Making Extra Cash

How Helping a Company Can Benefit You

Katie Adauto — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:00:02 +0000

Last month, I wrote about earning some extra money by taking free online surveys. The comments received regarding the article ranged from, "I love surveys, too" to "I never qualify for any." Like anything in life, you have to find what works for you. Today I am going to share with you another way you may be able to make a little extra money, receive some free products to try, and share your opinions.

Companies are always looking for customer feedback. In their efforts to reach as many new customers as possible, many companies have created panels that anyone can join. The variety of panels that are available is amazing and there seems to be something for everyone. I am going to highlight a few of the panels that I belong to and my experience with them.

New Balance Wear Test Program (shoes)

New Balance is looking for people who are willing to test out shoes that they are thinking of bringing to market. They will send you a pair of shoes, ask you to wear them for a period of time, and then comment on them via surveys.

The Pro: You get to try out shoes before anyone else!

The Con: You have to return the shoes once the trial period is over (they cover shipping).

My Experience: I have tried out two pairs of shoes for them over the past year. It took about six months after I signed up before I was sent my first pair. I enjoyed trying them and getting responses from people who noticed I had new shoes on.

J.C. Penney Community (retail)

J.C. Penney is looking for opinions on many topics. They have an online forum set up to gather this information. They send out emails when a new poll or survey is available. They are looking for opinions on commercials, new products, etc.

The Pro: The surveys and polls are quick, and there are not that many to take each month.

The Con: They are just now starting to compensate members in some way.

My Experience: I received my first $10 free coupon from them for participating in the community and was sent a complete set of towels to test for them for free, which I did not have to return.

CVS Advisor Panel (retail)

CVS wants to hear from you! You must have a CVS ExtraCare card to apply. They will send you surveys from time to time on various topics.

The Pro: The surveys usually only take about five minutes of your time.

The Con: They do not send out a lot of surveys.

My Experience: I have completed a few surveys, and they sent me a $5 free coupon via e-mail for my time.

House Party

House Pary allows you to host parties sponsored by a brand to check out their latest products. They have an application process for each new party they are offering. The applications take about five minutes to complete.

The Pro: They send you a huge box of items to share with your friends and family.

The Con: There are so many people applying! When you are chosen they send you an e-mail. They send emails out to more people then they can accept so if you do not respond to the email quickly you might miss out.

My Experience: I have applied for around 20 parties and have been accepted to host six. I absolutely love all the free items I receive to share with my friends. My favorite was a Chef Michael's dog food party. I invited friends that had dogs, and we had a party in my backyard. All the dogs got along wonderfully and we had a contest to see which dog could eat their food fastest. All the attendees left with free dog food, dishes and coupons sent in the House Party kit.

BzzAgent

BzzAgent is another word-of-mouth marketing network. You create an account online and they will email you when they have a campaign they think you would be a good fit for. You fill out a survey before and after receiving the products. Depending on the product you are promoting, you could receive coupons or actual products to share.

The Pro: It is normally very easy to be accepted and receive products.

The Con: They ask that you track each conversation you have with a person about the product and enter each conversation into the computer.

My Experience: I have been a member for about four years. I have received many great products to share with my friends and family but have noticed in the past six months that the offers have slowed down quite a bit.

Magazines

Most magazines have their own panels where they will ask for your opinion. Usually the panels are on a past issue that you might have read and sometimes they are geared toward certain products. Most magazines do not compensate you, but will enter you into contests. One exception for me was All You Magazine. They sent me a box as a thank you gift about one month ago. It had a lot of random items in it, but it was fun to receive and feel appreciated for my feedback.

I have only touched on a few companies. There are many more out there and I have accumulated a list of some of my favorites. Some companies offer rewards for products purchased, such as Disney Movie Rewards, Huggies and Pampers.

I hope that this information will help you in your search for ways to earn a little extra money and share your opinions.

Guest Post Blurb:

This is a guest post by Katie Adauto, a stay-at-home mom of 2 great teenagers and is avid about finding the best deals! Read more by Kate Adauto:

This article is from Katie Adauto of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Welcome All You Magazine Readers: Q & A With Linsey Knerl

Linsey Knerl — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:00:02 +0000

I’m so excited to be featured in the newest issue of All You Magazine! Many of you have come here to learn more about Wise Bread, my blogging career, or just life as a work-at-home mom in a tight economy. I hope to answer some of your questions here!

Since the article first ran last week, I’ve gotten several emails and even phone calls from other moms looking for a way to help provide for their families, as well. While each situation is different, there are a few questions I can hope to answer to help get you started.

Why would I want to start a blog?

There are two reasons that you may want to consider blogging on your own website:

1. For fun — Many moms find the outlet of writing about their daily lives and their families to be a great way to unwind at the end of a stressful day, connect with a community online that holds similar interests, or to just document those first special moments with a new baby (not all of us are talented scrapbookers).

2. For money — This is the type of blogging I get asked about the most. In reality, it is very difficult to make any kind of substantial income from blogging, alone. My income is made up of a combination of blogging on my own website, blogging for others (like Wise Bread), traditional freelance writing (for magazines and online websites), consulting, and marketing services.

How can I earn a living blogging?

As the article pointed out, it took me almost a full year of dedicated 40-hour a week blogging and research to get to a point where I could earn that first part-time income. I put in several hundred hours of setting up my blog, posting a few dozen well-written posts, researching revenue options, and connecting with other bloggers and companies to begin building my blog traffic. This seemed futile at first — but I was unable to take a job outside the home, and so it was the only income I could make at the time.

You can earn revenue from blogging in a couple of ways:

1. Advertising income — This is income from placing ads directly on your blog. You can sell ads to companies, use affiliate programs, or complete paid posts. All are slow to build, but can continue to bring in a steady revenue after time.

2. Blogging for others — When I first joined Wise Bread, I wasn’t prepared for how successful it was about to become! Within my first year, I went from making just $6 that first month to making a wonderful part-time income from the advertising revenue on my blog posts. I went on to write blog posts for several companies, including American Greetings, an event management company, and a major floral company. Sometimes my name would be published, but most often I was a “ghost writer” — meaning someone else got credit for my work (but I still got paid).

I see ads for blogging jobs all the time, but they all require writing samples. How do I get my foot in the door?

Just like traditional freelance writing, getting into blogging is a kind of two-way sword. You can’t get jobs without published work, but you can’t publish work without a job. Here is what I suggest for improving your odds (and the benefits are lasting):

1. Start your own blog, and update it frequently — Very rarely will major blogging outlets look solely at a personal blog to decide if you have blogging talent, but it is a good way to start. You not only have a chance to put your writing style and skill on display, but you’ll be keeping your creative juices flowing, can refine your writing craft, and will have a chance to learn basic tech skills that you’ll need when blogging (basic HTML, for example).

2. Guest post — Many popular and reputable websites (including Wise Bread) have a guest post policy or program. Some are paid, and many aren’t paid, but they all allow outside writers to contribute a post with full credit to you and most often your own blog! Not only does this help build quality backlinks to your own blog, but it can help get you known as a blogger. Don’t forget — these guest posts can then be used in your portfolio (you know, those pesky writing samples that blog jobs ask for when you apply).

What about article sites like eZine Articles, Helium, and Creative Commons?

These sites are nice to practice writing/blogging, but honestly, I have never made too much money from them (and my exposure was even less notable). Furthermore, when bloggers submit their writing samples for a real blogging job and their entire body of work is housed in these types of sites, it tells me two things:

1. They may or may not be able to write — Article submission sites literally allow most anyone to submit; no writing skills are required. While some sites may outright buy your article (indicating that it is probably up to snuff), there’s no way for a potential hiring company to see this from your writing sample.

2. They haven’t differentiated themselves in the blogging market — Article sites are rarely niche, meaning that they contain millions of topics that all get jumbled up amongst one another. Bloggers who have contributed content to a particular topic site (like guest posting for a pet health blog, for example) have proven that they can make necessary connections within their community and can focus their writing on their own expertise.

When helping to edit guest posts here on Wise Bread, I may or may not take a look at an Ezine article to get an overview of someone’s writing style or to make an initial decision about whether they are a compatible as a guest poster here. I am far more impressed, however, with a blogger who’s taken the time to set up their own blog or write for other blogs. This shows an ability to create and connect — something that’s very important when blogging professionally.

Important Note: While anyone can start a blog and even keep a blog going, not everyone will make a substantial living as a blogger.

As I said, before, much of my income comes from blogging, but an even larger portion comes from traditional freelance writing and marketing/consulting services. All of these were born from blogging, so it’s still very much my declared profession, but to fully realize the kind of income that a family of 6 (and soon to be 7) needs to live on, I needed to diversify my skills and pursue a variety of opportunities.

Additionally, not everyone will be cut out to blog. Perhaps there will be a lack of writing skill, not enough interest in the blogger’s niche expertise, or not enough time available to dedicate to the endeavor. These are all some of the reasons why many bloggers don’t thrive.

So what do I recommend to the many who have written in about their current financial struggles and their desires to help out their families by contributing to the family income — perhaps by blogging? I say, “Go for it!” But remember, it may take more time than you have to meet financial obligations and keep things afloat in dire circumstances. It may be something you build while pursuing more cash-ready endeavors.

My family is not unfamiliar with the struggles of job loss, illness, and raising a family. I’ve written about these trials here on Wise Bread, and I’ve helped see my family through a number of financial setbacks by working hard to help earn more money. Past jobs that I’ve taken while raising young children include waiting tables, managing a fast-food restaurant, working in a dermatology clinic, acting as an account executive to a subrogation firm, and numerous “temp” jobs (one of them involved stuffing envelopes for days on end). Whatever was needed to help keep us afloat, I did — as did my husband. No work was beneath us, and I didn’t worry that a few hours away from my children was going to somehow leave them impaired (we homeschool and I work from home now — the perfect combination — but it wasn’t always this way). We did what we had to for tummies to be fed and a house to be warm.

I encourage parents everywhere who have come here — whether as a result of my article, or not — to take away some feeling that they are not alone. This economy can be disheartening. I know: my husband has two degrees and has not been able to find work in his field for years. But we have come together as a family to create a new business — one built on blogging, but flexible enough to take us through whatever online trends may come.

I wish you all the best in whatever you pursue! I hope you find some of my other articles useful, and I encourage you to contact me with questions or comments.

This article is from Linsey Knerl of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Make Easy Money and Learn a Thing or Two About Website Design

Carlos Portocarrero — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:50:05 +0000

Most tips for earning extra cash are boring, repetitive, and downright weird. Filling out surveys and doing sexy talk on the phone just aren't my idea of a good time.

Wouldn't it be more exciting to make some extra cash while learning something useful that could make you a more valuable employee?

How Websites Are Built

Websites aren't just slapped together by someone who wants this button here and that image there — a lot of work goes into creating a website that behaves the way a company expects it to work. It's called a "user experience."

But it's not easy — and that's why there's such a thing as usability testing. It helps to answer some of these mysterious questions:

What do people do when they come to a site?
Why do they stay and why do they go?
What turns a visitor away from a site? Is it the color scheme or the way it's written out?

But how on earth are you supposed to read a user's mind?

Enter UserTesting.com

Here's what User Testing does: They pay web-savvy people like you and me to surf companies' sites according to the instructions given to them.

And the whole thing is being recorded: the user's screen is recorded and their audio of them talking through everything that they're doing and how they're feeling about the site. Here is a sample video of what these companies get for their money (it costs $29 for each "project").

Becoming a Tester

To become a tester, all you need to do is go through a test case where you get assigned a project and perform the tasks given to you. Then you submit the video (their software does all the work, it's extremely easy) along with a written summary of your experience, and you wait. Once you are approved, you'll get an email whenever a new job is available.

Each job takes around 10 minutes to complete and will net you $10, which is deposited straight into your Paypal account.

There is no shortage of projects to go around — I usually miss out on most of them because other users scoop them up before I get a chance (I do have a job, for crying out loud). But if you're a stay-at-home parent or college student, you could really pick up a decent amount of money on a day-to-day basis.

It's so easy, anyone can do it. All you need to know is how to surf the web and talk your way through every click and scroll that you perform. Easy.

And the bonus? You get to learn a thing or two about how websites are designed, what works, what doesn't, and different techniques that are used to engage users when they visit a site.

This article is from Carlos Portocarrero of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Money in Your Yard: How to Sell Palm Trees For Cash

Xin Lu — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:06 +0000

Palm trees are ubiquitous in California and other states with a warm climate. Although they are beautiful trees, some homeowners find them to be a nuisance because they require routine maintenance when they get too large. The good news for these homeowners is that it is possible that their trees could be sold for hundreds to thousands of dollars.

If you want to sell your large palm trees, first you need to figure out if it is feasible to remove the tree. Some neighborhoods and cities have ordinances against removing large trees so it may not be worthwhile to sell your tree and be slapped with a large fine. You need to find out if there are any such rules where you live. If the tree is in an area that is not very accessible to a crane then it would be impossible to remove. Also if the tree is too close to any structures or power lines then it may be hazardous.

Next you should find out if your trees are worth anything. Take a photo of the trees and figure out what species of palm they belong to. Phil Bergman of Jungle Music Palms & Cycads has a great guide to the various palm species of Southern California and their values. Most people have the common variety of Mexican Fan Palm, and they usually do not have resale value because a digger's labor in removing such a tree outweighs the value of the tree.

If you do have a possibly valuable palm tree that you have the right to remove, start searching for a reputable nursery or palm digger in your area and get some quotes on how much you can get. You could also post photos of your trees on a site like Craigslist to see if there are any offers. Chances are you will not get the retail price for your palm tree since the digger needs to remove the tree, market it, sell it, and also transport it. You should get references from the nursery or digger to see that they are experienced in palm removal and that they are insured since there could be accidents in removing a large tree.

Unfortunately, palm trees are not selling extremely well now since they are part of landscaping and the real estate industry is currently not so hot. However, large trees take years to grow and there is still a market for them. If you are tired of maintaining your palm trees, it does not hurt to see if they are worth anything. You could end up a little richer and save much more in future tree trimming costs.

Like this article? Pin it!

This article is from Xin Lu of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Explore Your Antique Attic Treasures for Profit

Tisha Tolar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:00:02 +0000

While more people are realizing the benefits of "yard saleing" — both having and shopping at — there may be some items in your home that you'd like to unload but are not necessarily cut out for a place in a yard sale. These items, such as antiques and heirlooms, can often surprise their owners when the actual value of the piece is discovered. In some cases, families will not part with family tradition but for others, selling an antique can be a practical solution for decluttering a home and gaining financial income.

Selling an antique or an item of great value can be difficult. Oftentimes, people who do not know any better will indeed place "knick-knacks" out on the yard sale table for a mere fifty-cents, only to have them scooped up by knowing dealers, resulting in the loss of a tidy sum. Antique dealers are known to hit up yard sales first thing in the morning to pick through the wares of others and are happy to pay a few cents for something they can resell for a whole lot more. People are happy to get rid of the items at the time, but would be livid to discover they could have made a lot more money with a little bit of research.

So how do you determine what's hot and what's not? Here are a few tips to help you sort through the real junk and those items which have much more value than the sentimental kind:

Keep Reality In Check

If, for instance, you have the duty to clean out a loved one's home after they have passed away, you may go in thinking that you could make a fortune selling Grandma's old stuff. It is this excited thinking that gets people into trouble. Looking for a quick buck without doing any legwork will likely result in doing things the wrong way. Don't expect any kind of fortune so that if you should get any money for your antiques, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Do Your Research

Since television shows like The Antique Roadshow came on the scene, a lot more people are taking an interest in what's in the attic. It seems so simple to make a few grand on a family treasure; however, it doesn't really work that way. There are a lot of different factors involved in determining the value of something antique. For example, if your item is not in mint condition, chances are good the price will be considerably lower than one that is. Use the internet and books at the library to research the piece you think may have value. Don't rely solely on websites like eBay either. While it can be a great way to find out what is selling these days, these auctions sites will not give you a true indication of what something is really worth.

Visit an Antique Show In Person

If you have the time and interest, it can be well worth it to visit an antique show to find out what you are getting into. Bring along really good photographs of what you have and find a specialist in that particular niche to ask questions about your items and whether or not you should pursue it further.

Get an Estimate

There are likely antiques dealers working in your area. You can speak to them about estimates on items you have. You can use the estimate to further your research.

Decide the Value

There is a huge difference between an estimate and an appraisal. An estimate is essentially an educated guess by an experienced person in that field whereas an appraisal is much more in-depth and can cost you up to $150/hour. Unless you are certain that an item you have is really valuable, it is best to skip the appraisal and do your own legwork to make a fair sale.

What's In Your Attic?

There are a lot of collectibles and antiques that are very much in demand and that could bring in significant income. Just some of the popular categories include albums, toys, sports cards, books, comic books, pottery, porcelain, furniture, jewels, and coins. There are also a number of books available that are specific to identifying high-valued items which you can use to identify what is worth the pursuit of sale.

A Bonus

After all of your research and hands-on education, you might develop a new creative outlet that earns money. Who knows? You may just start a life-long hobby and make a profit from something you actually enjoy doing. It may not be easy work but it certainly can be rewarding.

This article is from Tisha Tolar of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Network Marketing Parties: Opportunity or Emotional Blackmail?

Marla Walters — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:07 +0000

After my first Arbonne “party” last weekend, I made a list of the other product sales “parties” I have attended. Can you match this?

Pampered Chef
Princess House
Mary Kay
Tupperware
Christmas Around the World
Party-Lite
Oriflame
Amway
Stampin’ Up

As it turns out, I have been to nineteen of these things (some two or three times). I guess that makes me quite the party animal.

“Network marketing is the future!” proclaimed the Arbonne representative. Network marketing and Multi-level marketing are terms that can be used interchangeably. The concept is that products are sold by an individual, but a distributor network is needed to build the business. Interpersonal relationships and word of mouth are relied upon to market and sell. If I like a moisturizer from Mary Kay, the idea is, I’ll tell my girlfriend about it. In multi-level marketing, sellers get paid for their own sales plus the sales of others whom they bring into the company. In “direct sales,” the agent deals directly with customers, and usually in a party atmosphere. These aren’t new concepts — I remember my mother going to Tupperware parties in the seventies.

In case you haven’t ever attended one of these shindigs, here is the rundown. You receive an invitation to a party. When you arrive, there is usually a demonstration of the product(s) (often hands-on), a sales pitch, and then the check-writing begins. There is often a further pitch to host your own party or become a team member, yourself. Also included is a personal testimonial by the hostess, or presenter, about what a life-changing event it was, becoming involved with their company. Afterwards, food is served.

In discussing this story idea with my friend, MZ, she said, “I’m always getting invited to those things, but I never go. Sometimes I feel guilty, though, so I buy something from the hostess without going to the party.” Lisa from TerriO, who has participated in network marketing, says “Sometimes when my friends sell products, I feel obligated and sometimes, I'm interested in the products.” To get really introspective, is this what friendship is all about? I honestly believe that if I refused these invitations, my girlfriends would pretend to understand, but they’d really be disappointed, and perhaps a little angry, with me. It’s not just me. My friends are educated, mature professionals, and yet they are still emotionally blackmailed into attending parties. Simply declining, politely, to host a party in my home seems to be an affront.

There it is, the crux of party-marketing: feelings. Should your emotions enter into your shopping experience? At these parties, I have experienced the feeling of largesse because I could help a friend who needed additional income. Have you ever felt a sense of belonging because you joined in the buying frenzy? Some find happiness in their shopping experiences. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if you are invited to a party, the invitation will come from a friend, a family member, or a co-worker. You will usually have some emotional tie to the hostess.

Interestingly, in all the parties that I have attended, the only one where a few men were present was Amway (even though several of the above-listed companies do sell men’s products). This leads me to surmise that, if network marketing is the future of sales — it is the future of sales for women, who respond more favorably to personalized, emotionalized selling. Fine, label me a sexist, but the statistics support my theory. According to Direct Sales Association, 87.9% of sellers are women. 32.8% of items sold are skin care care, jewelry and clothing/accessories. 25.6% of sales are in the area of home care products.

Are the parties fun? Sometimes, yes. Kelley, who used to sell Pampered Chef products, explained: “Our team worked hard to create parties that were entertaining and educational — we even called ourselves edutainers!”

The latest pitch had a new twist: “Make up your Furlough Friday lost income!” I think it’s admirable if a person wants to earn extra income, as many of my friends have, by taking on another job. However, you should recognize the fact that you are not responsible for helping them earn their “dream house” or “a new car.” I have found myself empathizing with the hostess’ desire to home-school her children, or to help her kids with college. As a savvy Wise Bread reader, though, you should understand that the products you are purchasing at a home party may be available elsewhere for much less.

A tactic I do not care for is being invited to a party, only to find out it’s a sales pitch. If they are not straightforward about the purpose of the gathering, that doesn’t speak well for the product or the company. Why should I have to be tricked into buying something?

A bad experience, in response to one of my queries, came from Kathleen of Client Connections, who had this to say:

I’ve had both good and bad experiences with network marketing. Bad ones include: Being invited to a “business card exchange” that turned out to be a one-hour pitch for joining the MLM company, either as a customer or distributor, and being invited for “coffee and conversation” only to discover that was a euphemism for “listen to my pitch about my MLM.

Knowing all of this, what if you receive an invitation to a party? Go, if you want, but be ready. Here are my thoughts about surviving the sales “party” experience.

1. There is nothing wrong with saying, “No, thank you” or “I’ll have to think about it.”

2. Find out if the product is guaranteed. If you want your money back, how do you get it (i.e., will the presenter/hostess handle it, or do you have to call a national customer service hotline)?

3. Really consider whether or not the product is a good value. By “good value,” I mean, would you buy it if it wasn't being sold by your friend?

4. A pitch I’ve run across many times is: “If this party has receipts of $300 or more, your hostess will get this bonus gift.” This is a ploy for you to have sympathy for your hostess, who may be gazing longingly at that spa set.

5. Beware this statement: “If you spent another $xx, you can get free shipping." It's another ploy for you to spend just a little bit more. Try buddying up and sharing an order with someone else at the party.

6. Alcohol is frequently served and it does loosen your inhibitions. You could be in for a buyer’s remorse hangover so if you have a drink, be extra careful about spending.

As a veteran marketing party animal, my advice is that there is nothing inherently bad about buying products this way. Just be aware of the tactics that are designed to induce you to spend more. Keep your emotions in check, and think about whether you really need the product or can get it elsewhere, for less.

To find out more about network marketing, check out Nora's thorough explanation in Multi-Level Marekting: The Future or Folly?

For the marketing party veterans among you, if you have favorite products that are available only through network marketing companies, or are of superior quality through them, please share them with all of us in the comment section, and tell us why you like them!

This article is from Marla Walters of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Ways to Make Money for the MySpace Generation

Bob Lotich — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:02 +0000

I still remember my dial-up internet connection, paying for AOL by the hour, and waiting 45 minutes for a 1MB file to finish downloading. I can recall thinking that it was all fun to play with, but I didn't see the big picture of how the internet would so drastically change the world that we live in. Now, the Myspace generation is growing up, and they have known nothing else! Luckily for them (and us) all these changes present tremendous opportunities for business and new ways of making money!

1. Sell stuff on eBay for Mom and Dad

If I were a teen trying to make a few bucks, I would sit mom and dad down at the kitchen table and offer to sell their junk for them. I would have them identify all the junk around the house they don't want, and I would offer to split the profits with them. Hopefully, they would just let me keep all the profits. Either way, this is a win-win deal.

2. Write product reviews

I still remember a few years ago when I realized the power of user-generated reviews. I had this revelation that I no longer had to guess if a product would hold up to what it claimed; I now could find out beforehand from others. There are websites like Epinions.com and ReviewStream.com that offer cash or rewards in exchange for product reviews. If you are a fast typer and have an opinion, this could be a way to earn a few extra bucks.

3. Take online surveys

When I first discovered online surveys, I thought it was like a dream-come-true. I could sit at my computer and make a living taking surveys all day. Then after doing it for an hour and wanting to pull my ears off with boredom, I realized this wasn't for me. An additional hazard is that many of the survey sites are borderline spammy, and if you don't protect your phone number and address, you could end up with some "deals" that you might not have been interested in.

4. Sell digital photos

The internet has helped the advancement of the digital photo. There are now lots of sites looking to buy digital photos: Dreamstime.com, Shutterstock.com, CreStock.com, Fotolia.com. While it definitely wouldn't hurt to be a pro photographer, there is plenty of opportunity for amateurs with a good/decent camera to make money selling their work.

5. Tutor or give lessons

Many parents are willing to shell out a lot of cash to pay for a tutor for their child. They realize that if Johnny can get his GPA up to 3.7 he will have a better chance at getting a college scholarship. If you are great at Geometry, Physics, or Underwater Basket-weaving, there probably is a demand for your help as a tutor. Try advertising your services on Craigslist. And to make it even more 21st century, try tutoring via Skype.

6. Create Myspace backgrounds

When you hear about a pre-teen making more money than his parents creating Myspace backgrounds, you know that times have changed. If you know how to use Photoshop or Gimp and have a little creativity you can create a product that people will want. Throw up a website with a Paypal "Buy it Now" link and you will be off and running. Bonus: creating Twitter backgrounds is in fashion, as well.

7. Design web logos

Taking the whole graphic design thing one step further, you could create logos for blogs and other websites. There are a gazillion blogs out there that would pay $25-$100 for a logo.

8. Create websites

Even though we are well into the "Internet Age" there is still a tremendous demand for affordable web developers. There are still tons of mom-and-pop shops that either don't have a website and want one, or haven't updated it since 2002 and want to. It seems like I hear the same story every few weeks: The small business owner wants a website, but can't afford to pay thousands of dollars for it. Many of these business owners would be thrilled to pay $500 for a Wordpress site with a pretty theme. Sounds like a great business opportunity to me! (Over the last year blogging has become my primary source of income — which is nice after getting laid off last year! It is anything but a get-rich-quick scheme, and I like to call it a work-for-free-for-a-long-time-and-then-reap-your-reward program, but there is money to be made. I wrote extensively about how to make money from a blog a few months ago on my blog.)

9. Sell widgets on Etsy

If you are crafty and need a bigger market than your freshman lunchroom, you can sell your goodies on Etsy. They are a website designed specifically to buy and sell handmade items.

10. Become a freelance writer and sell articles

Check out Upwork and find thousands of people willing to pay for your writing skills. There is pretty good money to be made for good writers. But even if you are mediocre, as long as you can write a coherent sentence you should be able to find plenty of work. If you prefer to sell your articles individually, you can visit sites like Constant-Content, ArticleSale, Helium.

Guest Post Blurb:

This guest post is by Bob of ChristianPF.com, a website that approaches financial topics using timeless Biblical principles.

Links to more articles from ChristianPF.com:

This article is from Bob Lotich of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Three E-Books to Help You Make Money, Travel, and Change Your Life

Nora Dunn — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:00:03 +0000

It’s no secret that many of us are looking for something different in life. And one of the biggest things we can change about our lives is how we work. If we are not tied to a desk all the time, the options for how — and where — we choose to live open up dramatically.

Following are profiles of three e-books that feature a different aspect of making money, traveling, and changing your life.

Although each e-book is very different, they share the following commonalities:

The authors all make a full-time living with their unconventional professions.
The authors practice what they preach.
The authors have time for extensive travel (although not all of them are full-time travelers).
Each e-book is jam-packed with concrete resources to get you going, as well as lifestyle design tips to keep you inspired.

So without further ado…

The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself

The author of this e-book, Chris Guillebeau, has a wildly popular web site called The Art of Non-Conformity, which is a template for living life outside of the box by challenging our ethos and ideas. Chris also has great business sense, and regularly shares the details of his ongoing entrepreneurial ventures with his readers.

The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself is a guide to starting your own very small business. Chris shares his personal experience of breaking free from the 9-5 cycle to run his own businesses, in an effort to escape the cubicle-lifestyle and to set his own course through life. Since the age of 20, he has worked for himself in one capacity or another, so he has lots of experience — good, bad, and otherwise — to share with you.

(Incidentally, Chris is currently fulfilling a mission to visit every country in the world by April 2013. Because he works for himself, he is able to incorporate such travels into his life, and has already visited 119 of 197 countries.)

Who this e-book is for:

You want to start an online business and generate a source of revenue without having to quit your job.
You are prepared to work for it.
You are not overly familiar with various ways to make money online, and need help getting started. (Online marketing gurus need not apply.)

Here are some of the business ideas and possible streams of income profiled in the e-book:

Blogging — and how to actually make some money with it (which most people don’t)
Ebay selling
Stock photography (and other ways to make money with photographs)
Consulting
Information products
Continuity programs
Affiliate income (and why most affiliate programs don’t work)
Maximizing Adsense revenue
Chris encourages you to come up with your own ideas, and even discusses a few wacky unconventional career ideas, like speaking on cruise ships

The e-book also goes into lots of detail about the logistics of running your own online business, as well as the pitfalls you can avoid to ramp up your success even faster. Chris shares his personal experience throughout the book, which adds character and humility to the writing along with a good dose of inspiration.

Each chapter ends with an action plan that is easy to follow and implement right away, complete with specific actionable steps. Chris provides the practical tools required for moving forward; I enjoy the personal testimonials of online products and services he uses and how he uses them (sometimes unconventionally) for his benefit. It has already helped me to better monetize my own online streams of income.

This e-book is not a roadmap to instantaneous riches, as many e-books of this nature tend to try to be. Chris is realistic about the amount of work required to start and maintain a business of any sort, and makes no bones about it to the reader. If you want to start an online business to generate some extra income (and maybe escape the conventional 9-5 working life), then The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself is a great launching pad.

The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself

E-Book Length: 54 pages

Bonuses: 3 audio MP3 teaching sessions (25 minutes each), a 26 page guide to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), plus free email updates to the guide as new information becomes available.

Cost: $58 US

How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog

The author of this e-book, Matt Kepnes, may be better known as Nomadic Matt; a 20-something traveler who has been on the road full-time since 2006. He started a travel blog (like just about every other traveler on the planet), and expected to be making money hand over fist before long with his tales of adventure.

It didn’t happen.

After sifting through many of the “make money online” courses, Matt learned through trial and error how to make their internet marketing strategies applicable to blogs (which are different from static web sites), more specifically — travel blogs.

Now, he makes over $3,000 US/month with his travel blogs and web sites. And if you recall what the cost of full-time travel is, you’ll know that this sort of income is more than enough to pave the way quite nicely.

How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog teaches you how to create a money-making travel blog, from conceptualization to monetization. The e-book is very specific about how to do it, providing precise instructions for each step along the way.

Who this e-book is for

You want to start a blog that will make you money, or already have a blog that you want to monetize.
You understand the basic principles of blog management and know what SEO stands for(!), but you don’t know exactly where to start or how to put it all together.
You are interested in the travel industry.
You want extra income on the side.

Although the e-book is very travel-centric, many of the principles taught in this guide could apply to any blog. However Matt is very connected within the travel genre, and one of the benefits he offers his e-book readers is access to advertisers and other travel-friendly SEO tips.

A random selection the interesting things I read about in the book include:

Specific Wordpress themes and plugins that are suggested to maximize SEO
Various techniques for attracting new traffic, along with an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of each technique
The finer nuances of Stumble Upon (although I have been a Stumbler in days past, I only now realize I haven’t even begun to maximize its potential)
How to find advertisers of all shapes and sizes
A huge number of services and systems that you can use to get links to your site (henceforth: pagerank, henceforth: popularity, henceforth: advertisers, henceforth: money!)

Of the six sections of the e-book (Setting up Your Blog, Creating Your Blog, Increasing Traffic, SEO Tips, Monetization, and Putting it All Together), the one entitled Search Engine Optimization Tips is the beefiest and jam-packed with specific resources to help you promote and evaluate the effectiveness of your blog.

If you aren’t interested in learning all Matt’s lessons by trial and error, then How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog will help launch you well beyond the learning curve. Had this e-book been around when I started my own travel blog, I might not have had to reinvent the wheel as many times as I did.

How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog

E-Book Length: 37 pages

Bonuses: The author will tap you into his private link networks to generate SEO-friendly traffic to your blog. He also has a list of advertisers looking to place ads on travel blogs, and by purchasing this e-book you will gain access to these advertisers.

Cost: $37 US

X Marks the Spot: The Indispensable Guide to Living and Working from Anywhere You Choose (2nd Edition)

Lea Woodward and her husband Jonathan have been living a location independent lifestyle since 2007. In that time they have stayed in various destinations around the world for a few months in each place, and can prove that traveling the world with a location independent career can actually be less expensive than staying home and working the traditional 9-5 career.

X Marks the Spot is a guide to living location independently, from taking the initial plunge, to organizing the logistics along the way, to finding and developing a location independent career. Both the intangible emotions as well as the concrete logistics of becoming/being location independent are balanced throughout the e-book — since such a lifestyle change entails a lot of emotional groundwork.

Who this e-book is for

You are considering — or are creating — a location independent career and lifestyle..
You want to know if being location independent is for you.
You need help with the logistics of living location independently.
You want to understand the cost of living abroad.
You need a location independent business idea.

I already live location independently, and I still found this book useful and inspirational. Lea provides dozens of useful resources with regards to ongoing business management and administration, including some that particularly intrigued me (and helped me realize that being location independent doesn’t have to be difficult):

Global wireless internet service
Online faxing service
How to search for suitable accommodation from abroad
Remote mailing/scanning services

With brutal honesty, Lea shares her victories as well as her mistakes. She outlines their exact finances for each place they lived in, and compares them directly to the cost of living in the UK and other western countries. She encourages you to ask some tough questions of yourself to determine where you might want to live, and helps you through the process of becoming nomadic with sage advice on everything from luggage to immigration.

This book is less about the sheer mechanics of making money, and more about how to make money with a location independent lifestyle. If you have made the decision to become location independent, or want to know more about it, then X Marks the Spot will be the book for you.

X Marks the Spot: The Indispensable Guide to Living and Working from Anywhere You Choose

E-Book Length: 82 pages

Bonuses: You can order both the 1st edition and 2nd editions for the same price as just the 2nd edition. (The 1st edition contains much more of Lea’s personal journey to becoming location independent, which may be quite appealing to some people).

Cost: £15 (approx $25 US)

“Some people feel like a “real job” is their security against the economy. Entrepreneurs know the opposite: their competence is their security.” — quote from The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself

Review Disclaimer: I received these e-books free for review, and the post includes affiliate links.

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This article is from Nora Dunn of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Start Your Own Blog

Carlos Portocarrero — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:58:02 +0000

I'm a huge believer in starting a blog to further your career — you'll learn so much in the process that in the end you'll become a better job candidate and a better employee. From SEO and writing skills to marketing and creativity, blogging can teach you a lot valuable skills.

But how do you get started? Most people get caught up in the excitement and the first thing they do is start spending money. They buy a domain name, a few custom themes for their site, and hire a designer to create a logo.

But take it from someone who's been doing it for years: that's not the right order. Here's a better way to get started:

Brainstorm

Starting a blog is like starting a business: you don't just get an idea and decide to launch it the next day. You need to think things through first.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself:

What are you so passionate about that you'll potentially write about every day?
What makes your blog different?
Is there an audience out there for what you'll be blogging about?
Do you want to make money or is this strictly about drawing an audience or furthering your career?
Do you have the time?

When I started The Writer's Coin, I had been reading personal-finance blogs for a long time and it hit me — I could do this. There was a lot of stuff being written and only 15% of it was any good. I wanted to become a part of that 15%.

I was also becoming very passionate about personal finance so I wanted an avenue to express that.

And yes, when I heard people were making thousands of dollars a month, I wanted to make some money too. I didn't think through most of the questions I listed, and I had to learn that the hard way.

Practice

There are two major blogging platforms out there: Blogger and Wordpress. I'm a Wordpress nut, so that's what I'm going to recommend every chance I get.

But here's the best part: they're both free.

I started blogging on thewriterscoin.wordpress.com — it was free because I wasn't using my own domain. It's great because it gives you a testing ground to see if this is really something you want to do without spending any money.

The free version of Wordpress isn't as robust, but it's all you need to get started. And don't worry, if and when you decide to move on the next level, Wordpress makes it a smooth transition.

Why is practicing for free such a big deal? Because most blogs die pretty quickly. Eventually, people realize they aren't as passionate about the topic or the idea of blogging after a month or so. So practicing lets you get started without spending any money — it's kind of like the ten-second rule only this one should last at least a few months.

When I decided to launch a second blog about baseball, I first tested it out and sure enough, two months later I realized I didn't have the desire to make it an ongoing thing. Total cost: $0. I did write a bunch of posts and spend quite a bit of time on it, but I didn't spend any money. No harm, no foul — that's the point of starting on a free platform.

It took me about three months before I realized that, yes, I wanted to keep doing this indefinitely. That's when I got my own domain and decided to step it up. And one thing you should know ahead of time: you will get better. So it's a good idea to get the shitty first drafts out of the way before you move up to the next level.

Make Time

"If you want to be a good writer you have to do two things — read a lot and write a lot." —Stephen King

Same goes with blogging. If you thought all you'd be doing is writing, you're wrong. And guess what? You're going to need a LOT of time to do the reading and writing it takes to set up your blog.

Set up a routine where you have a couple of hours a day to work on this. Trust me, you'll need every bit of that time and then some. For me, the mornings before I go to work are the best time: it's quiet and my brain is ready to roll.

Some tips:

Take a notebook with you wherever you go to jot down any ideas you may have about stuff to write about.
Read Problogger, Copyblogger, and every blog related to your niche that you think is good. Every day.
Write three posts a day if you can. The more you write early on, the quicker you'll find your voice.
Use Creative Commons for images — they make a big difference
Network like crazy: without a community you'll have nothing.

Take it to the Next Level

So you went through all the steps and three months later you've got a blog you're still passionate about. But you want more. More flexibility, more features, more everything.

Now's the time to buy your domain name. If you want a theme that isn't free, now's the time to do it. Want to hire someone to create a custom logo? This is the time. (I used this guy—he's good.)

I know this last step is pretty vague — it could be a long post of its own — but once you've gotten to this point you should have a bunch of people that you can ask for help. That's how I learned: by asking questions.

Now you're basically starting your own business. Success doesn't necessarily mean money, but it should mean you're getting what you want out of it. You should be learning new things, your writing should be getting better, and you should be getting to know new people in the space.

These are all the reasons you started the blog in the first place, remember? Next time you go to an interview, regardless of what field you're in, showing a potential employer that you've taken the initiative to blog about what you do is a huge point that will make you stand out among other candidates.

This article is from Carlos Portocarrero of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Summer Camp as a Side Business

Julie Rains — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:00:02 +0000

My tween son went to a Lego camp this summer so that he could learn robotics, something I wasn’t sure I could teach him since his technical skills typically surpass mine. My initial fascination was with the computer programming aspect of the camp. Then, I became intrigued with the idea of running a summer camp as a side business. So, I spoke with seasoned camp directors about how they turned summer weeks into extra income. Here's a road map for a summer camp business.

Passion usually sparks the (summer camp) fire

Most of the independently run camps that I learned about were formed because of the camp director's passion, though some were started as a way to fill a market niche. Dedication to serving kids and their families seems just as intense whether the camp is the fruit of a long-held dream or a deeply-researched business plan. Types of camps offered include:

Academic Enrichment
Arts & Technology
Basketball
Cheerleading
Lacrosse
Lego Buildng (not affiliated with Lego but involving construction of Lego sets)
Outdoor experiences
Traditional camp (crafts, games, music, drama)
Visual Art
Western Ranch

Marketing: word-of-mouth rules

Word-of-mouth referrals seem to be the best (and least expensive) way of attracting campers. Referrals may come from campers and their families, or those who work with potential campers, such as teachers, coaches, and counselors associated with youth organizations. Most camps have websites but some rely more on search engine traffic and web campaigns than others. Marketing techniques:

Word-of-mouth referrals
Websites
Flyers and banners at kids’ schools, partner facilities, and local businesses
Listings in summer camp directories in newspapers and websites
Direct mail and email campaigns
Newspaper ads
Google ads
Television ads
Social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook
Summer camp referral services such as Camp Finders
Craigslist

Hire and train staff who love what you do

Camp directors will often tap into their networks to find staff suitable for working with children and qualified to provide supervision and instruction in specific areas (in addition to background checks). For example:

Courtney Reid-Hammock of Camp Trinity Children Programs hires teachers for her academic camp
Drew Searl of East Meets West Lacrosse hires professional players and coaches for his lacrosse camp
James Taylor of Taylored Athletes hires current or former professional players who have earned college degrees for his basketball camp
Neeley Neal of Sideline Star hires AACCA (American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators) certified professionals for her cheerleading camp

Staff training ranges from half-day talks on camp basics for day camps to multi-day sessions for staffers at residential (overnight) camps, such as that held by Maine Arts Camp including instruction from medical professionals. Topics might include camp policies, camp songs, responses to medical emergencies, and dealing with behavioral problems.

Find space wherever you can

An open field can work for some day camps (such as cheerleading or lacrosse) while residential camps require more extensive facilities such as cabins or dormitory-style housing, classrooms, and cafeterias. Ideas for locations:

public parks and recreation facilities
privately owned studios (gymnastics, dance, karate, etc.)
places of worship
college and university facilities
your own place (property owners Glynn and Jo-An Turman hold Camp Gid D Up at their ranch)

Match camp with campers

Most camps don't have rules about who can attend (with the exception of age requirements) but are clear about their offerings and whether a camp is suitable for potential campers. Common ways of making sure that camp will be fun and appropriate for campers:

in-depth descriptions of camp activities on brochures and websites
candid discussions with prospective parents who often call to get information on camp
camper applications with personal and medical histories (Camp Caglewood, which serves children and adults with special needs, has a thorough application process to make sure camp is enjoyable and enriching, and adapts its programs to the specific medical, social, and/or physical needs of campers)

Safety and risk management ideas:

establish and maintain an appropriate camper:counselor ratio
set, communicate, and adhere to rules and policies
get campers to sign agreements covering behavior and safety issues
have parents sign releases or waivers (including photo releases)
access the expertise of insurance agents, who can advise on risk management measures
carry event insurance and liability coverage
have medical staff onsite or contract with a physician for dedicated services during camp weeks
limit camp hours so that campers will not need to have medication during sessions
have campers bring their own snacks and/or lunches to help avoid allergy problems

Deal with concerns of parents

Candy Cohn, assistant director of a residential camp told me typical concerns of parents are whether their kids will be able to make friends and get along with other campers. Many parents also feel uncomfortable with not having on-demand access to their kids, who aren't allowed to have cell phones. To help kids and parents make the transition from home to camp, Candy and others advise:

keep camp small enough to provide personal attention to campers
get information on specific concerns of parents and address those concerns directly
encourage parents to allow their children to develop independence
be available for kids who may need mentoring or special attention

Make money (or give back to the community)

To set camper fees, consider industry standards for pricing and count all expenses, such as:

facility rentals
instructor fees
advertising
camp-related equipment and supplies
administrative supplies
food
insurance
takeaway items such as camp t-shirts

Payment policies include 50% or payment-in-full at time of registration with balances due at the time of camp. Some camps offer discounts for early registration, referrals, and siblings.

A few of the camps I've mentioned are 501(c)(3) non-profits (Camp Caglewood and ReCreation Camp provides outdoor and traditional camp experiences for adults and children with special needs; Camp Gid D Up serves inner city and at-risk children) but operate using business principles; they cover costs through donations, sponsorships, or camper fees.

Get started with camp

Experience as a youth instructor, coach, and volunteer is a great way to get the planning and teaching skills needed to run a camp. Though some directors have careers in sales, technology, marketing, and entertainment, many are teachers or business owners who provide year-round instruction, either full-time or part-time.

Linda Calvert Jacobson, an artist and owner of Casa de Linda Art Studio taught art to adults and children for many years before starting her summer camp. She gives tips on organizing day-to-day activities:

establish age groups for sessions
develop general outline of daily activities
select a camp theme
develop project ideas through extensive research and professional knowledge
create timelines for major projects and activities so that campers will have a completed project by the end of each camp session
have smaller, back-up projects and activities to keep campers busy and having fun

At the end of camp week, Linda holds a brief ceremony in which she presents certificates to campers and takes group photos; she has also started hosting an end-of-summer art show and ice cream social, encouraging campers to bring favorite art pieces and inviting families and friends. Similarly, campers at the Lego camp each presented one project and received a personalized CD of digital photos illustrating the camp week.

If you're thinking about using your skills to teach others but don't want to take on the responsibilities of running a camp, consider holding a session in partnership with a local school, church, or parks and recreation facility. For example, teachers designed and led classes at a summer enrichment program organized by St. Irene Catholic School; school board member Laura McGowan told me that both the school and teachers were able to generate extra income in a difficult economy.

This article is from Julie Rains of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

6 Weird Things People Sell for Cash

Linsey Knerl — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:00:12 +0000

When the recession began to really hit home, there was plenty of chatter about selling your plasma, undergoing paid medical tests, and even cutting off your lovely locks for a profit. Here are some of the more off-the-wall commodities we found, and they are making some people a bit more comfortable these days.

Breast Milk

As a mom who nursed three of her four children, I completely understand the benefits and time commitment of breastfeeding. When situations prevent a mom from being able to do this herself, however, there are some options to keeping the milk flowing, even if it’s not her own. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of mothers nationwide, milk has been made available to those who need it via milk banks and other donation centers. The Human Milk Banking Association of America is a good place to start learning about the guidelines for donation, storage, and transport.

So how do you go about making cash from your breast milk? Unfortunately, in the U.S. at least, finding a legal, organized place to sell your breast milk to others is very difficult. That’s not to say that it hasn’t been done, however. Craigslist ads have been notorious for offering milk for sale, and if you head over to this “How to Buy Breast Milk” article at eHow.com, you’ll see people offering their milk for sale in the comments. The going rate for buying milk from a milk bank is $2-3 per ounce, which professionals claim is only a portion of what it costs to collect, screen, and store the milk. (There is also a “How to Make Money By Selling Human Breast Milk” article, as well, but the author acknowledges that the one of the best ways to get a legitimate buyer – Ebay – is also not allowed.)

In addition to the growing number of mothers who find a qualified stranger’s breast milk to be a lifesaving alternative, there are a few other “commercial” uses for breast milk: Certain fetish groups have always paid for milk on the black market, and a few pharma companies pay a small fee for milk that will be turned into supplemental products for premature infants. (And let’s not forget the potential for an increase in demand for milking moms when Ben & Jerry’s was approached with the “opportunity” to incorporate human milk into its production line.) Whether you buy, sell, or just want to learn more, I recommend this enlightening article from breastfeedingsymbol.org.

Dog Hair

For those of us who have been struggling against the constant shedding of our pups, armed with Swiffers and lint rollers, the news that dog hair is a commodity may be too good to be true. Apparently, dog hair spun into yarn (or “chiengora”) is an old art form that dates way, way back. (Before sheep wool was the thing to spin in the U.S., people would use the hair of a dog.)

Fans of the stuff claim that it holds in warmth and repels water better than other fibers. (When found for sale, however, it is usually combined with sheep’s wool.) Believe it or not, fans of spinning dog hair are a very helpful group (just check out Knitting With Dog Hair, a book that shows you how to cut, collect, spin, and use dog hair for everyday knitting projects). There has been some question as to the legality of selling dog hair (big surprise), and states like New Jersey actually have language forbidding the sale of dog or cat fur.

So how do you go about selling (or even buying) dog hair? The verdict on this one is similar to other items on our list. Ask around, place ads in places that don’t specifically prohibit it, and make sure that the state you’re listing it in allows it. If it’s not possible to sell the dog hair straight out, you may be able to spin it first and offer it as a yarn.

Chicken Poop

If there’s one thing I’ve learned by living on a farm most of my life, it’s that people will drive many miles and offer most anything for a pickup truck full of crap. That’s no lie. The amazing benefits that come with the use of natural (or “organic”) fertilizers on anything from rose bushes to potato plants is fairly common sense. What most people don’t realize, however, is where that fertilizer comes from.

Since most commercial products are simply a mixture of aged chicken poop and other organic materials, it’s possible to mix up your own batch with little effort. (See this article on how to use chicken poop effectively.) To sell chicken manure, which can be done via online ad, small local newspaper, or through your local farm or garden supply store, you’ll need a good amount of chicken manure and a way to bag it or haul it effectively (which is what people are really paying for). Pricing will be minimal and may vary by region.

Cardboard Boxes

As someone who deals with daily deliveries from UPS, USPS, and FedEx, I can understand the cumbersome nature of the cardboard box. Generally, I have been pretty good at the art of recycling, using them in everything from moving, composting, reshipping, and even art projects with the kids. While I also strongly support sharing used boxes with the community for free, we all understand that sometimes it’s necessary to try to recoup our costs – especially if we need to cut business or home office expenses.

While many companies offer to buy bulk lots of boxes in the same size and shape, there are a few places that currently buy boxes in good condition with a minimum of 3 or more boxes. BoxCycle, for example, takes the work out of selling your boxes by listing them for you, communicating with the buyer, and handling all payment processing. All you have to do is list your boxes with them, wait for a seller, and cash out when your payment totals $25. (While you won’t get rich from this, it is a great way to get rid of wasted space caused by bulky boxes, and it puts a few bucks back in your pocket.)

False Teeth, Braces, and Prosthetics

So these aren’t exactly in a category together (but they are most certainly in one all their own). As the market clamors for more gold commodities, and places like Cash4Gold keep turning consumers off from the idea of selling their jewelry for extra money, consumers are getting creative with how to make a quick buck via another buyer. Pawn shops, however, have eagerly reported an increase in the amount of business they get for items containing gold – any items – and this includes caps and crowns made from precious metals. What else are they boasting? False teeth (dentures), braces, and prosthetics have all been (sometimes) reluctant purchases by pawn brokers over the years. They won’t get you rich, but if you happen to have them lying around, and don’t feel comfortable putting them in your next yard sale, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Pig Ears and Bull “Sticks”

This is a niche market that most of us wouldn’t be in a position to tap, however, I felt it was worth mentioning. While most pet stores carry starch-based alternatives to the popular pig ear dog treat, some still offer the old-fashioned variety, made from 100% authentic swine ears. Another interesting item for dogs to chew on? Bull sticks. Touted as a healthy and fun for dogs of all breeds, these treats are made from bull “parts.” The owner of company who makes them doesn’t buy them directly from U.S. suppliers (the hormones and antibiotics are a big no-no) but rather imports them. (Does this mean that the first person to meet the market here in the States could be in the next best “bull market?”)

Do you represent an exclusive niche market that sells unusual wares for profit? Care to share it with the rest of us? We’d love to hear about it!

This article is from Linsey Knerl of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The Secret Really Does Have A Secret (or Ten Tenets for Arranging Your Rich - Part 3)

Kate Luther — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:47:05 +0000

There's been a ton of debate over whether or not The Secret is worth your time, so let's put it to rest right now: The Secret really does have a "secret", but most of us are missing it.

For those of you that aren't familiar with The Secret, its message isn't really new. In fact, there's some world-renowned self-help gurus that have been preaching about manifestation for years.

And this is where the debate begins: are we really to believe that we can simply manifest things into our lives? That if we "desire" wealth, then wealth we shall have? That everything that happens to us is the result of our own thoughts, whether conscious or otherwise?

Well, yes and no.

See, some people read this and say, "ok, so all I have to do is meditate on money and I'll get rich".

Um..no.

And yet others read this and say, "oh, please... I didn't ask for the flat tire. I didn't ask to have the flu and I certainly didn't ask to work a crappy job for minimum wage."

And I see your point. I wouldn't ask for those things either.

But the secret to manifesting money (or anything else for that matter) isn't some magic mojo that makes good things just "appear" in your lap.

Quite the contrary, the idea behind positive thought is that it motivates you into positive action. And with positive actions, you're much more likely to see some positive results.

Years ago, my husband and I went to the West End in downtown Dallas to enjoy a leisurely lunch and just walk around. If you've never been to the West End, it was a little self-contained area full of retail shops, bars, restaurants and even a movie theater. The roads were brick and cars weren't allowed on the main street so you could just walk up and down without worrying about getting ran over by some guy trying to make the light.

Anyway, as we were coming out of the restaurant, we noticed a large group of people standing in the street cheering and clapping. Curious, we ventured over to see what was going on.

At one end of the crowd was a stack of cardboard boxes and I mean, they were stacked - maybe 8 foot high. At the other end of the crowd was this guy - shorter than me (I'm 5'6"), hunched down like a runner might be while waiting for the race to start.

Everyone's yelling and we're standing there trying to figure out why. And then it hits me:

He's going to try and jump those boxes.

No way, I'm thinking. There's just no way.

The guy jumps up and down a few times then takes off running. About halfway, he launches into a couple of flip-flops (head over feet over head), hits the ground hard with his feet and jumps into the air, somersaulting over the boxes.

The boxes never moved.

My point? Well, besides the fact that it makes for a really good story, the only difference between me and that guy was that I looked at the boxes and said "no way". But he looked at them and said, "yeah, I can do that."

Yes, he probably had quite a bit of practice but he had to have that positive perspective in order to even attempt it. I've wanted to do an aerial (cartwheel with no hands) since I was in grade school yet I never really put any effort into making that little wish a reality for me. Obviously, visualizing myself doing such an impressive feat is nice but if I really want to add this little trick to my resume, I'll need to go outside and physical practice until I get it right.

And the same is true here.

Manifesting wealth doesn't stop with a little meditation or a money-oriented mantra. The idea of "drawing wealth to you" doesn't necessarily mean that a million bucks will just magically appear in your bank account. And if it does, you might wait on spending it... I hear the banks are pretty good about finding those kinds of errors lickity split.

What it does mean however, is that maybe you begin to attract new opportunities to increase your income and thereby grow your overall wealth. Maybe you get a new job offer. Maybe you make the leap and launch that online store you've been talking about. Or maybe you just get really committed to saving and paying off your debts. In any case, you're going to see some positive results.

Yes, to manifest wealth or anything else for that matter, you must first believe that you deserve it. Why? Because if you don't stop that nagging little voice in your head that can't stop whining about how bad everything is, you're never going to be able to approach life with a fresh perspective. This is where the meditation and positive thinking comes in. You are literally "opening" yourself up to new possibilities. You are saying to yourself and the Universe that you're ready to start living again instead of just going through the motions.

But this is where most people stop.

They've meditated. They've practiced some positive self-talk and then they wait. Anyday now... money is just going to start falling out of the sky. It will... I visualized it so it will happen.

Unfortunately, when it doesn't rain money, they get discouraged and one of two things happens: either they meditate harder (I'm just not doing it right) or they throw in the towel and come away with an even poorer outlook than they had going in (see? even the Universe is screwing me over!)

What they should do instead is start looking for ways to turn those visualizations into real actions.

This is what our greatest mentors have meant when they said "I make my own luck".

You make things happen. You look for new ways of doing things and new ideas that could put you a little further along on your metaphorical path. You open yourself up to the notion that "anything is possible" and at some point you realize that anything is.

And that is when things will start to happen.

Not because you visualized them in your head but because you put yourself in a position to take advantage of new things when they come along.

So, what does all this have to do with "living large on a small budget"?

Well, maybe the budget doesn't have to be so small after all. Maybe "living large" also includes getting the most out of life which would certainly be achieved by taking new risks and opening yourself up to new opportunities.

Or maybe, just maybe, it really is an essential step in arranging your rich. After all, how many millionaires do you know who got that way by thinking "I can't"?

This article is from Kate Luther of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Who Cares if there's a Recession? I just started a business

Maggie Wells — Sat, 23 May 2009 03:51:21 +0000

About four months ago my best friend thought she’d run a crazy idea by me. Want to open a shop together?

No.

It’ll be fun....

No.

Come on we can do it together.

No. Okay. Let me think about it.

The only person I know busier than I am is my friend Kristy. A year ago a woman with a salon and boutique who did nails asked if Kristy would come back and do hair at her salon. Kristy had a good reputation in town and had made a little home salon and was getting by that way. She’d put herself through college doing hair and a few years back had decided that doing hair fit better with the mom schedule than anything else.The original salon owner was leaving and offered Kristy the business. She was buying but there was a whole second room in the shop that didn’t have much in it. The rent for that room would be about $100.00 a month. Was I interested?

I did what any friend does. I went home and ran it by the family.

Here are some factors we considered:

Cheap overhead?
Concept of the store?
Location of the shop?
Time to devote to it?

The more I thought about it, the more the idea sounded intriguing.

The overhead is $100 a month plus $60 in Internet expenses. I’d been wanting to have an office in town so that I could stop working from home all the time. The salon is located caddy corner to my kids’ school. One was getting out at noon and the other at two so I was frantically driving back and forth or having to hang around to go home. With the Internet, I could still grade papers and work in a new place. Kristy is busy and so am I. She cuts hair in the morning; I’m online in the afternoon. We could have a shop open all day and just overlap by about thirty minutes each day.

Then it dawned on me. A couple of years ago I’d started up a site on etsy.com for a bunch of women around here that made things but weren’t very Internet savvy so that they could promote their wares online. I called a few of the ones that were around. If I open an artisan consignment shop , are you up for it?

We’ve been up and running for two months. I’ve got 15 local venders that make t-shirts, soap, lotions, bbq sauce, hot sauce, jewelry, bread mixes, rocking chairs, spin and dye their own yarn plus a few artists in the area that hang their photographs and paintings. In the corner of the shop I’ve set up my desk with my wireless to grade papers and write. We put the waiting room for the salon in the room so that customers get an eye full of stuff to look at and browse through while they are waiting for hair cuts. We’re the only place for Wi-fi on the way to three campgrounds. We have a huge porch out front for the kids to play on. We aren’t making the big bucks but we don’t owe anyone a dime either. We put together a small book exchange too.

In a town with only 150 residents in a region with only 2000, having a place to hang out and to showcase local stuff for the tourists, having a little shop like this one can play a big role in the community. Once a month we have an ‘event’ that helps us make rent---thus far we’ve always cleared rent that one day for the whole month. Somedays we only make about $10 bucks. But I look at it this way---had I not moved my office into the shop , I’d have been sitting there grading papers anyhow---now I’ve got $10 extra.

Local response has been great! Vendors are willing to ‘babysit’ the store when I can’t be there. There’s nothing around here in the way of competition and people are happy to be supporting the local artisans before they go to other sources like the Internet or big box stores two hours away.

The husbands helped us with building fixtures and set up. Kristy's given some free hair cuts in trade for banners for the store and advertising. Low and behold! Last week a restaurant opened across the street from us. What was a tiny deserted ghost of a town now has a full two blocks of commerce.

So if you are sitting around working from home and you don’t mind someone walking through every now and then walking through and buying a little one of a kind treasure, consider opening a little shop---you might just make yourself and your community smile.

Long Live SierraMaid!

This article is from Maggie Wells of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Find Freelance Clients: Part Three

Debbie Dragon — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:55:47 +0000

Previously, this series for finding freelance jobs covered what you needed to do to prepare yourself for freelance life in Part One; where to find the clients in Part Two; and in the last article of this series - I'll give you some tips for actually applying or bidding on the freelance jobs you find.

How to Apply or Bid for Work

Applying for freelance work is an art form in itself – once you master the techniques, you'll be on your way to a thriving freelance business. Applying for work on job sites and contacting potential clients directly involves a different process than bidding for work on freelance bidding sites.

Bidding for Work

When you use a freelance bidding site to “bid” on jobs, you are rarely asked to provide a complete resume. The trick is to sum up your abilities and answer any questions their job specifications indicate within a paragraph or two as you are placing your bid. A sample bid response for a freelance writing job involving writing 10 articles for a blog about fish that are due on March 15^th might read something like this:

I am a freelance writer and fish enthusiast – I would love to write 10 articles for your blog on the topic of fish. I can write and deliver ten 100% unique articles on or before March 15^th, completely free from plagiarism. They will be spell checked and ready to post to your blog upon receipt. Thank you for your consideration.

Notice there isn't a ton of information in a “bid”. If you have experience directly related to the topic, you might mention that. In this example, if you have an aquarium in your home, or worked for the local fish store, that might spark interest in the buyer because you are already familiar with the topic. In most cases, you can write articles on topics you aren't familiar with simply by doing research, so it's not a requirement for the majority of writing jobs.

The most important aspects to include in a bid for a freelance bidding site are to show you understand the assignment (10 articles before their due date, 100% unique), and to write your bid without typos or spelling errors (particularly if you're applying for writing work!) There are many non-english speaking service providers bidding on the same work (and often at rock bottom prices if the buyer's currency is worth more than the providers currency), but you would be surprised at how many don't take the time to spell check or proof read their bid.

Apply for Work

On the other end of the spectrum, when you find assignments posted to job sites or when contacting a potential client directly, you need to use a different strategy for applying. These situations expect more information from you in order to consider you for the work.

It's a great idea to create a resume, summary of qualifications, or professional experience document that can be used for all freelance work you apply for. It doesn't have to be boring like the resumes you made as a high school student – and in fact, it is in your best interest to jazz it up a bit to stand out from among the hundreds of other people who may be applying for the same jobs! Here are 10 tips for landing a gig online, by Wisebread's Andrea Dickson. These tips are excellent and will help you with your applying or bidding process!

Use your freelance logo if you have one, and don't be afraid to use decorative fonts for the headings of categories on the document. If you have links to work samples that are accessible online, include a few so the prospective client can click and quickly see something you've worked on. You may want to include a small, professional head shot of yourself as well just to make it a bit more personable.

When you apply for work, write a “cover letter” email (or follow the instructions given in the job listing for how to apply), and include your resume or professional experience document. It's a good idea to paste it into the email directly as many businesses will not open email with attachments. You can always include a short note in your closing that you are happy to forward your resume or any other information upon request.

Getting the Job

After you start applying and bidding for work, you will start to get responses from the prospective clients. A freelance bidding site is your opportunity to get selected and get the just based on your “bid” alone; while most freelance jobs from a job site or direct contact will not hire you from your first contact alone. Expect to exchange a few emails and maybe even talk on the phone once or twice before you are selected as the freelancer for the assignment. Be professional with every communication you have with the prospect, and be sure to treat each client as if they will generate hundreds of new jobs for your freelancing business – because you never know which clients may turn into long term clients or your biggest referral source for new clients.

When you've gotten your first client and completed your first job – be sure to follow up with the client to see if he or she has any additional work you could provide. In fact, add the client to a mailing list and make it part of your routine to contact clients once a month or so after you do work for them, just to remind them you are still in business in case they have a need to hire a freelancer again. This is how you turn a one-time client into a repeat client – which is necessary for long term success in the freelance world.

This article is from Debbie Dragon of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Find Freelance Clients: Part Two

Debbie Dragon — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:20:10 +0000

Last time, "How to Find Freelance Clients: Part One" discussed some of the things you would need to do to prepare for freelancing. In Part Two of this article, we'll cover where to find the actual clients who pay freelancers.

Where Your First Client is Hiding

Everyone has a different level of comfort with marketing activities. Some people become freelancers in hopes of not having to deal with the public as is necessary with most other professions. Despite the fact that you might work from your home or a small one-man (or woman) office; you will need to network and market yourself to become successful.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a rock out there that you could just turn over and find your first client's hiding place?

Instead, you need to do a little investigation to find your first client; and probably step outside your comfort zone at times.

Freelance Bidding Sites: One possible place to find your first client is through the use of freelance bidding sites. These sites are similar to auctions, in that a buyer posts the specifications of the work he or she needs doing; and then multiple service providers/freelancers place “bids” to complete that work.

Freelance bidding sites are controversial among the freelance community. Some freelancers swear by them, and get most (or even 100%) of their clients through the use of these websites. Others refuse to use the sites because of the tendency for the work to be on the low end of the pay scale when compared to the freelance industry pricing as a whole.

As a new freelancer, you might find the bidding sites to be an easy way to land yourself your first client or two, gain a testimonial from a happy client to add to your growing “proof” pile, and make a few dollars in the process.

Some of the bidding sites are free to use as a service provider, but you'll pay a fee if you land a job through the site (typically a percentage of the project price). Other bidding sites require a membership fee from providers, or a pay-per-bid price.

Take a look at a number of bidding sites to see the types of jobs that are posted, and which bids are being selected as the service provider. Not surprisingly, buyers who use freelance bidding sites are often after the lowest price; but there are buyers who use the sites for convenience and make their selection based on who they feel can provide the best quality within their deadline and price range. When you are reviewing the bidding sites and projects listed, also look to see what the winning bidder is including in their “bids” - how they are worded, what type of information they include and what they leave out, whether they are well-crafted or casually written introductions about their freelancing skills. Try to model your own bid responses on the style of bids that seem to be winning projects.

Using freelance bidding sites is a bit of a numbers game; you might have to apply for (bid) a number of jobs before you “win” one. As soon as you win a project, do your best (even if the project pays less than you intend to charge your clients moving forward) as you are starting your reputation as a freelancer with this first client.

Examples of freelance bidding sites you may want to try:

www.rentacoder.com (I found my first freelance clients here)

Getafreelancer.com (affiliate link)

Upwork.com

www.guru.com

99Designs: Are you a designer? 99Designs.com is a site which allows prospective customers to request their logos, web design, t shirt designs and other design needs as a contest through the site. You can register for a designer account with 99Designs and start entering your designs to open contests. If chosen, you win the contest fee.

Direct Contact: Use the internet to find businesses who typically use the services you offer. For example, you could contact marketing agencies to offer your graphic design skills for their brochures, business cards, and direct mailings. If you are a web developer, instead of looking for a new business without a web presence to help them get online with a site – try contacting existing web design businesses that seem to be doing very well to see if they have a need to outsource any of their work. You can make initial contact via email or contact forms on the websites of the businesses you decide to contact – or you might phone them directly. Both options are free (with the exception of your time) and are very effective for drumming up your first client (as well as finding clients regularly!)

Ask Everyone You Know: Don't be afraid to let your friends, family and co-workers know that you're starting a freelance business and ask if they know of anyone who might need your services. Word of mouth and referrals is by far the best type of marketing there is, and these people are all included in your “warm market”. If a friend refers someone they know to you, you already have the trust of that prospective client simply because their friend referred them. Having the trust of your prospects is key to turning them into paying clients.

Try eBay: eBay.com is not really designed to market yourself as a freelancer, but if you type in “freelance” in the search box on eBay.com, you'll find a few hundred people who are advertising on eBay. It only cost a few cents to list an ad, so if you can figure out how to present yourself to potential eBay users, you might be able to benefit from the hundreds of thousands of visitors the site receives each week. Keep in mind that most people are visiting eBay to buy products, not services, but there have been freelance writers and graphic designers who have done very well for themselves by adding an auction listing for their work. You can sell web content articles for $10 or $20 a piece; a single logo design for $50 – whatever service you offer as a freelancer can be listed on the eBay in an auction format. It may not be the best long term strategy for incoming business (although never say never!) but you may be able to find yourself your first client with a little auction posting of your own.

Job Sites: Even though job sites are primarily for full time and part time positions, many online job listing sites include jobs for freelancers; sometimes classified as “telecommute” or “contract work”. All of these terms basically mean the same thing – you're working from your own home or office and you're not considered an employee of the company for tax purposes. Try searching the major job sites and classified listings for jobs that are in your area of expertise and are offered on a contract, telecommute or freelance basis.

Here are a number of sites to help you get started on your search:

www.craigslist.org (under jobs category for every state and city of the US, you can find your industry and then view the listings for free. Apply to any that are contract or telecommute that you can do).

www.creativeheads.com

www.monster.com

www.careerbuilder.com

www.aboutfreelancewriting.com

www.freelanceswitch.com

www.problogger.net

www.allfreelance.com

www.allgraphicdesign.com

www.webprojobs.com

www.krop.com

www.sologig.com

www.authenticjobs.com

www.freshwebjobs.com

www.designcrowd.com

www.freelancers.net

In "How to Find Freelance Clients: Part 3", I'll give you some tips for applying for the freelance work found online.

This article is from Debbie Dragon of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: