how to start a business Archives - the frugal millionaire

The Highest-Paying Side Hustles to Start Today

If you’re going to start a side hustle (ie, a job in addition to your full-time job), it needs to be lucrative. While you can make extra money taking online surveys, it usually won’t amount to anything greater than coffee money. Here, I’m showing you the highest-paying side hustles you can start today that are guaranteed to bring in substantial income each month. And hey, if you work really hard, you may even be able to quit your full-time job! A life of freedom and being your own boss?! Heck yes!

How to Find Work from Home Jobs

Are you wondering how to find work from home jobs that aren’t scams, selling to your friends or taking endless amounts of online surveys?

Going about how to find work from home jobs is tricky, but it is possible. I’ve been working from home (doing various jobs) for over five years! My income has varied; but it’s always been a full-time income each year.

3 Ways to Make Money with Pinterest

Pinterest is not just a social platform; it’s a visual search engine. What if you could make thousands of dollars per month with Pinterest?! And, what if I told you some of these ways are passive? Here are three ways to make money with Pinterest that you can start implementing today.

3 Ways to Make Money with Pinterest

*Please note that the first two ways to make money with Pinterest assume that you have a blog. If you haven’t yet started a blog, you can do so here for a discounted price. The first step in making money online is starting a blog, so get started today!

Create and Promote a Product

What is your area of expertise? What are you passionate about?! A great way to make money with Pinterest is by creating and promoting your own product. I know that sounds intimidating, but take it one step at a time!

First, I recommend creating a FREE product to get email subscribers and gauge interest. If you want to create a short guide/ebook on potty training your toddler, for example, you could create a free guide first on 100 fun things to do with your toddler after nap time. This will allow you to build an email list of parents to toddlers, some of whom would absolutely be interested in your potty training book.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to create an ebook that sells >>

Once you have your freebie and your product created, it’s time to start promoting. Ideally, you’ll want to rank in the top 10 in Google for your targeted keyword, but that actually takes months, if not longer. It’s completely impossible to write a blog post and have it rank #1 within a day or two.

Pinterest, however, is the polar opposite. A good pin can go viral in a matter of minutes. That is why you should focus on the platform for your product!

After you’ve created your product and freebie, you need to insert them into your blog posts and write fresh blog posts that coincide with your product. Then, create pinnable images that will lead to clicks over to your blog, freebie signups and, eventually, product sales.

The beauty of making money with Pinterest this way is that once everything is set up (your freebie, your product, your blog posts, your images and your pinning strategy), the money is relatively passive. That means you can essentially set it and forget it, and watch the sales roll in!

Get People On Your Email List

I’ve been blogging over three years, but just recently am realizing the power of an email list. You guys, to be totally honest, traffic doesn’t matter if you have a solid email list. And, you can very easily grow your email list with little pageviews. If you want to monetize your blog, every single post should have a purpose: Make a sale (your own product or an affiliate sale) or get an email subscriber. This way of thinking has totally transformed my blog and my business.

So what does this have to do with Pinterest? Well, Pinterest is a HUGE source of traffic for bloggers and business owners. Pinterest is constantly in my top two sources of traffic (the other being Google, or SEO), and it almost always accounts for almost half of my total traffic.

But, traffic without a purpose doesn’t do anything. Sure, it will increase your ad revenue, but unless you’re getting hundreds of thousands of pageviews each month, you won’t notice a difference. Instead, heavily promote your blog posts that will either make you money now or in the future. To do this, you must:

Write helpful, authentic content with your target reader in mind
Create stunning, high-converting images (check out these templates if you need help!)
Join as many group boards as you can and promote, promote, promote!

Need some group boards to join?! Here are 25 that are currently accepting contributors!

Start Your Own Pinterest Virtual Assistant Business

And finally, the third way to make money with Pinterest is by starting your own Pinterest virtual assistant business. This is a relatively new career, but it has HUGE potential and is only going to grow in future years. If you have any interest in being a Pinterest virtual assistant, now is the time to get started.

A Pinterest virtual assistant is a virtual assistant that specializes in Pinterest. Again, it’s one of the biggest sources of traffic for bloggers and business owners, so it’s vital that people use the platform to promote themselves. The problem is a lot of business owners do not have the time or interest in learning the ins and outs of Pinterest.

That’s where you come in.

You become an expert in Pinterest – learning everything from creating stellar pins to customizing your client’s boards to joining group boards to promoting pins and more.

You market yourself as an expert, because you are. You charge competitive rates and finally get paid for what your time is worth. Eventually, you may even be able to quit your full-time job, hire your own virtual assistants, and run your business completely from the comfort of your home.

If this sounds like something you’d love, you may be wondering how to get started.

There are two ways: You can absolutely teach yourself everything there is to know about Pinterest and, more specifically, being a Pinterest VA. I would recommend starting a blog, using Pinterest to grow your own blog, watching YouTube tutorials on how to create the perfect pin, finding group boards to join, etc. And then once you’ve become an expert on Pinterest, you can start promoting your services through a “Hire Me” page on your blog, through word-of-mouth, via Facebook ads, and more.

The second way is to take a course on how to become a Pinterest virtual assistant. This highly-sought after course, taught by two of my friends and Pinterest-gurus, is called Become a Pinterest VA Today! and will teach you from the ground up how to start and run your own profitable Pinterest VA business. The course is amazing, and will save you tons and tons of time if this is what you want to do. It’s only open for enrollment four times per year, so hop on the waitlist today to make sure you get a spot in the class.

Have you ever made money off of Pinterest? Since half my traffic comes from Pinterest, I can definitely attribute half of my monthly income to the platform. You can view my latest income report here.

How to Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant

Do you browse Pinterest in your free time? Do you want to work from home? And not just work from home, but actually run a super profitable business from home? If so, I highly recommend becoming a Pinterest virtual assistant.

How To Make Money This Holiday Season

This time of year is my favorite. I don’t want to miss out on Pumpkin Spice Lattes and fall festivals because I’m on a budget. Instead, I want to enjoy everything that encompasses the holiday season. And yes, that means spending some money. Here is how to make extra money this holiday season.

Instead of providing the normal “How to save money this Christmas”-style post, I wanted to do something different. I want to show you how you can make money this holiday season so you have a bit more wiggle room in your budget.

How to Start a Successful Handyman Business

Are you ready to learn how to start a successful handyman business? Working for yourself as a handyman has tons of advantages, such as setting your own schedule, choosing the types of jobs and people you will work for, setting your own pay rates, and being in complete control of your income.

Don’t think you need to do all the work yourself, either. The most successful handyman business owners have crews that either help them with the labor or do all of the labor, allowing you to focus on growing your business, generating more sales, and increasing your profits.

Here is how to start a successful handyman business.

Updated August 2017

How to Make Six Figures a Year as a Freelance Writer

The median household income is just under $52,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. I don’t know about you, but in my opinion that is not enough money for a family of four to live off of. Healthcare expenses, emergency funds, retirement accounts, rent/mortgage, etc would leave nothing left over for “fun,” at least, not without getting into debt.

What if I told you there was a way to bring in substantial income for your family from the comfort of your own home? The internet and technology has made that possible for thousands of people. With a little knowledge, the right resources and a HUGE desire to succeed, I believe that anyone can make six figures (or more!) per year as a freelance writer from home.

I started freelance writing over four years ago. I’m going to be completely honest with you – I truly believe it was easier back then to break into the field than it is now. Freelancing has become so popular over the years, and for good reason!! Who wouldn’t want to be their own boss, set their own hours, choose their assignments and have an unlimited income potential?!

But, if you truly want to pursue this now – whether you’re a SAHM looking to bring in extra income for your family or you’re hoping to quit your FT job and become a business owner – there are a few things you need to do to be successful and land jobs. No longer can you just respond to a few job postings and hope for the best. Freelance writing is too competitive now; you need to build a portfolio and make it so you stand out from the pack!

Ready to start your journey to six figures a year as a freelance writer?! Follow these steps!

How to Start a Website for Your Business

Are you ready to start a website for your business? Whether you run a service-based business (such as a handyman company) or have an actual retail store, having a website is crucial to the success of your company. Nowadays, everything is online. Potential customers might want to read reviews, someone may be doing a Google search of your product or service, or a current customer may just want to learn more about you and your business.

Creating a website for your business doesn’t have to be complicated or break the bank. I’ve started numerous small business websites – including a handyman website and multiple blogs – in under an hour, and I am no expert when it comes to technology. If you’re ready to start a website for your business, keep reading.

How to Start a Website for Your Business

Step 1: Choose Your Domain Name

Your domain name is your “.com” name. Ideally, this will be the name of your business, but there is a chance that the name will already be taken.

To start a website, you have to purchase a domain name and hosting – which is what your website will live on. I’ve always used Bluehost and highly recommend them. They’re affordable, easy to use, have excellent customer service, and they give you your domain name for free with the purchase of a plan.

To browse domain names, head to Bluehost.com and select “Get Started Now.” Next, you’ll choose a plan. I recommend the Basic plan shown below:

Next, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can choose your domain name. Enter it in. If it’s available, you’ll be able to continue moving forward with the process. If it’s not, you’ll be asked to choose a different domain name. Feel free to play around with this until you find the perfect domain name for your business.

Step 2: Purchase Bluehost

Once you have your domain name selected, you’ll be prompted to enter in your account information on Bluehost, shown below:

Followed by your package information:

The 36-month starter plan is the best deal per month, but you can always start out with the 12-month price and then in a year, purchase the 36-month one. I also added the Domain Privacy Protection for $0.99 per month. I did not add any other items, but you are more than welcome to.

Step 3: Install WordPress

Next, you’ll want to install WordPress, which is the platform on which you will run your website. Click “Hosting” at the top left, then “cpanel” where you’ll see “Install WordPress” under the Website Builders section (pictured below):

Click on your domain name:

Fill out the form:

I recommend you write down your Admin Username and Admin Password and keep it in a safe spot! Click “Install Now” and you are done!

Step 4: Design Your Website

Your all set! Now, it’s time to design your website and start adding valuable content. Most blogs and websites run on Genesis, and then have their own child theme on top of that (think of Genesis as the engine of your car and your theme as the body and color of your car). This blog is using a Restored316 child theme, but you can browse themes for free on WordPress (in the Marketplace on the left-hand column) if you want.

Phew! You did it! To help get your business’ website looking professional, I wrote a book titled The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging. Feel free to email me (sbrooks52111 @ yahoo.com) and I’ll send you a copy of my book for free! It’ll show you how to create business pages, design your sidebar, set up your “About” section, and more.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me or leave a comment!

Rodan + Fields and Other Multi-Level Marketing Companies

I’m sure by now you’ve all seen Rodan + Fields products blasted all over Facebook, along with It Works, Isagenix, Shakeology, Avon, Mary Kay, Scentsy and others.

I wanted to get your input on what you think of these products (if you use them) and what you think of multi-level marketing companies in general. Have you tried it before? Were you successful at it? I have a few friends on Facebook who seem to be doing really well, but you never really know (I don’t know them close enough to ask them!).

I have never personally attempted to sell any kind of product or service, other than through my blog and all of those products are blogging and freelancing related. I will admit, though, that I am tempted by some of these companies, most specifically – Rodan + Fields.

A blogging friend sent me some samples of the product and it made my skin extremely soft. My skin isn’t necessarily “bad,” but I do have some acne scars, some uneven spots, a wrinkle in between my eyebrows, etc. I definitely wear foundation every day, and I’ve heard Rodan + Fields can make your skin so good that you don’t even need to bother with foundation. I currently spend $50 every six(ish) months on either Naked or NARS foundation. Yes, Rodan + Fields is significantly more money than that, but if it did actually improve my skin and make it so I didn’t need foundation, I’d be stoked.

So, I am actually placing an order later this week. I plan on posting some before and after shots (assuming the product works) about a month after I start using the product.

Another question for you readers – Would you personally find it annoying if a blogger started trying to sell a product like that on their blog? Or would you just dismiss those posts and move on? I’ll be honest – if I DO like the product and decide to sell it, I would definitely want to use my blog as a way to connect with others interested in the product. I don’t use FB too much, so I wouldn’t post much on there. This blog would basically be my means of selling the product, but the last thing I would want to do is turn off my current readers.

Thanks for your input! I’d appreciate any feedback I can get! 🙂

How to Make Money Online

Are you wondering how to make money online? If so, you’re at the right place. I’ve been making money online now for four years! I first got started freelance writing when my first daughter was born and have been doing it ever since. I don’t think a month has gone by that I haven’t made money online.

Right now, I make my money by blogging, which I’ll show you below how you can do that, too.

This post is for those of you who want to change your life. Whether you need a couple hundred extra each month or you want to quit your full-time job so you can stay home with your kids, you have to get started.

This guide will show you exactly how.