When saving money isn’t cutting it, you need to increase your income and make more. This often seems impossible as there are only so many hours in the day. However, these tips will help you learn how to earn money without working more hours – take a look and see!
Do you think is it better to spend your time learning how to save money or make money? In other words, which would you choose – save $50 now or invest $100 (in time and/or money) to potentially earn more in the future? While both are important, it is far more valuable to spend your time learning new skills to make more money, than it is to spend hours trying to earn or save money for a one-time, limited purpose.
Said differently, there are limits to how much you can save, but there are no limits to how much money you can earn. Also, saving money tends to be harder for many people since it feels restricting and not as fun. I’ve tried both methods and want to share the top lessons I’ve learned and solutions to help you focus on investing your time and money in the right resources.
3 Reasons Saving Money Isn’t Enough
Don’t get me wrong – if you can save money, then do it. It’s smart to find ways to cut costs and keep more of your money. I just want to show you why focusing only on saving money won’t do as much good for you.
1. You Will Earn Less Than Minimum Wage
When you add up how much time you are spending on saving money and calculate how much that is actually saving you, it comes out to less than minimum wage.
When I left my consulting career, I decided to spend time learning how to use coupons better to save money. I spent hours scouring through the Sunday ads, clipping coupons, figuring out how I was going to combine and stack deals at the right stores to save the most money. A few weeks in, I realized that I was spending about three hours a week on prepping and driving to at least three different stores a week.
On average, I estimate that I would save maybe $10 – $15 a week, which was NOT worth the amount of time that I put in when you figure this is less than minimum wage:
- $10 saved divided by 3 hours = $3.33 per hour
2. You Incur More Expenses
When trying to catch all these great deals, I was also incurring costs of gasoline when driving about 15 miles per week. With my car’s gas mileage and average gasoline prices, I estimate that I spent about $1.87 on gasoline.
Following the same example, you need to decrease the initial savings by the costs to get the true (net) savings:
- $10 saved – $1.87 costs = $8.13 net savings
3. The Savings Were Not Worth the Costs
Now it seems even more pathetic when you realize I didn’t really save $3.33 per hour on couponing. I actually “made” significantly less than that.
- $8.13 saved divided by 3 hours = $2.71 per hour – yikes!
Once I realized that saving $10 per week was not worth it, I decided to re-focus my attention on investing in books, training, and courses to start my business and make money (and create passive income).
Now, if you have credit card debt, car loans, and other non-mortgage debt, then certainly look to do whatever you can to save money and cut expenses to eliminate the debt and interest sooner. However, if you’re frustrated and feeling like there’s never any money left at the end of the month, make sure you are focusing on the right things and investing time and money that will make a significant difference in your future earnings.
Earning Money is As Important In Business As Saving Money
While this example is from a personal finance perspective, this same lesson can be applied to running your business. Often, many will only look at the sales numbers coming in, but don’t look at all the costs of doing business. After calculating both, if you’re not happy with the net profits, then you need to adjust the price or costs.
If you’re now convinced that you want to spend more time and energy focused on how to earn more money and have your money work for you, here are solutions and resources to help you earn more money:
Earn Money – 7 Easy Solutions
In your small business, you need to learn how to earn extra money. Here are the easiest and best solutions that will skyrocket your income potential.
1. Take A Class or a Course Online
If you’re in an industry that is saturated or if you want to expand your current skill sets, take a class to learn a new skill or become an expert by building on your current knowledge. These can be in-person at the local community colleges (which often have evening and weekend classes, and one-time seminars) or online courses.
In years past, online classes seemed to lack the relationship-building and comradery that their in-person counterparts offered. These days, however, many online courses have private Facebook groups where you can connect and build relationships with other business owners.
Within my own online course, Master the Money, my students learn simple money strategies and systems to build profitable businesses. Additionally, I also offer weekly office hours for students to ask questions as well as a Facebook group and group Zoom call classes.
By the end of the course, students walk away not only with invaluable business information but also plenty of contacts. In fact, I’ve had some of my students hire each other for services after connecting through my course!
2. Buy Books
If you learn better by reading and absorbing information, buy books to help you learn new skills, develop better habits, become more productive, and expand your current thinking.
I see so many people pay for expensive websites, but their website copy is terrible and doesn’t attract their ideal customer. That is a big area of missed opportunity! One easy way to fix this? Reading! Books that particularly have marketing and messaging themes can be extremely helpful.
My favorite recommendation along these lines is StoryBrand by Donald Miller. It’s fantastic!
More Books to Read
Check out my favorites on the Resources page, including The Top Distinctions between Millionaires and the Middle Class. Author Keith Cameron Smith states that “most millionaires he knows read one book a week, yet the middle class thinks learning ended with school.”
3. Earn Money with Speaking Engagements
Get paid for speaking on topics that you’re already an expert in. Professional organizations, community colleges, and conferences are always in need of good speakers, especially those who have monthly meetings and luncheons. If you’ve written a book or have been featured and quoted in the media, that can be extremely attractive and increase your chances of being paid as a speaker.
If building a relationship with the media seems unobtainable and you don’t know how to get the right publicity, consider investing in a publicity coach. Selena Soo is a brand and publicity coach who has taught many entrepreneurs how to connect with the right influencers to get featured in magazines and on TV. Get a free copy of her publicity calendar here.
Even if you speak at an unpaid event, you have a good chance of landing yourself a business connection or client, while also practicing your presentation skills! Here’s everything you need to have a successful speaking event.
4. Add an Email Opt-In to Your Website
I’ve seen people have pretty websites that don’t ask for people’s email….this is a HUGE missed opportunity! An email opt-in is the best way to get subscribers on your email list and build trust with your audience.
I’ve had people on my email lists for 3 – 6 months before they hired me, all because they got to know, like, and trust me, and see the value that I provided. Then there will be ONE email that stands out that resonates with them that motivates them to reach out to me for services.
I strongly suggest every business owner take advantage of an email marketing tool. There are many to choose from, but my favorite by far is ConvertKit.
5. Offer Packages and Value-Add Services
One simple way to earn money without working a lot of extra hours is to move to a package rate. I always tell my clients not to charge by the hour. Many coaches or service providers make the mistake of charging hourly, and constantly have to hustle to get more leads.
Instead, create packages for your clients and offer add-ons to the packages where you can give even more value. It’s a win-win!
6. Cut Unnecessary Costs
One of the most important exercises I take my clients through is an inventory of what they are spending money on. You’d be surprised at how many times a client forgets a subscription or a software they are paying for!
Make a list of everything you are spending, then evaluate what is truly needed. I also suggest looking for more affordable alternatives where appropriate.
7. Invest In a Business Coach
If you don’t know where to start, need to talk through all the ideas swimming in your head, and the accountability that comes with working with a live person, then invest in a coach or other professional who can help you gain the knowledge and skills to earn more in your business. If hiring a coach at $1,000 for a three-month program can teach you skills to double your rates for existing and future clients, that can be well worth the investment.
Hire a business and financial coach like myself to help you learn the business and financial skills to run a business, especially if you jumped in and realize that you don’t know what you don’t know, and feel like you’re flying blind.
Trust me, this helps tremendously to cut down the time and expenses to learn things on your own (and making mistakes)! Hire a coach to help you get things right the first time, or help you realize what to do differently.
How To Earn Money: Final Thoughts
In trying both methods of saving money vs. making money, it’s a lot more fun and valuable to spend an hour reading a book and learning new skills. Ask yourself today, “What is the one skill that if I can become absolutely excellent at could significantly (double) my income?” When you figure out that answer, focus on that one skill.
More Posts to Read:
- Why You Need to Invest in an Email Marketing Tool
- Overcome Financial Anxiety to Change Your Mindset
- 37+ Entrepreneur Quotes to Motivate You
