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You are here: Home / Business Inspiration / The 9 Best Ways to Make a Living As An Entrepreneur

The 9 Best Ways to Make a Living As An Entrepreneur

October 12, 2021 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

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The 9 Best Ways to Make a Living As An Entrepreneur 1200 x 1200Starting a new business can be an exhilarating yet terrifying prospect. There are many ways to get started; picking the perfect one for your skills and interests is almost impossible. But that doesn’t mean you can’t dive right in! With startup costs lower than ever before, more people choose the road less traveled by conventional wisdom and invest their life savings in starting up their own companies.

However, this isn’t always advisable – what if it fails? What if I’m not good enough? These are questions every would-be entrepreneur is asking themselves. The only way to answer them with any degree of certainty is to try it out yourself. So with no further ado, here are the best nine business models for would-be entrepreneurs!

1. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is a business model where you don’t sell any physical products! Instead, you are the middleman between actual producers and customers. You make money by charging your customers for product listings, packaging, shipping fees, etc. Still, the goods themselves are purchased directly from the manufacturer or another party, which can be done with relative ease thanks to services like AliExpress. Safe to say, this saves you quite a bit of money over conventional retail business models that require large stores, warehouses.

2. Freelancing

Best Ways to Make a Living As An Entrepreneur freelancing

Freelancing is all about finding work online. Websites like Upwork and Fiverr allow people and businesses to post jobs (and their accompanying prices) that freelancers can bid for. You could, for instance, be paid $5 to edit an article or $30 to create a short 1-minute video explaining the benefits of a business’s product.

3. Writing Gigs

This is similar to freelancing in many ways, but writing gigs offer you more job security as you have one employer that pays you repeatedly as long as your articles keep being downloaded from their websites! Websites like Contentmart and Textbroker allow businesses and individuals to order articles at a set price without bidding wars between different freelance writers.

4. Affiliate marketing

Best Ways to Make a Living As An Entrepreneur affiliate marketing image

Affiliate marketing is where you refer customers to a retailer or product owner online. You are paid a share of each sale generated through your efforts, meaning you get paid for bringing the business new customers. Although it sounds difficult, all you need is to set up an account with one of many affiliate networks like Sauce North and start sending traffic their way!

5. Patronage 

This refers to people who donate money to the content they want to be made on websites like Patreon or live streaming platforms like Twitch. If enough people sign up and agree that you should be making, say, videos on YouTube or songs on SoundCloud, every time you release something new, these patrons pay for it (and perhaps give additional donations). This must be done responsibly, though: patrons will stop donating if too little content appears and the business model fails.

6. YouTube Videos

YouTube videos can make a lot of money, with some channels bringing in millions of dollars every month from advertisers. The best way to do this is to set up your own channel and produce regular content such as reviews, tutorials, or comedy clips that people want to watch (and share). You can then sign-up for revenue sharing with YouTube through an Adsense account, meaning you only get paid when ads are played before your video begins.

7. Amazon FBA

Best Ways to Make a Living As An Entrepreneur amazon

Amazon FBA stands for “Fulfilment By Amazon” and is all about selling physical products on Amazon’s website. You buy products at wholesale prices and send them to an Amazon warehouse, where they’ll be stored and shipped out to customers as orders arrive. Amazon takes care of the delivery, so all you have to do is sit back and wait for those royalty checks!

8. Consulting

If you’re good at something, people will want your advice on it! Many large companies rely on consultants for certain tasks such as marketing research, sales optimization, and general business advice. You could start charging these companies huge wads of cash just by offering some free “expert” advice with what you know best: writing, technology, and even arts!

9. Selling Your Own Products

This is similar to dropshipping, but this time, you’re in charge of everything: product creation, storing the inventories, shipping, and so forth. In this case, you’re building a brand, and unlike a dropshipping site, you’ll have more control of your margin and product development.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, there are a lot of different ways to make money as an entrepreneur. We hope this article has given you some ideas on where to start and what types of businesses may be best for making more money. Make sure you do your research before diving headfirst into any new business venture! 

Felix Prasetyo imageAbout the Author: Felix Prasetyo is the founder and writer at Lifengoal.com, where he talks about anything related to personal growth, entrepreneurship, motivation, and life in general.

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Filed Under: Business Inspiration, How to Start Tagged With: Affiliate marketing, Amazon FBA, dropshipping, freelancing, make money as an entrepreneur, writing gigs

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Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, social selling, and online marketing strategy. As CEO of Quintessence Group, her Philadelphia-based marketing consulting firm serves Fortune 500 brands that target the small business market. Clients include Amazon, Adobe, Verizon, VISA, Google, FedEx, Chase, American Express, The Hartford, and Pitney Bowes. She also has an online school, www.smallbizladyuniversity.com, that teaches people online marketing and how to start and grow a successful small business and publishes a blog SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com. Her advice is widely read, reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She hosts The Smallbizchat Podcast and is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded, and Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.

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