Since I was young, I’ve always looked for ways to make money. My brother, Randy, and I would be out at the first snowfall, shoveling driveways for our neighbors, then in the Spring using a push mower for our “lawn mowing business.” Although looking back, I think he did most of the work but we loved any money making opportunity. We had a lot of schemes, lemonade stands, cleaning the parking lot and bathrooms at the gas station, doing the neighbors’ laundry, then finally my first job at 12 years old with a paper route. It’s not a surprise that both my brother and I run our own businesses. I think being an entrepreneur is something that you have in you, always looking for new opportunities or challenges.
That’s great if you want a career working for yourself but what if you just want to make a few bucks in your spare time? If you have some good computer or writing skills, Elance.com or Freelancer.com are great websites to sign up for. People or companies post their jobs and you bid on the projects. It’s great part time work by assignment. Here are a few other ideas for making money online and offline:
Amazon Turk – This site has everything from filling out surveys to writing articles. The money isn’t that great, maybe $12 a job but if you had a few hours to kill, why not make your grocery money for the week!
Write some Articles – Not long ago, there really wasn’t that much work for writers but now everyone is looking for content to share on their blogs or social media accounts. Newspapers, blogs, websites and even companies are looking for writers who can write articles for their marketing projects.
Amazon Seller – What can you do with all those books you’ve read and CDs you never listen to anymore? Become an Amazon Seller and sell them! Of course, you can’t get the new price for them but Amazon does allow you to charge for shipping.
Fitness Class – I follow a lady on Facebook who is really into yoga. In fact, she started a yoga class in her garage for fellow yoga fans. Soon, she started charging $5 for each class. She is going to do yoga anyway, might as well invite people. A small payment like that is worth it to her customers for her guidance.
Fiverr.com or Tenerr.com – What will you do for $5 or $10? Browse this site and see what skills you can sell. It’s a one time job, but can you imagine how the money can pile up after a few jobs? I actually purchased some stock photographs from a photographer taking pictures of offices. They were professionally done and useful for my client’s websites and much cheaper than purchasing them from a stock photo site.
I hope these tips will inspire you to make a little extra money if you are so inclined. You have to take the initiative but it should pay off or at least keep your skills up to date.