Homesteading & self employment: finding a nich | Page 7 | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

New to the forum, just thought I'd share some things we do. I've been self employed for almost 2 years now and am loving every minute of it. Here are some things we do:

1. Sign up on UpWork: This is a platform for freelancers to find work, one time jobs, ongoing jobs, etc. UpWork acts as the mediator between employer and employee. You can set your hourly rate, take on a fixed price project, apply for jobs, etc. There is work on there for a huge variety of skill sets. One negative is that as a freelancer, you compete globally which means there are people in other countries willing to work for $3/hr... but I've been an employer on this platform too and 95% of people SUCK at applying for jobs, so even if there are 100+ applicants, if you write a good cover letter, that will automatically make you stand you even if your hourly wage is $20/hr (or higher, depending on the job). If there are any disputes between employee/employer, UpWork steps in to mediate and make sure that the solution is fair to all parties, and that you get paid for every hour you work.

2. Create e-learning courses: Chances are, YOU have a UNIQUE SKILL that others would PAY to learn! Whether you know how to shoe a horse, knit, build stuff, bake the perfect loaf of bread, many people would pay to learn your skill. You can set the price point low enough that many people would take the course (say $20), and if 100 people sign up, that could be $2,000. We know how to create our own websites and set up an e-learning platform, but there are ways to have other people manage your course for you (UDemy I think it is??) so long as you can provide the content. Or you could offer a class in your community if the internet isn't your thing.

3. Start a blog: Starting a blog isn't the quickest path to money but if you enjoy that type of thing anyways, it could be a way to generate a small amount of residual income by selling ads on your blog, promoting the products that you genuinely use, love and recommend to others, things like that. Again... you could have a blog for almost any niche.

I think the BIGGEST thing I've learned while being self employed is that you have unique skills, or a unique product, that someone will pay for (or at least barter for). Providing education to others is a HUGE opportunity that many aren't taking advantage of, especially if you can provide it in a unique, entertaining way. There are a number of other ways but these are the few we've been dabbling in. It's not dollars for hours worked, and some efforts don't result in any money at all (or even lost money) but it's pretty nice when you receive residual income from your efforts!