We are in the new year and some of us have greeted it with resolutions. My aim is to work at home and earn multiple incomes online. So armed with my laptop, I set to work to discover the various income schemes online and what works best. It again depends on individual tastes and interests, but here are some of them. Earning multiple incomes can be broadly classified into four categories.

Multi-Level Marketing

MLM is an arrangement where individuals sign up with companies to sell the products and earn a certain percentage of commission based on sales. In other words, you buy at a wholesale price and sell at a higher one and the mark-up is your profit.

There are various types of compensations plans. This type of business does not need much introduction. I am sure most of you may have run into someone who is selling these wonderful products and get invited to sit through meetings where people you have never seen before tell their success stories of how they are earning this passive income and all they had to do was get their friends and family to sign up. Companies like Avon, Amway, Tupperware, Herbalife are some of the examples. You can sometimes earn up to 50% of the sales price for what you sell plus receive gifts for introducing friends as representatives.

Advantages of this type of business

1. It is relatively low risk

2. Low start-up cost

3. Easy exit if you do not want to continue

Challenges of this type of business

1. You need to be a sales and marketing person, go out there and sell your products.

2. Most products are not advertised commercially or in stores

3. You need to have constant self-motivation to get going

Tip

You need to do some research to see if the business you are getting into is valid or legal

Owning a Franchise

It is the right or privilege given to a person to sell a business product or service. According to industry statistics, a new franchise opens somewhere in the US every 17 minutes. In this arrangement, you are provided the knowledge, expertise and often a trademark or trade names are licensed to the person. Franchises can include anything from gardening, bookkeeping, dog washing, pool care, carpet cleaning, housekeeping, painting and many more. You usually get to keep most of the earnings with of course the deductions like commissions, royalties or advertising costs.

Advantages of this type of business

1. You do not need to know anything about the business, it will all be taught to you

2. You will have online ongoing support

3. It is based on a tried, established (usually) and tested method

Challenges of this type of business

1. The initial investment could be high and you may have to pay continuing commissions, royalties or advertising costs.

2. It is not flexible and your creativity is not usually welcome. You need to follow processes.

3. It could be difficult to exit as quickly as you would like to as the seller has to be approved by the franchisor

Tip

Check out a number of franchises and do your due diligence before you decide on which one suits you the best.

Freelance

This is another way of earning an income by working for someone else without any long term commitment or contract. There is flexibility as the individual works when they want to. Some of the fields where freelancing has become common place is software programming, journalism, business consulting, graphic designing, virtual assistance and accounting among others. You get to keep what you worked for.

Advantages of this type of business

1. Greater flexibility in working anywhere and anytime

2. You can choose what type of work best suits you

3. You are your own boss and can take up multiple assignments

Challenges of this type of business

1. To get work on an ongoing basis

2. Communication with the client has to be constant as in most cases, the client may be someplace else or may speak a different language

3. Getting paid may sometimes be delayed.

Tip

There are several online agencies/companies where freelancers can register, to get work on an ongoing basis. These agencies may charge a certain percentage as commission for providing an escrow service where they ensure that you are paid on time for the work done.

Share / Options Trading

Companies throughout the world issue new stock shares everyday. A share is a portion of the company's capital in order to raise money for the day to day operations of the business. Trading shares and options have come a long way and has become easier with the use of online trading. It is relatively cheap.

Advantages of this type of business

1. The selection of shares available in the market is varied and you have a lot of choices

2. The returns that you get are much better as compared to say, a fixed deposit in a bank

Challenges of this type of business

1. You would need to do a lot of research on what are the best shares to buy and when the best time to sell a share is.

2. Constant watch on the company's performance etc helps

3. You may lose all your money if a bad investment is made

Tip

There are several online trading companies where you just need to upload their software and you can do all your trading in the comfort of your home.

Other ways to make extra income can be paid surveys online, creating your own internet directory, creating an article directory, earning Adsense revenue stream through the websites that you have created. So lets get started and generate more money, than you can ever dream of, this year.