You Need More Than One Source of Income, for Your Sake.

One full-time job is not enough, not anymore. For one obvious reason we sometimes forget. This is the reason why you need more than one source of income!

Community background

Growing up, I’ve been told to do the school for accounting, find a nice quiet job, and earn a decent and constant amount of money without too much trouble.

Once, here in Italy, people used to find a job and keep it for life. Most of the elderly will tell you that they did different works, in particular as an apprentice, but then, they might have changed one or two companies in their whole life.

How is that possible? After WWII, the economy was rising, lots of companies were opening, and there was no money problem for all of those who wanted to get their hands dirty and make some cash.

Despite my parents’ will, I went to a different high school, studied languages, and eventually end up being a bookkeeper anyway.

I was going to follow a familiar path. Find a job and keep it until the end of my days.

But the 2008 crisis happened. I ended up without a job, no source of income, and no plan for the future.

The reason why you need more than one source of income

The only reason you need more than one source of income is that if you lose the one you have, you’re fucked.

Sorry for being so brutal, it’s the harsh truth.

I’ve heard stories of couples where both were working for the same companies that closed due to the 2008 crisis.

Imagine you have a mortgage, you have children, you’re helping your parents. In a few words, you are the only one in your family bringing home money. Even if you are on you’re own, you will end up on the street.

You can blame your boss for the reckless entrepreneurial decision taken in the past or be mad at your mediocre educational career.

It doesn’t matter. The damage is done. What now?

Pick one or more side hustle

How to avoid ending up with no money in case you lose your only full-time job?

Side hustle! Nowadays, there are many different jobs you can do in your spare time to earn extra cash to save up.

A lot of them don’t require an initial investment. Do you know them?

I’ll give you some ideas!

Writing

You know this one for sure!

Medium isn’t the only platform where you can write and earn money.

You can also start your blog and make through affiliate marketing, ads, or selling your services.

Content marketplaces have a low pay rate but are great to start and earn some experience.

Otherwise, you can pitch companies for guest posts and collaborations, or create a freelance profile on Fiverr and Upwork.

Another option is to write your ebook and sell it on Amazon.

Affiliate Marketing

If you want to make money while you sleep, affiliate marketing is your best option!

You can subscribe to one of the many affiliate platforms on the web and promote your affiliate links using social media, advertising, or adding them to your blog post.

It might sound easy, but it needs a lot of promotion and a lot of time if you’re not investing money in ads.

There are many free courses and videos on YouTube if you want to learn how to do it and understand if it’s the right choice for you.

Driver and delivery

If you own a means of transport, consider applying for Lyft or Uber and be a driver for people in your town. Here in Italy, Uber is limited to a few cities, but BlaBlaCar might be a good alternative.

Same thing for deliveries. You can deliver food, packages, or even medicine.

There are a lot of companies you can choose from as Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat, or Amazon.

You can do it in your spare time or at weekends.

Trading and stocks

This is quite risky, and you definitely need some cash to invest, even if some brokers offer free stock when signing up.

You can use many free applications to invest, trade, and buy stocks, but you can quickly lose money if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Sell your craft

Have you ever heard of Etsy? Etsy is a marketplace where you can sell your handmade craft. Registering and opening a shop is quick and super easy. You will have to pay commissions rate and fee for the service and upfront costs to realize your pieces, but you can make some money if your product is highly requested.

A quick tip: you can also sell digital products! No more worries about shipping.

Print on demand

Another business you can start for free is print on demand. Platforms like Redbubble and Teespring allow you to create a free profile, upload your artwork, and they are going to take care of the printing and shipping process.

No need to buy shirts or mugs upfront. When your customer buys, they will keep their percentage and pay your quote as a commission.

You don’t even have to worry about creating the art design. You can create simple sentences on a transparent background, and they will sell anyway. Make sure you find a trendy and profitable topic.

These are just some of the many side hustles you can start today. Make sure you have a plan B ready in case you need it. Do it now!

I genuinely wish I knew all these things years ago instead of wasting my time trying to fit into a tedious job with no growth expectation.