"Your plans without money is plantain" is a common slang in Nigeria which signifies whatever you do without earning money, is almost about useless. With this said, I wish to ask you, are you satisfied with being the expert that you are without money in your account or you wish to know how money is made with what you do and live the life you deserve?

It's important to understand that, every single skill, industry or aspect of life has got a business or the money making factor around it.

You need to know that, not everything you do will put money in your pocket and probably, only 20% of what you are currently doing is earning you about 80% of what you currently earn. That way, you end up wasting 80% of your efforts and time on the things that gives you little to no results.

To maximize profits, you must learn to identify the 20% efforts that bring you 80% and find a way to do them 80% of your time or 80% of your efforts.

Skills are meant to solve problems and not necessarily for making money. For instance, a tailor has the skill of sewing which solves the problem of cutting, stitching/putting together of clothe materials or patterns. Funny it is to know that, sewing a clothe doesn't imply that it'll ever be worn. That's where your problem could have been. Knowing how to code is a skill that is meant to create solutions to or solve problems. But, does knowing how to code alone put money in your pocket? You probably should be able to give an answer to that.

Another example is a Mason who has the skill of placing one block on the other to make a building or shelter. Does building houses make a mason rich or have a lot of money? Never! You may want to ask "why?". Well, the answer or reason is not farfetched. All these people have the knowledge of how to solve the problem but, not the way the solution fetches money.

This is the singular reason why you find drop outs become the founders of organizations or businesses where graduates can come to work in. What happens at such times is, they found where the money is!

For a seamstress or tailor, the money side of his or her skill is Fashion design / clothing and that of a Mason is construction and/or engineering.

It's painful to see creatives find it difficult to earn or make money even with the level of their commitment. They get tired and think those winning actually do something totally different which they aren't aware of. In their opinions, they aren't ever doing enough. You probably are doing your best except where you know you aren't and for doing it differently than you know, yes they do.

What's the way out?

1. The first step to take is to identify why you are in this industry. Could it be for profit or for passion?

The fact is, you probably might never make profit from your passions and where it's possible, the chances are slim - in my own opinion and shouldn't be taken out of context.

Funny enough, to make money from tech doesn't truly require you to have tech skills. But, you certainly must be decisive and nearly accurate in people, sales and marketing processes.

2. Find out what people pay for in tech and why. People do not pay for beautiful codes or designs. They most of the time pay as a means to an end. - They pay for results.

You need to find out what the expectations of those who pay for tech services are and how or when they need it.

No one on earth will pay you for writing savory codes or doing some nice jobs without helping them achieve something they direly want to have solved. You can do with your skill whatever you wish to. However, as long as you don't solve a problem, you'll never get paid for your skills.

3. Find those who pay these money and their readiness to pay over and over again.

Now that you know those who need what you have to offer (because, not everyone will love what you have to offer), it's the right time to find out how and the reasons why they pay for these things.

For example, a client contacted me from the US recently and told me she wanted me to handle a church's website personally. The reason been that, they had to some other web developers. However, they weren't sure of the safety of their web hosting account post-development. So to say, what this particular client was paying me a double price for was SAFETY!

Now, who was she? A marketer! Whereas, I might never get to be able to connect with the real owners of the website, my connection with her was all I needed to be able to get that job.

Whereas, she focuses on sourcing those gigs, I focus on the coding aspect of the job. She pays me my fee and she earns whatever she chooses to earn afterwards.

In essence, those whom you ignore might be the connections you need to start getting paid for what you know how to do (your skills).

To succeed in this industry, you must learn to partner and be a member of a community. It's very crucial.

4. Find out where you can find these people

Now, it's time to find these people who are willing to pay you and here's how to do it.

Firstly, choose what you want to solve and focus on it. You can always upscale as you grow. e.g difficulties in passing education between the deliverer and the receivers (LMS, Edtech), a programming stack etc.

Secondly, decide how you want to get paid as this will affect what you'll be doing or where you'll position yourself continually. So, you could decide if you want to get paid on monthly, hourly, daily or yearly rate. It's either long term or short term.

The above will help you choose one of the following:

A. Freelancing
B. Fill a position (Get a job as a programmer).
C. Consultancy
D. Startup/SaaS products.

5. Declutter your potential audience to customers and clients.

This is a bonus for you if you've chosen to go for either of A,C,D and also the most important part of this post.

It's knowing who a client is and who a customer is.

WHO IS A CUSTOMER?

A customer is anyone who you don't have to educate extensively before they go ahead to buy or pay for your services. These are people who already have basic or complete knowledge about what they need and how it benefits them.

These set of people are the easiest to sell to because they are already prepared to pay for what they need and are only looking for where or who to solve. The pay here is easy, smooth and splendid because, they are aware of the worth of whatever they seek to achieve and that you have to offer.

They might have varying levels of knowledge about what they need but are generally more transactional in nature. Your relationship with a customer is usually short-term and is focused on a specific transaction or purchase.

Characteristics Of A Customer

Customers often know what they want and make their purchasing decisions based on factors like price, convenience, or brand preference. They usually don't necessarily require extensive education or relationship-building before or after buying your products or services.

WHO IS A CLIENT?

On the other hand, a client is anyone who needs be educated or pass through some sort of enlightenment before they realize what they need, why they need it and why to pay xyz amount of money for it and why it has to be now or later.

A client will often engage with a service provider (you) on a longer-term basis. The relationship is more consultative, where the you offer expertise, guidance, and customized solutions.

Characteristics Of A Client

Clients often require more education, advice, and a deeper understanding of the services they are receiving. The relationship with a client tends to be more personal, ongoing, and involves more trust and collaboration

Finally, here's how I'm making my own money from my skills. I launched in startup company in Nigeria called Muva Logistics Services and we provide top-notch relocation services. I decided to go this route because I have great experience and knowledge on how to launch and manage a business.

It's possible that this might not work for you. However, it's the best way to build a lasting source of recurring income or revenue that you can pass on to the next generation.

In this industry, those who own a company or are consultants make the most money and are not up to 20% of the whole population in the tech industry.

Thanks for reading.

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Good luck!