Make Screen Time Green Time.

I have heard a lot of people recently talking about how much time people spend on their phones. You see it everywhere, people on trains and in cafes glued to the screen of their phone scrolling down through Instagram and Facebook timelines hoping something interesting has happened in the lives of people they know, or people they don’t know, or people who know people, who they know a tiny bit through a friend.

We all do it and there is nothing wrong with it, but for some this is pretty much the height of what they use their mobile phone for. Now phones even have a setting that tells you exactly how long you have spent on your phone and what you did on it. How long you spent on social media, how long you spent being productive, how long you watched You Tube and so on.

However, there are plenty of other uses you can have for your mobile phone besides the obvious. We are living in an amazing time where anyone who has a mobile phone and access to the internet can make money. Starting up your own business has never been easier, you can do it for an hour a day, all day, on a Sunday afternoon, whenever you like. The financial rewards are obviously great but the business acumen and knowledge you will learn from running your own business or “Side Hustle” as some people call it will be invaluable to you as a person and your career. The world is literally at your fingertips and there are never ending ways in which you can turn your skills into money in this amazing digital age we live in.

Today, I am going to take a look at some of the best ways you can make your mobile phone start working for you by showing you how you can make your Screen Time, your Green Time.

Social Media Manager.

I will start with Social Media Management, as this is the one I would know most about as I have done social media management for many years. It can take time to get used to but once you get into the swing of it you can make incredible money and improve your writing skills, marketing skills, scheduling skills, organisation skills and the list goes on. Many small start-up companies do not have the time or expertise to update social media or to drive customers to their content so are more than happy to pay someone else to do it for them. Set up some meetings with local businesses and find out what platforms they use, what they want to gain from the use of social media and let them know what you can offer. Blogs, create eye catching content, competitions and building an audience are all skills which can be easy to learn and will add to your transferable skills that you can use in your career while also making you extra money.

Fiverr

Fiverr is a goldmine for extra income. On Fiverr, although the payment starts out at a Fiver people are often willing to pay a lot more for good service. There are people who are making six-figure salaries from services rendered on Fiverr and you will find a wide range of things that people are willing to pay others to do. Website creation, art, slogans, social media management (as mentioned above), you name it people are willing to pay others to do it. To give you an example how easy it is to make money on Fiverr, I wrote a 30-second script for a local radio ad for a Pest Control company in California and they paid me 200 Euro. The script took me under half an hour to write and I did it on my mobile phone while waiting in line in a doctor’s office.

99Designs

Are you brilliant with graphics, do you use Photoshop to make it look like you have a six-pack but the only six-pack you really have has Budweiser written on it and is sitting in the fridge? If you have these skills, there is a mountain of money you could be making on your morning train ride. The only downside of this is you are competing for work on here, so you need to be good enough to stand out from the crowd. You are only paid if you are chosen as the winning designer but the payments can be very rewarding to make it worthwhile. Look at it this way; even if you do not win, you are fine-tuning your skills, which has to be better than looking at pictures of Marys last 15 meals on Instagram.

Email Marketing

Email marketing can make you a small fortune, it takes a lot of time and patience and like anything at first can take time to turn a profit worth the time invested, but once you get going you can make solid money from it. Platforms like Lead Pages, Mail Chimp and ConvertKit are good places to start.

CV Writer

Do you have an amazing CV? If so, you can make money from running your own resume writing service. So many people are looking for jobs and so many people do not even make it through the door because of a badly laid out or badly constructed CV. Do your friends and colleagues CVs for free and get them to endorse your skills with glowing reviews and then advertise you skills on-line and in places such as here on LinkedIn and watch the money roll in.

Flip Items

No, I am not cursing, Flipping items is one of the best and easiest ways to make money on your mobile phone. You can find items for no cost or minimal cost. One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure. If you go on pages like Craigs List or Adverts you will come across a treasure throve of things that people no longer want or need. Just because they do not want it does not mean someone out there does not want or need it. Some will even be free to take away and others will be small cash value. If you get really good at Flipping you can find people online who are looking for specific items, find out their budget, go source that exact item at the best value you can find and you keep the profit. I have flipped Pianos, Guitars, Cars, TVs and various other random things and it can be a very lucrative pastime.

 Online Store

Besides a T-shirt company that I had on BEBO, yes BEBO, this is one that I am yet to really try but am going to set some up over my Christmas break. Being the owner of an online store has never been easier. Decide what item or items you want to sell come up with a name for your company and away you go. Source your products, sell your products, and make profit. You will gain so many skills along the way as well as making money. You will have to learn how to drive people to your website through other social media channels. You will have to be organised to make sure Shipping happens on time to keep customers happy and coming back to you to buy more of what you are selling because repeat customer are far less time consuming and expensive then acquiring new customers all the time. Think of it as a game on your mobile phone that gains you real life financial gain as well as real life experience and you will have your own online money-spinner in no time. If you can find a product that you have a passion for all the better.