Making a Part-Time Income Online – Good Enough?

Happy Monday!

Let’s put the technical stuff and business aside for now and talk about life!

I have been in the online selling business for more than 10 years now (actually I’m quickly approaching the 15 year mark – I’m starting to feel old!) and have worked directly and in-directly with thousands of people over this time. By working with directly I mean all of my Easy Auction Business, eCommerce Magnates, Second Income Generator, and Spicy Auction Templates customers and of course in-directly by answering tens of thousands of emails/messages and forum posts.

So I can safely say that I’ve seen it all.

Many people contact me with lengthy emails, explaining their life stories, complex medical conditions and un-employment situations. And I always try to do my best to give at least some advice to every person who contacts me. Of course, my time is very limited and I can’t reply to every email with an essay but still – even a short answer pointing them in the right direction is better than nothing, right?

One of the most common situations people write to me about is how they’re sick and tired of their job and how they want to start a full-time business, selling stuff online. And that’s great! Being an entrepreneur for so many years, it still always touches me personally when someone wants to make a big change in their lives and do their own thing. This is exactly what I did all those years ago, quitting my first and only day job at a Primark warehouse (you can read more about that on the About Me page).

However – there’s a problem. Not everyone is made to be a business owner, that’s just the truth. It does take certain skills, attitude, and way of thinking to become a successful online entrepreneur in this day and age as make no mistake – millions of other people around the world want the same thing and there’s simply not room for everyone.

On the other hand – I have seen some phenomenal successes achieved by “ordinary” people during my 60 Day Blueprint program. Sometimes all it takes is hard work and dedication and you can basically achieve anything you want in life. It has nothing to do with how smart you are (I don’t consider myself as super smart) or your previous work experience (even though a business environment helps) – it’s more about that attitude – hard work, patience and just working towards your goals.

So I’m not saying you can’t become that super successful online entrepreneur BUT there’s a small chance that you’re simply not cut out to be one. You may simply not have a big enough desire or you may not truly be willing to work as hard as is needed to survive in the business world.

So does that mean it’s a waste of time to even start?

NO!!!

Even if you don’t create a full time business online, what’s wrong with simply making some extra money alongside your full time salary? What’s wrong with earning a side income that allows you to take your family on a luxury holiday once every year? What’s wrong with working in your spare time to keep you occupied? What’s wrong with enjoying the whole selling process and making £500 extra every month to spend on the things you want?

NOTHING, is the answer! I really want to emphasise that it’s NOT an everything or nothing decision when it comes to having an online business. Creating a second income generating £300, £500 or even £1000 a month is still MUCH better than nothing, right? And so what if you can’t move it to the next stage, that allows you to quit your day job?

And here’s the thing – making £500 a month on eBay & Amazon is SO MUCH EASIER than making £3000! £500 a month means that you have to make less than £20 a day in profit. There are many ways you can achieve this kind of profit level relatively easily, with a small investment and working just a few hours a day.

But many people seem to have the mindset that you should either create a full time business or there’s no point in doing this… I don’t agree at all.

I have several friends who, knowing what I do, have created an online business on the side. They still have full time jobs but they’re making some extra money to pay for life’s little extras, their kids’ education or their yearly family holiday. And they’re perfectly happy – they DON’T have the goal of creating a full time income out of their business.

As let’s not kid ourselves – managing a real business, especially with employees, a warehouse etc. is not an easy task. Not everyone can do it.

For me personally the employee part of this whole thing is most difficult – I know that I’m too “soft”, too friendly, with my employees and that can actually create long term problems. When you become friends with your employees, it’s almost impossible to let them go for example, even if you know that they’re not doing their job as expected. Over the years I have learned this lesson the hard way but still, I do struggle creating that “boss” barrier between me and my employees.

As I said, many people complain about their jobs, how they hate it etc. etc. But maybe the problem is not in employment as such but the actual JOB itself? Maybe it’s time to look for something else, maybe re-qualify and change your line of work?

Don’t think that having your own business will make all other problems disappear, as that’s not gonna happen. In fact, when I look at my friends who have normal lives, one job and several holidays every year, I’m jealous of that easy going, stress-free life. I haven’t really even been on a “proper” holiday! As I still always bring my laptop with me and check up on things twice a day.

I know, that’s sad too, lol! And it’s probably my own fault as I haven’t created processes where everything can work on auto-pilot, without me being involved. But I’m not complaining – not at all! I just want to say that being a business owner has its positives and negatives, which you only really fully appreciate when you’re a business owner yourself.

But sorry – I got a bit sidetracked there! Today’s story was about the part-time online business situation and I truly believe that many people are completely missing out on this concept. How do I know? Because out of those many thousands of emails that I’ve received, only a very small proportion of them have been about ways/options to create a second income online. The vast majority of them are about quitting day jobs and building a full time business.

I hope I’m not sending the wrong message here – I still encourage people wholeheartedly to try and create a full time business online! Go for it! It’s just for some people, maybe a better alternative is to have something small, on the side of their full time job.

Lastly – for people who want to make it big – start with small goals first. Don’t quit your job and then wonder what to do. Keep your full time employment and set a goal to create a sideline online business that generates £500 profit per month. That is a very achievable goal and if you can’t make it, chances are you won’t be able to reach £2k per month or more anyways, even if you do work at it full time.

By setting such realistic goals you actually help yourself in a big way as you’ll feel super empowered when you reach them! It will really change the way you think and then you can simply set another goal – and build up your business like that, step by step.

But even if you stop once you’ve created a second income generating business, I still think that’s amazing! Just look at all those thousands of sellers on Etsy for example – most of them are making a good side income with their crafts (and other things) and I think it’s a perfect model for people who like creating their own things, especially stay at home mums and people with mobility issues etc.

Or for example the whole freelancing sphere, affiliate marketing etc. – strategies I talk about in my Second Income Generator video course. Those are perfect, super simple but still very powerful part time business models that can easily generate £500 of extra income per month when done properly. You still have to put work into it of course but you can’t really compare that effort to what it takes to build a business that makes thousands in net profit per month.

Ok, that’s it for today. I hope this helps some people who are still not sure what they want to do and what their goals are. In last year’s Reader’s Contest people asked me to publish my thoughts/stories on general business issues so hopefully this article is a good starting point.

Next up I want to talk about TIME. Something that so many people are simply not getting right. Time plays a crucial role when you start a new online business from scratch and I want to shed some light on how to make TIME work for you, not against you. But that’s for another post.

Have a great week everyone!

Thanks,
Andrew