When it comes to being successful and making more money, sometimes it’s hard to know exactly where to start. What if you don’t know what you’re good at, or are stumped for ideas?
You know you want to do “something”, but aren’t sure what would be a good fit for you. Here are a few things to ask yourself that can help you figure it out:
What do you like to do in your free time during the week? Is that something you’d enjoy getting paid for? For example, maybe you’re a huge fan of a certain TV show, and you watch it all the time. There are people who make money from blogs and podcasts relating to TV shows. Heck, there’s Felicia Day, who makes money due to her love of gaming.
Are there any little tasks that you find particularly satisfying? If so, what kinds of things do they have in common? (For example, I really enjoy writing, painting, shooting photos, decorating, and doing projects like tiling. The commonality there is creativeness with a finished product at the end.) Once you’ve determined the commonality, you can look for jobs or business ideas that take advantage of that.
Is there something that you do that’s so easy you’re sure anyone could do it? Chances are, you’re wrong. Or even if anyone could do it, there may be a lot of people out there who might need you to show them how first. You see, we tend to discount the things that we’re extremely competent at. Often we don’t even think about them. You might find setting up a WordPress blog super easy, and you can do it in 5 minutes flat because you’ve done it a dozen times already. That kind of skill — something that you find easy and have experience in — is often very marketable, and so it’s worth looking into. (Continuing with the WordPress example, there are many, many people out there who don’t even know what that is. Or what a blog is, for that matter.)
Conversely, is there something out there that you’ve never even tried before? Sometimes it’s good to experiment with a variety of things, especially if they’re completely unrelated to anything you’ve ever tried before. You might be surprised by just how much you enjoy a new activity, and how you might be able to parlay that into success.
Do people flat out tell you that you should do a particular thing? By this, I mean saying things like “You should write a book on that” or “You should teach that”. Statements like that are a sign that you’re both really good at the thing in question, and that there is a market for it (especially if multiple people are telling you the same thing.) So, why not go ahead and do it?
Remember, you have plenty of opportunities to succeed. (You can always succeed at more than one thing too.) So pick something, and give it a shot.
Posted in Make Money on 01.07.11 with 12 comments.
Finding what you like to do is hard for most people. The biggest reason is they are afraid of trying. Your post is really good to encourage everyone to try something.
It can be hard, but it can also sometimes be easy if you jump right in and give things a shot.
I know what my something is. I just need more time in the day to focus and getting the most out of it.
What is your something? And I know what you mean, I’m going to have to start getting up even earlier again.
When I was young I thought that I would be a good writer, but when I tried to write, I find it very hard to scribble even a simple paragraph. After so many years I have given myself another chance to try. So far, that something I call writing has taught me a lot about myself and my capacity to attain the things I put my mind into.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom here Jackie. :-)
I’m glad you’ve given yourself another chance to try :)
Well, I like blogging… ;)
I also like developing, and I make money for it at my primary job, but I don’t know if I would also like doing it on the side. Maybe I should check out a marketplace or something and try a couple of small jobs to try it out.
It can’t hurt to try it and see :)
Its also difficult to find the time to find your “something” when you have your day-to-day to take care of in the meantime.
Great post :)
Hm, difficult, maybe, but it can be done if you make it a priority.
People tell me – and I think they might be right – to do a small number of things, but my fear is, once those things are a “job” and not a hobby for the love of it, the passion will slowly dissapear. Although I recommend same things you describe:) Shifting priorities is what it is usually about.
I have turned hobbies into a job before (wedding photography being the primary one) and it DOES become work, that’s for sure. But I still love photography and shooting weddings. I think that if I had been able to make a profit at it, I would have loved the money too ;)