How to make money during Coronavirus

These are testing times. Some are saying it’s a once in a lifetime event. Similar in a way to what your parents/grandparents/great-grandparents may have experienced in the great wars (World War I and World War II) and the Great Depression. A lot of people are stressed; both emotionally and financially. The lockdown and the pandemic have brought widespread turmoil and uncertainty to most economies. People have lost jobs, businesses have gone under or are on the brink of going under and anxiety is on the rise. So you’re most likely wondering how to make money during coronavirus while, or if, you’re unable to work.

Or maybe this pandemic has been a wake-up call and you’re wanting to future-proof your income by starting up a side-hustle to supplement your income (or hopefully replace it).

Surely there’s a better way that just getting another job on the side? Surely there’s a way to avoid being a victim of the pandemic, and by that I don’t mean medically; I mean FINANCIALLY.

The one surefire way to future-proof yourself against such uncertainty is to take your financial destiny into your own hands. When your only means of earning a living is dependent upon a job, when/if that job disappears, so could your livelihood.

It’s not an appealing prospect.

What can I do to take back control of my future?

At the end of the day, you’ve got to look after yourself. If you don’t – and I hate to say this – nobody else is going to. And by that I mean an employer/customer/business associate.

Never has there been a better time to venture out into the world of online business. Pandemic or no pandemic, the world is moving in a certain direction, however now we’ve just been given an extra violent shove! Love it or hate it, technology is here to stay and innovation and convenience will continue to be top priorities.

You may be thinking that there’s a lot of competition out there, and that may be the case. But every day more and more people flock to the internet to transact and distract. The market is growing at a phenomenal pace, so don’t be left behind.

Read more blogs and sites like this, do some research. Identify an online business model that resonates with you and pursue it.

If you want to see my number one choice, you can read my Wealthy Affiliate review here.

What is the best way to make money during the pandemic?

Social distancing is the biggest phrase on people’s lips currently. Everyone is keeping their distance; traditional businesses are having to drastically overhaul the way they do business to ensure social distancing can be achieved. But, who doesn’t have to worry about social distancing? Online businesses, otherwise known as eCommerce.

If you’ve only heard of eCommerce and never really looked into it, now’s the time. It can take many forms, online marketing, brokering, selling goods and services online, creating apps, selling training courses etc.

Even before the pandemic, online sales and online based transactions were on the rise, it’s a natural evolution of the world we live in. However, since the pandemic hit and lockdown imposed across the world, online transactions have taken off. Some reports are quoting an 87% increase in eCommerce sales over the last 60 days!

But I have no idea where to start.

That’s what sites like this are for, to point you in the right direction. There are many ways to earn money online. It takes a bit of direction and dedication. You need to weigh up the options and choose a business model that best serves you; time involved, startup capital required and whether it’s something you’ll enjoy and be able to follow through on.

Let’s face it, if you’re not enjoying it, it’ll become a chore and you’ll lose interest. The internet is so flexible and there are so many options out there, why settle for anything less than what you enjoy? You have the ability yo choose something you are passionate about and make it a business – where else are you offered that choice/flexibility in such an easily accessible medium? Most likely NOT at your day job.

Let’s take a look at some online opportunities that are proving very lucrative:

Amazon FBA

This is where you sell on Amazon. FBA stands for “Fulfilled by Amazon”, which means you just need to get your stock there, they’ll then sort the rest; take orders online, pick the goods, package them and dispatch them to the customers.

If you already have a business with a product, scaling up to selling on Amazon is a great way to enhance your existing business and tap into a larger consumer market.

If you don’t, never fear, help is near. There are more and more ways to source products these days. However, the trick is also ensuring the product has an active market. For this you can research online, or use popular tools like Jungle Scout or Helium 10.

Amazon KDP / eBooks

This is the Kindle side of Amazon. KDP stands for “Kindle Direct Publishing”.

Ever wanted to write your own book or do you have a knack for writing? You can write and then self publish your books with Amazon. They literally have a one-stop-shop for it, no need for any middle-man or publishing house.

Other eBooks can be promoted via your own website/landing page.

eBay

Selling on eBay I’d lump together with Amazon as the premise is very similar. Most people think you can only sell second hand goods on eBay and it has to be via auction. This is no longer the case and you can now sell new goods for a set price.

The same issues around sourcing products exists as with Amazon, but if you can sell on both, it opens up your market even further.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is similar to Amazon and eBay, and involves selling goods. However, this where the manufacturer of the product will package and ship it for you, direct to the customer.

With dropshipping you can have an eCommerce enabled website, however a lot of people starting out will opt for using an intermediary like Shopify. These companies will create your website, include an eCommerce functionality (this is where you can sell products, have a “cart” and checkout function etc.) and support.

You’ll have to pay, but you will be hard-pressed to find any website design/hosting platform out there that won’t charge you, so I’d suggest sticking to a tried and tested solution while you’re starting out.

I haven’t yet found a good reliable dropshipping training though. If you have (unbiased and objective opinions only), please let me know in the comments below and I’ll look into it.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the process of promoting another company’s product, and for every successful referral, you earn a commission.

Now, this is my preferred eCommerce model for a number of reasons:

1. No product to worry about (quality control, supply,
2. No deliveries or returns to deal with
3. No customer service issues
4. Little to no startup capital required
5. Flexible, you can promote almost ANYTHING
6. Expanding market (more and more online sales happening daily)

Does that mean it’s all singing and dancing? No, it still takes time and effort to gather traffic and convert leads, but once you’ve set it up (and set it up properly), the going gets easier. So, the challenges with affiliate marketing are:

1. Not a quick process (but then, no get-rich-quick schemes exist anyway)
2. Competition in your niche could be high (there’s a way to learn to beat that HERE)

Blogging

This is actually a form of affiliate marketing, as you can start a blog about your hobby/passion/interests. You can then promote products within that niche and earn a commission. You could also promote your own product too.

Training courses / Webinars

Are you really good at something? Can you create an online course to teach it? This is becoming big business these days. You can sell your courses online, and the best thing is t

Podcasting / YouTubing

Once again, this can be a form of affiliate marketing. Actually it can fall into a number of categories as when you have an audience for your podcasts and videos, you can promote affiliate products, you can earn money from sponsorship and advertising or promoting your own products or courses (see above).

Freelancing

Got skills? We all do – so why not use them to your advantage, flexibly and on your own terms. Sites like Fiverr and UpWork are platforms where you can offer your services and get paid for jobs performed. You get to work from your home, and on your own time.

What online businesses would you recommend?

Dropshipping and Amazon FBA are businesses that will take off (if they haven’t already) in the current circumstances. Online selling was always growing at pace, but with the lockdown, it’s become the norm. That said, there are some complications to getting started.

You need to do some research into products to sell as well as sourcing them. The tricky bit is that if you’re trying to source offshore (China etc.), you won’t be able to do a site visit. However, that’s not always necessary and most people starting off just try to find a decent supplier and then order samples to test the product first to check quality and whether it fits the bill. Alibaba is a great site to get started on too. I’ll be doing a review and best practice article on them in the near future.

The other would be affiliate marketing. The scope you have to earn with affiliate marketing is almost endless and people are making very, very good livings from it. Like I said above, it takes dedication and time, but everything worth doing, is worth doing right.

If you’re interested in getting some FREE training and experience with affiliate marketing, check out my review of Wealthy Affiliate.

Wishing you all the best of success in your online adventure.

Stay safe.

NOTE: Have I missed an online business that you’re interested in? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll dig into it and report back.