10 Ways to earn extra income (Part 2)

In the first part of this article, we provided the first five income-generating options to guide your wealth creation efforts.

They were savings and investment, publishing of books or artistic works, retail and delivery services, teaching and educational services and finally, event management. In this second installment, we provide five additional income-earning options, namely: 

1. Writing, editing or ghost-writing

One can earn extra income by providing writing services to different categories of clients. You could write articles or columns for newspapers, magazines or other publications in return for a small fee. This may not be much but it serves a dual purpose of developing your skills and creating awareness on one hand and earning a stipend on the other. 

In the same vein, there are busy executives, accomplished leaders and celebrities who wish to write their memoirs, biographies or document important aspects of their life, message or lessons, but who lack the time or expertise to write. You could provide ghost writing or editing services to such clients and if you are very good, you are likely to have your hands full for a long time. Depending on how you structure it, this can be a more profitable option than article writing because it is relatively less capital-intensive. Additionally, majority of the work can be done in flexible hours, thus allowing you to do other things concurrently.

2. Perform household services 

You can earn extra income informally if you have the talent for doing things that other people need but do not have the time and skills for. For instance, you could let friends, family, church members and others in your community know that you're available to clean their houses or apartments, or to handle their ironing. There are busy families and executives who are pleased to have someone handle their grocery shopping and weekend marketing errands for them. If you find you have a knack and stamina for cleaning quickly and thoroughly, you can turn this into a regular, reliable way to earn extra money every month. Our protégé, Jonathan Blankson, who runs Jonablank, a successful laundry and cleaning business, started by providing these services from house to house with very basic equipment. Other domestic services one can provide on a part-time basis include childcare, sewing, typing, floor polishing and pest elimination, among others.

3. Transport & courier services

This is a business that has been popular over the years but which has metamorphosed from its original model. Traditionally, the transport business focused largely on commercialising of taxis and buses and many invested heavily in a fleet of vehicles with some enjoying significant levels of success. That model is still largely in use even though many question its continued viability in the light of complaints of its abuse by drivers and lack of accountability. New variants have ,therefore, emerged including outsourced despatch riders and courier services. These seem to be doing well and in some instances, require just a motorbike or two to set up. Car rental and protocol services have become a big business with the tourism boom and the growing number of international conferences and events being held literally every week. 

4. Floral arrangements, décor and horticulture 

There are a few variants one can consider in this growing industry. A growing middle class and an increasingly sophisticated populace means an insatiable demand for fresh flowers. A significant percentage of these are imported. You can ,therefore, go into the cultivation of flowers or vegetables on a small parcel of land and grow it from there. You can also develop a related talent in the provision of decoration services at weddings, events and conferences. This is another industry that has really grown but you can start from somewhere. Alternatively, you can actually plant and tend people’s gardens or landscape for them. This will,however, require regular maintenance that can be time consuming. If you are working, you can hire a gardener to provide those services while you provide supervision and inspection on a part-time basis. This requires skills and expertise in plant selection, soil culture, maintenance, among others.