How to Build a Real Side Hustle From Scratch That Makes Steady Money (No Fluff)

Me in my office

 

 

How to Build a Real Side Hustle From Scratch That Makes Steady Money

If you’re searching for how to build a real side hustle from scratch, you’re probably not looking for hype. You’re looking for something that grows slowly, pays consistently, and doesn’t disappear when motivation fades.

Real side hustles that make steady money aren’t built overnight. They’re built the old-fashioned way — a little here, a little there, over time.

That’s exactly how we built Bretsuki.

We started in 2011, adding work whenever time allowed. In 2015, Bretsuki became one of my main income streams. It was still slow, but it provided reliable cash flow. Nothing dramatic — just steady progress.

This post explains how to start a side hustle step by step, based on that reality.

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Start With Something People Already Pay For

Every real side hustle starts with demand, not inspiration.

If people aren’t already buying it, you’re making things harder than necessary.

Most proven side hustle paths fall into three categories:

• Service-based side hustles from home

• Product-based side hustles online

• Content-driven side hustles

Early Bretsuki work focused on what people already searched for and bought. No reinvention. No cleverness. Just matching effort to demand.

Ask yourself:

What do people already spend money on that I can deliver consistently?

That question keeps you realistic.

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Choose One Platform and Stay Long Enough for It to Work

One of the biggest mistakes people make when learning how to build an online side hustle is jumping platforms too quickly.

Pick one platform and commit for at least 90 days.

Bretsuki didn’t grow because of constant switching. It grew because work was allowed to compound in one place over time.

Simple rule:

• Publish or list regularly

• Track what you post

• Ignore new ideas until the commitment window ends

Side hustles reward patience far more than intelligence.

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Treat Time and Records Like Business Inventory

If you don’t track time and output, you’re guessing.

For many years, Bretsuki was run entirely without AI — manually tracking work, sales, and results the old-fashioned way. That worked, but it also consumed time and mental energy.

What changed in 2025 wasn’t the work itself — it was the back room.

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Using AI as a Back-Room Tool (Not a Shortcut)

AI was not part of the early Bretsuki story. The business existed long before it was available.

But once AI tools became practical, we incorporated them strictly as support systems, not decision-makers.

Today, AI helps with:

• Logging production

• Recording hours worked

• Tracking output and trends

• Analyzing results without emotion

The key point is this:

AI doesn’t do the work. It keeps the records straight.

The creative work still happens manually. The thinking still belongs to the human. AI simply removes friction from analysis and record keeping.

That unemotional feedback keeps the business honest — and keeps time focused on creating, not bookkeeping.

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Expect a Slow, Quiet Start

Anyone searching for how to build a side hustle with no money needs to understand this clearly:

The beginning is quiet.

Bretsuki spent years growing slowly. That’s normal.

Expect:

• Low traffic

• Few sales

• Long periods with no external validation

This phase often lasts months, not weeks.

Silence doesn’t mean failure. It usually means foundations are forming.

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Reinvest Early Side Hustle Income

Early side hustle income shouldn’t feel exciting. It should feel like proof.

Bretsuki’s early earnings stayed inside the business:

• More products

• Better tools

• Improved workflow

That’s how small income becomes steady income.

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Build Assets That Stack Over Time

A real side hustle builds things that don’t reset to zero:

• Content that keeps working

• Products that stay live

• Systems that reduce effort over time

Bretsuki grew by stacking effort year after year — not by restarting.

Ask:

• Will this still help me earn next year?

• Does today’s work build on yesterday’s?

If not, rethink it.

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Scale Only After the Numbers Prove It

Scaling before proof leads to burnout.

Proof looks like:

• Consistent traffic

• Repeat sales

• Patterns that hold over time

Bretsuki scaled when the data supported it — not before.

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Final Thought

If you want to know how to build a real side hustle that lasts, here’s the truth:

It’s built by people who:

• Start small

• Stay consistent

• Track honestly

• Use tools wisely — when they become available

That’s how Bretsuki was built.
That’s how real side hustles are built.

Slowly. Quietly. And with discipline.

Celebrate Their Special Day with a Fun & Unique Birthday Card! 🐾

 

Looking for the perfect birthday card that’s fun, quirky, and sure to make someone smile? Check out this adorable Black Lab & Cat Birthday Card — a cheerful way to wish a special friend a very Happy Birthday! 🎂🎈

👉 Get it here: https://www.zazzle.com/black_lab_cat_birthday_card_happy_birthday-256121868531647403

Why This Card is Paw-fect 🐶🐱

Whether your loved one is a dog person, a cat person, or both, this card brings the best of both worlds together!
• 💛 Unique Design – Features a playful Black Labrador with a mischievous cat — a delightful combo for animal lovers.
• 🎁 High-Quality Print – Zazzle’s premium card stock ensures your message looks amazing and stands the test of time.
• ✍️ Personalizable – Add your own message inside to make it truly heartfelt.

Who Will Love It?

This birthday card is ideal for:

• Pet parents and animal lovers

• Best friends with a sense of humor

• Anyone who appreciates cute, original designs

Add a Personal Touch!

Don’t just send a card — make it memorable! Customize your message, include a favorite memory, or pair it with a gift for the perfect birthday surprise. 🎁

 

 

Grab yours now:

 

 

 Black Lab and Cat Birthday  Party Birthday Card on Zazzle Affiliate Link

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.zazzle.com/black_lab_cat_birthday_card_happy_birthday-256121868531647403

 

Wreath Customizable Coffee Mug from Zazzle). You can post this on your shop site, newsletter, or social channels:

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🌼 Start Your Day in Bloom: The Perfect Custom Coffee Mug for You or Someone Special

There’s nothing like that first morning sip—when the world is quiet, the coffee is warm, and your favorite mug feels just right in your hands. Now imagine that mug adorned with a beautiful watercolor wild flower wreath, ready to brighten your routine and reflect your personality. That’s exactly what you get with the Unique Watercolor Wild Flower Wreath Customizable Coffee Mug from Zazzle!

 

 

🎨 A Design That Delights

Crafted with soft, artistic watercolor florals circling the mug, this design brings nature’s charm right to your fingertips. The elegant wreath evokes a sense of calm and beauty—perfect for coffee lovers, tea drinkers, garden enthusiasts, and anyone who appreciates artful everyday items. Floral designs like this aren’t just pretty; they make everyday moments feel special. Zazzle

✨ Personalize It — Make It Yours

What really sets this mug apart is customization. You can personalize it with your name, initials, or special message—turning a lovely tumbler into a meaningful keepsake. Whether it’s your own daily cup or a heartfelt gift, adding that personal touch elevates the experience. Personalized floral mugs are incredibly popular as gifts for birthdays, Mother’s Day, weddings, and more. Zazzle

☕ Quality You Can Feel

Not only is the artwork charming, but the mug itself is made with quality ceramic that’s both dishwasher and microwave safe—designed to be part of routines for years to come. And because the design wraps around the mug, every sip is as visually delightful as the last. Zazzle

💝 Perfect Gift Idea

Looking for a thoughtful present? This mug checks all the boxes:

• 🌷 Customizable: Add a name or message to make it unique

• 🎁 Versatile gift: Great for housewarmings, holidays, bridal showers, and more

• ☕ Functional and beautiful: A piece that’s used and adored

Floral mugs make any morning feel like spring—even on rainy days! Zazzle

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Whether you’re treating yourself or gifting someone you love, this floral-themed mug is a delightful way to celebrate everyday moments.

✨ Sip in style with design that blossoms.

 

Link to the Unique Watercolor Wildflower Wreath Coffee Mug

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Fourteen Years on Zazzle

It has been fourteen  years since I first found Zazzle, the print on demand website.

My first attempts to post items was disappointing but I stuck with the site.  It took two years of trying to sell my first item.

Since 2013 I have sold thousands of items and earned some good income.  Receiving several checks a year.

I receive a royalty on my own items, or as a nice bonus I receive a commission for posting links to other designers items.

Now it might seem strange that I would post links to other peoples items, but lets be honest.  Some designers have better design skills than I do.

They often work in niche areas.  Lets say Wedding Invitations, and Wedding Invitations are very lucrative.  People buy those in bulk.

Now me, I like mugs.

I put some of my own art work on mugs.  But generally people only buy one mug. So I am in my little bubble of mugs where I am happiest.

Mugs gain some traction but the commissions on Wedding Invitations is the meat and potatoes of my income.

You can look into affiliate marketing with Zazzle.  Just follow the link below.  It's also a link to one of my own mugs but from there you can take a look at Zazzle and possibly sign up as an affiliate.

Once you have your account set up, you can create themed collections, set up a store to create and sell your own items or share the work of others for a very reasonable commission.

Image:Lake and tree in Yellow Mug ( Affiliate Link )

Cacti In Pots Greetings Card on Zazzle

 

 

Though you might not consider taking a hobby and making some extra cash on the side as worthwhile.  It can be.

 

I recently began painting in Acrylics at a local community center.  Just for fun I began posting about my efforts and shoing my work online.

 

Now this was not a planned effort to advertise.  It was just as a means of creating new posts in my feed.

 

People commented on how much they liked the work and even mentioned buying a postcard of the work it is was available.

 

So I pointed them to my Zazzle Store where I had created such postcards.

 

 The image to the right is the painting which I created in class.

The image does also include a link to the actual card page.  This is an affiliate link.

The direct link to my Greetings Card Page is here.

 

 Now of course there is no guarantee that the item might sell but of course in business there is no definite response that may be guaranteed.  

The risk in business is that things won't sell.  But that is mitigated by allowing potential customers a choice.  

So in creating a side hustle, don't just think things won't work out.  Then talking yourself into not even trying.  Try something out, give it a six month period to work.  It often takes time for things to gain some momentum and so often people give up in far too short of a time.

Always be prepared for things to not seem to work at first.  The only way to guarantee that things won't work is to give in before you even start.

To read my articles on  taking up the hobby of acrylic painting as a blind man got to.  Acrylic Painting Projects by the Blind Guy here.

 

The above space is for the most part free to access.

Unlimited Cash Opportunity

 M1 Investments is offering a great bonus for opening a new brokerage account.

30% Instant Return

A 30% instant return, plus the opportunity to earn extra cash on the side.

I have had an M1 brokerage account for just over one year. The brokerage company is genuine, and their offer of $30 for the person opening a new account with an additional $30 for making the introduction is a fantastic deal.

There is a small cash input needed, you need to fund the new M1 brokerage account with $100.

You then choose from between one and one hundred stocks or exchange traded funds to invest in.

And as M1 allows you  to buy fractional shares you can buy stock for just $1.

Once your brokerage account is up and running, you too will be able to share your portfolio to friends, family or anyone whom you wish.  If they too open an account as you did using your link you too will receive an introduction fee, at present $30.

So if you get four people to sign up and fund their new accounts using your introductory address then you will be in profit.

Plus you will have a brokerage account in which you can invest in companies like Tesla, Amazon or Google. Buy dividend paying stocks like Coca Cola or Pfizer which pay cash regularly. Then again you can buy a fund from companies like Vanguard and invest in the whole stock market if you wish.

Profits from stocks are unlimited, but of course if you wish you can also sell your stocks at anytime, take out your cash and use it however you wish.

Seems like a Win Win to me.

To open an M1 account click here.

Stock Investor Bullish Bull Hoodie
by Shirtoe

 

 

Update May 8, 2021  

 

Today I received $30 from M1 Finance as a thank you for someone using my link to create and fund a new account using my link.

I would like to say thank you to that person, I hope that you too have received your $30 for creating your account and that you have lots of fun and profitable years ahead of you.

To Earn YOUR $30  when you open a new M1 Investment Account Click Here.

A Simple Way to Monetize Your Blogs

Recently I came across InfoLinks

Simple Cash Income From Blogging

InfoLinks is a website which allows you to add advertisements from a wide range of sources, and earn some residual income from both CPM revenue and ad clicks.

What is CPM Revenue and How does it Pay Me? 

CPM Revenue is merely showing advertisements on your blog page. An advertiser pays you in a requisite amounts depending on the number of times their ad is  displayed

Usually CPM is calculated by the thousand views, so if an advertiser pays $1.00 per thousand you will receive one tenth of one cent per time the ad is displayed.

This may not sound much money but multiply that sum by the number of visitors you receive in a day, week or month, if you have one thousand visitors  in any period you might earn $1, multiply this by a one hundred page blog. 

Then you begin to be talking some good cash flow.

You are paid by InfoLinks after your total revenue has reached $50. 

This may seem to be a lot of money to make, but if you have a blog with high traffic and lots of posts it can be a lucrative cash flow source after a few weeks.

If you add this income stream to possible income from other affiliate links such as amazon.com, you can be making some real cash income.

Adding More Posts Will Bring In More Cash Automatically.

InfoLinks will follow your blog and sell advertising space to their customers. The advertisers will pay infoLinks and then InfoLinks pay you automatically. The more content you produce the more ads will be displayed to your followers, every ad is personalized to your readers interest, so making the ads more likely to be of use to your readers.

InfoLinks Affiliate

InfoLinks also have an affiliate program, so when you create an account, you can also share an affiliate link which will also generate a small income for you.

I have added some of my affiliate links to this post, if you like the look of InfoLinks and use my affiliate link I will receive a small reimbursement for introducing you to them, joining InfoLinks is free to you.

Sign Up For An Infolinks Account Today!

How I Earned Over $350 Selling Spider Plants

I bought a single 'Spider Plant' a couple of years ago.

I put it into some good potting soil and a large pot, then it began to grow larger and put out runners. These runners carry baby plants on them,  Growing 'Spider Plant' babies.

Mature Baby, note root buds beneath leaves

When a baby Spider Plant matures, you see a crown of leaves and underneath these leaves are small brown stubby root buds. I take a plastic Coke or Pepsi bottle and fill this with water. Cut the baby Spider Plant from the runner and put the root buds into the neck of the coke bottle. I place the Coke bottle on my bathroom counter where it is cool and slightly humid. In about one week the roots will have grown about one inch long into the water.

Fill one of your plastic pots with compost, poke a hole in the compost and drop the roots into the hole making sure the base of the leaves is above the level of the soil. pat down the potting soil around the roots and water the pot gently.

I keep the new baby plant in my bathroom for a couple of weeks, you may occasionally mist the plant with a fine water spray if the leaves look like they are thin and wilting but don't add too much water to the potting compost.

Mature Baby Spider Plants in Bottles of water

Don't Panic If an Ad Gets Old

Sometimes we take on too much work, don't we?

I do. I plan on doing x, y and z but only x and z get done and it can be weeks or months before I get around to y.

This was a situation that I found myself in last week. I have several blogs, some of my more popular blogs had a lot of traffic but the quieter ones, well were getting lost on the do it list.

Suddenly one article on a quiet list got several hundred visits in  one week. An advertisement on that blog which is an automatically updated ad from amazon suddenly seemed popular too.

The ad server had been linked to the blog for over two years and had only two clicks in that time. Suddenly when this post went popular I had several clicks on the advertisement which showed some expensive Digital SLR cameras, in a week three cameras were sold from that link. OK three sales from an ad that was about two years old was not a lot over the length of time, but it was three clicks and sales.

The products in the ad space were the latest items, the ad space had been set up with the amazon wizard to show new products. So the space never got really stale.

So whenever setting up ad space on a blog or website. consider using the ad wizard which will update automatically with new items rather than showing the same item and having to swap out regularly.

Low Cost Borrowing From the Crowd

Over recent years there has been a number of ways to get money from crowd sourcing and micro-investors.

The aim of crowd sourcing is to  gather together people who are willing to lend small amounts of cash to borrowers.

Borrowers can borrow for various reasons; setting up a small business, consolidating credit card debt or borrowingg at low interest rates to fund a car purchase or make home improvements.

I recently found a new source of income from lending with a company called Lending Club a San Francisco based organization which brings together lenders and borrowers to fund loans by issuing notes of a minimum of $25.

To read more go to my Investore Blog and read the article  Lending to Invest

Zazzle Store to Look At

While I was looking around on zazzle.com the other day I came across this great example of what you can do with the store functions.

Take a look at this great store and see what fun you can have creating products.

Cute N Comfy Online Gift Shop

T-Rex Wish I Could Drink This Beer Shirts by cutencomfy
Make your own tee shirts at zazzle.com.

Or Urban Vibes 

Urban Vibes Mug by Urban_Vibes
Create unique custom cups at Zazzle.

What has been Happening?

Over recent months I have been expanding my online businesses.


My online bookstore, Bretsuki's Books, at amazon.com marketplace has been pretty successful.  Turning over sevel hundred books in the first six months of business and the business is still growing.


I have also been continuing to create products for my zazzle.com stores. The biggest of these stores, *, has increased sales over 250% in the last year, March 1, 2013 until March 1, 2014.
My biggest surprise with my zazzle.com stores is the numbers of International sales. a full 60% of my sales in the last seven months have been from Europe, mostly Germany and closely followed by the United Kingdom.


The major seller has been with items using products bearing what you may consider United States icons, the U.S. flag and Uncle Sam have been very popular.

A Used Bookstore

Opening a used bookstore with amazon is very easy.

You can opt to sell your own items or you can choose to use the Fulfilment by Amazon service.

For the most part I use the Fulfilment by Amazon service because customers can use their Amazon Prime accounts to have goods delivered with FREE two Day Shipping and non Amazon Prime customers who spend $25 at the same time as they purchase an item from my store can opt for Free Supersaver shipping.

To get Free Supersaver shipping customers do not need to spend $25 at my storefront. All purchases from my store count towards the $25 total and purchases can be from several amazon store holders or Amazon.com itself.

My stor is also registered with Amazon to sell Internationally, so my sales are not just restricted to the U.S. but can be shipped to the rest of the world too. Raising my customer potential from about 300 million to over 6 Billion people.

Take a look at my storefront.storefront

Scare of the Week

Last week started pretty calmly. It was Labor Day weekend and pretty relaxed. I didn't realize as I prepared a shipment for my amazon store that it was going to cause a lot of worry over the week.

Being Labor Day last Monday, I was not able to send a box of books on that day so it had to wait until TTuesday to ship. All went well as the box containing thirty books with an approximate retail value of $300 moved down through California to Los Angeles with UPS.

UPS is usually very good at the shipping process, it updates its records regularly so I can follow all my shipments which normally take about five business days to travel from my base to my normal amazon.com fulfillment center in Indiana.

Well Thursday morning, I checked the status of my package. It showed an Exception had occurred.

Well if you read UPS's notes on an Exception it is pretty scary, an exception is described as bad weather, destruction of the package and loss of the barcode delivery note.

I went into panic mode. Visualizing my books scattered along the I-5 corridor, being torn to shreds by coyotes for den making material. It was awful. I held off contacting UPS straight away because I though there was a mistake and in a few hours it would change to In Transit again.

Late Friday there was no change to the status and so I called UPS and spoke to a great customer service operator. She took a few moments to track down my package. It had left L.A. Thursday night on it's way to Indiana, the package had however somehow slipped through the automatic updating system on its departure scan, triggering the exception warning.

I remained on tenter hooks all week-end as my package moved across country. It's next check-in scheduled for the shipping center in Illinois. It finally arrived there in the early hours of Monday this week, one day late but at least my scare was over.

Three hundred dollars worth of books now move on towards Indiana and the final destination for this journey and I can breathe again at last.

Preparing a Shipment for Sale by Fulfilment by Amazon

Amazon.com is not only a bookstore it is a wonderful opportunity for you as an online retailer to enjoy a possible source of income.

I have been a retailer with Amazon for several months now. Mostly selling textbooks from my recent college courses, but also purchasing some items for resale.

For me Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is the easiest method to get my stock to Amazon's customers with little hastle and a great deal of potential profit.

Saturday : Shopping day. I will visit a goodwill or thrift store looking for new stock. I use a good local library too, they have a bookshelf for unwanted donations which they sell for just $1.00. My wife and I visit goodwill stores such as the Salvation Army too, choose a fairly prosperous part of town to buy from goodwills. The more affluent the neighboring districts the better the stock in the goodwill.

I buy several books, some fiction and a few inexpensive textbooks. One textbook in particular on the History of Western Civilisation catches my eye for just 30 cents. Later I find the same book advertised at $40 on Amazon sell your copy pages.

Saturday night when I get home I log onto Amazon.com to see what prices are being asked by other sellers on Amazon. Averages are around $3 or $4 per book from non FBA sellers but some like that textbook are priced much higher.

I assess my books according to the Amazon guidelines. I ainm to buy Used Like New or Used Very Good. No Highlighting on pages, all pages fixed in the book, no margin notes or other writing in the book if possible. The history text was only good on the scale, cover creasing and a tear to the front piece but for 30cents still a bargain worth over $5 to my assessment.

I then set my prices. I aim for pricing like with like so I look for the same quality of book  sold by an FBA seller and price at least the same price as they do or a if there are several FBA sellers in the same area sell at the mid price. ( A book at the same quality selling for $5 from one seller and $6 from a second I price $5.50 )

Why not sell lower you may ask?

Lower prices are often counter productive on Amazon.com. Amazon buyers want low prices, yes, but they also want quality. Pricing too low suggests to the buyer that the quality is not there and so stay away from the lowest price sellers.

You also really don't want to start a price war with other Amazon sellers. You force them to cut your margins and they will do the same to you. They may have deeper pockets than you and cutting margins means the seller with the deepest pockets wins.  Let them keep their margins and price accordingly then everyone wins.

Sunday. I set aside about an hour to prepare a box for shipment. With about twenty books to process, entering the stock into the Amazon website takes about forty-five minutes, after a little practice, all you need is to enter the quality, your seller number and a price and quantity you are shipping.

Pack the box carefully and tightly so books cannot move. Print out the required packing slip and put it inside the box on top of the books. Seal and print-out the Mailing form. This is a barcoded address label and UPS shipping label complete with barcodes and tracking numbers. I also make a second copy of this information for my records.

I choose to have Amazon pay for shipping initially, they will charge your credit card in about five days or take payment from your sales, but a thirty pound weight package can be shipped via UPS for only $14, a vastly reduced charge when compared to usually shipping rates.

All you need to do then is take the packaged books to a UPS collection point or give the package to a UPS driver. UPS will collect from your home or office but that does incur a special charge not covered by Amazon and is not worth the expense.  If you are receiving a delivery via UPS anyway the charge is also waived.

Sell on Amazon

Several months ago I was on Amazon.com and followed the link to allow me to sell on amazon.

Following the link took me to a choice of two pages sell less than forty items per month for free or if I wanted or expectedd to sell more than forty items there was a fee just under $40.

I opted for the less than forty item option.

I was able to go through the large amazon catalogue and find items such as textbooks that I had on my book shelves.

There are certain restrictions to selling on amazon.com so be aware of what is allowed, items such as clothing are restricted but you can sell books, gourmet foods, toys and children's items. I have sold books in my own business.

Choice of how tto sell comes in two forms:

1. You can advertise the item and when someone buys it from you amazon send you an e-mail  informing you of the sale which you must then fulfil, dispatching the product within a specified time. Amazon also estimate postage fees and charge the purchaser an additional amount for your mailing costs. This method is a little similar to using eBay.

2. You have the choice off sending your items to an amazon warehouse. This means that you have to mail a package of items to the specified warehouse giving you an upfront cost. Amazon hold the item on a until sold basis, when a customer buys your item it is deispatchedd directly from the amazon warehouse to the customer as any other amazon order. The benefits for you is that you don't have to store dozens of items and that when your item is advertised it gets prominent listing in the amazon other sellers option page and can be included in free amazon Prime mailing offers.

I have used both systems and am finding option 2 a real benefit with better sales and turnover.

Amazon pay you quickly at the end of the week in which the item is soldd and also pay the cash directly into your bank account.

The only problem with using the amazon jholding the product method is that you have to wait several days for the item to be delivered to amazon's warehouse. That items are held securely and are elligible for amazon Prime increases interest. Customers trust amazon more than the inddividual seller so use the service to your advantage in order to increase your turnover.

Key to Multiple Streams of Income

Having multiple streams of income may sound like a lot of work. Don't you have to juggle several businesses at one time?

Well not exactly. With proper planning some income streams will almost take care of themselves. For instance consider investments in stocks or bonds, they don't need lots of work to deal with. In fact the less work you do with those after your initial purchase the better as leaving them alone is more cost effective,
Spread your time  evenly over those income streams that require you deal with matters regularly. So blog often on successful traffic generating blogs. Take care of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), update your skills as required, it is surprising how skills quickly dull as you don't use them.

Keepp a diary for ideas. It may just be a notebook. As ideas come to you for products, services, blog posts or such, write them down in outline straight away. Most ideas you can forget, but your notes will allow you to remember the real gems.

Check your idea diary regularlyfor ideas. The more ideas that you note down the more ideas you will get. It is surprising how once started the flow of ideas comes more easily.

Accept time  as a real cost. It can  take several months for an idea to bear fruit with a small cash stream. Keep working the paying streams and only let them go if they don't show a real return after two years at least.

First International Sale on Zazzle

A few days ago. I received an e-mail from zazzle.com.

I am used to their e-mails. I often get several per month telling me of a sale or an offer that they have running very soon.

This e-mail was notifying me of a sale. One of my items had sold a few minutes before and they were congratulating me.

I still get a thrill at the news of any sale. It is always fun and I like to see what sold and learn what commission I earned.

But with this sale there was an additional surprise. After many months of only selling to U.S. based customers. This customer was in England!

My old home. I wish I could have hugged the buyer right there and then. I was so excited.

With this one sale I have gone from selling quite locally, all over the lower 48 States to an International seller. Maybe one may say I can claim to be an international fashion house now.

Well that might be a bit much. but for this one zazzle.com designer and seller. I feel like I am in the bright lights now. One international sale under my belt. I am happy.

Web Hosting Referral Income

The internet these days makes every reader of your blog or website not only a potential customer of yours but also a potential online publisher. Every book you might read on internet publishing will tell you that if you want to sucessfully sell online you need to have your own domain and get this domain hosted.

So, a very good potential source of income can be affiliate links with major hosting companies. The two main internet hosting company affiliate programs to which I belong are those of Go-Daddy.com and Host Gator.com.

Both services pay you a percentage of the sales which links from your websites produce. If a customer clicks through your link and signs up for webhosting on that visit you can earn several dollars. The eventual total depends on the customers total spend.

Web hosting for  a starter site with Host Gator for instance can cost the customer from as little as $7 per month for a monthly no contract site.

Both Go-Daddy and Host Gator have good records of maintaining availabilty of websites on their servers with very little downtime. They are also both very large presences on the internet and well known, this make selling the deal to potential customers a little easier. They are both well supported and you have virtually unlimited potential income as many people with web accounts  have several domains which need hosting.

Take a look at both these companies programs and see if they might fit into your portfolio of income streams.

Just for you I have created a money off coupon with Host Gator.

The coupon covers hosting services and you can save 25% off the regular hosting fees by entering the following code when you sign up with Host Gator.

Host Gator Web Hosting Website

Coupon Code:    01102014multi

What is the Worst Thing That Can Happen?

Many of us, when we engage in something new, procrastinate, tell ourselves that something terrible will happen, listen to that inner voice that tells us of disaster and listen to those around us who only fortell doom and gloom.

When you get to this state in a project, you are probably already deeply invested in going ahead, then all the negative voices both internal and external are at their most powerful.

Sit down, take a cup of tea or coffee, take several deep breaths and a pen and paper. draw a line down the paper from top to bottom. On the left wwrite what you think of as positive consequences of you going ahead with the project.

On the right hand side of the paper write down all the negative ideas that you have, if you think you might die include this. Just list as many negatives as you can.

Having drained your mind of the negative possibilities. Take a walk, get some fresh air, maybe another drink of tea or coffee. Stay away for an hour and don't try to come up with solutions for the negatives/ That will come when you get back.

When you have walked a while, go back to your lists. On a second sheet of paper, repeat put a line down the center from top to bottom. On the left, one at a time begin to list the negative items.

As you do use the spacew on the right write down a solution, ask why this negative is so terrible.

If you listed your death, then that is terrible and tragic but even that can be mitigated if one sees this as a completion of a task, life itself, you have no need to worry anymore, you don't have to eat the Brussels Sprouts your mother always boils for three days until they are a grey mush.

Ok you may think that is silly, which it is, but the aim is to come up with as many reasons that you can to negate the negatives.

Be as silly as you need to be, no-one is going to see your lists, they are for your eyes only.

When you look back at this second sheet of lists, you should see that most of the negatives are merely in your own imagination, caused by fear and lack of confidence.

Some negatives  will be genuine concerns but the exercise should have given you a list of positive actions that you can take.

Some negatives may even be positive in disguise and you see that in your answers.

All in all in asking yourself What is the Worst  That Can Happen? You will have accepted that something may go wrong, and probably will, but you have also created a list of recoveries from those disasters that await you in your endeavours.

As Timothy Ferriss advises in his book the 4 Hour  Work Week, "let little disasters happen. Don't try to control every detail, you can't."