In spite of high inflation and rising taxes, if your goal is to build a thriving personal economy, there are three money skills you need to learn and practice.
I call them the ABCs of money. They are:
A) Making Money
B) Managing Money
C) Multiplying Money
Today, let’s explore the first skill (Making Money) by taking a look at eight ways of creating and growing your income.
I will use the hypothetical example of a person called Sonnie to illustrate her journey of growing her income over a number of years, to eventually becoming a millionaire.
1) Monetize your Gift
What do you do very well with the least amount of effort, and you really enjoy it?
Over the years, what strength(s) have people complimented you about?
Is it your athletic or analytical nature? Is it your voice or your intelligence? Is it your humor or your beauty? Is it your heart’s compassion or your mind’s creativity? Is it your fashion sense, your keen eye for detail, or your musical nature?
Whichever it is, there are ways of monetizing your gifts/strengths to increase your income.
Sonnie is 10 years old. She is gifted in sports. She loves playing tennis and is one of the top three junior players in her school.
Her first income strategy is to compete in tournaments that have a cash prizes.
Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
2) Monetize your Skill
Your skills are the capabilities you have become good at through education and experience.
They comprise of technical skills such as driving or coding, and soft skills like public speaking and problem-solving.
Sonnie is now 17 years old. She has been honing her tennis skills for several years, has won many contests, and has just been awarded a full scholarship to a prestigious university.
The scholarship not only takes care of her tuition, meals, and accommodation, but it also comes with a monthly allowance for her upkeep.
And when Sonnie is not at the court practicing or competing, you’ll find her monetizing her organizational and public speaking skills as a sports event planner and MC.
Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
-scholarship allowance
-event planning
-event MC
3) Monetize your Product/Service
The world economy revolves around the production and consumption of products and services.
For people to live their lives effectively, and for organizations to perform their business optimally, they all need to utilize the products and services produced by other people/entities.
That’s where your product comes into play.
Our tennis star, Sonnie, is now 21, in her third year of college.
With the University All-star Tennis Championship under her belt, media stations have been splashing her successes on the screens, making Sonnie famous across the country.
She now has a huge fun base on social media.
Sonnie resolves to tap her fame by creating branded merchandise–sports gear and figurines that have her silhouette and slogan.
Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
-scholarship allowance
-event planning
-event MC
-merchandise
4) Monetize your Intellectual Property
Nike has a famous swoosh logo and the slogan “Just Do It.”
Intellectual Properties are intangible creations of the mind that have economic value.
They include slogans, images, domain names, audio/visual productions, artwork, literature, brands, processes, designs, software, inventions and trade secrets.
Can you come up with something original?
Yes you can! And always protect your brainchild by getting it copyrighted, trademarked, or patented.
Once you have been registered as the originator of the idea, you now own Intellectual Property (IP) that you can monetize by selling the IP or licensing it to other people/entities.
Back to Sonnie’s story. You remember she was selling her own branded products?
She was wise enough to register copyrights and trademarks of her brand: a silhouette image and a catchy slogan.
Well, now at age 24 as a national tennis champion, she has licensed her IP to a publishing company to create comic books based on her brand. This deal will earn her royalties.
Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
-scholarship allowance
-event planning
-event MC
-merchandise
-IP royalties
5) Monetize your Experience
The years you’ve been at your job or business– and the challenges and breakthroughs you’ve experienced in that journey– have equipped you with special hindsight, insight, and foresight abilities.
Your experience is an asset that can be cashed in on.
People, Companies, and Boards are looking for coaches and mentors, not just for their expertise, but also for their experience.
Sonnie is now 26 and has set her sights on becoming a world tennis champion.
She starts a boot camp to monetize her sixteen years of experience by coaching and mentoring upcoming tennis players.Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
-scholarship allowance
-event planning
-event MC
-merchandise
-IP royalties
-coaching
6) Monetize your Audience
In our fast-paced world, companies are always seeking ways of getting the undivided attention of their target audience.
If a good portion of the population loves, admires and trusts you, there are companies that will pay you large amounts of money for the chance to reach your fans.
That’s why companies sponsor events, have brand ambassadors, and offer affiliate marketing opportunities.
Sonnie currently has over 400K fans on social media. She is doing online affiliate marketing to promote the products of a food manufacturer.
Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
-scholarship allowance
-event planning
-event MC
-merchandise
-IP royalties
-coaching
-affiliate marketing
7) Monetize Your Knowledge
In the Information Age that we are in, knowledge is the new money.
If you can gather, process and synthesize information to form new knowledge that is valuable, you can get paid to share your insights.
Teachers, lecturers, authors, speakers, and consultants earn from the valuable knowledge and insight they possess and impart to people.
That’s what Sonnie has been doing in her free time.
One of her success routines is reading self-help books. She study one book per month and writes simple actionable three-page summaries.
Sonnie then sells each downloadable document for $2 to her audience of over 500 personal development enthusiasts.
Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
-scholarship allowance
-event planning
-event MC
-merchandise
-IP royalties
-coaching
-affiliate marketing
-book summaries
8) Monetize your Assets
Assets are the valuable things you own.
They could be securities such as stocks and bonds; real estate properties like lands or buildings; or an Intellectual Property such as the copyright to a hit song.
There are two ways to monetize your assets. You could sell it or lease it.
Apart from being a talented successful tennis player, Sonnie, now in her early thirties, is also an investor.
Over the years, she has been consistently saving and investing 30% of her earnings from her different income streams.
Sonnie’s portfolio has been growing in value while also producing passive income, which she has been reinvesting to accelerate attaining her financial goals.
Sonnie’s current income sources are:
-tournaments
-scholarship allowance
-event planning
-event MC
-merchandise
-IP royalties
-coaching
-affiliate marketing
-book summaries
-assets
Sonnie’s net-worth now stands at $ 1.2 million.
Those are the various ways you could consider trying out to make money and grow your income.
Keep in mind that the goal isn’t just about earning more money, but becoming more proficient in the skill of making money.
Next time we’ll continue exploring the ABCs of money by looking at the second skill: Managing Money.
Source: Article written by Brian Macharia W; Personal Finance Educator and author of the ebook Budget Like A Goal Getter, available on Amazon. Connect on Linkedin: Brian Macharia W
