Top ways to grow your income while your business gets off the ground

A business is like a tree. It will likely start off as a tiny and vulnerable sapling. It needs to be protected, nourished and nurtured if you expect it to grow into a mighty oak. Quitting your day job to join the ranks of the entrepreneurs is an admirable pursuit, and those who walk this path should be commended for their bravery, ingenuity and determination… but that doesn’t mean it’s not a risky endeavor. The business climate is fast paced, extremely competitive and rapidly evolving. While there are literally millions of new businesses registered around the world every year, it’s no secret that around half of them don’t make it past the 5 year mark. If you have a burning passion for your startup and want to see it grow over time into a thriving and profitable enterprise it needs a steady stream of income and investment to help facilitate organic and sustainable growth.

This can be difficult when your business takes time to gain some traction and you have a roof over your head and kids to support. As much faith as you may have in your business, all entrepreneurs walk a fine line between investing their capital back into their business and paying themselves enough to ensure that they and their families get to live in a state resembling comfort.

The importance of ongoing investment

While many entrepreneurs don’t pay themselves enough to live off, especially in their early years, you can go too far and pay yourself a little too much. It’s easy to feel that you deserve it, especially after raising the startup capital to get your business off the ground and building your enterprise up from nothing. While you absolutely do deserve it, it’s important to keep a steady stream of revenue coming in to ease cash flow, and facilitate sustainable growth and that may mean tightening your belt.

If you fail to keep a steady stream of revenue coming in to invest back into the business your growth is likely to stagnate. You will be unable to capitalize on opportunities that will help your business grow. You won’t be able to keep up to date with new technologies or invest in equipment or employees that can take your business to the next level.

If only there were some way to grow your household income while your business navigates its difficult inaugural years. Well, guess what… While your free time, energy and resources may be limited, even you can grow your income on the side.

Get paid to watch videos

Yes, this is a thing and it’s absolutely legit. There are legitimate websites that will allow you to generate revenue by watching videos in your spare time. This site enables you to make money while watching videos as well as by filling in surveys and even shopping online. By completing tasks and watching video playlists you can accrue Swagbucks. Even without investing hours and hours and putting in an effort that you can ill-afford you can make almost $3,000 a year.  

Save… But save smart

How often did your parents preach the virtues of saving your money? This is doubly important when growing a small business, but if you’re still relying on your old high street savings account, you’re unlikely to be able to grow your money in any meaningful way. Most high street savings account have an APY of around 0.06%. Unless you happen to have a 6 figure sum in savings this is unlikely to grow in any way that is of use to your business or your personal life. Online savings accounts have fewer overheads than your average high street bank and thus are able to offer you better interest rates.

Grow your money by playing the markets

Many have grown their money on the stock market, by trading in stocks, shares, forex and commodities. While this requires an element of risk, some market knowhow even if you’re using an automated trading platform, and a fairly sizeable amount to invest it offers more opportunities to grow your income than savings alone. The trick is managing the balance between keeping your portfolio diverse enough to insulate you from risk if the value of a particular stock plummets while ensuring that it is not so diverse that you don’t have enough invested in a high performing stock for your money to grow.

Make a little at a time with money making apps

We all use mobile apps as we go about our day to day lives. Why not download some apps that will help you to make a little passive income alongside your business endeavors. There are apps that can allow you to earn money as a mystery shopper, and there are even apps that can help you make money by scanning your old receipts. By investing a few minutes a day every day in these apps, you can earn yourself a little extra pocket money so that you’re less reliant on income from your business.