good cash from writing online. Of course, for professionals, advertise your work and services online and develop a means to execute them via what the wide array of digital technology could offer.
There is this also fascinating thing on the internet wherein one will be paid for taking online surveys. A few minutes’ worth of one’s time in sites like Survey Junkie, Vindale Research, or Swagbucks could earn one somewhere between $3 to $35 per piece.
The answers are sometimes in front of you
Big bucks could be saved-up from really simple everyday things that seldom people take for granted. Take for example coupons. The practice of collecting such has been shunned by some up to the point of calling the collectors cheap and stingy.
The thing is, though, these are marketing stunts that are delivered as free service offerings to the public. Thus, it would be a very shameful waste if not used. The same goes with reward points from different services like travel fares or restaurants, or the very mobile service one subscribes into. Also, maybe one ought to shelve binge-watching shows online for a while.
Unnecessary subscription to entertainment industries that are underutilized become more of a burden than a boon. One should also consider putting off the trendy hairstyle or the fashionable bags and clothes. To take it to the next level, go a la Marie Kondo and ask yourself if some less used paraphernalia still “spark joy.” If not, maybe they are worth a few bucks for the coin bank and open up space for what really matters.
