How can I monetise my skills?
Let’s get back to Sarah.
We chatted about her family, work situation, and her motivations to switch jobs.
Sarah informed me that she wanted to monetise her skills and expertise in a different way. Perhaps as a freelancer, but didn’t know how or where to start.
It became clear that she had the motivation to freelance in the future but needed a strategy and step-by-step plan to do so.
There are many ways to monetise our skills
The Internet has opened up a lot of opportunities for motivated individuals to monetise our skills. There’s no limit as to what we can do to make money, either online or offline.
It’s only a matter of whether we want to or not.
Knowing where to look will ensure that you do not go chasing every single shiny object.
Here are some ways Sarah can do to monetise her skills and experience:
(a) Starting a blog.
(b) Selling eBooks using her blog or via Amazon.
(c) Online courses.
(d) Public speaker or trainer.
(e) Changing her job to something more relevant.
Finding the right platform to monetise your skills and experience
At this early stage, we talked about developing a personal website as a vehicle to deliver products and services that she can sell from. This is where she can have total control over what she sells.
The type of platform you use is dictated by your personality and the niche you are wanting to go into.
If you are an outgoing person, social media may be the right platform for you.
The location of your target market will drive your decision. If you are selling to Gen X or Y, Facebook may be the vehicle for you.
The principle of sowing and reaping applies
During the conversation with Sarah, it was clear that she is time-poor due to family commitments. She has a full-time job and may not have the time to sit and devote much time in working the plan.
I explained to her that she is in control of how much time and effort she wants to put into her career change.
The good thing is that she has already come to the realisation that she needed a career change. Now, she needs to take action to realise her dream.
What she plants now is what will reap in the future. There are no short-cuts to success.
Starting out as a hobby
The reality is that if she wants to make this dream come through, she needs to consciously carve out a couple of hours per week to build up her hobby.
I call it a hobby because it is something she can do outside her work during her free time. There’s no pressure to succeed for now.
By its nature, hobby is a recreation you enjoy doing to recharge. She can enjoy what she wants to do without sacrificing family commitments.
For Sarah, how much time she spends on her hobby will dictate how fast she can monetise her experience away from her current full-time job.
People just fail to plan
People don’t plan to fail. They just fail to plan.
Depending on your personality, there are different levels of planning.
It could involve strategising a direction to take.
Whatever it is, strategies or plans are essential to help us focus and avoid potential failures.
Create a job transition plan
Staying in the corporate world without any time to pursue other interest is madness and limiting.
You need to mind your own business, not your employer’s business.
Your manager will not be at your funeral crying over your death. It will be your loved ones, your family, and your friends.
By reprioritising your life, you need to have a transition plan for taking on jobs that will enable you to achieve your ultimate goal. You may need a number of jobs to transition you to achieving your objectives.
Finding ‘transition’ jobs will give you more time to do other things. It gives you time to try or experiment with other things.
Reclaim your time so that you can develop other careers or pursue other business opportunities.
It is time to be selfish with your precious time, which is a rare commodity.
Beware of the shiny object syndrome
“I initially failed in my quest to create a sustainable second income, simply because I didn’t have a clear strategy in mind. I didn’t follow a clear system. I did everything that everyone else seemed to be doing but I didn’t really know what my main goal was. Thankfully, now I do. Even better, I now know how to focus on my chief objective and more practically secure my present and future financial prosperity.”
The only way to avoid wasting your time and money in trying out every ‘shiny object’ that comes along is to have a strategy or plan of attack.
Every promise to make you money can distract you from ultimately achieving your goals.
In helping you avoid this pain, I have watched XX online videos. Please read my article to give you the perspective you need.
There are sacrifices to make
With limited time available to each one of us, there are prioritisations to do and sacrifices to make. Some things have to make way or be reduced.
With a clear goal or a WHY, Sarah needs to ‘negotiate’ a level of commitment with her husband so that both of them are on the same page. They can support each other in sharing household work or attending to their children’s activities.
When you have a partner or spouse, it is important to bring them along the journey.
Don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself
Do start out by considering this activity as a hobby.
Why?
Because a hobby is something we spend during our spare time for ourselves. There is no pressure to earn money and succeed from it. The focus is on us, not someone else (i.e., paying customers).
There are flexibility and control.
Building up credibility and authority, the right way
At this early stage, Sarah is thinking about doing training and coaching in the future.
This is a good starting point.
Trying out new things can go a long way in learning more about who we are, our weakness and strengths, our capabilities, and our personality to succeed.
One of the fears holding back people from venturing out on their own from their 9-5 jobs is that they do not want to sound desperate or be like a used car salesperson.
They want to keep their professionalism and integrity in place.
Sarah needs to establish herself as an expert, authority, or go-to person in her specialised sub-niche where she can solve people’s pain points or problems.