by Mary Clark

Created on: January 23, 2009   Last Updated: September 25, 2011

When we put our mind to task, whether it rises out of necessity or finds inspiration in the form of creative genius, it is possible for the ordinary individual to attract extra streams of income. When an idea pops into your mind, resist the urge to dismiss it as ridiculous, even if it appears to be just that on the surface, there very well may be someone out there willing to pay you for it.

Sustainable Landscaping:

A neighbor of mine, a city girl who moved to the sticks, stumbled on this seasonal, although lucrative source of income after her first attempt at gardening. Without the knowledge of what her garden's yield might be, she enthusiastically tended a plot three sizes too large for her family's needs. Not wanting to endure the canning process, she contacted a few local restaurants and began delivering fresh fruits and vegetables to them each day. It was so successful that she redesigned the landscape around her home to accommodate specialty items used by fine dining establishments.

Professional Spell Checker or Proofreader:

Have you ever landed on a website riddled with spelling and grammatical errors? I have, and while I cannot proof my own writing with detailed accuracy, I have an instinctive knack for finding errors in the work written by others. My mind notices misused homophones, dropped or double words, and simple spelling errors that the initial proofreader overlooked. I used to slough it off to shoddy web design and continued with my browsing. One day I decided that I would contact the site owner or web administrator by e-mail to inform them that I discovered a few errors on the site. I disclosed one or two of the errors to them before offering to proof their site for a fee. Several site owners were grateful that I took the time to point out the mistakes and contracted with me to review their sites. This is not a steady source of income, however, the only investment required to produce the contracts that arise from this type of work is the time it takes you to send one e-mail. Past trends reflect that business and educational sites are the ones most open to contracting with you for this type of service.

Float for Hire:

This one is a prime example of why I wholeheartedly believe that no matter how ridiculous an idea may appear on the surface, we should not dismiss it as a viable source of recurring income. A teenager in our community discovered much to his dismay that he was short the money he needed for an upcoming truck payment. This enterprising young man contacted local businesses offering to advertise their company on his vehicle for a fee. He promoted their companies in local parades and area events. His venture was successful. In fact, the idea caught on so quickly that he could not fulfill all of the requests he received, until he came up with the idea of sharing the wealth with his schoolmates, for a small finder's fee, of course.

In all three cases, these everyday people with ordinary means looked outside the box of rational thinking and discovered unique ways to earn extra money. Their income potential expanded when they removed the walls of conventional thought that confined them, within the norm.

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