Make Money in SL?

Hello All,

I am a bit overwhelmed and confused. LOL

Aside from being a virtual chat world. In terms of building and purchasing land, I see you can be up in some BIG monthly money considering it is a virtual piece of land. And we are talking RL dollars. The only way I would see this as a worthy price to pay is if people are actually profitting with businesses run in SL.

I guess my questions are: How can you make money in SL?
Can you buy land, build and rent land out that translates into real world money?
Do LL dollars actually translate into real world money.
If you get a job in SL, does that translate into real money?

Thanks!

Making money in SL is just like making money in RL.. but there's completely different ways to go about doing it. Making money takes ideas and imagination, lots of effort, a good plan, trial and error, networking, and a drive to succeed... plus tons of other things.

The best part about SL is that you can create a product with only knowledge and no manufacturing expenses... then you can sell copies, over and over, forever.

Lots of people that come into SL and are fresh are intrigued that they can make money by playing a video game, or by "doing nothing" .... but it doesn't work that way.

My two suggestions I usually tell anyone that's trying to make money in SL is:

Create something that is different than everything else already in SL. Create something that SL needs.
&
Consider your business plan in SL a fun hobby at first, especially if you're new to SL. don't quit your real job, invest all your money, and devote your life trying to be financially successful in SL. Once you see your concepts are making money, that's when you could take bigger risks.

Also, some resources I recommend: SL Business Magazine & Metaverse Messenger.
And of course scope out other successful businesses. Try to discover why they are successful.

Lastly, my personal opinion: Don't go into business by buying land, building a store and then making clothes, hair, AV knickknacks, furnature, and stuff that already exists. Sure, your designs may be new and cool looking... but it takes more than that. It takes a creative approach to getting business and it also takes products or services that are new and needed in SL.

Yes, Linden dollars can be sold for real money. The exchange rate varies, but usually one sells about 290 L$ for 1 US$.

There are many possible ways to earn money in SL. The way you choose depends on your talents.
Land trades (buying cheap and selling high, or renting out) requires a high seed capital. I'd say that content creation, either as remittance work or to sell your wares, is most promising.

Possible jobs or business opportunities in the content creation sector:

- Builder
Architectural work or crafting of 3D goods such as furniture, vehicles, musical instruments, weapons etc.
Requires knowledge of the 3D design tools included in SL; there are lots of training courses inworld. Successful builders often do a little scripting and their own textures too, but you can as well buy textures and hire scripters if needed.

- Scripter
Programming of elevators, vehicles... everything moving or interacting within SL only comes alive with a script.
Requires knowledge of the LSL script language; you can find many training courses on this subject too, or learn it from tutorials in the LSL Wiki
( http://www.lslwiki.com/lslwiki/wakka.php?wakka=HomePage ).

- Texture Artist
The name says it all. Experience with Photoshop or other 2D image editing / paint applications needed.

- Clothes designer
More or less a texture artist too. Most clothes are created using the built-in design tools and only require texturing, but some (such as shoes) require building knowledge in addition.

- Animation Designer
Creates avatar postures and animations with either Poser or freeware tools like Animator. As for everything else: sex sells probably best.

The more of the above listed talents you have, the greater your chance to earn more than you spend on your land fees and purchases.
Aside from that, you can also make a living by offering rather roleplay oriented services, such as barkeeper, bodyguard or... uhm... escort.

this is a bit outdated but..


GUIDE: MAKING MONEY IN SECOND LIFE
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Key words: money $ premium sell stores economy stipends

Second Life presents you with an endless variety of ways to spend your Linden Dollars, but supporting your lavish lifestyle will eventually mean deciding on a way to earn a bit more walking around money.

As a trial user, you start out with L$250, and if you do the tasks on Orientation Island where you start out you can earn another L$200. This gives you up to L$450 to start out in the world. When you subscribe, you will recieve another L$500 at the time that you sign up with a basic membership or L$1000 if you sign up for a premium membership (after your trial period ends, and your membership becomes active).

Once you have subscribed, you receive a stipend each Tuesday morning, plus a bonus based upon your standing within the community. Your bonus will increase with your reputation ranking; so get out there and start meeting folks! If others give you a positive rating, you will see your bonus grow. So don't be afraid to explore the world, make some friends, and maybe do a little shopping.

Residents who run popular attractions or throw big events can also earn some money. If you own land, you can collect daily bonus, called "traffic" (a measurement of the time other people spend on your land). As more people spend more time on your land, you will earn more "traffic" and therefore a bigger bonus. Host an event on your land to attract a lot of people, and you'll see your Linden Dollar balance grow!

If you decide to host an event, you can list it on the Event Calendar via the Second Life website. You can also attend an event and try to win some money. You'll notice that many of the trivia contests, treasure hunts, show & tell, etc. events give out Linden Dollar rewards to winners. However, direct support for prizes from Linden Lab is limited to Second Life related educational events.

You'll also find a healthy economy within the community, where players trade both goods and services. With a little work and ingenuity, you can be Second Life's next big fashion designer, jet pack inventor, or real estate developer. For example, you can create pets, vehicles, houses, furniture, games, clothing, shoes, decorations, jewelry, plants, guns, timepieces, signs, fountains, animals, or even a new body! It's all about your creativity.

To sell an item, just select it, choose edit, and check off the "for sale" box and name your price. If you own land, you can place your creations there to display, or you can make a deal with another resident to help you sell your item in their store. Please keep in mind, a good policy to keep is to only sell items you have created from scratch, or that another resident has given you permission to sell in writing.

It's not just about making the big dollars, you can spend them too. Most things in Second Life will cost you some money to buy (such as objects in resident stores, or to claim land), but you can sometimes find things that are "Free to Copy". If something is for sale, or free to copy, you can see this information when you briefly hover your mouse pointer over the object. It will either say "Free to Copy" or "For Sale" with a Linden Dollar price.

Do you really need money to enjoy Second Life? No. Your avatar does not need to eat, sleep, or even need shelter. You also have an unlimited amount of building supplies, provided free; you'll never run out of cloth, lumber, or stone! It costs nothing to build your creations in a sandbox sim.

If you're interested in shopping, other Second Life residents have created a ton of stuff for you. From elaborate costumes and fearsome guns, to fancy furniture and slick hoverboards, there's always something new to check out. Resident-run stores are located all over the world.

So you want to know it is worth your RL money. Well, MLB, Sony, Starworld Hotels, Intel, Sun Microsystems all think so.
And to top it off, Reuters (the people who collect the news that Fox and CNN spin) today launch a authentic Second Life division. Go to Secondlife.reuters.com for daily news relating to SL and in SL as well and the daily currency conversion.
So much money is being made here and in World of Warcraft, and Ultima Online that the Congress is thinking of having the IRS start having people declare it on their taxes.
What you are paying for is a physical address on one of the SL servers. A line from Cannonball run says it all: "Money in the bank, baby. Money in the bank!"