No Limits Ladies.com

I ran into an interesting business model as I was surfing around. Much has been made about the power of blogging and how coverage on blogs of your new business/product can boost sales.

The issue is that these relationships are often one-to-one. You know me. You've commented on my blog before. So when you contact me, I'm more likely to pay attention to what you have to promote (As I’m interested in just about anything, I'm one of the easier bloggers to "sell" to). But to stay in contact with all these bloggers can be a full time job.

So some creative folks have made it a full time job.

Yep, for a fee, they will help you promote your product/business via the connection of bloggers they regularly interact with. They are like publicity agents for blogs.

I think that's brilliant. The company I found focused on the romance community but there are thousands of other blogging communities out there. A lot of opportunities for promoters.

Most of us know about Netflix. Customers borrow DVD's, get them via the mail, keep them for however long they wish and then return them, all for one fee.

If this is a viable business for movies, then why can't it apply to other goods or services? Why indeed?

I heard on the radio that a group of Mom's have started a toy lending company. For a fee, you borrow a specific toy (all sanitized and checked for lead and other safety concerns), the child plays with it, and then when junior gets bored of the toy (as kids tend to do), you return it for a new toy. No need for time consuming yard sales. No need to fill the basement or garage. Off it goes.

What about applying this to sporting equipment? The very seasonal golfer (and with the States being so large, it is always golfing season somewhere)? Or how about formal dresses (the wear once variety)? Or décor items (to change up the house a bit)? The possibilities are endless (up to your research to figure out the market potential or profitability).

Really makes you think, doesn't it?

Angela was telling me about Mint.com's great new contest and I knew you might be interested. I sure was. For a number of reasons... the odds of winning are pretty darn good (with it being a newer site and all), I have a few holiday bills (paid off already of course, I hope yours are also), and because being a marketing bunny, I thought the promo was clever.

Before I yap on, here are the details Angela sent me...

Mint's Holiday Spending Hangover Contest

Mint wants to pay off your holiday bills! Tell Mint your holiday debt-ache story in video or written words and we'll pay up to $5,000 of your holiday credit card debt plus free credit counseling! Play up the drama, originality, and humor because viewers/readers determine if you qualify to win. Get friends and family to rate your video/story to increase your chances of winning. Visit http://www.mint.com for more information.

The contest is now live and ends March 15, 2008. Two grand prize winners will be awarded on April 1, 2008 - one for the best video and one for the best story. The contest is open to persons 18 years and older in all 50 United States. You do not need to be a Mint customer to enter the
contest. Multiple entries are welcome, as long you use a unique email addresses for each entry. Please read all rules and regulations before entering.

As a marketer, I like the multiple ways to enter, the post holiday focus (usually wide open for media coverage), and that it is open to everyone, not only Mint customers (reinforcing Mint's education for all positioning).

Angela was telling me about Mint.com's great new contest and I knew you might be interested. I sure was. For a number of reasons... the odds of winning are pretty darn good (with it being a newer site and all), I have a few holiday bills (paid off already of course, I hope yours are also), and because being a marketing bunny, I thought the promo was clever.

Before I yap on, here are the details Angela sent me...

Mint's Holiday Spending Hangover Contest

Mint wants to pay off your holiday bills! Tell Mint your holiday debt-ache story in video or written words and we'll pay up to $5,000 of your holiday credit card debt plus free credit counseling! Play up the drama, originality, and humor because viewers/readers determine if you qualify to win. Get friends and family to rate your video/story to increase your chances of winning. Visit http://www.mint.com for more information.

The contest is now live and ends March 15, 2008. Two grand prize winners will be awarded on April 1, 2008 - one for the best video and one for the best story. The contest is open to persons 18 years and older in all 50 United States. You do not need to be a Mint customer to enter the
contest. Multiple entries are welcome, as long you use a unique email addresses for each entry. Please read all rules and regulations before entering.

As a marketer, I like the multiple ways to enter, the post holiday focus (usually wide open for media coverage), and that it is open to everyone, not only Mint customers (reinforcing Mint's education for all positioning).

We’ve all heard the story about the person who found a fifty cent item at a yard sale and turned it into thousands of dollars on eBay (like those groaners on Antique Roadshow where some sweet ol’ grandma sold a Picasso for the equivalent of a cup of coffee).

The thing is… in my neighborhood, the yard sales are pretty picked over (especially by the time I get up – which isn’t early). The sellers are savvy. The professional buyers show up the night before. Challenging for the amateur.

So what’s a girl to do?

Look somewhere else. S, one of our regular readers (in the future, I’ll be picking S’s brain about buying discounted paper), suggests looking at self-storage unit sales.

You see, some people put their things in self-storage and then never take them back out again. Perhaps they’re out of the country for good (like my newly married sister is – did I mention that I changed her diapers? Sigh…). They stop paying for the rental space, three or four months pass, and then…

Their items get auctioned off.

Think of what people pay for storage for. The contents are either sentimental (not a buy and many self storage operators don’t sell items like photographs and letters) or semi-valuable.

How to find self-storage auctions? There are sites and newsletters (Google for your area) but it is probably just as easy to phone up or drop by your local self-storage businesses.

Okay, this isn't about more money for yourself. Although if the young entrepreneur lives in your family, it could be more money for your household. So why did I include it in More Money Mondays? Because it benefits everyone and that could include your future self.

On Friday, we had a big snowstorm. Bright and early Saturday morning, we get a knock on the door. There's a big, burly kid (I'd say around 14 years old) standing on our steps with a shovel in his hand. He takes a deep breath (not looking at me directly) and says that for x dollars, he'll shovel our driveway.

Now, I don't really need my driveway shoveled. I have a hubby on a fitness kick itching to do it himself (he says it strengthens the core, whatever that means). But I know that knocking on doors takes a lot of guts. I also admired his initiative, coming up with this mini business. So I say yes.

A half hour later, he is knocking on my door again for payment (he did a great job). I ask him if he had a lot of clients this morning. He looked discouraged and said that no, most people said no. I smile and say "Well, this yes earned you in a half hour what it would take all morning to make at McDonald's." His eyes perked up and he grinned.

And he walked to my neighbor's house to knock on another door.

What just happened? An entrepreneur was born.

If he knocked on your door, would you have said yes?

With the sad, sad news of Heath Ledger's death last week (so young and such a hottie) came awareness of the very real health problem of insomnia. I heard the poor guy (whom I loved in 10 Things I Hate About You, one of my fave teenie bopper movies) was sleeping only 1 or 2 hours a night WITH the help of sleeping pills. Yikes, having spent all nighters before (due to jetlag or worry or I don't know why…), I know what lack of sleep will do to a person.

With problems come opportunities. Sleep instructors are gaining in popularity, especially with the well paying wealthy (the clients you want). No this isn't hocus pocus or a scam. This is a legit profession. There are courses and degrees in sleep therapy (including systems like the Sounder Sleep System). And the courses are worth it. Normally a freelance job, corporate clients can pay up to $1,250 a day. Heck, some nights I would have happily paid that much and more.

The best part is that you will be helping people get a longer and more restful sleep, allowing them to live happier, and more productive lives. Making the world a better place one night at a time.

Seth Godin has a great post on the shortage of digital coaches. Digital coaches, as he explains, teach business folks, including small business owners, how to make the most of their technology, saving them money and more importantly time.

Recently I sat down with a senior spreadsheet bunny. This older employee spends her entire day on Excel. I noticed that she'd cut and paste using the ctrl buttons and because she'd often forget which ctrl command was which, she'd use the menu. Took time. Time she didn't have. Then I introduced her to the right mouse button. You should have seen how excited she got! (We won't even talk about pivot tables.)

When I hired my pre-editor, one of the biggest benefits that I received was how to use the Word Track Changes option. Suddenly I discovered the world of digital editing and wow, did it completely change the writing process for me.

Now, you might be saying to yourself, I don't know enough about a program to hire myself out at $100 an hour to train others. Then do as Mark Cuban did when he first started out and read the manual. Most people don't (I confess… I don't). Reading the manual made him a millionaire, several times over. Surely it can give a few extra dollars to invest with.

Just got back from the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas (I'll be talking plenty about that more later as I get over my jet lag – just flew in on the red eye, yikes) and some of the most interesting people there were working the exhibits. This temporary help was hired from pools of modeling agencies, marketing companies, and yes, plain ol' run of the mill temp agencies.

I heard that the pay was okay (for the week of work), sometimes the temp workers got perks (like the clothes they had to wear – though how many shirts with company logos can a girl wear?) but the big win with these assignments were the contacts made.

One woman I was talking to was an aspiring actress, a blogger, and interested in marketing. During her time manning the NBC booth, she met Donny Deutsch (of the Big Ideas fame), Maria Bartiromo (of the Wall Street Journal Report) and Seth Godin (one of my favorite marketers). Talk about some valuable contacts!

What about the folks at the less celebrity flooded exhibits? They met product designers, marketers, and company founders. Oh, and press contacts, many, many press contacts.

'Course all these contacts are useless unless they are maintained. Keep a hold of those business cards. Email them from time to time (send them a link they'd find interesting). Make that assignment pay for years to come.

Living in the chilly north, snow, snow, snow is a regular sight… for me. For others, tourists, newcomers to the area, it is a novelty. As is wearing mittens and hats and scarves.

I work in the hotel area of downtown (by a large convention center). What one enterprising businessman has done is set up a kiosk on the sidewalk selling…. you guessed it… mittens and hats and scarves. These are dollar store buys (though he does stick the city name on them to make them a souvenir which costs him likely another fifty cents or less) and he charges $10 for them. He does a brisk business on snowy days.

During the summer, he sells umbrellas, rain hats and rain slickers. Again, when it rains, he does great business.

If you're thinking it doesn't sound worth it, that's not all. He also gives away free maps. What? That doesn't earn him anything… or does it? You see, all around the perimeter of these free maps is advertising. Advertising for restaurants, shows, souvenir shops. I expect he makes a half decent profit off these "free" maps.

One of the most common New Year's resolutions is to lose weight. That means eating less and exercising more.

Since I'm all about synergies, I thought… how can you and I make a bit of spare cash from something we'll do anyway (i.e. exercise)?

Examples are all around me.

My hubby loves to play volleyball and being an alpha, he happily organizes volleyball leagues and tournaments. He rents the gym, buys or borrows the equipment, markets the events and collects money from the participants. He very often collects more than he needs to recoup the costs. Since my hubby does it for fun (and exercise), he returns the money (or has a party at the end or buys better prizes) but I bet a professional organizer could simply scoop the cash and nobody would mind.

Other ideas?

If you got really good, you could lead classes in whatever fitness activity you're interested in. One of my sisters taught aquafit for a while. She trimmed down her waistline and fattened up her bank account.

During high school, I'd walk dogs in the morning. That was a great workout, especially with the larger dogs (where they walked me instead of the other way around).

For singles, New Year’s Eve can be a stressful time. Everyone is paired up to watch the countdown (or going to one of those popular group toddler parties if they have kids). Sure, there are some parties especially for singles but those can be a little intense.

One of my female buddies has the answer.

She works it.

You see, every restaurant, hotel, party room, spare nook, in the city is booked. That means the management needs staff, more staff than they regularly hire. This staff is difficult to find (lots of competition) so the wages are usually higher.

Oh, and management is more willing to overlook lack of experience. They’ll train for that special night. The people they train, they are more likely to call back in the future.

There is even more upside. Many of the other worker bees are single (a good mixing opportunity). Oh, and she often meets the celebs entertaining the crowds.

Plus management treats the staff especially well that day. She’s had free meals before her one day only gig.

How to find these opps? The classifieds, Craig’s List or simply ask a venue you’re interested in working if they’re hiring.

A common hostess gift during the holidays is the platter of home-made cookies. Of course, the tray looks more impressive with a variety of cookies but who has the time to make a dozen types of cookies?

Not me, that’s for certain.

So what some enterprising women do is organize a cookie exchange. They send out invitations to friends and family, instructing everyone to bring one type of cookie to the party. Then, at the party, the cookies are swapped until everyone has a great assortment.

A woman I know takes it one step further. Yes, she does the baking (vast quantities) but then she invites very busy businesswomen and other professionals. These women can still make up their own trays with their preference of cookies. However, instead of contributing their own, they pay for the cookie trays.

The baker has her own trays to give out plus extra cash for the holidays.

Oh, no, all this talk of cookies… still fighting the good fight against weight gain (unfortunately all the weight that I’ve lost is off my top which is NOT my problem area).

I’ve had questions about why I’ve never covered blogging in More Money Mondays. There are a two big reasons why…

I don’t personally make much money blogging (nothing from this site and about 8 cents a day from my travel blog) so I’m not exactly an expert (there are better sources for this information such as Problogger.net). I don’t blog for the money (obviously).

And

I honestly don’t know that many people who make much money strictly from their blogs (i.e. not including consulting work that they might or might not have gotten by having an active blog).

Turns out… that isn’t that unusual.

Darren at Problogger held his annual survey of what his readers (typically “serious” bloggers including folks with multiple blogs and blog networks) earn. 49% of bloggers who tried actively to make money earned less than $100 a month.

Does this mean that you won’t make big money blogging? Of course not. 51% of bloggers made more than $100 a month (which could buy more than a few shares of that quickly nearing zero mining stock I’m holding).

Other perks of blogging include freebies (free books), networking (I meet more people online than I do off), oh, and of course the pure love of sharing knowledge and writing. Those, especially the sharing of knowledge bit, can more than make up for any lack of income.

One of my buddies is a big movies buff. She likes to watch every type of movie out there and could easily blow 100% of the take home from her 9-5 job on tickets.

But she doesn’t.

Why? Because when her neighborhood movie theater advertised that they needed ushers, she applied. The pay isn’t great, minimum wage to start, but that wasn’t why she took the gig. You see, the job comes with one big perk… free movies.

Any time that she’s not working, she can watch movies for free (with some restrictions, like not going to that Blockbuster movie the Friday night of its opening weekend). So by working a few nights a week at the theater (and getting paid which compensates for her perma-smelling like popcorn), she can watch movies the rest of the week for free.

She also volunteers to work during film fests and special events. As a result, she know just about every media person in town and has also met an impressive array of Directors, Producers, Actors and other movie folk (her autograph book is a movie lover’s dream).

BTW… she claims that usher is one of the cushiest jobs at the theater (working the concession stand is a bit stressful).

A buddy of mine bought an older condo. The owner was going to sell the condo and the parking spot separately but my friend insisted that the parking spot be included, even though she doesn’t have a car.

Why?

She knew that a condo with a parking spot would resell faster and at a higher price than one without. She also knew that the condo was poorly designed. There wasn’t a parking spot for every unit and there certainly wasn’t a parking spot for the two cars typically coming with today’s couple/family buying the unit. This made the parking spot more valuable real estate than the condo itself.

What is she going to do with it? She doesn’t have a car so she won’t be using it herself. Instead, she’s renting it out (and getting quite a nice return on it too, all while her spot appreciates).

What if you have a house, instead of a condo? My father-in-law’s neighbor is renting out half of his driveway to another neighbor (with car crazy teenage boys).

There are a few things to consider with this plan. The big one is insurance and liability. Another issue, especially with condo dwellers, is whether this is allowed (some condos and even some towns won’t allow it).

I was in Target a few weeks ago (okay, I’ve been in there since but I saw this a few weeks ago). They were clearing out the Halloween goodies (managed to stay away from the discounted chocolate, put one win in the weight reduction column) and setting up the Christmas/Hanukkah merchandise (already? What happened to the year?). Being the constant marketer, I was looking for how companies market basically the same product to both Halloween and Christmas/Hanukkah shoppers.

One common item?

Pet costumes. Yes, you read that right, outfits for dogs and cats.

The Halloween costumes ran the gauntlet from spooky to cute (I bought a chicken outfit for my sister’s chicken loving cats). The Christmas outfits consisted of Santas, Grinches, and snowdogs. The Hanukkah outfit, well, it was mostly a blue cape (super Hanukkah doggie?).

All were priced fairly high and didn’t require a lot of material.

And people were buying (even the full price Christmas outfits).

There are a few ways to play with this idea. You could design and construct one of a kind outfits (for those very, very special dogs and cats). You could sell the designs to do it yourself’ers (book or individually on the ‘net). You could design and then mass produce.

If I was going the high end route, I’d probably team up with a pet photographer ‘cause odds are these pet mommies and daddies will want a photo done.

On the weekend, I went through the house, gathering up clothes, small appliances, knick knacks and other things that I haven’t used in a few years. I did the lazy thing and donated everything to a charity. However, these items could easily be a great source of cash.

But how to maximize the cash?

The September Financial Post outlined what should go to where. The main sales channel for high value property like antiques or art is an auction. For mid range furniture and clothes, they recommend an estate sale at a house or an antique store. Less conventional items are increasingly finding a solid market online through eBay. For the low, low range, the ever popular yard/garage sale is a good option.

BTW… some estate sale trivia…

The four most common reasons for an estate sale are debt, divorce, death and downsizing (not in any order).

The biggest misconception is “That the goods and the setting go together. Often, several people’s property is sold at once, in a house that’s rented for the occasion.”

Last week, we started discussing things to consider when starting up a daycare business (research for a friend who recently has decided its "too hard" even with Fiona's how to video).

One of the recurring questions you'll hear me ask businesswomen and investors is what they feel the biggest mistakes newbies make. Why? Because I feel that if we help you prevent making that mistake, these posts are worth our investment in time.

So what does Fiona feel is the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make when setting up a daycare business?

"The biggest mistake entrepreneurs make when setting up a day care business is not doing adequate research before opening and that includes a business plan. Too many people gloss over these aspects of starting a day care believing them to be unnecessary and adopting the 'how hard can it be looking after cute kids' mentality. The fact is, exhaustive research and a thorough business plan are the most vital steps you can take in order to open a daycare. You have to know what you are getting yourself into, you have to be prepared for the worst case scenario and the more knowledge you can arm yourself with in advance the better. Anyone who reads my articles knows how I advocate 'on the job' practical experience prior to starting any childcare business. Go to to an established child care provider, get a job or offer your services and learn from those who know, on the ground. That same diligence is required when formulating a business plan and every attempt should be made to ensure an accurate picture of what will be involved in running your business."

And what are some things to look out for?

"Childcare can be a minefield for potential legal issues if you have not done your research and set up strong policies and procedures. These form the framework of your day to day operations and go a long way towards ensuring that you, your staff and children are protected from any incidents that may result in legal ramifications. They provide uniformity across the board and indicate to everyone how things are done at your facility thus protecting all concerned e.g. your safety statement highlights all potential hazards and indicates steps to be taken by you and/or your staff to eliminate said hazards. When setting up your business you will also ensure that you have adequate insurance, fire safety, vetted staff, secure premises, hygiene standards and all other elements that ensure a safe environment."

Of course, there is plenty of more information on Fiona's site and blog. A must read for anyone considering the business.

A buddy of mine is thinking about starting a day care business. She is simply in the thinking about it stage and I was helping gather her information. I got tidbits here and tidbits there but then I hit the jackpot.

I "met" Fiona at ChildCareOnly.com. Fiona has done her own research as a daycare operator so thoroughly that she has a DVD Guide titled... you guessed it... Start a Childcare Business.

What are her top tips for managing a home daycare?

"It can definitely be challenging to operate your daycare business from home and separate your personal life from your business but it is not impossible. Here are a few tips to help make the home based day care work.

d. A disadvantage of working for yourself especially if you are home based is the tendency of friends and family to assume you are always free for visits. It is important that you inform these well intentioned people that this is a job. They must understand that you have certain hours each day that are dedicated to work and your family and this time should not be interrupted. Explain that you are a professional and as such need to focus completely on the
task at hand during these hours. Then switch on your answering machine!"

Oops... there's still more to cover. I'll continue this next week. Until then, you can check out Fiona's blog with tips on how to complete pre-employment screens and even how to deal with late payments.

A couple months ago, I thought seriously about selling one of my blogs. The blog had decent traffic and yes, I enjoyed posting to it, but lets face it, with a book launch coming up, I’m strapped for time (big time).

I ended up not selling it.

Why?

The number one reason was that I didn’t know how.

Sure I could have done all the research but if I didn’t have time to blog, do you think I had time to do the research? Nope.

I’m not the only person in this busy boat. Talking to many bloggers, they mention that they’ve thought about selling their blogs. Talking to many aspiring bloggers, they muse about how much easier it would be to simply buy a blog.

Which leads to an opportunity. The blog transfer middle man. A head hunter for blogs. At the time, I would have happily paid a % of the purchase price to someone who could facilitate the transfer for me. Someone who could handle the details.

Yes, there are blog auction sites but I care about my readers. I don’t want to hand them over to someone who might mistreat them or worse. Its about more than the purchase price to me and blog auction sites don’t really handle that aspect.

Where there’s opportunity, there is usually profit.

Today is Blog Action Day, a day where bloggers concentrate on bringing attention to one single issue. This year the issue is the environment.

Environmentally friendly products are an area of opportunity for smaller companies. Having explored the concept while working in product development in a few Fortune 500 companies, I know that using recycled materials is more expensive. This expense when passed along to the consumer raises the price. Most often out of the reach of the average consumer.

While the higher income, environmentally conscious consumer is too small a niche for the big companies, it is the sweet spot for smaller businesses.

What products to target? The plastics are a good place to start. A local business in my area is selling high end cloth grocery bags, reusable pieces of art. High end grocery stores can’t keep them in stock.

Oh, and they’re putting out a Halloween version for trick or treaters so little pumpkins can advertise their environmental consciousness to the neighbors.

Serial Entrepreneur Lesley Spencer Pyle has started a new venture www.HireMyMom.com, a service linking work at home Moms with companies looking for professionals providing remote services.

Normally I advise my readers not to deal with any employment companies charging fees to the employee for placement. www.HireMyMom.com deliberately breaks this "rule".

Why?

As Lesley says...

"We want to make it VERY appealing to businesses and individuals to post jobs and projects to our Mom Professionals. If we charge a fee, we will not get as many to post. On the other hand, so many moms are so eager to get work from home, they are more than willing to pay our nominal (less than $10 per month) fee for us to market the site to businesses and individuals who may need their services."

She also encourages Moms to take their applications seriously on www.HireMyMom.com.

"They should make sure they are putting forth the most professional image they can and only responding to jobs or projects they are truly qualified for. Businesses are not going to use their services if they do not appear to have experience or expertise for that particular job. Sending sloppy emails, unprofessional questions or resumes can hurt their chances as well as hurt the reputation of our site in general."

Good advice for any job hunt.

Back to school time and with it, the back to school type jobs. One of them is the researcher (I see researchers advertising in writing magazines all the time, big, fancy, expensive ads so there must be some money in it).

This is exactly what it sounds like. Individuals get paid to research. Students writing papers hire them, semi-grown up people writing books hire them. It could be an hourly rate or a set fee per topic.

Be very, very careful with this one, folks. There are plenty of scams around, the equivalent of the read books for money scam that yours truly got taken in decades (we won’t say how many) back.

How not to get scammed? Only deal with companies that you find a few solid references for. That is, YOU find ‘cause shady companies can supply plenty of so called references. Better yet, go it solo and find your own clients. Advertise on Craig’s List, at schools, in libraries, in writing magazines.

Do you need to OWN the research books? Of course not. All you need is access to them, whether it be online or at the library.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Of course, there’s the candy (I might dip into the offerings one or two times) but that’s available year round (though it is the only time of year, I eat caramel apples). There’s pumpkin carving and the roasted pumpkin seeds that come with it but then, I tend to be lazy and often skip the carving (lately I’ve been putting out the stuffed cloth jack o’ lantern).

No, what makes Halloween truly special to me are the costumes, especially those soft, cloth costumes the ankle biters wear.

There are the Anne Geddes like babies, clad in modified sleepers with tiger ears and whiskers, shown off by proud Moms and Dads. Oh, and the cutie toddlers dressed up like ponies (one little cutie almost tripped over the curb last year).

So what does this have to do with More Money Mondays? Well, in order to show off the troopers to their full cuteness, they need costumes and the more unique, the more creative, the better. Unique means dollars. Creativity means dollars.

And while you’re making money, you will also be making memories for some lucky family.

My next door neighbor (a very tolerant lady who doesn’t even notice it anymore when I put out the garbage in my jammies… not to mention going across the road to the grocery store) has a little trouble with walking now. She always uses one cane but sometimes she uses two.

Going on the bus recently, I counted 5 people with canes seated near the front. Some were the regular hospital type ones (made of metal, very sturdy) but a few were fancy, carved wooden ones. What my Granddad used to call his walking stick ‘cause, as he’d say, canes are for old people.

Often when the hubby and I are hiking around… Hawaii or some other tropical paradise, we’ll see plenty of these walking sticks being used.

A beautifully carved walking stick is a piece of art and many of them, despite the low material costs, are priced that way. Someone handy at wood carving (or whittling) could in his or her spare time make some extra cash. With the population getting older and affluent, the demand is growing.

I’ve been on both sides of this equation. I’ve lost things in parking lots (very often bags of stuff that I placed on top of the car while unlocking the doors – though once we left a set of valuable jewelry that we received as a wedding gift on top of the car, drove off and when we returned only the empty case was there) and I’ve found things in parking lots. Actually it is very seldom that I don’t pick up at least a lucky penny in a parking lot.

But I haven’t yet found a diamond. Course I’ve never really been looking for them in parking lots… until now.

Steve Gillman says “Parking lots are where most diamonds pop out of there settings, due to the temperature changes when people get out of their cars.” Yikes. Did not know that (I now get my diamonds and their settings checked once a year, after having lost one… turns out maybe in the parking lot).

One couple does know that. Looking for diamonds in parking lots is how they supplement their retirement income.

So keep your eyes open. You never know…

Lindsay Lohan has one. Kiera Knightley has one. Heck, even the kids in High School Musical 2 have them. Stylists. Someone to advise the stars what to wear where and how.

Stands to reason that the average teenager would want one also. Not only is it a status symbol but a stylist is someone to blame for those less popular choices (like my purple big bow butt prom dress fiasco that I’m still trying to purge from my memory).

And Moms, I know most would happily send their preteens to the mall with money, a list of clothing rules (like no micro minis), and someone to ensure they were enforced. No fights, no arguments, 100% compliance.

‘Course the ideal stylist is hip, happening and up to date with current trends. They read the teenage mags and know where in town to snag pieces to copy the looks. They look the part, someone the teenager won’t be embarrassed to be seen with (this is a perfect job for the party gal in her 20’s).

And they can say no to see through t-shirts without causing World War III. Definitely someone with a knack for handling people (once the stylist is established – i.e. older, she can hire trendy staff).

There are reasons why pizza is so popular. One of them is because pizza places deliver. Busy moms, seniors, college kids all crunched for time appreciate delivery (heck lately with writing deadlines coming out of my ears, I myself would appreciate delivery, and a maid and…).

So why doesn’t every restaurant deliver? Mainly because it is outside a restaurant’s core business (which is tough enough as it is). That leaves an opportunity for the eager entrepreneur.

There are two angles to go at this business. One is to work with the restaurants, being paid through them, and delivering to a set region. The other is to work with the customers directly and pick up at a variety of restaurants. The restaurant route would be busier (more customers) while the customer route would be more flexible.

Some things to consider (the price of gas, for example, factor that into the pricing)… this is not a more money opp for those people liking a leisurely meal at the standard times. Those will be the busiest for delivery (no sitting down for a 6pm meal with the family). I would also definitely reco requiring a deposit or upfront payment if part of your job is to pay for the food (you don’t want to get stuck with the bill for food no longer wanted).

And try to factor into pricing, the ability to outsource the actual delivery (i.e. you’d end up managing the delivery drivers). That would be your growth engine (unless you’re driving a time machine… but then, if you are, there are bigger ways to cash in).

On many of the investing forums, I hear people moan about how the U.S. dollar is doing poorly in comparison to other currencies. They’re talking like it is all negative.

It isn’t.

You see for the small time entrepreneur or the gal trying to make a few extra dollars for investing, this is an opportunity. The market place (especially online which of course includes eBay) is global. The U.S. folks buying and earning U.S. dollars aren’t really affected. However the non-U.S. buyers are looking at U.S. retailers like the entire store is on sale.

But the thing is… most big retailers either don’t ship outside of the U.S. or have a local arm which hasn’t changed the local prices at account for the change in the U.S. dollar (one clear example are books, flip over the back and see the exchange rate).

So what does that leave? A clear opportunity for a faster, more responsive small business.

I know of a car dealer that buys cars in the U.S. and sells them (ships them) in Canada. I know of a frugal gal that shops the clearance racks at Target and sells the goods online to mostly Europeans (from her home in Texas). Another lady personal shops for Australians (ketchup perhaps) and then ships the goods.

Have friends told you that you look like Beyonce? Do you get mistaken for Posh Spice (love her hair)? Or are you a carbon copy of the vintage Marilyn Monroe?

Then consider earning extra money as a star impersonator.

According to Gigmasters (a talent database), the top rated Marilyn Monroe impersonator in New York City earns $400 to $15,000 an event. That can buy a few shares (of even Google).

Professional impersonators study their star, from what they wear to how they walk to how they sound. The more talented the star, the more difficult she is to impersonate. Singing required? More challenging.

However, the more challenging the star combined with her popularity (Paris Hilton is Hot), the more events want impersonators and the higher the pay (supply and demand).

What events hire impersonators? Everything from conventions to corporate holiday parties to the smaller scaled birthday parties.

The hubby and I went to a corporate sponsored party during the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in January which featured impersonators. They did a show, posed for photos and mixed with the crowd. Some were good (“Cher” was great). Some were terrible (“Britney Spears” continually got asked who she was). All got paid. Well.

Being famous… or even looking famous has its privileges.

For one of my new blogs, I’ve been writing articles and submitting them to ezines. The primary purpose of this is marketing (the secondary purpose is because my posting strategy doesn’t lend itself to the long articles sometimes needed, based basically on my overall laziness). If I were really aggressive, I would submit them to print papers and other media.

The online ezine publisher has a how to section on submitting on behalf of someone else. Why? Because ghost writing articles is a business.

There are busy professionals, doctors, lawyers, accountants, who would benefit from more exposure, from being published in local papers, industry magazines, and other media outlets. They could gain more customers or increase charge out rates

And they don’t have time to write the articles themselves. Or writing is not part of their skill set. It makes business sense to have “help.”

In an area of expertise, I recommend that it is “help” rather than a do-it-yourself project. Many ghost writers that I know interview the expert (using the handy yet prehistoric mini recorder technology) and then put the information in a user friendly article. They then get the expert to proof read and sign off on the article.

Seth Godin recently posted about his choice for a job of the future. That is, Online Community Organizer. “Somebody to create and maintain a virtual world in which all the players in an industry feel like they need to be part of it”

What does he see as the skill requirements?

- An understanding of technology
- An ability to write
- An understanding of the market
- Outbound selling
- Non-electronic communications
- Being able to mange huge amounts of inbound correspondence
- Reject trolls while making great customers feel welcome
- A willingness to try new things
- Self starting
- And a talent for measuring

Many of the softer skills that women handle oh so well (think of it as an online hostess). I think that this is an area that we, women, can excel and add value in quite easily. We’re accustomed to multi-tasking, to putting other people’s needs (in this case the customers) first and to being tactful (okay, not me, I’m about as tactful as a sledgehammer and yes, I have no patience for building communities which is why I partner with E).

E has great experience in this field, being a moderator for the Rich Woman community (which is a place to get some experience).

I’m hoping E will chime in on this one! Since she’s car flipper extraordinaire.

Most of us don’t think twice about hiring a real estate agent when we want to buy or sell our houses. Sure, it costs money (a percent of the sales price) but it saves us time and often money. Plus I don’t know about you but I don’t feel comfortable about selling my own house. Not as comfortable as someone who buys and sells houses everyday.

So why do we try to sell our own vehicles? Granted the selling price is lower but then if a broker were paid the same 3% of the selling price, the commission paid to a broker would be lower also. It would save the hassle of doing all the work ourselves, learning how to take a great car photo, which features sell, where to post ads, what to tell prospective buyers, etc.

Are you thinking…hey, I already know all that? Then maybe becoming a car broker is a source of additional cash you could look into. The key to this position, as are many more money Monday opps, is sales. Ya gotta be good at sales. Ladies, that is the one skill set that I would encourage you all to obtain (and yes, it can be learned).

Now, you’re likely thinking…what’s the difference between this and a regular car saleswoman? Bascially…the lot. Clients are one offs, not walk ins. Which means that you control who you deal with and where you deal with them. A little bit more flexibility.

A couple weekends ago, the hubby and I were stuck in a three hour traffic jam (two words…road works). We were road tripping so we had a small cooler full of drinks and snacks. Some people were going to the cottage so they had huge coolers full of drinks. Other people weren’t as lucky, stuck in hot cars with nothing.

So what did some enterprising people do?

They walked up and down the highway with their coolers on wheels and sold drinks…at a premium to appreciative motorists. They made a vending machine style profit (not outrageous gouging) and thirsty folks got drinks.

While growing up, my large family lived in a very small village (as in, when we moved out, they changed the population sign). Once a year, this village played host to a huge country fair.

Folks, especially city folks, would come from all around. They were looking to buy farm fresh produce and we had a farm so a micro business was born. Every year, we’d sell our extra produce at a roadside table. Folks would get their “fresh” produce (bought from ragamuffin kids) and we would get some spending money.

What is the point behind these stories?

With special events (and believe me, that traffic jam was “special”) come opportunities for the prepared entrepreneur. And by prepared, I mostly mean the thinking entrepreneur, the one looking out for opportunities.

Often the best way to increase cash flow is to make more money from the activities we are already doing. One of these activities for employees is the job.

But what to do when your employer won’t bump your salary up? Then its time to get creative.

One of my buddies was an analyst, one of many working for her company. Quarter after quarter, she asked for an increase. Her manager said “sorry”, she was already being paid the highest of all the analysts (a combo of starting at a higher salary, being the best, and being aggressive about asking for increases).

The thing was…my buddy was an analyst plus. The analyst portion of her job, the core part of her coworker’s tasks, was small compared to everything else she did.

Didn’t matter. She was an “analyst” and so stuck in that pay range.

So one quarter, she asked for a new title (I suggested Business Optimization Consultant) and that was it. Her manager, having expected to argue about a pay raise, was happy to oblige. His v-p, not having to pay more, was happy to oblige.

Suddenly she had broken free from the analyst pay restrictions. She waited a couple quarters and then asked for a raise. There was no other people within the company with her title. She was judged on the value she added and not on her title.

BTW…the more employees can work their titles into possible sales increasing position, the higher the salary possibilities. I had the choice of being a New Business Development Manager or a Finance Manager. I picked the first title (not to mention that I did much more than Finance).

A few years ago (okay, I’ll admit, a decade ago), I bought a beautiful wooden desk at a yard sale for $20. Well…it could be a beautiful wooden desk (its one of those fancy closed top types made with actual wood) if it was refinished which was the plan.

I knew that even if I didn’t want to keep it, if I refinished it and resold it, adding the cost of the refinishing supplies (another $20), I could make a handsome profit.

It is still sitting in my garage.

However, the business idea has merit (if I wasn’t so darn wrapped up with other projects). Buy good quality but beat up furniture at yard sale prices, refinish them, and then resell. The less structural damage the furniture has (my desk has none), the easier and more lucrative the flip.

There are even entire sites that will walk you through the process (http://www.refinishfurniture.com/ is one). Or you can take an adult learning course at a local high school or college. Or better yet, if you’re already handy.

If you have an artistic bent, you can go one further. Instead of doing a plain finish (cherry wood is very popular, there’s a reason why the Bombay company furniture is all in cherry wood finish), decorate it up with hand painted flowers or butterflies or birds. Make it a one of a kind piece of art.

And get it out of the garage.

I don’t know about you but I have a few pieces of art lying around waiting to be framed. Although I’m too frugal for a custom frame (unless I buy them on a trip to Bali or some other currency exchange friendly place), I love the look and I know many people more easy going with their pocket book willing to splurge.

The framing business, for a part-time business, also has lower material costs and is more able to mass produce than many other craft type ventures. Although honestly, the more unique and one of a kind you can make your frame, the higher the mark up. I know a fellow who does such amazing scroll work that he has high paying customers for the next year. He operates via word of mouth but start up customers can be found at art shows (plentiful during the summer), at galleries, and even on eBay.

The tools needed include clamps, saws, miter boxes and staplers. The space? A workshop can be fit in a garage, basement or even a spare room.

The beauty of an one of a kind frame is that it is a painless upgrade for stuff clogged baby boomers. I have art in my home that I would love to upgrade frame wise.

Jon from ArtOfMoney.org has a wonderful post on his foray into the framing business.

I’ve covered personal assistants before.
But this is an assistant with a twist. Yep, we’ve gone virtual.

Think of what most executive assistants do. They set up meetings, design newsletters, type, spell check and often re-write reports, take telephone messages, sift through the boss’s email.

Which of the above can not be done from home, while sitting in our pj’s? After all, most busy execs are on the road so often that they don’t see much of their own offices and their own assistants anyway.

So does it matter that my boss lives next door to me? Or around the world? It doesn’t.

The key to this position is connections (the usual contact list, plus there are job boards for virtual assistants, Staffcentrix, whom I haven’t checked out myself, promotes themselves as a "Virtual Assistant Internet Portal"), the skills (experience as an executive assistant, some higher computer and design skills – there are even training centers for virtual assistants), and the tech resources (fast internet, a quality telephone, multiple lines, etc).

Most clients are small businesses. Businesses that are too busy to handle the workload yet not big enough to hire a person full time. An avenue would be specializing in assisting a certain profession like law or accounting (the higher the charge out rate for the profession, the less likely they’ll type their own memos).

Note: I heard from one virtual assistant that the one task she is requested most often to complete is designing company newsletters.

We’re swinging into the lazy, hazy days of summer. Some people are taking holidays. Co-workers are moving a little slower. Meetings on Friday afternoons are “off site” (as in…held on the golf course).

So what do you do with that more money idea you’re working on? Do you shelf it until the fall? Or do you pick up the pace?

It depends…are you not yet at the selling point? Are there tweaks to be made? Are your prospects still buying (albeit a little slower)? Best of all, are the market leaders on holiday?

If there’s a yes to any of these, then you might consider plugging away at your baby business throughout the summer. Especially if the answers to the last two are yes.

Take the blogosphere, for example. During the summer, the North American segment of the blogosphere gets a little less busy. Since some readership drops off (more folks on vacation), many of the big guys, the A List bloggers, relax their usual hectic posting schedule. They can. Their big traffic will come back in the fall.

But the readers not on vacation are accustomed to reading 3 posts a day from these A Listers. Being creatures of habit (as we all are), they hunt around for new content. If there was ever a time to use trackbacks linking to an A Lister, the summer is it. From personal experience, this is when I usually snag new readers, readers that stick with me throughout the year.

And the worst case with continuing posting is that there are more posts for Google to latch onto. More search engine traffic when the traffic does return. That isn’t much downside.

Many entrepreneurs have flexible schedules (i.e. our long hours can start at anytime). This flexibility allows us to be added to the last minute labor pool. And last minute usually means more money.

On Friday, I was called up by a desperate company. They needed someone urgently Monday and were willing to pay double my current rates. Not only that but because they were paying these rates, I was assured of a short as possible placement.

Good for me as my side ventures can only sit babysitter free for so long.

Now, to take advantage of these situations, the entrepreneur’s business has to be at a certain stage. If I was in the middle of setting up a new baby business as I was a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been available. If I hadn’t had the week since returning from my vacation to get a bit ahead of the workload, I wouldn’t have been available. If my business couldn’t run on part time hours for short spurts, I wouldn’t have been available.

The entrepreneur also has to have the contacts to call her. If I had to hustle to get the work, the unpaid time involved would have eaten into the profit. Plus my focus is and should be my own ventures. In my case, I’m on more than a few placement agencies’ emergency contact list. Some of my buddies have a list of corporations that call them directly.

Planning a wedding involves many moving parts like the dress, cake, ceremony, food, flowers, attendants…and of course music. Music for the ceremony (to walk down the aisle) and music for the reception.

The big choice for the reception is live band or DJ. Both are money making opps for entrepreneurs. The live band option requires…well…having a band. This is not a solo gig. The DJ option usually requires a lot of fairly pricey equipment. Equipment that you can rent sure, but still involves upfront cost.

So what to do for the musically inclined entrepreneur with neither a band nor the cash for equipment rental?

Focus on the ceremony.

Often the ceremony is at a different location to the reception, could be a church or a beach (as my sister is having) or a park. The DJ or Band is usually setting up at the reception location.

Which gives the solo musician an opportunity to make some quick cash while adding joy to a couple’s special day. The average going rate varies by area and by talent but for an unknown, it is reasonable to expect $100 for an hour’s work. The hot instruments are the harp, actually any string instrument including the violin, the saxophone and of course vocals (preferably better than mine which make dogs howl). If the location has a piano or organ, that is an option also (not like you want to lug that around).

I was talking to one of my author friends and she is slowing getting sucked into the public speaking circuit. She’s not too unhappy about it. She loves to talk, the event hosts pay her travel bill, and she gets paid. Oh, and she sells more books.

Everyone is an expert in something. Odds are, there’s someone out there wishing to be an expert in that something also. And they might be willing to pay.

Yep, getting paid to talk or lecture or give a seminar. This could be an intro opp like hosting an adult learning course at a secondary school, college, or library (my friend got started at the library). Stand up there, give a good talk (prep work is key) and get paid.

The sweet spot in the public speaking business is, however, when the speaker has other products (like books, DVD’s) or services (consulting) to offer. According to the Speaking Industry Report by Lilly Waters, 51% of income for speakers is something other than their speaking fee.

For example: If I were a plumber, I’d offer a seminar on a topic like replacing a sink. Maybe a local home renovation company would sponsor this seminar, paying your fees. Maybe you’d charge a fee (renting a classroom). Some of the people attending the seminar will end up doing it themselves but some of those people (raising my hand here) would want to hire to have it done. Who better to hire than the expert giving the seminar?

In ancient Rome, the groom said good-bye to his bachelorhood by distributing walnuts to his buddies. In eighth century Italy, noble families gave gifts like solid silver to their wedding guests. Today, we wedding guests get knick knacks, celebrating the couple's commitment, as a thank you.

My craftsy sister is busy mass producing the wedding favors for my other sister, floral pens in her wedding colors. The wedding is small, about 100 people, so this is manageable. I had two years to plan my wedding (3 times the size) so I had time to make the lace placeholders and dip the fortune cookies that my family expected from a Chinese dinner (and the hubby’s family tolerated) in chocolate.

But not everyone has the time or the inclination. A big subsection of the arts and crafts market targets these brides. There are dedicated companies (like My Wedding Favors) which specialize in these gifts.

Which means that there is also opportunity for entrepreneurs with a unique offering. What brides are normally looking for is something that can be specialized for her wedding (colors are a biggie, ribbons can help with that) and can be mass produced at a low cost. Food items specific to the area (mac nuts in Hawaii, citrus flavored seasonings in Florida, etc) are popular and practical.

The easiest way to get business is to team up with wedding planners, florists, wedding cake decorators. The less stops a busy bride has to make, the better and that way, she is assured that everything co-ordinates.

I remember when I moved to the big smoke and encountered my first person looking for a handout. It was a young guy, looking for bus fare to get home. I felt for the guy. I grew up dirt poor. There were days I didn’t eat and I still wouldn’t have had the guts to ask a complete stranger for money. That this young man felt he had to…well, needless to say that I reached into my pocket and gave him one of my few bus tokens.

Then he turned around and told the next person the same story.

The next time I was asked, I told the beggar (different from the first) that I was getting on the bus too. I’d pay for him there. He said he was going in the other direction (I never told him which direction I was going) but thanks anyway.

I still give to street people if there’s a doubt in my mind about whether they’re legit (I prefer to give to organizations which help street people). However I’m very picky about which ones.

Does begging work? Yep, one street person confided to me that he pulls down $2,000 a week tax free (this is the same guy who asked me for money and after hearing my excuse that I was “just a temp”, told me proudly “That’s tough luck, girlie. My job’s permanent.”). $2,000 a week is a 6 figure income.

Cyberbegging works basically the same way. The first high profile cyberbeggar was Karyn Bosnak of www.savekaryn.com . This shopaholic got herself in financial trouble by admittedly buying too many Gucci handbags so she asked complete strangers over the internet for money.

And it worked. She paid off her debt and then some (her website claims that she donates all the money to charity). She now has a book out that she’s selling to pay her way in the world.

Other cyberbeggars have followed. I hear it is less lucrative than it used to be but that these sites still pop up means that people give. It works. But as in Karyn’s case, I have to wonder…if you have the skills to put up a site, to organize payment, to write convincing enough copy to get people to donate, why resort to begging?

Coming up to summer and many parents are wondering what to do with their kids while school’s out and they’re still working (not many companies give us summers off). This creates opportunities for seasonal entrepreneurs.

One of these opportunities is hosting a themed day camp. It could be writing camp or computer camp or fairy tale camp (where campers pretend to be princesses). Think of a hobby or interest and you can design a camp around it.

A buddy did this (magic camp – she knows some great card tricks). She started the first year with a few kids out of her home. She had most of the supplies already (though she did buy more sets of cards and some plastic wands from the dollar store). To keep it simple, kids brought their own lunches (she could have supplied lunches and charged more but in the first year, she focused on the camp itself). She didn’t really have to advertise. All she did was give a free magic show for the school and casually mention that she had this camp. The spaces filled up.

That first year, things went wrong. Some magic tricks weren’t interesting enough for the kids. Parents didn’t pick kids up on time. My buddy didn’t have videos or reading material so she had to entertain them constantly (always, always, always have some down time activities – as any parent knows, kids can run your ragged). But she figured it all out with the smaller, more manageable class.

Now her camp is a little larger and she rents a room in the empty school (allowing parents to stick to their drop off routine). She has magician assistants to help her out. And she makes more profit during the few short months. This has also given her an extra gig as a birthday entertainer.

Spent the weekend in the closet…literally, rotating my wardrobe from winter to summer. My closet isn’t exactly my pride and joy (there’s a reason why it has a door and it ain’t because all my items are neatly laid out). I stuff my clothes in where there’s free space. I have off season clothes stacked in the corner in those cardboard boxes photocopy paper comes in (with the nice lids).

On the other hand, my neat freak buddy has a closet out of one of those so sickening organizing shows. Arranged by color and season with cute totes and boxes. I peak into her closet and feel like I’m at a spa.

I tell my very busy friend that if she ever needed some spare cash, I’d pay her to organize my closet (to which she replied that I couldn’t pay her enough…said something about danger pay and my closet being a safety hazard).

If you’re an obsessive sorter like my friend, I would happily pay you too. And I’m not alone. There are many of us closet impaired folks out there.

All it takes is getting those first few clients and then grabbing some referrals. We, messy people, usually know quite a few other messy people. How to get that first client? Hold a seminar. You could even get a realtor or bank to sponsor the seminar (as they can sell upgrading a house or renovating).

A buddy was telling me that there were “no jobs” where she lived. That was untrue and I called her on it. I told her to go into a retail shop (any shop but preferably a store she liked) and offer to work on commission only (a reasonable percentage of sales). I guaranteed that the store owner/manager would hire her immediately.

She didn’t take me up on it but she did stop her bellyaching (at least in front of me).

Some people find the concept of working on commission scary. To be paid for performance means that if the sales person doesn’t work it, they won’t sell anything, and they won’t get paid.

True.

However, if you’re good at selling, commission is the preferred compensation. Earning power is limited only by you. You have freedom to work your own hours. You can take time off whenever you want (as you’re not getting paid). You are usually only “let go” when the company itself goes under.

But…but…but I can’t sell, you say.

Welcome to my world. I am not a natural salesperson (like my hubby is). I’ve not a natural accountant either (wasn’t born with debits and credits on the brain). Both skills I had to learn. I read books, took courses, and most importantly, was mentored (my stint in telemarketing improved my selling immensely).

And I sell. Whenever I have a chance. I was standing in the grocery line last night, turned to the lady behind me and sold her on buying the National Enquirer (yeah, not exactly saving the world but I didn’t think anyone needed chocolate bars – the only other product choice- so soon after Easter).

I know many, many people at many, many companies so I get asked often to become a recruiter. It is tempting. Recruiters or head hunters as I call them match companies up with the perfect (for them) employee and get paid to do so. Usually recruiters get paid about 20 to 30% of the first year salary. Hours are often flexible. If a recruiter does a great job, her contacts increase exponentially with each placement.

Oh, and you get the satisfaction of helping companies find staff and helping individuals find jobs.

As with most businesses, I recommend training with an established company first (make all your mistakes on their dime). How to find them? Easy. Look in the classifieds. They have the ads for a wide variety of positions in different industries.

Usually these companies hire on a combo of base salary and commission with more base salary during training and less base salary as new hires become established. I’ve known under qualified applicants who sold themselves on a pure commission basis merely to get in the door.

This is a sales job first and foremost and the product is people. A great recruiter is good at selling, relationships and most importantly evaluating people. Howard Adamsky has some protips on becoming a better recruiter.

I called up a lawn care service last week. I asked the person answering the call basic questions and she answered them happily. When I had a more complicated question, the woman said she’d have an “expert” call me back.

Why did the “expert” have to call me back?

Because what I had called wasn’t the business but an answering service.

Small businesses or busy professionals often outsource their telephone services, hiring people to answer the phones, giving them a list of answers to common questions. They normally pay a monthly rate (in my area about $100 a month).

That person answering the phone could be you.

Organization is key. Multiple phone lines, multiple customers, multiple messages. Being able to switch from one company to another. Tracking everything about the message. Handling irate customers. Selling services over the phone.

But this is also a job that can be done from home or even from the beach. Phone calls are easy to forward and redirect. The call records can be done on a hand held (a crackberry) and sent to the small business email account.

Here are some resources on this business…
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/BizIdeas/answer1.htm#Introduction
http://www.at-homeworks.com/answering_service.htm

One of my sisters is a teacher. Now teachers don’t make a whole lot of money (especially compared to other professions like doctors, lawyers, garbage men) but they do have some opportunities to earn a little extra cash on the side…by tutoring.

By a little, I mean a little. Tutors are often paid close to minimum wage, even when tutoring groups. A college math tutor can make about $9.00/hr. A primary or secondary school tutor can make even less.

And teachers aren’t the only ones eligible for the tutoring gig. A buddy volunteered tutoring students in grade school math and English. Out of that gig came offers from wealthier parents (not qualifying for the program) to tutor their kids for cash.

‘Course it goes without saying that you will have to offer up proof that you’re safe to be around children. Don’t be surprised if parents check you out with the local law enforcement agencies and if they ask for references. It’s only fair. I know if I had kids, I’d do the same.

Tutors are usually expected to go to the children’s houses or to a neutral location like the library (sometimes parents expect tutors to be the equivalent of a baby sitter). They need to, of course, remain current with the school curriculum. Great tutors ask for a copy of the school textbooks so they can plan lessons ahead of schedule. They also have to show results (usually better grades). But it can be a rewarding way of earning some extra cash.

I love spring flowers like daffodils, tulips, crocus. The first to peak their heads out in the spring, they supply a much needed dash of color to otherwise dead, brown lawns (my lawn year round).

The problem is…they only last for the spring. After that, usually gardeners (less lazy than I) dig those bulbs up and store them until either the fall or the spring. The bulbs take up precious growing space otherwise plus they reproduce like mad (I’d say like rabbits but I think bulbs reproduce faster than that). In our area, we have daffodils now growing wild all over roadsides (beautiful in the spring).

One of my buds has solved that problem. He runs a landscape company that plants and stores the bulbs for gardeners (the company also offers other services). The company mostly deals with companies including shopping centers and government agencies (because that’s where the big money is) but they will offer the service to well heeled homeowners (the service isn’t inexpensive).

Or another enterprising entrepreneur could.

The biggest issue my buddy runs up against in this business is inexpensive storage space. At first he kept all the bulbs in his large, empty basement (where I store all my junk). That helped him save money while his hungry little start up got off the ground. Now that he has expanded, he rents storage (and he has greenhouses, and, and…).

Another difficulty is ensuring that bulbs are labeled correctly. He can charge more because he can supply specific colors so it costs him if the red tulips get mixed up with the yellow tulips (you can’t tell by the bulb).

I see the signs are up again on every telephone pole in the city. “Stuff Envelopes For Money. Send $10 to Box 123.” Etc etc. Happens every year around this time as sure as there being frisky squirrels in the back yard.

Years ago when I was a trusting naïve Kimber (yes, when dinosaurs ruled the earth) and looking for money making opportunities, I sent my $5 (inflation has ballooned the cost to $10) to that mysterious box number.

What did I get in return?

Instructions to put up similar signs all over the city, asking people to send in their $5 to my own post office box.

Yeah, basically scamage.

Now, at first I was angry and felt like a fool. Then I asked myself an important question “how come I let this happen to me?” No, I didn’t place the blame on fate or on the scammers or anywhere else. I got scammed because I made mistakes, opening myself up to fraud.

You see in order for this scheme to work, there has to be at least two parties participating. The scammer and the “victim”. Without me, there would have been no scam.

In hindsight, what I should have done was ask around, done some research, instead of jumping in cold. One question to family, friends, heck even a stranger on the street would have revealed the scam. Today, the process is even easier. All I have to do is type in “envelope stuffing scam” in google and this is what I get
http://phoenix.about.com/cs/scam1/a/envstuffscam01.htm
http://www.homebiztools.com/questions/stuffing-envelopes.htm
http://www.homebiztools.com/stuffenv.htm
and 190,000 other warnings.

I don’t regret the $10 because that $10 lesson has saved me thousands over the years. Just a month ago, I was approached about a pre-IPO investment. Much more sophisticated than the envelope scam and much more expensive but after asking my advisors, I found out it was just as much of a scam.

I might have grown up a rough and tumble tomboy but I’m all girl now. One of the things I love about Easter is the chance to buying girly-girl accessories like bonnets and gloves for my one and only (and quite spoiled) niece. And since I’m buying this mainly for myself (under the guise of treating my niece), I spend time looking for just the perfect set.

Meaning not off the shelves at Target. Meaning hand made. Meaning expensive. Meaning small business cash.

If you’re handy, transforming a plain straw hat or an inexpensive mesh glove into a one of a kind, heirloom piece can be a good source of spring moolah. There are usually plenty of Easter yard sales and craft shows to sell them at (not to mention ebay). Once you create a repeating customer base, you can even take advanced custom orders (and price the bonnets or gloves even higher).

Last year I bought a pricey pair of cross stitched gloves that I still have in my closet. Merely waiting for a pair of little hands to fit them (yes, my hubby looked at me like I was insane but they were too adorable to leave back).

I have a friend who insists that if only she got on the tv game show Deal Or No Deal, her financial woes would be over (‘course I also have another friend who wants to build a rocket in her backyard ala The Astronaut Farmer). I did a little digging to see if this was a viable plan.

Surprisingly the average contestant has earned $138,928.80 over the first 93 games. That is not a bad day’s earnings, even when I deduct taxes (a buddy won the showcase once on the Price Is Right, the tax man wanted his share immediately before she could even take her cars home and she had to struggle to come up with the fast cash).

So once my friend gets on, her odds of a payday are pretty darn good.

It’s getting on the show that’s difficult. The recommended way is through the open castings done throughout the country. And by calling them castings, that’s exactly what they are. Ya gotta be half decent looking (you don’t have to be as gorgeous as the case models but it certainly helps).

The casting calls I hear (haven't actually seen them) are American Idol styles long (remember no age restrictions and no talent required). I didn’t find any U.S. stats on becoming a contestant but in the UK (with a much smaller population), the odds are 1 in 70,000.

Is it possible to swing a win on Deal Or No Deal and be financially set? I guess so. Just like its possible to win the lottery and oh, yes, build a rocket in your backyard. Dreams are great (and to be encouraged) but its best to have alternative plans just in case.

This Thursday, I’m going to a Mary Kay party (i.e. sales presentation). I’m going because a friend asked me. I honestly don’t need the make-up but I will buy because…well…its understood that buying is the price of admission.

Of all the home based businesses (Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Regal, Discovery Toys, etc), I think that both Mary Kay and Avon are the most viable. Why? Because their products are consumed and need replacing. There’s only so much Tupperware that I need (actually I don’t need any as sometimes take-away containers are re-usable and microwave safe) but I use up make-up and yes, make-up has a best before date.

But Mary Kay is still sales. It requires an upfront investment (for the sample case), a wide range of contacts, but most of all, it requires a saleswoman personality. That means being a shameless self-promoter. That means creating an experience rather than merely giving a sales presentation.

One of the best Mary Kay saleswomen I know puts effort into making her parties a networking opportunity. She knows people (underestimate of the year, she seems to know everyone), people that want to promote their selves or their products too. So she will invite a semi-famous author friend and then invite booklovers or aspiring authors. Or she’ll invite a successful small businesswoman and invite other struggling entrepreneurs. Or she’ll invite accountants during tax season.

She’s not only selling cosmetics but contacts. I don’t know about you but a good quality contact is worth $100 in cosmetic purchases to me.

I recently hired a freelance editor to review my manuscripts. Why? Because in order to be even looked at by an agent or a publisher, the manuscript has to be in a publishable state. Ironically I need to hire an editor to be edited.

I am the first client for my freelance editor. She’s a student, taking editing courses. That doesn’t bother me. I’m not too fussy about grammar errors or spelling (MS Word is good at picking that up). My concerns are leaps of logic and things that don’t make sense. Anything that the reader stops and thinks “what happened there?” Anything that would make a discerning reader give up and throw the book at the wall (what writers call wallbangers).

As an untried editor with no references, she’s receiving $1 a page. That is the rock bottom entrance price for editing (actually I’m probably ripping the poor girl off). Any more experience or references and her price goes up.

Most editing is now done via e-mail which means that my freelance editor could be making $1 plus a page sitting on a beach in Bali. And the waiting lists are long. I’m on the waiting list for one former publishing house editor. He’ll edit my manuscript in 2008.

Freelance editors, like the student I hired, are being snapped up right out of class so taking an editing class is usually a good first step. Then suck up to the professor. They are usually the ones doling out clients.

And no, I’m not talking about those types of plants! Not the type you dry the leaves of and then smoke. Nothing illegal on this site.

My neighbor has a green thumb to be envied. She loves gardening and would suffer from serious withdrawal during the harsh winter months if not for her inside plants (which she fusses over and talks to like they’re her grandchildren).

And her pampering works. Her inside plants reproduce like rabbits (I raised rabbits once and yes, they actually do reproduce quickly) all winter. By March, she looks like she’s living in a tropical rainforest (unlike myself who, by default, specializes in drought resistant plants since I sometimes fly off to England for two weeks and forget about watering them).

Every spring, my sweet little old neighbor has a giant plant sale and sells out, making a healthy profit. She gets the earth from the city’s free compost program. Friends and neighbors (i.e. me) give her those green generic plastic pots they get with the plants they put in garden beds (which in my case die during that first summer drought because I again forget about watering them). The plants reproduce for free. In other words, all it costs her is some extra water and space.

Lets see…she gets joy from tending to her plants all winter, she makes money from giving them to good homes, and it doesn’t cost her a thing? Sounds like a good deal to me.

‘Course I’m mentioning this now (in February) because plants need time to grow.

With Valentine’s Day rolling around, many of us will be hitting the Hallmark stores looking for that perfect card for the sweetie of the moment (25% of seasonal greeting card sales are during Valentine’s Day, Christmas is number one with 60%). I don’t know about you but I always find myself thinking “I could write better than this.”

So why don’t we?

Freelance greeting card writers make from $25 to $200 a verse (humor bringing in the bigger cash ‘cause writing humor is darn difficult). Unlike other writing, there are no royalties. It’s a one-time purchase of your work.

Like any freelance writing gig, writing greeting cards is not easy to break into. The big guys (Hallmark, etc) don’t hire casual writers. They have their own staff.

So think beyond the big guys. There are around 2,000, yes, 2,000 greeting card publishers out there. Some of them, smaller, indie operations, use 100% freelancers (the greeting card association publishes a book called the Greeting Card Association Industry Directory but there are some listings in the freelance writer’s bible Writer’s Market).

‘Course another route is to produce your own greeting cards (especially if you are also a skilled photographer or artist and have thought of a collection of cards).

There is a lot of competition for the general card market (I wouldn’t want to compete directly against Hallmark) but still many opportunities in the niche market. Maybe its a collection of cards from and to cats, or for the mixed race community or for people who quilt.

I’m currently temping at a job. Sure it’s a higher end type of temping (I’m playing at being a company controller for the month) but it is still a short term gig with a matching short term influx of cash.

I know people who temp at reception, marketing, product assembly, firefighting, even dog walking. Any job usually has an opportunity for a temporary placement (most people like to take vacations or change jobs or quit after winning the lottery freeing up a temp spot).

Not only does temping provide short term cash but it can provide much needed experience in different fields. It is also a great way to test drive a future career.

Temping is such big business that there are agencies, specializing on placing temporary workers (I’ll discuss this as a business idea in another More Money Monday spot). If there is a temp agency out there covering the skill specialty, I recommend listing with them (note, no legit temp agency charges candidates for listing with them, they get a cut of the candidate’s pay when they’re placed). Sure you split the placement rate but they have the clients lined up already. No fuss, no waiting. Much easier.

If there isn’t a temp agency out there in your field, options include contacting directly existing companies including former employers (if there is no contact name, ask for the human resources department) and asking to be put on their list of temps. Of course, you’ll likely have to send them a resume.

As a test, I also tried placing a classified in the Help Offered section of the classifieds. Although I didn’t get any responses for placements, this did rustle up some temp agencies. In hindsight, I should have saved my money and looked the agencies up in the on-line phone listings.

The downside of temping is that placements can be spotty. In my field (accounting), the summer time is a dead time (fine for me because I write novels during the summer).

Asok the Intern

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. This resolution brings with it opportunities for the already fit amongst us (not me, definitely not me). I’m checking the classifieds and Craig’s List and see gym after gym looking for fitness coaches. There doesn’t seem to be enough interested people out there.

Sure, truly great fitness coaches have degrees in the subject with professional certifications (the truly great in any industry gobble up any and all info and training available in their given subject). However, as witnessed by this YMCA ad, many openings require little more than CPR and First Aid, plus a knowledge of basic fitness.

As with any career change, I always encourage people to take a short term stint in an established organization before going it alone. Learn on the YMCA’s dime surrounded by professionals while getting paid. If possible, it only makes sense (and January is the month to do it in).

Then, once a foundation of fitness and business knowledge is laid, fitness coaches can go it solo, coaching for businesses on lunch hours (giving complimentary fitness tests as a means of driving interest), or individuals in their own homes.

This is a fairly seasonal business as any gym attendee will tell you. January, the machines have long lines behind them. February, not so much. June, the machines are free. But as a source of extra January cash, this hits all the high notes.

Getting fit being one of the most popular resolutions every single year. That means that there are thousands of people ready to storm the malls looking for exercise machinery. Exercise machinery that many of us use only once or twice and then store in basements, closets and even hiding under the bed

Does this make sense?

I don’t think so.

There are two ways to profit from this imbalance.

One is an outright sale of the equipment. If I was wanting to get rid of that unused abroller or treadmill or trampoline, now is the time to do it (not at the end of January when classifieds are flooded with the stuff). Free up some space and grab some investing seed money.

The other is a renting of the equipment (odds are high that you’ll get it back in February). If you’re going the rental route (which can be done year after year), I suggest having a lawyer friend look over the contract. You don’t want to rent the treadmill for $100 a month and then get sued for a million dollars ‘cause some brainwave fell off it. That wouldn’t be too profitable, would it?

On the other side (yeah, I know this should go under Frugal Fridays), if I was looking for fitness equipment and didn’t mind gently used, I’d hold off on the purchase for a few weeks. I’ve seen garbage men haul off brand new exercise bikes and…gasp…even the ultra expensive bowflexes. People preferring to trash the equipment than store it.

This morning, thousands of people will be receiving slacks that fit great except for being too long (who are pants designed for? Skinny as a rail giants?). Some of these people will stuff them in the back of the closet until enough clothing is accumulated to prompt a stitch witchery iron-athon (ummm…that would be me). Others will never ever shorten the slacks (one of my sisters, she eventually gives them to me and I add them to the back of the closet). Still others will pay for someone else to do the hemming.

If you’re handy with a needle, you could be that someone else.

Hemming a pair of pants can be done quickly (so I hear, not handy with a needle myself) yet profitably. Customers could come from dry cleaners and clothing stores.

I like the clothing store option. A suggested promotion would be for the hemming to be offered for free (paid for by the store). This is a perfect solution for presents as the receiver will return to the store to get his or her pants hemmed, and buy more (Doesn’t that always happen? I go to a store to pick up a “free” item and leave it with $100 more spent on other items). The store is happy, the customer is happy, the tailor is happy.

If the store is nervous about this promotion, the tailor could always set their fee as a percent of the additional or “add-on” sales. The tailor gets exposure (can claim to be the official tailor of the store) and business (odds are the customer will return with multiple, non-store bought items).

Many years ago (in a land far, far away), when I was faced with one of my first serious job applications, I was fortunate enough to learn the tricks of writing a great resume from a master.

I learned that the average time an employer first looks at a resume is less than ten seconds and I also learned how to make that ten seconds count (use of white space, targeting each resume, using the key words employers are looking for, etc).

Over the years, I’ve done hundreds, perhaps over a thousand, resumes for friends and family. As a hiring manager, I’ve also evaluated thousands of resumes. I’ve seen some great people with some very, very bad resumes (sad, really). I know that there is a need for this service.

There are a few main markets to target with resume writing.

The just graduated crowd is easy to find. Services can be promoted on the campus, in college and university newspapers, free seminars given to bump up business. One downside to this market is that recent college grads don’t have much money.

The recent job loss candidates often don’t have much money either. However, the companies laying them off do. Some of the Fortune 500 companies I’ve worked for offer retraining and interviewing skills as part of their severance packages. Resume services can approach these companies and charge a little bit more than they would for an individual.

The career switcher is the most interesting of the markets. As the baby boomers age, I hear more and more about “finding ideal work” or switching careers to try something else. Any continuing education course at a college bears proof of this. Accountants trying on a marketing job. Marketers wanting to write. Writers deciding to teach. Change often equals opportunity for the smart businesswoman.

Regular readers know by now that I’m not handy at all with crafts and that includes the craft of gift wrapping. However, there are people out there with such a talent for gift wrapping that recipients don’t even want to open the packages (sort of like eating petit fours, I feel so guilty about doing so…did you know that petit fours were a way for patissiers to use up leftovers? The soup of the dessert world, much prettier though).

For those talented people, a seasonal gift wrap business can be a source of extra cash.

I’ve seen people go about it a couple of ways. They could contract with boutiques to provide this extra service to their customers. They could contact shopping malls (many however do the whole gift wrap for charity thing). Or they could deal with customers directly out of their home. Smallbiz even suggests offering a mobile service.

The key concern with this business is ensuring that there is no possibility of theft or accusation of theft (yes, there are unethical customers out there). Many gift wrapping business owners prefer the “as the client waits” option. That way, the item never leaves his or her sight.

Some extensions of this business could be unique gift wrap design. The decrease in the cost of printing can make personalized gift wrap (perhaps with the client’s children or pets on it) a great product.

Saturday, my friend invited my kids and I to a "Snow Day" here in Phoenix, AZ. Yes, that's right- a snow day! At her son's school, they brought in several loads of snow for the kids to play in!

My 5 yr. old told me he needed to wear his mittens and scarf - and I laughed. Although we used to live in the mountains, now we live in Phoenix- we don't own those things! It was just a patch large enough to run around in and throw snowballs, but it was perfect!

This friend's mom and I, the one who is always thinking of business ideas with me, were talking about what a great business idea this was- trucking in snow for the snow-deprived! Seasonal to be sure- but probably wouldn't take much: snow, a shovel, a truck, gas money and customers!

As I look at the stack of holiday cards in front of me, all needing to be addressed, stamped, and sent, I realize that I wouldn’t mind having a personal assistant (oh, and a chef, and a maid, and one of E’s cabana boys and…).

And if little ol’ me feels that way, what about the thousands of retired executives out there (wandering the streets, trying to manage people)? They have spent decades with an executive assistant doing everything for them from renewing their passports to picking up their dry cleaning. All of a sudden, in their “golden” years, they’re abandoned, left to figure these things out for themselves.

You may be thinking “poor baby” but I’m thinking “cha-ching.”

I know some executive assistants that have made the transition between working for the company and working for their retired boss. They did okay.

I know of one executive assistant that took that a step further. When his boss’ cronies expressed envy over him retaining his assistant, the assistant stepped forward and offered to set them up with assistants of their own…for a fee of course. Suddenly he (yes, this was a male assistant) was a personal assistant recruiter. And believe me, he’s doing more than okay.

It does take a special type of person to not only be a personal assistant but manage personal assistants. Obviously, she needs to be a people person (not run screaming down the street when the client changes his mind for the 15th time that day), patient and understanding. There’s also the business side which this linked article covers. But for the right person, it could be quite lucrative.

It’s getting to be that time of year. Santa is thinking about loading up his sleigh and what will be in it for 2006? Baby Alive.

Yep, one of the hot toys for girls this year is Baby Alive. Baby Alive unfortunately is very much like a real baby. She eats and then…well, poops (with four younger siblings I had no need for a Baby Alive, I had plenty of live babies).

If the name sounds familiar, you’re right. Baby Alive is a retro doll. Back in the day (1973), this doll came with cloth diapers (actually I believe they had to be purchased separately) which could be used and reused over and over. However, this is 2006 which means…you guessed it, Hasbro has switched to plastic.

But plastic adds up (dollar wise and environmentally) and are a pain for parents to continually buy. I hear the constant grumbles already over this blasted doll.

What does that mean?

Opportunity.

Some of our entrepreneurial sisters are whipping together cloth versions of the diaper and selling them for a profit (check out eBay). The sewing accomplished around me (not me, oh gosh, not me…I sew buttons on and use Stitch Witchery for hemming and that’s about it) insist that making cloth diapers are a cinch (I’ll take their words on it).

Like any toy trend, I don’t expect this one to last but while it does, there’s profit in it.

I’m also waiting for some savvy entrepreneur to come up with a generic baby food recipe safe for use in the doll. A Baby Alive recipe book.

Was surfing around Craig’s List and what did I see? Ad after ad after ad for people looking for holiday decorators. Those skilled and tasteful folks that will decorate interiors and exteriors in the spirit of…well, whatever spirit the customer enjoys (gin, brandy, no, hold on, wrong types of spirits).

I have a friend that goes from house to house setting up the dreaded artificial Christmas tree (unfurling the branches drives me right bonkers). The client already has all the decorations. She merely sets it up for the often elderly clients. Yes, she gives a little extra, wearing her “Christmas” outfit (don’t we all have a holiday sweater some color blind, well meaning relative gave us? I know I have a year’s supply of Christmas socks), bringing a boom box with holiday music, and having a trunk full of different kinds of Christmas tree lights but that isn’t required (or sometimes even desired).

Another friend sets up holiday display windows for restaurants and shops (that’s how I met her actually). She deals only with the well paying corporate clients and usually has a half decent expense account for lights and sparklies and what have you’s.

Then there’s the outside light experts. Now, grant it, usually manly men with no fear of heights do the stringing but a woman can supervise, manage, organize. She can land the clients, set up the work teams, send them out, do quality control, oh, and collect the dollars (my favorite part).

This is an extremely seasonal business obviously but can be a lucrative month or two year after year. Enough that even a Scrooge can’t say bah humbug to it!

The other day I went to lunch with one of my best friends and her mom. I was talking with her about a couple new ideas for businesses, and then her mom began to chime in. We must have mentioned ten different ways to make money by doing everything from placing classified ads for people to managing properties to buying and selling amazing finds at local "thrift" or wholesale stores.

It always blows my mind that some people cannot think of a way to come up with an extra couple hundred dollars a month, and for others, we have more ideas than we have time to actually do them all.

It's a scarcity vs. abundance mindset. If you can learn to see the world as a place of plenty with more than enough money and opportunity to go around, your ability to make money and a living doing what you love will never end.

Do you love, love, love to shop? Do you have a talent for getting just the right present for someone based on tiny tidbits of information? Do you have a fab sense of style?

Then personal shopping might be for you!

And this is the season to try it. Fancy department stores like Nordstrom’s hire full time staff. Interesting to note, according to retail analyst John Chamberlaine, Nordstrom’s also pays their full time personal shoppers over six figures (yep, six figures to shop, who says dream jobs don’t exist?).

However, many department stores and boutiques pick up casual help during the holiday season. Exploring the personal shopping world by starting with a department store position can be a smart first step. Aspiring businesswomen (and ladies, this is a business skewed towards traditional female strengths) can learn the business from the best while getting paid for it.

Most stores pay commission based compensation. That means the more you shop, the more you make (I’m telling you this gig is for real!). Of course that means that you not only should be great at customer care (humoring finicky clients) but also at sales (I can’t mention this often enough…if a gal has sales skills, the sky’s the limit).

As personal shoppers learn the ropes, solo gigs might be the natural next step. Actually I knew one personal shopper who didn’t have much of a choice. Once she started telling people what she was doing, the requests poured in. The affluent elderly, busy executives and corporations were all candidates for personal shopping services. Word of mouth marketing (as in my friend’s case) ruled.

Nordstrom’s

81% of us want to write a book. Yep, 81%. The reasons why vary but one, I’m pretty sure, is money (another is to spend days in pajamas with pencils sticking out of wacky hairdos). The dream of being the next J.K. Rowling (making 59.1 million in 2005, that’s a lot of designer duds). Typing a couple pages a day and making millions.

Rowling is not the average author by any stretch of the imagination (if so, there’d be a lot less bloggers). Most authors I know are lucky to get $10,000 for a book. $10,000 for a book that took them about a year to write and even more time to sell. There are 50,000 books or so published each year. Only about 20 become best sellers.

And being an author is very much like starting a business. An author starting out is responsible for production (writing the novel), sales (selling it to an agent or publisher), legal (contract negotiations), marketing (marketing the book, most publishers don’t have the time or money to market each book, they rely on the author) and even more selling (helping booksellers sell the book through book signings, publicity, etc).

Wowsers, that’s a big to-do list. So why write?

Insanity.

No, just joking. Well, not really. A good friend told me once “Only write if you can’t possibly do anything else.” Although I wouldn’t reco novel writing as a get rich quick scheme, it is a lifestyle choice, a way of sharing gifts and knowledge with the world.

If you’re still interested after all this buzz kill talk (gloom and doom), you’re in luck. November is THE month to start. It’s national novel writing month. Head over to the NaNoWriMo site and join the madness.

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping in my pajamas. I didn't brush my hair, put on make up, or even bother with shoes. I did the dirty deed in 10 minutes: In, out and on with my life.

I did my grocery shopping online at Safeway.com.

My Market Maven-Deal Finding-Busy-Mother-of-Two friend suggested I try it. Here's what I learned:

1. My first delivery was free with a special promotional code. (Delivery runs between $5-$10)
2. It was incredibly time and money efficient. I could go straight to what I was looking for, without dragging kids to, in, and around the store, as well as finding that all sorts of things that weren't on my list somehow made their way into my cart...
3. The website remembers my shopping list, so it's even more efficient next time I order.
4. They send a muscle bound man to deliver and carry in my groceries. (Ok maybe muscle bound is pushing it, but compared to a four and five year old who usually are my helpers...)

I dislike grocery shopping. I am busy (for someone with no "job"). I have things I would rather do with my time, energy and money. Shopping online also saves me in gas money and from buying crap I don't need. (Kimber can tell you more about how stores are laid out to promote more spending.)

That's why I'm loving Safeway!

I consider Halloween to be the start of the party season. With Halloween, Thanksgiving, the holidays (whichever ones you celebrate), weekends and even weekdays are starting to fill up.

‘Course anyone who has ever hosted a party knows that parties don’t plan themselves. They are a lot of work, too much work for some people. Those people (lazy people like me) provide an opportunity. An opportunity to make money off of superb planning skills.

There are many, many sites on how to start a party planning business. I won’t rehash their excellent advice. However, being a project manager myself (and what is party planning other than project management?), I do offer some suggestions.

I learned early on in project management to not do everything myself. I find partners to delegate tasks to.

Sure, I could probably do components better and for less cost but I know that 99.9% of my time is going to be sucked into firefighting, dealing with those last minute situations, that can turn a dream party into a nightmare. I could very well end up baking the turkey (if my caterer wins the lottery two days before) but how can I bake the turkey if I’m already making centerpieces.

You see my point. I free up my time so I can deal with emergencies.

I also have back ups for every key component. I have a caterer and a back up caterer (willing to fill in last minute for a higher fee). I have a table supplier and a back up table supplier. I’d prefer to take a cut in profits than disappoint.

Because party planning is a word of mouth business. A good party planner keeps those mouths smiling. That means not picking up constant complaining clients (the clients who would find a fault in the Hope Diamond) and keeping the clients they have happy.

Okay, okay I’ll admit it. I love my pretty things. Don’t like to dust them (thank goodness the hubby likes to dust though you’ll never get Mr. Manly Man to admit it in public) but I do like my pretty things.

Before I got smart (a recent development), I’d use my allowance (yes, I give myself a cash allowance to spend as I wish) on the pretty things (in my case, Wade figurines, those knick knacks we find free in Red Rose Tea boxes). I was a porcelain crackhead, looking behind cushions and in the hubby’s dirty dress pants (anything in the wash is fair game, my compensation for doing the laundry) for just a little bit more to soothe my craving.

I’d go to yard sales and buy boxes (less expensive than buying one at a time), searching through to pick out the ones I didn’t have. As my collection grew, so did my duplicates. I squirreled them around the house so the hubby wouldn’t fully realize the extent of my hobby (he freaked out one day when he came face to face with an army of them tucked away in the basement).

Then I discovered eBay. All of a sudden, my hobby went from sucking money faster than a Dyson (aren’t they great vacuum cleaners?) to being a money making machine. I figured out that I could buy at yard sales, sell at eBay and more than cover my sickness. My hubby now is proud of my figurine collection and encourages me to buy more.

And that is the thing about collectables. I hear collectors often say that their collection is an investment. Well, why wait until you’re dead to collect on that investment? Figure out a way to make that collection pay for itself and if you’re an especially skilled collector, make you money.

Yes, I freely admit I love watching the Girls Next Door. I also frequent the Girls Next Door Discussion Forums. The other day, there was a thread I found intriguing:

If Holly has a degree in Real Estate and Bridget has a Masters degree.....and Kendra is a qualified Masseuse

Then why do they feel they must have sex for a living? This is not really a put down on the girls, but isn't it a waste of an education? These women are clearly smart and therefore don't need to sell their bodies in such away.

Would they want their daughters in essence to have sex for a living?

What followed was a whole conversation (they are rough over there) about women, education and being in relationships for financial gain. Too many women, educated or not, fall into the trap of marrying or being in a relationship for money or at least some sense of financial security. I had to say my two cents (of course) and thought it was appropriate for my Women's Issues That Scare Me series:

You can be book smart or street smart or a combination of both, but if you lack self-esteem and self respect you have nothing to stand on.

Allow me a soap box if you will?

I think it's interesting that people accuse the girls of trading sex for lifestyle. What do you think many women who get married and don't work are essentially doing? Conversely, merely having an education doesn't guarantee you won't find yourself there.

I was that woman. I left that dependent lifestyle and man. Now I am financially free (don't have to work) because I learned how to make and invest my own money. (And continue to learn all the time!)

Personally, I think women have all different ways to make money, I don't really care much how they do it, but I am a firm believer that we should all make our own money and become financially independent whether single, in a relationship or married- whatever. If you've got to catch a wave and ride it- do it- but be smart and set yourself up financially. That's why I have No Limits Ladies.com - I try to help other women take control of their finances in a fun (and perhaps wild) way!

With the autumn comes the beautiful fall colors (up north that is, those in Hawaii…well, you have other opportunities and little sympathy from me). Beautiful that is, when the color stays on the trees. Not so beautiful when its gathered in a heap on my driveway (or banked against my front door waiting to cover my carpet as soon as the door opens).

But that heap of leaves represents some quick cash for the savvy saleswoman. Quick cash for investing (moving us into the whole planting seeds analogy).

The concept is simple. Walk door to door, setting up appointments for raking leaves. Then find a few bored teenagers looking for their own quick cash (for the holidays perhaps) and put them to work. Hey, if I was industrious (which I’m not because I’m very, very lazy), I could even rake a few yards myself.

The tools needed are rakes, bags and, if I wished to save that French manicure (is it French manicure or freedom manicure? Are the French back to being our buddies again?), gardening gloves.

I like raking leaves over other yard works gigs (lawn mowing, snow shovelling) due to its one time only opportunity. Unless I wish otherwise, I don’t have to go back to that same homeowner for more work. However, if I liked dealing with the homeowner, it opens up other money making deals.

What to do with the leaves?

I usually leave them for collection (again I’m lazy) but some efficient rakers convert the leaf debris into rich compost, selling it back to the garden crazy homeowners. From the earth to the earth type of cycle.

Fall Color

I ran across this post and article about Mom Entrepreneurs (Great idea, get a patent) over at Boston Gal's Open Wallet and thought it was perfect to share on More Money Mondays!

Great idea? Get a patent!

USAToday has a great article about a couple of Massachusetts entrepreneurs: Moms crafted a baby-booming business

Seven years ago, Julie Dix and Danielle Ayotte were stay-at-home moms, shuttling kids to soccer practice and setting up play dates. Now, the two run a multimillion-dollar company called Taggies that is rapidly spreading into a global enterprise.

And it all got started with a child's blanket.

They had a great idea, but one that is easily copied. Spending the time and money to get the patent for their idea has been key to their success. It has lead to lucrative licensing deals.

The USA Today article has some insight for start up businesses such as how to find an initial idea, how to protect it, learning to sell, and getting good financial advisors on board.

One of my buddies is a Halloween freak. She loves the holiday, her fave part being the carving of the pumpkin (in her case, pumpkins). Her Jack O’Lanterns are works of art. Name a famous person. She has likely carved a pumpkin with that face.

I sit at the opposite end of the spectrum about the carving of the pumpkin. I don’t like doing it, especially reaching in my hand to scrape out the inside of the pumpkin with all the orange pumpkin guts and goo and slimy seeds (ranks way up there with setting up the artificial Christmas tree, unfolding all the branches). Somehow, my hand always turns out permanently orange and smelling like pumpkin soup for a month afterwards. No thanks. Not for me.

So its only natural that I buy a Jack O’Lantern from my buddy to display on my front step (the Jack O’Lantern then traditionally gets abducted by the teenagers down the street and eventually dropped off a fifth story balcony to see how it smashes).

And when my Jack O’Lantern gets admired, I fess up and say who is truly the master behind the work which leads to more carving-adverse folks knocking on my friend’s door and…you get the picture. My buddy’s skills are suddenly in demand. She’s in the pumpkin business.

There are some drawbacks to this plan. For one, its very seasonal. Halloween only comes once a year (thank goodness for my candy budget). For another, Jack O’Lanterns last only about a week (less if you have teenagers in the neighborhood).

However, she has extended the season with pumpkin carving classes, selling carving templates, other veggie and fruit carving (for centerpieces), outsourcing carving to teenagers (likely the same ones with the pumpkin smashing fixation), etc.

I made a little lump of cash this summer. My first thought? I should buy a vehicle to tie this money up, in order to turn around and sell for a profit to keep my money growing. But I didn't. I think life knows when money is sitting there idle, because that money flew away on a vacation, brakes, AC, and moving. Gone.

Last week, I got another lump sum. I put a large portion of it into savings and immediately began thinking of how I could tie it up and grow it. It's hard to spend what you don't have access to (even though I confess I was once of the mindset, 'I can't be out of money, I still have checks left!").

A friend called with an opportunity to make some money on that money. So I took it.

It's not a lot of money he asked for, and it's not a lot of money it will be earning. However, it is more than the interest it would have earned sitting in savings. And it is tied up so I can't spend it. It's moving and growing. Just the way money likes it.

I found this great tidbit about tying up a vine after winter pruning that illustrates this principle:

Tying up the vine after winter pruning: This all depends on what kind of pruning method you use: Guyot, Cordon, Goblet etc. In Guyot (simple or double) you leave one branch (twig? Or "baguette" in French) (or two, if it is double) and cut of all other branches at winter pruning. That branch is of course growing upwards, as branches usually do. But to make it into a Guyot you have to bend this branch and tye it to a horizontal metal wire (fil de fer). This branch will then be the source for all the new branches this year (5-8 normally, one for each "eye", or bud, on the branch). That's what the man does (in the picture): Man tying down the two remaining branches after winter pruning for a Guyot Double training. (Courtesy of BKWine.com)

In business, life and with money, if you aren't growing, you're dying. Discipline yourself to put aside money and look for ways to tie it up and make it grow.

You shop and get paid for it. Sounds like a scam, right? Nope, I’ve done it (Done most everything - I’m starting to sound like Odd Job Jill) and it is legit.

I did a lot of research (Google is my friend) before signing up with a couple organizations. The organizations did not charge (I am always wary of any company requiring money from me so I can have the pleasure of working for them) and after a few training tests, I was ready to choose secret shopping assignments from the postings.

Secret shopping is used to test the customer service at different organizations. I worked in the office at one quick service restaurant (hint, the one with the golden arches) and they used secret shopping scores to evaluate management. The scores were taken VERY seriously.

As a secret shopper, I had to track everything. The time it took to get my order. Were the fries hot? Were they salty enough? Were the ads up in the restaurants? Were they the right ads? Did I get my free smile? That sort of thing.

This was no get rich quick, retire in the south of France job. Most paid the equivalent of minimum wage for the time required plus a reimbursement for the product purchased. There was no gas money or huge items purchased (no mystery shopping requiring that I buy a new car regretfully).

However, if the restaurant was on the way home and I needed dinner (a single meal), this helped a bit with the grocery budget (if not for the waistline). It also taught me a bit more about product development.

Just came back from two tradeshows and placed orders for the fall/holiday season. Funds were tight but if we don't go on these trips our product lines get stagnant. Some of our product will rarely change, especially our licensed collection. But we need to fill the rest of the store with fresh new product in the fall and spring or our customers would run out of things they would want to buy from us. It was a productive trip. Every time we go we get better at being buyers and this trip we were more focused and productive then we've ever been before. Most of the new items will ship between now and the end of October. Also, did some great networking in the evenings while at the shows. Will have to talk about that in the next post though, it's too lengthy for here. It ties in with Erin's POST party blog.

In order for us to go to the shows we needed employees again, which is fine because the holiday season is approaching anyway. One of our best employees contacted us; she hated her new job and wanted to come back. It was perfect timing for us, so we hired her back. Another girl came in to apply; she was really great so we grabbed her too. They worked 50+ hours each the week we were gone, then we worked all the hours the following week after we came back to prevent overtime for that pay period. Then the next week we left again, they worked a lot, we came back and gave them another week off. It took some creativity but we got it done with only two employees and no overtime. Overtime would've killed us right now; our budget is way too tight for that with sales still being low. Again, I'd rather buy product that will make us more money.

Some of you may have read about how I flip cars for extra money. This past week, I had run across a good price on a 1996 Range Rover. I made an offer that was accepted ($5800 and I could turn around and sell it for $7500).

There were two catches: the vehicle was 3 hours away, and I didn't actually have that cash on hand.

So I made three calls to people who have offered to loan money to buy vehicles. Unfortunately, I was not able to move fast enough to get the Range (he sold it to someone else for $6000). That's okay, because there are deals every week.

If you can learn to spot deals that make money, and have a track record and trustworthiness, you will be able to find the money you need to make it happen. Find out how to utilize other people's money to make money starting with small deals and then build up to large deals.

"Our greatest lack is not money for any undertaking, but rather ideas. If the ideas are good, cash will somehow flow to where it is needed."

I can’t talk about getting rid of stuff and not talk about eBay.

The on-line auction site eBay is used by many to get rid of unwanted stuff. There are countless websites with hints on how to get the most for your items. The site itself will walk you through the steps of both buying and selling.
However here are some of my tips…

I always list with a photo. Photos add another thirty-five cents to costs but they increase the selling price by 11%. Well worth it for me. Photos can be snapped with any digital camera. The better the photo, the more likely I am to get a good price for my item.

I take the time to find the right category to list under. If I list baby clothes in the eBay motors category, I won’t get many (if any) bidders (and those bidders, I have to wonder about – shopping for a Corvette Stingray and yes, a onesie).

I spell the item correctly. Don’t laugh. Do a search right now on laptop but spell it labtop. You’ll see items selling for much lower than their spelled correctly counterparts.

I share as much information about the item as possible. Auctioneers will tell you that the story sells (watch Antique Roadshow for illustrations of that). I don’t make anything up (that would eat up my hard won karma points) but I do my research on the item.

Remember the seller pays shipping or postage. I like to have estimates ready for when bidders ask.

If the bid is half decent, I usually throw in a low priced bonus feature. I had a woman bid on a frog item. I noticed that she collected frogs (based on her other bids and her website) so I threw in a set of froggie stickers I found. The woman was thrilled and referred other buyers to me (and yes, I got some good karma points).

Our friend Ken over at After Reading Rich Dad Poor Dad blogged about cashing in on the Tickle Me Elmo craze! Read about his adventures in discovering, buying and listing this laughing furry monster!

Last week at this time I did not know that a Tickle Me Elmo 10th Anniversary doll was coming out, but I did know that my front brake rotors were jacked and I really didn’t want to pay to fix it. I had been dealing with the wobbly brake shudder for 4 months.

But thanks to my friend Rex, an opportunity presented itself. I hoped that I could make enough off of Elmo to pay for my brakes and a Slingbox. The Slingbox costs $230 and I got new brake rotors today for $190, a grand total of $420.

As of tonight I have sold 9 of my Elmos for a total profit of $190. So the brakes have been paid for. I can only hope that my remaining 6 Elmos can bring in $230.

My point is that there are opportunities to make money everywhere. People do it everyday. Every Christmas there is a hot product. I remember my co-workers selling $300 Xbox’s for $800 the day it came out. $500 profit a piece, that’s just incredible. How come I didn’t capitalize on that? Maybe it was because I didn’t want to stand in line at 12am with a bunch of geeks in front of Bestbuy, maybe it was because I’d rather sleep than make $500 an hour, who knows. Anyone can do it, it’s only done by those who want to.

In keeping with Kimber's More Money Monday's, I thought I'd share in a nut shell how I flip cars for a little extra cash. I actually am doing this myself right now, and is something I learned from one of best friends who did very well at it, and now flips real estate. (I'll talk more about a circle of friends later) Here's the deal: I find used vehicles for sale, often times through Cars.com , and I price them using KBB.com . When I find one that I know is in more demand, with a motivated seller at or below private party pricing, I go look at it and sometimes buy it. Then I drive it for a while for free (meaning no car payment), and sell it when I'm ready, for more than I bought it for. Then I roll that money into the next vehicle, or sometimes keep a bit for myself.

Case in point. I bought my 1998 Land Rover Discovery for $5300. It was already priced well when I went to look at it. I brought along a boy who knows more about cars than I do to look at it. We decided the problem the Discovery had was a minor fix, and I made my offer for less than he was asking based on what I thought it would cost me to repair (not all need repairs- used does not equal junker), and in cash right there.

I've been driving it for a bit, and it's time to keep my money moving as well as pull some out. So last Friday, I listed it on Cars.com ($40.00) based on what other Discoveries are selling for ($6400), took it to get cleaned and detailed at the car wash ($24.99), and I'll be fielding calls and showing it until it sells. (I will make about $1000 out the door.)

I do most all of the screening work over the phone. There's an ass for every seat, and that's what I'm looking for. It fits or it doesn't.

When I show the vehicle, I go to bank or grocery store parking lot (cameras). I never show at my house or with my kids, and more often than not I bring along boy just to be careful. I'll tell them a little about the car, why I like it, point out a couple used car quirks, and then leave them alone. Like I said, it works for them or it doesn't.

I don't negotiate, I set my price lower than others and fair and I do not place myself in a position of having to sell, because I don't want to take a loss. I only accept cash, and if they have a cashiers check, I go with them to their bank to have them cash it. Better to have people just have their banks make the cashier check out to them so they can cash it and give you the cash. I always have title clear and ready to hand over when they give me the cash.

Then I usually have another vehicle lined up to go buy! I tie up my money as quickly as possible and make sure I have insurance on it. It's a fun way to make money and drive for free!

Watch for follow-ups on flipping cars on NLL in the future...

I don’t know about you but I have a lot of stuff. Stuff I’ve never used, stuff I have used in the past and don’t need any more, stuff I’ve replaced with another version of the stuff. It’s all taking up space in my already crowded house. Not only space but time and money. I dust it. I clean it. I insure it. I worry about it getting damaged.

Someone out there is buying or wanting to buy that exact same stuff. It’s selfish and foolish of me to hold onto it.

One way to pass it along to more appreciative hands is having a yard sale.

First step in having a yard sale is to check with my local city’s regulators. Some cities, likely the same cities that ban clotheslines yet have power shortages, have laws about what is and is not acceptable while having a yard sale. Maybe they wouldn’t appreciate that Batman signal I plan to put up to advertise it.

There are many resources for having yard sales (smarter folks than myself) but some quick pointers…

Signage…good! Have clear signs from a busy roadway.
Yard sale shoppers show up early so if I time it for 7 am (do people actually get up that early?), someone will show up at my doorstep at 6 am expecting me to be ready (and they don’t appreciate me laughing at them).
I price ahead of time using masking tape and a marker.
I have small change available. The first five shoppers are likely to be buying something like 50 cent hot pink leg warmers with a fresh twenty dollar bill (yuppie food stamp).
Being lazy, I like to have extra help (extra help also prevents those sticky finger types that think a dollar is even too much for the authentic lava lamp).
Be prepared to haggle, its part of the fun and expected. If you don’t haggle, you’ll disappoint some regulars. I love practicing my negotiating skills during yard sales.
Keep your sense of humor. People are crazy. Keep the snippets in your memory for your memoirs.

My friend is trying to turn me into a whore. He says the money is good. A Bonus Whore that is. He is a professional poker player (that I am turning into a real estate investor!) He's already turned our other friend K into one.

Here's an article with more information:
A Beginner’s Guide to Casino Bonuses

Think casino bonuses are just for –EV gambling suckers? Think again. Despite the common perception, certain casino bonuses are virtually risk-free and basically a license to print money. This post is a general strategy guide to getting started in casino bonuses, pulling together assorted tips and tricks I've learned after embarking into the world o' casino bonuses.

Yeah, I know. Only suckers and degenerate gamblers play at online casinos. The house always has an advantage. You’re guaranteed to lose money if you play long enough. Don’t be a chump.

Yes and no. The house does always have an advantage. But in games such as blackjack, that advantage is very, very small, usually around 0.5%. If the casinos were crazy enough to, oh, say just give you $100 or $200, you could very easily overcome the house advantage and make money playing blackjack. In fact, if you'’re smart and disciplined, you'’re virtually guaranteed to make money, usually around $30-40/hr for the better bonuses. And you only need a bankroll of $100 to get started.

Online casinos are more than happy to hand out fat welcome bonuses to new players each and every day. Why would they do that? Because they know that most people are true gamblers, and aren'’t smart and disciplined enough like you are to seek out the best bonuses and to play in the necessary fashion to maximize the value of the bonus. So for every smart player who takes the bonus and runs, they get three suckers, netting them a hefty overall profit.

All bonuses aren’t created equal, though, so you have to be careful, especially when just starting out. The #1 rule in casino bonuses is to always check the terms and conditions, as they often change and the terms are very, very important, as they can greatly influence your strategy. While I'’ll detail the best strategy, at the current time, for getting started with casino bonuses, you should always double-check to make sure this information is accurate, as the terms and conditions change often.

You should also start with casinos that offer non-sticky bonuses. Non-sticky bonuses are ones that, once you wager enough overall money, you can cash out with no restrictions. Sticky bonuses are ones that you cannot cash out, regardless of whether you'’ve won or lost, and are deducted from your overall total when you cash out. But for this guide we’re just sticking to non-sticky bonuses, so don'’t worry about sticky bonus stuff for the moment.

How much do you need to get started? This guide is written with the assumption that you'll only invest $100 to start and use that as the basis of your casino bonus empire. That said, you can start with more, and there are some advantages to that, if you understand the potential risk. To read a more detailed explanation of casino bonus bankroll issues, click here. But the rest of this guide will proceed under the assumption that you're starting with a $100 bankroll.

Okay, enough jabbering. You'’ve got $100 and you’re ready to roll. All of the casinos listed here accept deposits and process withdrawals via Neteller, so as long as you have a Neteller account, you're good to go. Let’s do this thing.

Step 1: Getting Started>
# Signup at StarLuck and deposit $100. StarLuck is part of the Party network, is completely legitimate, pays cashouts quickly, and has one of the best bonuses out there for players just getting started.

When you deposit $100 at StarLuck as a new player, you’ll immediately get $100 in bonus money to gamble with. So you’ll have $200 to play with when you sit down at the blackjack table. Yes, the blackjack table. Don’t play anything else. Go to this link and print out the basic blackjack strategy card. Follow it religiously for all the blackjack you’ll play.

In order to cash out, you’ll have to wager a certain amount in total bets. At the moment, the wager requirement (WR) at StarLuck is 8 times your deposit + bonus. Since you deposited $100 and got a $100 bonus, you have to make $1,600 in total bets before you can cash out any of your money. Read that again. You have to meet the WR before you can cash out any of your money, whether you’re ahead or behind. You can’t lose a little and bail out with your $100 deposit until you’ve wagered the required WR.

Bet the minimum bet, $1 a hand. Do that over and over and over. Then do it some more. Until you’ve wagered $1,600. Then cash out. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. If you hit a bad stretch, do not start increasing your bets, trying to make it up. This is where the discipline part comes in. Keep betting the minimum, if you truly want the bonuses to be profitable. The only way you’ll show an overall loss is if you lose discipline and start making big bets, trying to get back what you’'ve lost.

Boring, yes, possibly. But also profitable. Because of the bonus they give you, the odds are on your side. Keep in mind that yes, indeed, there’s a very, very, very small chance that you will completely bust out, losing the entire $200 making $1 bets. Just as there’s a very, very, very small chance that you’ll cash out with $600.

(For a lengthier discussion (and some of the underpinning math) on the advantages and disadvantages of betting the minimum possible, see the following article: Recommended Minimum Bet Size for Casino Bonuses. That's the basis for the strategy I advocate in the remainder of this guide, as far as always betting the minimum possible. Yes, you can bet slightly more, but this guide is designed to minimize your risk and give you the best shot at an overall profit.)

Remember, the house advantage is usually only around 0.5%, so the most likely scenario, based on the math, is that you’ll have somewhere around $190 when you clear the WR of $1,600. That’s a nice little likely profit for clicking buttons for a few hours, all with very little risk involved.

One of my sources of school cash was writing articles for newspapers. I wrote for a daily and a weekly covering a specific topic (for one, it was town council meetings, for the other, it was school events). You could say that I wrote my way through school.

Writing helped build my skills. My newspaper training made me the blogger I am today. I learned which words worked, which words didn’t. It built my presence within the community (for my daily column, I even had a headshot so “fans” would recognize me on the streets – very embarrassing after keg parties or on first dates). It gave me a few freebies (event entrance as a fawned over press gal).

Most of all, it paid me cash. Not a lot of cash. About $100 an article but with the number I wrote, it more than paid for textbooks (did you ever notice that textbooks written by the prof were always more expensive?).

I wish I could say that based on my brilliant skill, editors were knocking on my res door.

Nope.

I approached the newspapers. It wasn’t an overnight thing (nothing I’ve done has ever been an overnight thing…I’m a get rich slowly gal).

First I established a relationship with the editors. I would send them story ideas, the summary sent illustrating my writing skills. I would update them on important yet obscure events that readers would be interested in the paper covering.

When I got back the response “We’d like to but we don’t have the reporters free”, I supplied myself as the free reporter! I didn’t get paid upfront (‘cause students are flakey, don’t ya know?) but after the article ran. Eventually I got more and more assignments until I too wasn’t free!

This idea for fast and easy cash, requiring not much start up moolah if you already have the equipment, was posted on Mark Cuban’s blog.

Mark Cuban. As in the hottie millionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban. As in buying a basketball team for fun Mark Cuban. So you know that if he cares enough to put it on his blog, it’s gotta be good.

The big idea?

Going door to door with a scanner and a laptop and scanning photos in for a charge. He’s suggesting a buck a photo which can add up ‘cause I know I have a heck of a lot of photos (cupboards bulging with travel photos that I never look at and never show, once you see one palm tree...).

Think of the older generations without scanners or knowledge of inserting photos in e-mails. Think of people like me that may be too lazy to bother. Think of the people wishing to sell on eBay if only they had a scanner to add a photo.

(Ironically, scanners are one of those computer pieces that I often see sold “free after rebate.” )

If I was to run with this idea (and believe me, I’m tempted), I would whip up some business cards. With any luck, the door-to-door thing (always a pain, I feel like an oversized girl guide) would be a one time occurrence. I’d get enough call in business to retire the Nikes.

Or as Markie baby (my pet name for him…in my dreams) writes “If you want to think big time, set up a service with the local drugstore and have people drop off their pics and you go by every day and return them the next day.”

The fast cash could become permanent cash.

Almost September and that means back to school. This week I’ll be talking about financial ideas for those parents with college aged students (both current and future).

Many students are not fortunate enough to have their ideal college be their local college.
(Or maybe they merely want to live away from home). That means that they have to travel, live away from home and incur all those extra housing costs.

With the child leaving the “nest”, there’s also a vacant room in the parent’s house.

So what my friend did was an informal student swap. Her daughter is paying for accommodations in another city (renting a room in a house). My friend, in turn, is renting out her daughter’s room to a student attending the local college. The two rents almost offset, the girls’ get their independence, and my friend isn’t feeling as lonely.

Because this is my friend’s home and she was only looking for one girl, she did A LOT of pre-screening. She wanted to feel comfortable. She also didn’t want her house to become an updated version of Animal House. There were rules and expectations clearly laid out.

When I first graduated, I did a very similar thing except that I was the tenant. I rented a room in the basement of a family home. A single girl, I liked having the safety of a family living so close. I worked long hours so having the place feel lived in was important.

Another friend is renting out one bedroom of her two bedroom condo to foreign students. She loves learning about the different cultures and she knows that any rooming situation is fairly short term. Any difficult personality conflicts are easier to take when the student is only there for eight months.

I am admittedly no master baker. I make a mean (and inexpensive) chocolate brownie. The recipe to be found here (I omit the costly walnuts and bake them in mini muffin tins for easy eating). But that’s about the extent of my baking abilities.

Most of my friends are in the same non-cooking boat. One of my buddies has yet to successfully make poptarts (he keeps trying, stubborn man). Despite all this, we get asked often to bring food to potlucks, work functions, church functions, even family reunions (family should know better especially after my famed macaroni and cheese disaster…who knew I had to boil the water first?).

So where do we turn?

One place is to baking blessed friends. One of my male friends (yes, male) makes cakes to live for. They are so sinfully yummy that people started to pay him for his baking time. He baked as “favors” for others and they kicked in a little something extra for his effort. Eventually, he turned legit, getting the business registered and satisfying the health officials.

But his first foray was really unintentional. He baked for friends and family. Then he was asked to participate in a charity bake sale. Attendees asked him if he made cakes. He said privately and gave them his personal business card (personal business cards are a must have especially for people like me always looking for new opportunities). He shamelessly handwrote “bakes first rate cakes” on it so they’d remember.

My buddy told interested parties that he would bake a cake for them for x dollars (a reasonable wage for his time, factoring in a small fee for use of his pans and oven) plus the cost of ingredients. He made it clear that it wasn’t a business, more like a favor (which it was…to begin with). Clients picked the cakes up.

It was so lucrative that now he has his own restaurant featuring…yes, his cakes.

One of the easier sources of mad money that I’ve received has been housesitting.

Housesitting is similar to babysitting except that I’m looking after a house rather than a child. As you can imagine, houses are typically a lot less trouble. They don’t require their sandwiches to be cut into the shape of dinosaurs. They don’t microwave their Barbie dolls. They don’t escape from the fluffy white towel to run wet and soapy around an otherwise dry house.

August (and March break) is prime housesitting time. Many neighbors are at the cottage or in Florida or showing off school age children to proud but far away grandparents.

Typical housesitting duties require me to pop into the house (usually once a day), pick up mail and the newspaper, walk around the house ensuring everything is okay, water plants, etc.

What do I charge?

I factor in how far the house is from my home and what the homeowners wish me to do. I could charge as my base the same as a week’s newspaper subscription (which they should save while being away from home) and then adjust for distance and other factors.

The best way to get housesitting gigs is through word of mouth. I tell friends and family that I’m open to housesitting for a fee. Another source is travel agents. Surprise, surprise, travel agents know a lot of people who…gasp…travel. Usually good solid references are required. Criminal records are of course frowned upon.

Note: Some of my buddies have take housesitting to a whole other level. They look for long term housesitting opportunities (say at vacation homes) and offer to live in these homes while the owner is away. Normally they get free room in exchange for keeping the home occupied.

When money is tight, it’s so easy to make excuses not to invest. I’m great at excuses. Give me something I don’t want to do and I can find an excuse.

Taking care of my future self is too important to listen to these excuses. She’s depending on me and only me. I can’t let her down by falling into the “I’ll invest later” trap.

Instead I turn to my list of quick cash ideas to get me through the dry money stint.

One such idea is to participate in a focus group.

One of the stages in new product development is to hold a focus group (usually in larger cities). Basically the company gathers a group of “average” people in a room and asks them questions. “Do you like this commercial?” “How does this commercial make you feel?” (They’re hoping you’ll say “like running out and buying the product right this second” but that, like me winning the Powerball, never happens).

For giving up my time, I get paid. Last focus group I did (on a funky new credit card) paid me $100 for one hour of my time.

How did I find this opportunity?

I looked in the job want ad section in the paper (most libraries stock the local paper). There was an ad looking for a female Ford truck driver, offering money for her opinion. Now I wasn’t a Ford truck driver but I knew that if they were looking for people to give opinions on this topic, they likely were looking for people to give opinions on other topics. So I called and signed up.

I was put into a database. Every week or so, I’d get called to ask if I wanted to participate in the focus group. They’d ask me qualifying questions like my household income level, marital status, product related questions, that sort of thing (I'd never give out more personal information like my social security number)

Then I’d be sent to a location (I'd always make certain I told another responsible person where I was going, I usually also check out the company with the Better Business Bureau and Google the name to see if there are any complaints, oh and I match the location I’m being sent to the company address in the phone book). I’d sit in a videotaped room with a group of others and a moderator, answer questions and get paid cash at the end of the session.

Quick easy cash. The only drawback to this idea is that focus group companies only like me to do one focus group a year. This is to prevent “professional” focus group attendees (remember we’re supposed to be average people).