Who knows how to make money online?

Anyone can make money online. Whether it is profitable for you is an entirely a different matter. You must factor in your time and effort into the equation.

Let’s take Uber as an example.

I read and hear of many people jumping on the Uber platform to provide services.

What’s interesting is that the Economic Policy Institute’s research entitled, Uber and the labor market: Uber drivers’ compensation, wages, and the scale of Uber and the gig economy, found that a third of what passengers pay goes to Uber in the form of fees (commissions and the booking fee per trip).

Here’s the scary bit.

The income drivers get after deducting Uber fees and driver vehicle expenses from passenger fares only average $11.77 an hour.

This average hourly compensation is substantially less than the $32.06 average hourly compensation of private-sector workers. It is also less than the $14.99 average hourly compensation of workers in the lowest-paid major occupation (service occupation workers).

My friend uses Uber to sustain his cash flow after getting laid off from a job. He has business cards ready for diverting his loyal customers from the Uber platform so that it becomes profitable for him.

In a second example, taking online surveys is another popular recommendation for making money online.

Here’s what someone wrote about taking online surveys: “After at least six hour’s work over two weeks, I ended up with two $10 gift cards and a $5 donation to a fundraising platform I’ve never heard of.”.

Yes, you can make money online. That’s a total of $25 for six hours work or $4.16 per hour!

Is that profitable?

I don’t think so if it just $4.16 per hour!

You may not even recover the cost of electricity, the Internet, and depreciation of your computer.

The key question should instead be: How to make a profit online of at least $14.99 per hour?

If $14.99 is the average hourly compensation of workers in the lowest-paid major occupation, then anything you earn over $14.99 will be so-called “profit” to you.

You really need to ask whether the money-making idea that you want to embark on does cover your cost and physical effort and that it can be financially profitable for you.

Using the per hour time cost is the best indication of whether a money-making idea is profitable for you.