- Now that you have decreased expense, let’s focus on increasing income
- Three ways to increase your income
- Hobbies or arts and crafts can earn extra income
- You’ll need to register a business name
In the 10 principles of Financial Independence, you will notice that most of the pillars are based on expenses; either tracking them or decreasing them. There is only so much we can do when cutting expenses though. We can focus on our mandatory expenses and cut them to the bone and then look at the discretionary expenses and cut them to a point that it won’t affect our happiness. The next logical thing to do in order to increase our savings rate is to increase our income.
How can I increase my income?
There are a few ways to increase your income;
- Work more hours. If you are on an hourly wage then increasing the hours worked will of course increase your net take home pay.
- Decrease taxes. The Irish government provides relief on some services; they won’t prompt you to take advantage of these, it is up to you to claim these back every year. For example, work from home tax relief, uniform allowance for some professions, medical expense claims.
- Start a side hustle. Either working another job or starting your own business in the spare time that you have is an ideal way to increase your income. Working a part-time second job will give you a definite income and a different experience. Working on your own business may take time to start earning money and will definitely take hard work and long hours but it could be worth it in the end.
Related Content: 11 Passive and Extra Income Ideas in Ireland
How can I turn my hobby into extra cash?
There are a few ways that we can increase income, either work more hours if you are paid hourly or find a side hustle. A side hustle is just another way of saying earning extra money from another source apart from your daily job. A great side hustle is one that you enjoy doing. Do you have a hobby or craft that you enjoy, you could turn it into a business. If you enjoy making jewelry, knitting, or painting or If you make any product, you could sell them online or in shops for extra cash.
If you feel that your craft is not good enough yet, maybe some online one-on-one lessons might help. Lessons in all sorts of arts, crafts, and lifestyle hobbies are available on Fiverr check out the Lifestyle category. I’ve been using Fiverr for design and marketing services and have found them excellent. They also supply craft lessons, business consulting, and other lifestyle tutorials and courses. For as little as €10.00, you can get a professional artist to tutor you in a specific craft.
After you have created an account on Fiverr, you can then review the tutors by going to the Lifestyle category and selecting Craft Lessons. Here is an example of someone that will provide drawing and painting tutoring online.
Once you are ready to start selling your product or service, it’s time to start marketing it. Find packaging designers on Fiverr and brochure designers. Package your product and start finding clients. If it is a physical product, talk to small shop owners to see if they would be willing to sell your product. You could also sell it online on ebay, etsy, or donedeal.
How do I start a business in Ireland
You need to first decide what type of business you want to start, will it be a sole-trader, partnership, or corporation.
Sole-trader means that you are the sole owner of the business. You get to conceive the business, set it up, determine the processes, market it, do the basic accounting, deal with customers, and even hire staff if needed. You must register as a self-employed person with the revenue.
You must register for VAT if your turnover is more than €70,000 per year. You are not obliged to register for VAT prior to this.
You do not have to register for PAYE if you are not going to hire any employees.
A Partnership is similar to sole-ownership except that one or more other people also owns a part of the business and they can help with all of the above. However, they also get a say on how things are run and what decisions are made.
Corporation / Limited Company means that the business is its own entity, it is treated like a person; it has income, expenses, and pays its taxes. This is a more expensive route, there are a lot more policies and regulations to abide by and you will probably need a tax accountant to file your taxes at the end of the year.
Once you have figured out which type of business you want to set up, you would need to register with the CRO. This is the easy part, go to cro.ie and register your business name as either an individual, partnership or body corporate. Fill in the form, file it online and pay €20.00. Print off the form, sign it and mail it to them.
That the business registered, now you need to work on creating the processes, and writing business plans, building a website, finding customers. Good luck and have fun.