All Articles Tagged "income"
How to Make Money Out of Thin Air
That sounds like a pretty bold and impossible statement, doesn’t it? Let me qualify it by saying I still haven’t figured out how to sit on the sofa merely wishing for money and have it appear. However, I will describe the next best thing: How you can make money in this lousy economy in 2011 when you have no money to invest or any great education. This method even works if you’ve never been in the work force. All you need is what’s between your ears and also the will to invest a handful of hours.
Three kinds of people regularly visit the Internet: First there are the “surfers” who are bored and want a break. They also might want to be entertained. Next are the “connectors” who want to be part of an online community like Twitter or whatever.
Finally there are “seekers”. These people are looking for solutions. Seekers can make you lots of money if you have just the information they’re looking for. They’ll pay you for highly specific answers but not for general, wishy-washy advice.
Let’s look at how people use search engines like Google. If I type in “kidney” then I’m just surfing. I might be looking for pictures of kidneys for a school project, or I want a kidney-shaped swimming pool. If I type in “kidney stones” I’m getting more specific. Still, I might be just doing research for a report. But if I type “traditional kidney stone remedies” now I’m a seeker! I’m probably in pain and want a solution other than the drugs or surgery my local doc wants to dispense.
If you put together a small, 10-page typewritten report on home remedies for kidney stones, you can bet I’ll seriously consider buying it for, say, $10 or $20, especially if you offer a money-back guarantee. It’s an easy, no-resistance sale because you are delivering targeted information I need at low cost.
Please note that if I’m in pain with kidney stones I do not want some general guide to “Home Remedies for 101 Ailments”. I’ll gladly pay but only for precise advice.
So what sort of information will people buy? Here are five high-payoff categories:
1. What have you researched and discovered? This is the kidney-stone example above, or it could be about getting stains out of angora wool. You don’t need to be a “professional” to write it. You also don’t need to guarantee results; all you’re doing is selling the fruits of your research, nicely organized into a few pages.
2. What can you demonstrate? I’ve made a lot of money by creating user-friendly guides to complicated machines and you could do the same. For instance if you’ve become expert at the features of a particular sewing machine, snowmobile, or even on how to play songs using your telephone keypad, you can sell that information.
3. What problem have you solved? This is a cousin of the question above. Maybe someone already knows how to assemble and use a product but gets frustrated at advanced features. Maybe the product needs regular maintenance and the factory gives scant advice on how to do it. People will pay for solutions to highly specific problems. Do an inventory on paper regarding all the things you use regularly: power tools, appliances, sports equipment, cars, electronics, etc. Now think what has caused you great frustration in the past, and what you eventually found a solution to. Assuming you don’t own the only one on the planet, I can assure you that others are having the same trouble and will pay for a succinct solution.
4. What are the best resources you’ve found? It’s true that search engines are good starting places when you’re on the hunt for the best of something. But people have an insatiable appetite for “the best of” things. Don’t you light up when you see stories like “The Top 10” of something you’re really interested in? People will pay for shortcuts and you can put together a simple report which delivers exactly that. If it saves time, it’s worth money.
5. How do things fit together? This is similar to the question of what can you demonstrate, but broader. If you’re into home-brewing beer, you may have assembled the right equipment through long trial and error. Maybe you homeschool your kids and have hit upon some great ways to homeschool while also taking advantage of public-school resources like sports. Other parents are going through the same process across the country and would love to pay a few dollars for your experience.
With any of the questions above, all you need to do is put together a simple report of 7-15 pages. It could be all text or it might include pictures. If you know how to do it, you could include audio or video that further describes your solutions. Forget about being “slick”—people will gladly pay you for simply being helpful.
Also forget about trying to be all things to all people. Don’t come out with “The Complete Homeschool Resource Book” just yet. First produce a simple report like “10 Common Questions Schools Will Ask Before Approving Your Homeschool Application, And How To Answer Them.”
Once you have your report, post it on eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist.
The key thing is to Think Small. That’s right, in this age of people telling you to “Think BIG!” I’m saying that small is beautiful. You’ll invest a very small amount of time to write the report. Because you’ll spend so little time and basically no money on it, your risk couldn’t be smaller.
Remember to think narrow but deep: If your report is highly specific to one audience, they’ll buy with little hesitation because you’re speaking to their exact needs.
Once you get a small income stream going from one report, then think use the Shampoo Method—in other words, “lather, rinse, and repeat.” When you create a bunch of these reports you’ll be looking at a nice, regular income stream that all began with what’s in your head.
You can be making money one week from now. It’s a wonderful feeling to create a simple report and be paid again and again for it. Try it once and you’ll not only be wealthier—you’ll be hooked.
Jonathan Rozek is co-author of The Six-Figure Second Income, which is an Amazon world-wide bestseller. You can get more information at www.sixfiguresecondincome.com
At What Income Level Do Americans Consider Themselves Rich?
by Alexander Cain
Under Obama’s tax plan, couples making more than $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000 a year are considered to be in the highest income bracket. This group makes up just 2.5% of the American population, but many within this small population don’t consider themselves well off. It leaves many people wondering at what point do Americans consider themselves rich.
As reported in The Los Angeles Times report, the answer might be surprising. There are a wide variety of answers, but there is a common trend between all of the answers: the more money you currently make, the more money it takes for you to be considered ‘rich’. The report cited a survey showing that Americans, on average, believe an income of $122,000 is enough to be rich. However, this number can change depending on location and income level. Those living in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and New York consider $250,000 to be a more appropriate number for being considered rich, but it essentially depends on who you talk to. Christian, an independent contractor from Atlanta who once earned more than $250,000, didn’t consider a family who earned 250,000 to be rich. This is a stark contrast from many homeless individuals living in large cities where they consider middle class to be rich. Arnold Cantu who resides next to the Hollywood Freeway simply responded, “About $20.”
While economists only evaluated differences among different economic and living backgrounds, what would be interesting are the perceived concepts among different racial and ethnic groups. For African-Americans, one would expect the number to actually be higher than the $122,000. I would cite a higher income level for a variety of reasons.
As African-Americans, we aren’t exposed to as many higher income level individuals as other ethnic groups. For the 2.5% of Americans who qualify under the highest income tax bracket, only about 12.2 percent of this percentage are African-Americans according to a U.S. census report.
Jay-Z, the Oprah, and the Obamas are who constitute our ideals of wealth rather than the small to mid-size unknown black business owners who aren’t well known but continue to drive their businesses. African Americans are facing a different mindset than those of the other racial groups. With the heavy influence of hip-hop culture in the African American community, our viewpoint of wealth is heightened, as compared to other cultural groups, because the idea of rich is often associated with material items rather than actual income level.
While the idea of being ‘rich’ is a simple one, it is actually a concept with many different ideas and viewpoints. Depending on your income level your idea of ‘rich’ might be different. The more income you currently have, the more additional income it will take to consider yourself ‘rich’. For African-Americans who are still facing the tough income disparities, it will likely take a higher level of income to compensate for our tougher challenges.
For Many, Recession Means All the Responsibilities, Half the Income
(Washington Post) — The crockpot was stuffed with turkey wings, green peppers and rice. The aromatic stew sat on a table in Keyona Sills’s kitchen, gurgling and ready for her two children, her mother, her brother and a family friend who had just walked in the door.”You cook tonight?” asked the family friend. Sills nodded. It had been a long day of looking for work, applying for jobs and paying bills, and she was tired. But it was time to eat, so she got up to serve the meal. Sills, 26, lost her job as a custodian at Walter Reed Army Medical Center five months ago. Now, she receives $350 a week in unemployment, placing Sills and her children just below the poverty line.
Well-Being Survey Reveals Racial Divide
(Washington Post) — The Washington region ranks first among the country’s 10 largest metropolitan areas on an index that measures life expectancy, education and income, according to a report to be released Wednesday. The region’s top score is driven in large part by the high education and income levels of whites and Asian Americans living in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, the report says. Although some of the information underscores what is generally known about the area, the report by the American Human Development Project, an initiative of the Brooklyn-based nonprofit Social Science Research Council, reveals some startling gaps in what it calls the building blocks of a good life.
Income Plummets for Part-Time Workers in Washington Area
(Washington Post) — Part-time workers in the Washington region suffered some of the worst pay losses in the nation during the recession, even as full-time employees held their ground. Median income for part-timers was down by double digits in every jurisdiction in the region between 2007 and 2009, according to a Post analysis of recently released census statistics. In some places, the drop was triple the national decline. Median pay for women who work part time in the Washington area slipped from highest in the nation to fourth place. And men fell from the second-highest to the seventh place.
Atlanta Worst for Income Growth
(Atlanta Business Chronicle) — Atlanta had the weakest long-term income growth of any U.S. metropolitan area, according to Portfolio.com. The sister publication of Atlanta Business Chronicle looked at the nation’s top 100 metropolitan areas, analyzed 25 years of federal income data to calculate how income level growth compared across the nation. Atlanta finished dead last in six of the study’s 25 time spans, and next-to-last in another five.
D.C.-Area Income Growth Lags National Average
(Washington Business Journal) — Personal income growth in Maryland, Virginia and the District lagged the national average in the second quarter, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Total personal income in Maryland in the second quarter was $281.8 million, up 0.9 percent from the first quarter and up 2.2 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.
Read More…
New York's Happiness Income: $163,500
(WSJ) — Two academics analyzing a massive survey of U.S. public opinion on money and happiness found a magic number. Earning more money increases a person’s day-to-day contentment, they determined — until your salary hits $75,000.
After that point, as Robert Frank explains on WSJ’s Wealth Blog, additional earnings don’t increase a person’s contentment. (The study distinguishes between two types of happiness, and more money can enhance one of those. Read Frank’s full post for more.)
Investing: Income Plays for a Low-Yield World
(Businessweek) — With the latest spike in volatility in the stock market, investors are getting increasingly anxious about where to go for predictable but still attractive returns on investment.With yields on U.S.Treasuries and agency bonds near all-time lows, income investors will have to look elsewhere.
NYC Area Personal Income Nosedives
(Crain’s) — Personal income declined in the New York City area by 4.1% in 2009, driven largely by weakness in the finance and insurance sector, a report released Monday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed.
Net earnings in the area were down by 3.9% and income from dividends, interest and rent dropped by 1.6% according to the report released Monday by the BEA. A 1.4% increase in transfer receipts, which include income derived from unemployment benefits and Social Security, helped cushion the area’s decline.
