Wednesday, April 13, 2011

How To Make Money At Your Local Flea Markets

How To Make Money At Your Local Flea Markets



Flea markets can hold the key to making a part or full time income if you have the determination to make the most of it. You can sell all kinds of things but most people tend to specialize in something in particular – either because they have a natural interest in that subject or because it holds the potential to make a lot of money.
The basic idea is to source your products elsewhere and then flip them for a profit at the local flea markets – but you can work it the other way as well, as the full article reveals.
Most people love flea markets because they are a huge hive of activity; you can buy practically anything you like at one of these events if the price is right.
The key to selling successfully is to find out what people want and then get it from somewhere else to sell at a profit. Check your local papers in the items for sale section; people are often so eager to get rid of stuff they don’t want you can pick up a lot of stuff at dirt cheap prices and then sell it on for a handsome profit.
Books are a great seller, and they are often something that people will clear out at very low prices just to get rid of the ones they no longer want. EBay is another possibility; job lots of books are usually too heavy to mail out so you’ll need to collect them, but this reduces your competition when it comes to other bids. Many people start the bidding at less than a dollar and you can often win the auction for dozens of books at this low price.
You can also buy stock from wholesalers. There are plenty of these that sell brand new goods that will sell well at flea markets, but order minimum quantities to begin with until you know a certain item sells well. Do your research by wandering round a flea market as a potential customer; this will help you to identify the busiest stalls and the expert sellers who are making the most money. Presentation counts for a lot as well. A messy stall won’t attract as much attention as one that is well ordered and laid out.
Alternatively you can search for products at the flea markets by getting them as cheaply as you can, and then turning round and selling them on a website such as eBay. This takes a lot of knowledge since not all products will fetch a profit. Look out for people selling job lots of items to get rid of them, which you could then break up to sell individually.
Most people are becoming aware of what their items are worth now though, so your best chance of getting the most out of a flea market will be as a seller, not a buyer.
If you like the idea of doing this, make sure you visit the very next flea market in your local area. It will give you a chance to take a look round in order to see what the busiest sellers are selling to their customers. Check out how they work and what kind of goods interest you. You can then start looking for your stock elsewhere – and who knows, you might even have a stall of your own at the next flea market to hit town.
Be sure to leave us a comment below before you start sourcing your stock though!

How to Make Money Becoming a Personal Concierge

How to Make Money Becoming a Personal Concierge


If you have tons of time on your hands, are an organized person and enjoy helping others, you may just have found the career of a lifetime: a personal concierge. A personal concierge has the fun task of doing for others what they don’t have time to do for themselves. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? Being a personal concierge can be a very rewarding job and one that pays good money as well.
Do You Have What it takes to be a Personal Concierge?
While becoming a personal concierge sounds like an exciting job and may put you among the lives of the rich and famous, there are certain qualifications you’ll need to be successful at the job. While it’s often the wealthy that hire a personal concierge, you may also find jobs as a personal concierge with elderly or disabled individuals that can’t do these, often, simple things for themselves.
Becoming a personal concierge requires making your clients feel like they’re the most important person in the universe and that you’re dedicated to providing them with the services they require. However, are you cut out for this type of work? Here is self-test you can take to determine if a personal concierge is the right choice for you before you run out and tackle this exciting new career.
  • Do you make friends easily with everyone you meet? As a personal concierge, your client needs to feel comfortable with you.
  • Are you good with challenges and meeting deadlines? As a personal concierge, you’ll be expected to provide a service for you client when it’s convenient to them. When they want something done, they may want it NOW.
  • Are you good at juggling numerous tasks at one time and being successful at it?
  • Are your creative enough to be able to fulfill the needs of all your clients?
Setting up Your Personal Concierge Service
If you’ve passed the self-test, you’re ready to get started and embark on a new career of helping to bring happiness into the lives of others. Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands because the needs of your clients will take over and your time will become their time.
The first step in becoming a personal concierge is determining what your skills are as well as what services are required the most in your area. Obviously, if you live in a large city, you’ll find more opportunities but even small towns have people that are willing to pay for many services they cannot do on their own. Start by making up business cards offering your services. You may have numerous skills you can do. Some common services include the following:
  • Child care (supervision, chauffeuring)
  • How To Make Money On The Internet With Affiliate Marketing
  • Errand service (banking, dry cleaning, delivery, pharmacy pickup, etc)
  • Dining and entertainment (private tours, reservations, buying tickets)
  • House-sitting services (gardening, checking on teens, keeping refrigerator full0
  • Pet Care Service (walking, feeding, grooming)
  • Corporate and executive assistance (transporting clients, planning meetings and events)
  • Office help (copying, faxing, filing)
  • Shopping Services (returning items, groceries, gift-wrapping and purchasing)
  • Maintenance & repair service (getting quotes, arranging service, providing access)
These are just a few of the many services that you can provide as a personal concierge. Start scouring your neighborhoods, including hotels, hospitals and businesses and you’ll be surprised at the many new clients you may pick up along the way. Always, remember to leave your business card. Advertising on the internet is also a great way to find new clients for your personal concierge business.

How to Make Money as a Pet or House Sitter

How to Make Money as a Pet or  Housesitter


Making money as a pet or house sitter is much easier than you may realize. Most families are two-income families that have their homes left alone and unattended much more than they’d like as well as their pets. Many of these people are more than willing to pay someone to sit in their house or with their pets.
House sitting for Safety Reasons
Many homeowners hire people to sit in their homes while they’re gone for a number of reasons but safety is often at the top of the list. If would-be burglars have been lurking around in the neighborhood, they always seem to know which homes are left unattended day after day. Hiring a person to sit in their home will not only ward off potential intruders but leaves the homeowner with a sense of security. In addition, you’re making money doing this!
Sitting with Pets
More families than ever today now have pets, some have more than one. While this is great for the pet industry, it’s bad for the pets that are left alone while their owners are working. If only they had someone they could trust to come and walk their dogs for a bit or just house sit with them. This is where you step in and save the day! You can make money sitting in homes and watching their pets or just keeping them company so they’re not left alone so much. Believe it or not, people are willing to pay for these services. If you put in enough hours or have enough regular clients, you can make some good money pet or house sitting.
Hotels Have Guests with Pets
You local hotels are great placing to find potential customers that will be willing to pay good money for you to sit with their pets or walk them. More travelers than ever are now taking pets, particularly dogs, with them on vacation. However, many times they want to do things that they can’t do with their pets and would be more than willing to pay someone to come and sit with them in their hotel room or take them out for awhile so they can get fresh air and exercise.
I have traveled many times with my two German shepherd dogs and have had to give up on my fun activities because my beloved friends could not join me. Being in a strange town and unfamiliar hotel, I had no idea of what to do with my dogs. I would have loved if the hotel offered brochures or business cards of individuals willing to come and sit with my dogs or take them out walking.
Advertising
The first step towards making money pet or house sitting is to make yourself known in your community. Make up some business cards or brochures and get them to any public place that will distribute or hang them. Ask your family and friends to advertise for you as well. If you’re internet savvy, you can even set up a website for your new business, complete with all your information and contact information. This will work great for travelers planning on being in your area in the future.

How to Make Money as a Travel Writer

How to Make Money as a Travel Writer


Have you spent a lot of time traveling and would like to share your experiences with others? Do you feel you have a lot to offer other people wishing to travel but don’t know how to keep them informed? Consider a career as a travel writer! Not only will you be able to share your travel experiences with others buy you can make money while you’re doing it.
There are several ways you can make money as a travel writer. Choose the one (or more than one) that appeals to you the most and get started making money doing something you love.
  • Posting on other people’s blogs. Blogging is HUGE today and it’s all over the internet. You’d be hard pressed to find a website that doesn’t have a blog site for visitors to leave a post. The neat thing about blogging is that for almost any subject you can think about, there’s going to be several blogging sites. Check out some traveling blog sites and offer them your articles. Although most sites require you to write at least a few hundred words, if you have a lot of travel experience, you’ll have no problem completing the assignment. Set a certain fee for your article and begin making money. Blogs are constantly in need of fresh new content, which you can provide for them.
  • Start up your own blog post. While you may not get people that come to your blog site to instantly start buying your travel articles, they will come there to read them and will return for more. This makes your site the perfect place to put your ads in hopes of selling them. If you’ve ever thought of becoming an affiliate partner with some business, this is a great opportunity. While your travel articles will generate traffic to your site, the ads will bring in the revenue!
  • Consider writing your travel articles on project sites. The internet is a place filled with many project sites where people bid and sell their work. Guru, Elance and DoMyStuff are just a few project websites where you’ll find many people interested in buying your work. You can set up an account for free as a provider of written content. Check out advertisements for people looking for writing projects and you may just find someone looking for exactly what you have to offer. You do the writing assignment and you’ll be paid online, where the money will be deposited directly into your account. Check these sties out today. There just may be someone looking for travel information that only you can provide them with!
  • Toshiba PA3761U-1DV2 Portable/Slim USB SuperMulti DVD-Writer

How to Make Money as a Dog Walker

How to Make Money as a Dog Walker  Walky Dog Hands Free Bicycle Leash



Do you love dogs and love spending time with them? It’s a known fact that more people than ever are dog owners. Dogs are now taking a much larger role in the family and the household than in the past when they were kept outdoors or in a kennel. It’s also a known fact that more households are two-income families with both members working all day and not much spare time. Where does this leave the dog?
The dog is cooped up in the house all day, left in a kennel or tied to a cable for hours on end. This is unfortunate but, in many cases, this cannot be helped. If there were an alternative, most of these dog-lovers would take it. You can be their alternative and make money doing it! Imagine making money doing something you’d love doing for free! More people than ever today are willing to pay someone to walk their dog when they’re unable to do it for themselves. Dogs needs exercises and you can be the one to provide them and their owners with what you need.
Setting up Your Business
Setting up your dog-walking business is very easy. If you have access to a computer you can make up brochures or business cards. Make attractive ads advertising what you’ll do for their dog: walking, grooming or just spending time with them. Make sure you put all your contact information on the advertisements such as name, address, phone number and even your email address, since most people spend a lot of time online. You may even want to tell them you provide references.
Wondering where you’re going to get references? If you want to make money walking dogs, you probably love dogs and enjoy being around them. If this is so, there are plenty of people that are aware of this and may be more than willing to give you a referral as someone they’d trust with their dog. Check with your local veterinarian as he/she may be willing to give you a good referral or even write you a letter of recommendation. Your veterinarian may even be able to give you names of people that are in need of your services.
Check out the Competition
Ask around and see if there are others that are making money dog walking. If so, you can get an idea of what to charge for your services as different areas may require prices. If there are others doing this in your area, you may want to speak with them to get some tips on different potential customers. They may have more than they can handle and be willing to share the load or give you referrals.
Advertising
Advertising is a must when you’re starting off your dog-walking business. Give out your business cards to everyone you know and ask that they spread the word. Hang your brochures in any places that allow this so people can see that you are available and know how to contact you. You may want to go to hotels in the area (pet-friendly hotels) and let them know of your services or ask if you can leave your brochures with them for visitors that have dogs that may need your service.

Freelance Your Article Talents, Graphic Design, Web And Brochure Design

Freelance Your Article Talents, Graphic Design, Web And Brochure Design   Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual



If you are creative in some way then you have a talent that can be capitalized on. No matter whether it is writing or designing, there are plenty of people out there who need things written or designed and who can’t do it themselves.
This is where you come in. If you can promote your services to the people who need them, you can bring in a lot of work. You just need to know what you have to offer so you can target the right people.
Luckily there are plenty of ways to do that both on and offline.
Okay so first off, where do your talents lie? I don’t just mean what area they are in, I mean what aspects of your talent mark you out from your competition when it comes to showing off your skills to the people who might just want to pay you for them?
The answer to this question will help you decide how and where to promote yourself. Having your own website is almost essential if you are to look professional; if your talents lie in web design then you should have no problems doing this, and if you are a writer then you can create your own copy and seek the help of a designer to put them on a professionally created website for you.
But what is the easiest way to get your first job?
The best thing to do is to go looking for it. There are several reputable websites online which allow buyers to link up with service providers, and many of them are global in nature. This means you could be in the US and working for clients in Australia, the UK and many other countries besides.
If you sign up to one of these sites make sure you create an outstanding profile for yourself. Potential clients will read this to see what kind of person you are, so you should keep it professional and make it sound good even if you haven’t yet done any professional work for anyone. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Another good way of promoting your services offline is to get a stack of high quality business cards made up to hand out to people who ask about your services. You could do the same with tri-fold brochures and pamphlets too.
You might also find it easier to get those first few jobs if you find some other people who are freelancing their own talents online and see what they are doing to get work. Some people run their own blogs and often reveal something of what they do on there. You would be amazed at how sharing some people are, so make the most of what they have to say and learn from their experiences.
Incidentally, there are some bloggers who have a regular job feed for creative work linked in to their blog from another site, so keep your eyes peeled for these and bookmark them in your favorites when you find them. It’s worthwhile keeping a special folder with these kinds of websites in it, so you can check it each day to see if there are any jobs that appeal to your talents that you can apply for.
You will generally find that you will start getting a mixture of work from your own efforts to find it on job sites, and people finding you through your own website. What you really need to aim for in both cases is satisfying the client so they come back to you for all their creative needs in future. Regular clients mean regular paychecks, so keep plugging away at it!
No business is built overnight, but freelancing is one of those businesses that can really build into a huge income if you persevere and hone your talents. Keep that in mind during the early days, and you will soon be kissing your regular job goodbye!
Don’t forget you can leave a comment for us by using the form below – we always love to hear from our readers!

Form an At Home Inbound Call Center & Make Money

Form an At Home Inbound Call Center & Make Money



Are you a stay-at-home mom looking to make some spare money? Do you like talking on the telephone? Do you have tons of spare time at home with little to do? If you’ve answered “yes” to these questions, you are the perfect candidate for a at home inbound call center agent.
What is an “at home inbound call center” agent?
If you’ve ever contacted a business about some topic or another, chances are you were speaking to an at home inbound call center agent. Businesses take in many phone calls in a day’s time. While they value their customer’s feedback and concerns, they don’t always have the manpower or funds in their business to pay for a full-time staff of people to answer the phone so they outsource this work. Here’s where an “at home inbound call center agent” comes into the picture.
By hiring someone else outside of the company, they’re able to ensure that their customers’ calls are answered in a timely fashion without having to pay the same wage they would have to pay the employee if they worked within the company. By hiring an “outsider”, they don’t have to offer benefits such as holiday or vacation pay, insurance, pensions, etc. so they’re getting the job done while saving money at the same time.
Form an at home inbound call center & make money at home
Many companies today are hiring workers outside their office. If you’re interested in forming an inbound call center in your home, research different companies that are outsourcing their work as they may have opportunities for inbound call center agents.
There are many sites online where you can research pay rates and qualifications required to be a inbound call center agent. This will give you the “heads-up” as to what you need to know before applying for one of these positions. Once you know what your requirements will be and what to expect, you can make business cards and start making calls or paying visits to companies wishing to outsource their calls.
How To Make Money On The Internet With Affiliate Marketing
Many individuals find positions as in home inbound call center agents and work for more than one company if the work load allows it.
Requirements of an inbound call center agent
Being an at home inbound call center agent can be a rewarding experience and can make you some excellent money, both part-time and full-time. However, there are some requirements you’ll need to meet before you can form your inbound call center in your home.
  • You’ll need a computer with a Windows operating system and a processor of at least 300 MHz as well as an adequate amount of hard drive space.
  • How to Make Money & Spend It God's Way (DVD)
  • You’ll need internet access. You’ll need to have an email address since most of the actual call center work and communication will be done on the computer. You may also be required to download an instant messenger or VoIP application so you can communicate with your company instantly if the need arises.
  • You have to have a telephone, obviously and most companies prefer it’s a corded telephone.
  • Good telephone etiquette is a necessity. Believe it or not, not everyone is cut out to be an inbound call center agent. You need to be courteous, friendly and have a good telephone attitude with all customers.

Earning Money With Scrap Metal

Earning Money With Scrap Metal    Scrap Metal


Sometimes you can walk right past a great way to make money without even realizing that it’s there. This is definitely the case with scrap metal, because you have probably walked or driven right past loads of stuff and not even given it a second thought – except perhaps to be mad at people for dumping it where they shouldn’t.
And that’s exactly how you can make some fast cash as well as tidying your neighborhood up a bit. All it takes is a bit of know how, a van or car to put the stuff into, and then you can enjoy the fruits of your labors by driving back home with some cash in your back pocket.
The first thing to find out when you start making money with scrap metal is where your nearest scrap metal yard is. You will probably find you have one quite nearby and it only takes a short amount of time to either give them a call or drive by to have a chat and find out what they take and how much they would pay you for it.
This is an important first step because you don’t want to be accumulating lots of what you think they will take only to arrive and find you have to take half of it away with you again!
So, once you’ve done your homework you can start thinking about finding the type of scrap metal they want. But where do you start looking?
The easiest place to start is at home, believe it or not. Have you got any old tire rims off your old car that are filling up the garage and not serving any real purpose? There’s your first item right there. How about old grill bits from that broken barbeque? Once you start thinking along the right lines and you know what they will accept, you will automatically know what direction to start looking in.
It helps to allocate some space in your garage or maybe your shed to store all the stuff in until you have enough to take to your local scrap metal yard, as you’ll want to wait until you have a fair amount before you part with it. Keep it tidy otherwise it could cause an accident.
You can also do some advertising and relieve local people of their own scrap metal. Have a leaflet made up which lists all the things you’re after, and ask them to call you if they have anything they want to get rid of. All you need to do then is call round and pick it up, and then convert it into cash yourself.
After a while you will become known as someone who provides this service and people will start calling you more often. When you think about it you’re making life easier for them, as you’re saving them a trip to get rid of it themselves, and many people don’t think of cashing in their old scrap metal in this way.
Are you starting to think about all the stuff you’ve already got lying around that could get you started? If you are, then now is the time to find that local yard! But before you go, leave a comment below to tell us your plans for cashing in on this idea.

Create A Local Wedding Services Guide And Website

Create A Local Wedding Services Guide And Website


One of the most complicated things in life has to be planning a wedding. There are dozens of things to think about and plenty of things you need to find. If someone could just point you in the right direction of all the services you needed then it would certainly take a lot of the hassle out of the whole planning process.
If you like a bit of research then you could be the owner of a great website giving everyone everything they need to know to plan the perfect wedding. And it’s an idea that you can use in other areas too.
Where is the first place you usually go to find information? For most people the answer is undoubtedly the internet. There is an almost insatiable market for information and if you can provide it you’ll start getting traffic from all directions.
Weddings are a good subject to cover as you can provide a website which is dedicated to services in your local area, and is split into sections according to the different sources of information someone would need. So for example you could have a section on florists, another one on hire cars for weddings, another one on venues, another one on clothing and wedding dresses, and so on.
But rather than just providing details of each supplier that you can find in your area, you need to make the website more valuable to everyone who finds it. You can do this quite easily by writing some unique content for each section and each page, in order to pique the interest of everyone who reads it. Try and think about what people want to know when they are online looking for information to help them plan their wedding, and provide as much of that knowledge as you can.
It would also help to provide more than just the contact details for each business you feature on your site. Write down some information about them as well – where they are, how long they have been in business, what they specialize in and so on. You could even write to businesses inviting them to appear on your site for a small fee – a great way for them to get publicity and a good way for you to earn some cash as well. You could renew the fee every twelve months, and they would no doubt provide you with all the information you need for an accurate listing as well.
You can also monetize your website by adding Google Adsense; it will display adverts that are relevant to your audience so you can be sure they will be interested in reading about other companies who provide wedding services, and you could achieve a reasonable click through rate as a result.
Another way to earn some cash through your site is to look for affiliate programs that are wedding related. Sites like Commission Junction allow you to promote a whole range of goods from different companies, so you might be able to find a lot of different products and companies that you could recommend to everyone, as well as providing information for a specific area.
This is obviously an idea that you could roll out to other areas and states as you go along; you might end up with a whole network of sites serving all kinds of different areas, and it doesn’t have to stop at weddings either. Any type of industry or service could be adapted to provide a useful website along the same lines.
If you like the sound of this idea, leave a comment below to let us know! Then it could be time to start up your own empire of wedding related websites.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)