The smart way to make money

Have you ever tried cutting grass with scissors or cleaning your bathroom with a toothbrush? There are smarter ways of tackling these jobs; by using the right tool for the job. An amateur gardener would probably use a domestic lawnmower to mow the lawn. The professional gardener would use a professional, more powerful lawnmower and get the job done quicker, leaving time to use a tool to edge the lawn neatly. The professional might use chemicals to feed the lawn and suppress weeds. The professional has knowledge and is smart enough to provide a value added service.

Acquiring an education isn’t always a pathway to making money, but it usually helps. Having the knowledge to run a business, but not being able to understand basic bookkeeping or do simple maths means you don’t have all the necessary skills for the job. Having knowledge without skill and experience is the same, you don’t have everything you need to do the job successfully. For students, learning the theory is important, but so is work experience and learning basic skills like numeracy and literacy.

The more in demand your knowledge and skills are, the more other people are willing to pay for them. Some skills are in short supply. Skilled tradesmen who are dedicated to their work and see it as a vocation are always in short supply. There are many manual skills like painting and decorating, cleaning windows, gardening, cleaning and simple maintenance that aren’t well paid, but that can provide a reasonable living. If the tradesman has the experience to do the job well and quickly, then they can do it in half the time and make a good living. It’s not just experience that helps good tradesmen work well, but also knowledge and the right tools to do the job.

We are often encouraged to work harder, but working hard either physically or mentally leads to exhaustion at the end of the day. Working smarter leads to better performance throughout the day and leaves us with not only pride in what we do, but often the commitment and energy to do a little extra work.

If you need to earn more money, try thinking differently and smarter. It might be the norm to just work for someone else, do as you’re told and take the money at the end of the month. On the other hand, you might ask yourself if you’re smart enough to take more responsibility or even be the boss. Many people take the first step to working smarter and becoming independent by starting a part-time business that runs parallel to a full-time job.

The type of part-time business depends on your interests and skills, but the best option is usually to do something you’re interested in or even passionate about. If you’re a gifted amateur at something, ask yourself if you can upgrade to being a professional and what would it take and how long would it take.

It can be hard to change your life without help and support. So why not try to get help and support? Why not try to do something in your spare time? Is watching television or going to the pub that important that you can’t cut down to do something more constructive and positive with your life? It’s not just about making money. There is also the respect, not just the respect of others, but self-respect comes from achievement.

There are more blogs that you might like on the home page of a zillion ideas. Why not comment and tell me what you think. I know, no one likes to be the first to comment; but be brave!