In SL money really does grow on trees. At least for a little while.- by Connie McMahon
After finding your way around, learning to Search, accumulating some inventory and making some friends, your thoughts eventually turn to money. You’ll be looking for a place to live, for better clothes, more toys and perhaps even a few Avatar “upgrades”. You need money.
One way to get Linden Dollars (L$) is to simply buy them. The first thing to realize is that Lindens are not play money. We’ll talk here in terms of US dollars, but L$ can be easily converted to and from a number of different currencies. That means you can turn your L$ back into “real” money just as easily as you bought them in the first place.
What makes this possible is an amazing invention called LindeX. LindeX is a currency exchange that is very much like its RL counterparts. Without going into the details, LindeX matches a buyer of L$ with someone who wants to sell them. For example, on Friday afternoon sellers were offering L$1,000 for US$4.06. Pay that price and you get 1,000 Lindens. Simple as that. The seller has converted her Lindens back into US dollars. Depending on the supply and demand, prices rise and fall to a level at which sellers find willing buyers.
But suppose you don’t want to buy L$. You may prefer to make yours the old fashioned way – stealing them. SL has no shortage of cons and scams, but that is a topic for another day. Meanwhile there are plenty of ways for Residents to earn a Linden living. If you are under 30 days old you may be pleased to discover that money does grow on trees. Search places using “Money Tree” and you will be rewarded, literally, with dozens of locations where these arboreal miracles are found. Look carefully through the boughs (Mouse View is a real help here) and help yourself to the cash. After 30 days though the trees will stop bearing fruit for you. Begging can be effective approach for the truly newbie. People like to help, and will often hand you a few dollars if you seem sincere. Just don’t overdo it, it gets old quickly.
Camping and dancing are popular ways to earn money. To Camp you find a spot that offers you a certain amount of L$ in exchange for standing, sitting or otherwise occupying the spot. Dance “pads” work in a similar way only you have to dance away the time, collecting more money the longer you dance. You will almost always find a few pads in clubs and bars. Neither way is going to make you rich. L$2 for 10 minutes is a common rate, although you can find higher if you look. But if you have some time to kill, why not pick up a few bucks while killing it? Sweeping the streets, planting trees and painting walls are less common versions of this same approach.
Any of these methods will generate some pocket change, but to earn any significant amount of money you need a job. There are two ways to find one. The most common is finding someone to hire you. Again Search is your ally in this quest. Search the Classifieds for the kind of job you want, then contact the employer and apply. What sorts of jobs can you expect to find? There are many sales jobs and don’t dismiss them. They are usually open to anyone and can provide a good income. It might be selling real estate, rental units or working in a shop. But if you have a special interest, by all means search for a job doing that.
If you are so inclined, there is always demand for dancers, escorts and adult “personal services” workers. This can be a very lucrative field, but it’s not for everyone. If it appeals to you, check it out.
Another approach is creating your own job. It’s a lot more work, riskier and potentially a lot more profitable. How do you create a job? Pretty much the same here as in RL: Find something people want, provide it to them and charge for it. It really helps a lot if it is also something you enjoy. Always wanted to be a photographer? Start a photo business. You get the idea.
There’s a lot more to becoming a Linden Millionaire than this of course. Land ownership and development. Rental properties. Banking and finance. We’ll take a look at these next time.
One way to get Linden Dollars (L$) is to simply buy them. The first thing to realize is that Lindens are not play money. We’ll talk here in terms of US dollars, but L$ can be easily converted to and from a number of different currencies. That means you can turn your L$ back into “real” money just as easily as you bought them in the first place.
What makes this possible is an amazing invention called LindeX. LindeX is a currency exchange that is very much like its RL counterparts. Without going into the details, LindeX matches a buyer of L$ with someone who wants to sell them. For example, on Friday afternoon sellers were offering L$1,000 for US$4.06. Pay that price and you get 1,000 Lindens. Simple as that. The seller has converted her Lindens back into US dollars. Depending on the supply and demand, prices rise and fall to a level at which sellers find willing buyers.
But suppose you don’t want to buy L$. You may prefer to make yours the old fashioned way – stealing them. SL has no shortage of cons and scams, but that is a topic for another day. Meanwhile there are plenty of ways for Residents to earn a Linden living. If you are under 30 days old you may be pleased to discover that money does grow on trees. Search places using “Money Tree” and you will be rewarded, literally, with dozens of locations where these arboreal miracles are found. Look carefully through the boughs (Mouse View is a real help here) and help yourself to the cash. After 30 days though the trees will stop bearing fruit for you. Begging can be effective approach for the truly newbie. People like to help, and will often hand you a few dollars if you seem sincere. Just don’t overdo it, it gets old quickly.
Camping and dancing are popular ways to earn money. To Camp you find a spot that offers you a certain amount of L$ in exchange for standing, sitting or otherwise occupying the spot. Dance “pads” work in a similar way only you have to dance away the time, collecting more money the longer you dance. You will almost always find a few pads in clubs and bars. Neither way is going to make you rich. L$2 for 10 minutes is a common rate, although you can find higher if you look. But if you have some time to kill, why not pick up a few bucks while killing it? Sweeping the streets, planting trees and painting walls are less common versions of this same approach.
Any of these methods will generate some pocket change, but to earn any significant amount of money you need a job. There are two ways to find one. The most common is finding someone to hire you. Again Search is your ally in this quest. Search the Classifieds for the kind of job you want, then contact the employer and apply. What sorts of jobs can you expect to find? There are many sales jobs and don’t dismiss them. They are usually open to anyone and can provide a good income. It might be selling real estate, rental units or working in a shop. But if you have a special interest, by all means search for a job doing that.
If you are so inclined, there is always demand for dancers, escorts and adult “personal services” workers. This can be a very lucrative field, but it’s not for everyone. If it appeals to you, check it out.
Another approach is creating your own job. It’s a lot more work, riskier and potentially a lot more profitable. How do you create a job? Pretty much the same here as in RL: Find something people want, provide it to them and charge for it. It really helps a lot if it is also something you enjoy. Always wanted to be a photographer? Start a photo business. You get the idea.
There’s a lot more to becoming a Linden Millionaire than this of course. Land ownership and development. Rental properties. Banking and finance. We’ll take a look at these next time.
