A few weeks ago, Kimberly Palmer of US News & World Report’s Alpha Consumer blog fame reached to me to tell me she’s got a new book coming out. I very much enjoyed her first book, Generation Earn (read my review), so I jumped at the opportunity to read and review this book early.
The The Economy of You is about starting a side-gig to have a back-up income stream. Here’s a little video from Palmer herself explaining the book:
That’s been a core tenant of Lazy Man and Money since 2006, when I coined the term “alternative income stream.” As a software engineer, I had seen many jobs outsourced to countries such as India. They could get a team of software engineers for what it cost to pay me a fair wage in the United States. It didn’t seem wise to bet the house on a software engineer career to last 35 years until I retire at age 65. That’s what got me interested in learning to invest, thinking about becoming a landlord, and other ways to make income as passively as possible. Lazy Man and Money was supposed to be a place for like-minded people to brainstorm ideas (and it is that), but it also turned into one of those income streams itself.
The Economy of You feels to me like two books in one. As Palmer said in the video, she interviewed over 100 people about their side-gigs. A large part of the book is dedicated to snapshots of profiles of those people… the guy who started his cake business, the woman who runs a Yoga studio. The names and businesses come at you quick. Personally, it wasn’t my style and I didn’t feel like I gained much from the stories. Palmer at one point describes herself as a right-brained person, and I’m not that. Maybe if you are right-brained, the profiles of successful side-giggers will be of interest.
The “other” book is what I found most helpful and I hope that Palmer will extract this stuff, possibly creating a Palmer Planner in her Etsy shop. Sprinkled through out the book were a few sections that gave actionable items. For example there’s the Dozen Successful Strategies of Side-Giggers, The Economy of You Handbook, and Five Common Pitfalls to Avoid. In just a few pages, you get the combined wisdom of 100 successful side-giggers along with a guide to get you started. This is why you should buy the book.
However, for one lucky reader of Lazy Man and Money, they won’t have to buy the book. They’ll be getting it free. Kimberly Palmer has agreed to let me give away a copy. If you are interested in receiving a copy, leave a comment and maybe you’ll be the winner. I’ll pick the winner randomly, but I reserve the right to give you 3 or 5 entries if you leave a good or great tip on side-gigging with your comment. Giveaway ends on Tuesday Jan 22, 2014 at 11:59PM ET.
I don’t have a long-term tip for side-gigging, but I have made a pretty penny selling stuff as I work on decluttering my house. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!
Awesome!
i’ve been selling books and other items periodically on ebay for over 10 years. it is very time consuming – researching the item, photographing and listing the item, answering questions about the item, wrapping and packaging the item, going to the post office to ship the item, corresponding with the buyer, etc. i would like to find some other way of producing income that doesn’t take as much time.
I have been making a steady effort to beef up my crafting business while I hold down my reg full time job. To create extra income I have been ebaying things I find or am given and went to my first craft fair. This year I am transitioning my schedule to accommodate my blog (which has been neglected) and my crafting.
Been generating side income since 2008. Doing so allowed my wife to take the entire semester off after having our son.
Tip: do what you love and find a way to generate revenue within it. Forcing yourself to do something you don’t like just for money will burn you out very quickly.
Also, be flexible and willing to take on new ideas, new tasks, and new revenue streams.
Me, me, me, please! I would love to read it!