Money Influencer Mark Tilbury: Which Income Streams Are Easiest for Beginners?
Written by
Nicole Symon
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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If you’re trying to grow your wealth, cutting costs to save money is a good start, but saving alone probably won’t ensure you achieve your financial goals. In most cases, you’ll also need to increase your income.
One option is increasing your salary or wages at your full-time job by asking for a raise or seeking a higher-paying position. However, adding another income stream — or several — may be even more effective.
In a recent TikTok video, money influencer Mark Tilbury discussed the seven income streams that generate him over $100,000 each week. He ranked them all according to how difficult they are for beginners to help you decide which to try first. Here are a few of Tilbury’s top recommendations for earning income on the side.
Personal Online Brand
According to Tilbury, the easiest income stream for beginners is having a personal online brand. Once you have a personal brand, you can make money as an influencer through ad revenue on your content, affiliate marketing and other brand partnerships. Tilbury said what makes this such an accessible income stream is that you only need “an internet connection to grow a following.”
The average influencer in the United States earns around $65,000 per year, according to ZipRecruiter. Just keep in mind that you probably won’t start earning money right away. Growing your audience and meeting each social media platform’s requirements for monetizing your content takes time.
On YouTube, for example, you need at least 1,000 subscribers and either 4,000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months or 10 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days to qualify for monetizing your channel.
eBay Store
The next easiest income stream that Tilbury recommended is running an eBay store. eBay is a digital marketplace where you can sell items you no longer want to buyers across the globe. Tilbury called eBay a “great way to turn your unused items into cash.”
Though it helps to have a theme or type of product for your store to focus on, you don’t need a huge inventory of items to get started. Even if you only have one or two items at first, you can list them for sale on eBay and hopefully make some money. The average eBay seller makes around $21.50 per hour, though top earners can make about $94,000 annually through their eBay stores, according to ZipRecruiter.
Stock Market Investments
Tilbury also invests in the stock market and recommended this as a fairly accessible income stream for beginners, saying, “It’s now pretty easy to start investing with very little money.”
Depending on your selected options, websites like E*Trade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab may have no minimum deposit to start investing. In other words, you could make your first investment in the stock market with whatever amount you have available — whether that’s $1,000 or just $10.
Brand and Product Range
Tilbury’s next income stream is his commercial brand and product range. He created a business, Model World Ltd., selling remote-controlled toys. In his video, he shows off a large model airplane that’s part of his product range, but you could create any type of product to sell.
Beginners might be intimidated by the prospect of creating their own products and funding that endeavor, but you don’t need to do it alone. Tilbury suggested using crowdfunding to get started.
Crowdfunding through websites like Kickstarter and Patreon allows you to collect money from interested customers before your products are ready for sale. Then, you use that money to build your products and launch your brand. Bear in mind that the majority of successfully-funded Kickstarter projects raise less than $10,000, which may not be enough to cover all your costs.
Retail Stores
Next on Tilbury’s list is retail stores — his sell toys, including his own product range. Opening a retail store is complicated, especially if you’re new to the business and alternative income streams. You’ll need to write a business plan, file the right paperwork to register your business and save enough money to buy or produce inventory, among other costs.
Tilbury said, “You can start with a small bank loan,” just like he did, but opening retail stores still requires a lot of effort and financial investment. If you’re looking for a low-risk income stream, retail stores are probably not your best option.
Residential Real Estate
Tilbury also earns money from residential real estate, but this is one of the less feasible options for beginners. When you invest in residential real estate, you buy properties to rent out as living space. These properties might be single-family homes, multi-family homes, apartments, condominiums or even vacation rentals.
Investing in residential real estate might be a challenge for beginners, because “you’ll need money for a deposit” on the property, Tilbury pointed out.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, about 77% of all U.S. households cannot afford to buy a median-priced home, so investing in additional residential real estate may require some successes with other income streams first.
Commercial Real Estate
Tilbury’s most difficult income stream for beginners is investing in commercial real estate. Commercial real estate investing is purchasing land and/or buildings to lease for business use. For example, you might buy a local storefront and then lease it to a business in your area. The business sets up the store in that building and pays you rent to use your property.
Leasing commercial real estate can be very profitable, but as Tilbury said, “You’ll need a lot of money to start this one.”
You’ll probably need to work with a property broker, lawyer and accountant to make these investments responsibly. And even though you can get a loan to purchase the property you plan to lease, you’ll still need significant financial resources to make a down payment and cover closing costs.
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