I Doubled My Income in a Year — Here’s How
One of the most effective strategies for improving your financial situation is to find ways to increase your income. When you make more money, you create more opportunities for yourself. From a simple financial perspective, you have more money to save and invest in improving the quality of your life. From a career perspective, new doors open up that were previously closed.
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Once you start to build momentum, it feels like you can’t be limited. This is why we will explore how one person doubled their income and what they did. How can you increase your income in the next year? Let’s check it out.
How One Person Increased Her Income by 100%
“Over the past year, I have successfully doubled my income through a strategic career shift and careful balancing of dual roles,” said Dawna Jarvis. “I’ve recently transitioned from hairstyling and salon coaching to focus more on business strategy for various small businesses. I’m using my PR knowledge to boost their online visibility in this role. The main aim is to utilize media coverage effectively, enhancing their digital presence and driving better SEO results.”
What’s Dawna’s New Income Stream?
“As an independent hairstylist, I made a strategic shift from being a business coach to a media strategist,” she told us. Instead of focusing on one business, she saw the opportunity to open up a new venture that would lead to an increase in income. She has also scaled back her time at her salon to focus on high-end customers in a strategic shift toward making more money.
How Does She Make It Work?
“To balance these roles, I recently reduced my salon hours, choosing to focus on a select group of VIP clients,” stated Jarvis. “These clients primarily seek high-ticket services like extensions and custom hair coloring, making my limited time in the salon highly valuable. I’m now at the salon just one to two days a week.”
She then stressed the importance of finding the time to work on your business ventures.
“The rest of my time is devoted to my media business, which has been a game changer. This shift in focus has not only allowed me to provide more specialized services at the salon but has also led to a substantial increase in my consulting work.”
This unique career pivot while trying out a new business idea allowed her to double her income. If you’re ever feeling stuck at your income level, then it could be time to switch up your offering.
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How Much Did Her Income Increase?
“While I still work in hairstyling about once or twice a week, bringing in roughly $6,000 to $10,000 monthly (depending on high-value services like extensions), my main concentration is now on my media business. This has been averaging between $12,000 to $15,000 a month.” These two combined income streams have helped Jarvis improve her financial situation while she gets to focus on tasks that she enjoys performing.
What’s Next?
“Looking forward to 2024, I anticipate this number to increase as my referral network grows and my ongoing rebranding efforts are set to attract even more clients,” Jarvis shared. “I prefer working in my media business because it gives me the flexibility I need, especially as a parent. It allows me to travel for all my kids’ hockey events and be present for all their school activities, which was challenging when I was tied to a salon schedule.”
How You Can Increase Your Income?
If you’re looking to increase your income in the next year, here’s how you can start the process.
Look for New Opportunities
Accepting that your current gig may not provide you with the income opportunities you’re looking for is essential. From there, you can look into new opportunities to see how you can give yourself a pay raise.
There’s nothing wrong with a career pivot. In Dawn’s case, she found an entirely new income stream while keeping the old gig. This is why you should always keep your eyes open for new possibilities.
Invest in Your Skills
The belief is that the more you learn, the more you can earn. This is why it’s beneficial to consistently look into ways to upgrade your skills or learn new ones.
For example, learning about writing marketing copy or improving your writing skills could help you upgrade your current position or start a brand new business. Every new skill that you learn can create a new opportunity for you down the road. In this example, Jarvis took her knowledge from running a salon to help other small businesses with growth strategies.
Try a New Side Hustle
There are various side gigs if you want to increase your income. You can test out something in the gig economy, like walking dogs on Rover or listing your space on Airbnb. You can also create an entirely new income stream with a business idea you’ve been thinking about for years.
The best way to begin a new freelancing business is to tap into your network to land your first client. Once you have a client, you have the proof concept and can focus on growing this business.
Closing Thoughts
If you want to increase your income, it’s essential that you take action. You never know when that new business idea or that weekend course you take will pay off with a higher income. If you want to earn more money in the future, you have to get into the habit of investing in yourself.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I Doubled My Income in a Year — Here’s How
