Printable Manufacturer Grocery Coupons 2012 | Savings Lifestyle » Strategies to Earn

Disney Movie Rewards: New 10 Point Code

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 19:15:59 +0000

There is a new Disney Movie Rewards Point Code. Just log in or sign up here and enter the code BOTHER worth 10 points.

This is a great program to earn Disney posters, DVDs, books and more! I have earned quite a few points with these free codes!

Hurry, not sure how long this code will be active!

Make Money Doing Online Surveys

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:45:40 +0000

I’ve talked about doing online surveys in the past. I figured many people who are here probably didn’t read through those posts way back when so including this in the Earn Money from Home series is a great reminder and explanation!

When I first started looking at how to make money online, I fell upon online surveys. There are so many sites saying they offer cash for online surveys and it seemed too good to be true. Well, it was.

I did the research for you on legitimate sites for online surveys and found some of the best. I’ve added to the list through the years because others have shared their experiences with various companies.

So, rather than list list out all of the information for you again, I’m going to direct you to a few posts to help you get started with making money online doing legitimate surveys.

As I mention in the online surveys overview post, you will not become a millionaire doing surveys online. BUT, you can have a decent amount of fun money each month if you are diligent with completing surveys. As always, let me know if you have any questions about this post or any of the others in this series!

If you have a unique way you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Teaching and Tutoring for Side Income

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:45:20 +0000

Do you watch Shark Tank? Well I did last weekend because a local company, Tom & Chee was on (and they got a deal!!). They also had another really interesting company that does voice translation with a live person by making a simple phone call. In their pitch, they mentioned that many of the translators are actually teachers or tutors and can speak multiple languages. That makes sense!

Can you use your skills, talents and education to help educate someone else? You can find online tutoring and teaching jobs and teach people from all around the world. You can teach another language. You can tutor children or adults. Private tutors can also be employed by parents who prefer home schooling for their kids.

If you have knowledge in a specific topic and are interested in helping others learn, explore online education. Becoming a private tutor is an excellent way to establish your own small business.

Working as a Tutor

Parents will hire tutors not only to assist their children who are struggling with certain subjects, but also to give them an edge by preparing them for college. The sessions are done in an informal setting, like the student’s home, your own home or even the library.

As a tutor, you get to enjoy the flexibility of setting your own schedule, although you’ll probably need to work evenings or weekends when students are not in school.

Requirements for Becoming a Tutor

You actually need no specific qualifications to be a tutor, although you can assume that most parents would like you to hold a four-year college degree. Practical experience can also be useful, such as real-world business or entrepreneurial experience.

Tutoring is a low-cost business to set up, since the students provide most materials, such as textbooks.

Income Potential of Starting Your Own Tutoring Service

Typical tutoring rates start at $15 per hour. Different specialties may demand a higher hourly rate. Think that’s not a lot?

If you tutor 20 hours a week at $20 an hour for 36 weeks each year (the average length of the traditional school year), for example, your annual income would be $14,400. That’s not chump change!

Marketing Your Tutoring Service

Again, we’ll go over marketing next week. But, for tutors or teachers specifically, visit the local schools that you’re interested in and ask about their tutoring needs. If you happen to know any school teachers, contact them to see if they have any students who need tutoring assistance.

Also considering networking with the parents in your own neighborhood or at school-related gatherings. Let your friends at church know that you are available. Even consider to reaching out to local homeschool co-ops if you have a special skill they may need assistance with (foreign language, advanced math or sciences, etc).

If you have a unique way to earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

How to Start Working as a Virtual Assistant

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:45:19 +0000

Here is another post that I wish I would have known about before I started blogging. I feel like my forte in work has always been my administrative and project management skills. If I had created my own business like this before blogging, well, things would be very different.

Since I didn’t do that, I know you can benefit as a Virtual Assistant if you have the skills it takes.

What is a Virtual Assistant

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an administrative assistant/support team member to help with whatever needs done. What tasks, you ask? Literally whatever the person hiring you needs to have done.

Job duties can range from managing a personal calendar to managing an editorial calendar. There are so many ways to work with someone which is why being flexible is a key to your long-term success.

VA Qualifications

VA’s should have a prior experience with many software packages. Popular choices are Word, Excel, Powerpoint. But, now that translates to using Google Drive and creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations. A VA must also be comfortable communicating online and via phone (or Google Hangouts and Skype instead).

Paying attention to detail is critical since you will be acting as a representative of the company. Also, excellent customer service skills. You may be interfacing with clients or stakeholders in the company, and need to offer superior customer service at all times.

Personally, the VA’s I see as most successful are the ones who require limited direction and are a self-starter. I’ve seen some crash and burn because they require a lot of hand holding. That just won’t fly for VA’s (or anywhere for that matter).

Define Availability and Expectations

The key in being a successful VA is understanding the inner-workings of the company’s operations. Even if it’s an independent business owner (like me), the more you can streamline communication and offer efficiencies, the more invaluable you will be. But, in order to do that, you need to understand what improvements can be made in the day-to-day operations.

Make realistic promises. Start off slow and add clients or responsibilities for clients gradually. The quickest way to lose a good client is by under-delivering. You will the client’s respect and trust.

Be very clear with what days of the week you work, and even your hours. If you need Sunday off, that is totally fine. Just let people know in advance so they can schedule accordingly.

Clearly define your services. When your clients understand up-front what your specialties are, they will be equipped to know what kinds of projects or tasks they can delegate to you.

Given the nature of VA work, defining your availability is also extremely important. You could literally work all day and all night since you’re at home. You don’t want to do this! Not only will you get burnt out fast but you will be less productive without some rest.

Tools Required to Start as a VA

The most common and I would say necessary tools for the job are the most current version of Microsoft Office. You should have and be comfortable using Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. If you are working with clients that use the web, understanding HTML is a plus! You can often attend free classes at the local libraries on these software packages.

So much of a VA’s work is based online so having DSL is crucial. Also consider having a backup source in case your DSL is down so you can continue with projects. Being familiar with Google Hangouts and Skype is a also a plus since that may be how you communicate with clients.

The overhead costs for VA’s are minimal. So, put your investment into your home office equipment and purchase quality over price. Having the latest technology on hand and continuing to acquire and master new skills will increase your desirability and worth in the eyes of your clients. It will also demonstrate your commitment to your career.

Getting Clients

Getting that first client is the biggest hurdle, but it’s not impossible. If you know friends who are online, ask them if they need help. Possibly barter your services in exchange for a testimonial on your site or LinkedIn. Getting a recommendation from someone who is influential can go a long way!

Also start with some of the sites I mentioned in another post in this series, Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online. Again, you may want to consider those lower paying jobs initially to get those referrals. In time, you can establish your true hourly rate and it may just be quadruple what you started our earning!

I can’t stress this enough: pay attention to your accuracy and final product that you submit to your clients. Meet all of your deadlines, and know at least two days ahead of time if you are not going to be able to meet them. Communicate that to your client before the project is late and keep in communication on a daily basis from the beginning to the end of all projects with brief status reports. This will ensure your rate stays the same and you continue to get referrals.

Smart business owners understand the value of a VA. For my business, I know I can hand off projects and a team member manages it to the end. That confidence I have is really priceless. I know that delegating projects to talented individuals will help me make more money down the road.

If you have a unique way to earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Make Money with Mystery Shopping

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:45:26 +0000

Do you love to shop and dine out? What if you could get PAID to do both of those things? You won’t be a millionaire but you could make a decent side income with mystery shopping.

What is Mystery Shopping?

Mystery Shopping is a topic I get questions on a lot. It’s basically like I just mentioned – getting paid to visit stores, restaurants and other establishments and interact as a normal customer. Afterwards, you complete a report report about your experience during the trip.

You don’t just go in and do what you want. No, the businesses have a specific criteria they want you to follow so you can provide thorough feedback. During your “shop”, you will follow the guidelines and instructions and file a report on the pre-designed questionnaires. The management of the establishment uses your report to make improvements that help in better customer retention, enhanced client loyalty and improving the bottom line of the company.

Mystery Shopping Qualifications

You truly don’t need to have any professional training to be a mystery shopper. You can get certified but that’s not necessary in order to get opportunities. The more detailed and thorough your report is, the higher your feedback rating will be which will help you get more better and higher paying opportunities.

You MUST have decent writing skills and understand how to use a computer since you will be filing reports. Also, having good follow through to ensure that you take the shop that you are assigned and report back the findings.

Getting Started as a Mystery Shopper

To get started, you need to determine what fields you would prefer to work with. Retail, dining, banking, etc. This is established by you so make it something that you enjoy. Also, decide how much time you can commit to doing each shop. You don’t want to overcommit and then not be able to fulfill the assignment.

As you start signing up with mystery shopping companies, do not be shocked when they ask for your social security number. This is done so they can report earnings to the IRS because, this is a job. Only provide your SSN to a site that says “https” in the URL since that ensures that site is secure.

Just as I’ve mentioned in the Tips to Requesting Freebies, it will be helpful to create a second email address that is just devoted to mystery shopping opportunities. Check that email address frequently though so you don’t miss out on any shops. The really good ones tend to fill up fast. Gmail is free and you can set up cool filters (it’s my email provider of choice).

Payment for Shops

Shops range in price from $10-$40 per hour, and even more for the complete assignment! The compensation may come in cash, or with the experience of visiting the restaurant or other establishment that offers something that you can enjoy.

On top of that, if you are required to purchase anything from the store you are typically reimbursed for those expenses as well. Side note, be sure to keep track of your mileage to/from shops as that is a tax deduction for you.

Legitimate Mystery Shopping Websites

You want to apply to several mystery shopping companies to ensure you are as busy as you want to be. Don’t be concerned that you will have too much work. You have an option! You can always turn down a job if you are too busy to work on a specific assignment.

Here are several legitimate mystery shopping websites to join:

Also, check out the Mystery Shop Forum to find other mystery shopping companies and opportunities.

Have you ever worked as a Mystery Shopper?
Got any other companies to suggest or tips to share?

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

How to Earn Money as a General Transcriptionist

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:45:15 +0000

Three years ago my husband decided to go back to school for an MBA. I was great at saving money, but now I needed to find a way to earn money. None of the income-earning ideas that I read about online intrigued me until I stumbled upon something called general transcription.

What is Transcription?

Transcription is turning audio or video into a written, typed format. A general transcriptionist works on interviews, podcasts, speeches, forums, sermons, financial calls, etc. There is also legal and medical transcription, but those require either prior legal experience or taking a medical transcription course.

How To Get Started as a Transcriptionist

First, ask yourself a few quick questions.

Are you the go-to person for editing and proofreading?
Are you a whiz at researching online and finding obscure facts?
Do you have an ear for accents and are you able to identify people by the sound of their voice?
Can you follow explicit directions?
Finally, are you prepared to be a professional and to turn in your best work, spend extra time on hard files if needed, and commit to deadlines? If so, keep reading.

Where to Find Transcription Work

Most transcriptionists contract with large transcription companies. In order to gain a contract with a company, you need to submit a resume with a cover letter and then pass their audio test. Many transcription companies require prior transcription experience, but there are a few companies that will hire someone without prior experience including:

Before you jump into testing for companies, you’ll want to prepare so that you’ll have the best chance of being accepted.

Tools To Start Working as a Transcriptionist

Headphones
I started off with a $10 earbud set from Wal-Mart and upgraded later.
Audio Player
Express Scribe and The Record Player are two free audio players that will let you use text expanders and hot keys on your keyboard to control the audio.
Foot Pedal
I bought the Infinity foot pedal after I had landed a contract, but some people recommend buying one before you land a contract so that you can practice with it.
High-Speed Internet
Microsoft Word (or other word processing program)

Practice

The best way to learn something is to just do it. Download a podcast or a speech from online and play it with your new audio player. Type what you hear, using correct grammar and punctuation. Don’t be discouraged if your first run-through takes a long time. The industry standard is completing an hour of audio in three to four hours, but for beginners it may take six or seven hours.

Look for podcasts or sources of audio that have transcripts attached so that you can check your practice work such as Freakonomics, NPR, or Brain Science Podcast.

Research

Unfortunately, some people will try to take advantage of those who desire to work from home. I recommend joining one or two transcription forums where transcriptionists discuss which companies to avoid, the average pay a beginner should accept (hint: try not to accept things below $40 an audio hour), how a transcription resume differs from other resumes, how to become more efficient, and many other topics. It is not unusual for companies to pass along that they’re hiring through the forums.

Two forums that I recommend are Transcription Essentials and Transcription Haven.

Obtain Volunteer or Overflow Work

You will be more confident applying for companies once you have some experience to put on your resume.

Sometimes people on the forums will post volunteer opportunities, usually for a nonprofit. This is a good way for you to gain feedback and a potential referral. Since your time is valuable, I recommend only doing volunteer work once or twice, but it can give you good experience. There is also occasional overflow work opportunities that are posted on the forums for active, contributing members.

You can also look for transcription opportunities on Elance or oDesk, but be warned that the pay may be low and the competition high.

Start Applying for Transcription Work

Once you feel prepared, start applying to some of the larger companies. Don’t give up if you’re not accepted by the first few companies that you apply to. Keep trying. If you’re determined and you’re skilled then you will eventually land a contract and become a general transcriptionist.

Chelsea Flint is a full-time mother and a part-time transcriptionist. She enjoys reading, going on walks, and helping others earn money from home. She shares her learnings on her blog, athometranscriptionist.com.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business
Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online
Start a Sewing and Alteration Business
How to Self Publish an eBook to Earn Income
Offer Babysitting Services
Internet Research from Home
Earn Money as a Home Organizer
Selling Online to Make Extra Income
Start a Small Business Doing Odds and Ends Jobs
Earn Money By Creating How-To Videos
Seasonal Tax Preparation to Earn Additional Income
How to Make Money Blogging
Home Cooking or Baking Business

Disclosure: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Home Cooking or Baking Business

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:45:35 +0000

I love the flavors of homemade but don’t always have the time to make it myself. Items just don’t taste the same if you pick it up at the store deli either. There are a few places that I will go to for homemade goods because I know what goes into the foods, and I want to support a small business.

Have you thought about offering homemade goods as a business right from your home? First, ask yourself these questions:

Do you enjoy cooking or baking?
Do friends always praise you for your contribution to the cookout?
Are you skilled at making and serving large meals?

There are actually a few ways you can earn extra money cooking or baking from home.

Bulk Cooking Services

Dream Dinners and other similar establishments have grown in popularity over the years. People want to be able to prepare a home-cooked meal after a long day. It’s much healthier than take-out, and can be a lot less on the wallet.

If you do this for your family already, what is doing a few more meals a week knowing that you will receive a paycheck for it in return? Many busy families don’t have the time to prepare meals during the week and will gladly pay for this service.

You can become a personal caterer and cook the meals for families too. Package them for your clients and deliver them. Clients can freeze the meals and reheat them for mealtime.

Catering

If you have a large family or friends that are willing to help you can cater on the weekends to large groups. From birthday parties to weddings you can make good money as a caterer.

You can also become a mobile caterer. A mobile caterer prepares sandwiches, muffins or other food cart foods and parks outside, or inside, a business area. Some mobile caterers drive from business to business during the day offering their home made items.

The key to success as a weekend caterer is finding your niche. For example, if you love to make muffins then you might achieve success as a mobile caterer who serves breakfast foods or pastries. If you excel at making healthy food then a personal catering business may be your key to success.

Baking from Home

If you have the best cookie recipe in town, your friends will pay for that! Literally, they will pay you to make them cookies all day long. My friend Becky created an amazing new business, The Joy of Cookie. As you can see from the photo above, her cookies are not only beautiful but they are delicious too!

I also learned about a newer business locally that offers gluten free baked goods. Someone is passionate, and good at, creating something but doesn’t want to mess with the overhead of a commercial space and regulations. This is an ideal solution to sell baked goods from your home.

Getting Started

Decide what your specialty will be and who your audience is. Look into local laws and regulations regarding the food and service industry. Do you need insurance? Do you need health code approval?

What type of equipment and supplies will you need to get started. How much will all of that cost and determine what your return on that investment will be and how many customers (orders) you need to achieve a solid ROI.

There may not be any special equipement required if you are working from home. But, due the research now to determine what all of those costs will be. Don’t forget your time cost as well. I’ve seen some great small businesses get overwhelmed fast and they had no desire to scale. Set those limits too so you don’t get in over your head.

What will your menu or baked goods offering be? Offer a few select items to start and see what kind of feedback you receive. Then take customer requests and crowdsource what new items you should add to your lineup.

Marketing Ideas

Make sure you have a plan to market your business as well. Local flyers, word of mouth and mailing or calling prospective clients is a good way to get started. Once you have a few clients ask them for referrals and recommendations. Often the best way to build a part time business is through referrals and word of mouth. It’s free and the clients come to you.

As I’ve said before, I’ll be sharing a lot of ways you can market your business near the end of the series.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

How to Make Money Blogging

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:45:23 +0000

How to make money blogging. That’s a topic I get asked quite a bit. After doing this for 5 years, it comes with the territory.

Rather than outlining the steps into a post again for how you can make money blogging, I’m going to direct you to previous posts I’ve written on this topic a while ago. They are buried throughout other content on the site, but still relevant for this topic.

Sharing Your Passion
Find a Niche
Be Original
Secure a Smart Name
Buy a Domain
Blogging Platform Transfers
Blog Design
Create a Content Schedule
General Writing and Formatting Tips
Create Blogging Goals
Earning from Private Ads
Why Affiliate Programs Work Well for ALL Bloggers
Earn Online with Affiliate Marketing
Includes a list of recommended affiliate companies I’ve used over the years.

Lots of other information on how to turn your blog into a business can be found on my other site, SavvyBlogging.net. Yes, I’m crazy enough to publish multiple sites. It happens when you love what you do!

Also, if you want to attend an awesome blogging event, check out an event that I co-host each year, the Savvy Blogging Summit. It is seriously the BEST blogging conference that will help you take your blog to the next level.

Use the coupon code FRIENDS during your checkout to receive $25 off the registration price.

The final thing I’ll share on this topic is that your voice is your platform. Your platform can go beyond a blog. Use it wisely and cautiously. Your integrity always means more than a dollar. Always.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Seasonal Tax Preparation to Earn Additional Income

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:45:24 +0000

I’ve received a few submissions sharing ways that others earn money from home. I will be publishing them over the remainder of the series. This one comes from Janell sharing how you can earn additional income doing seasonal tax work.

This isn’t working from home, but consider doing taxes at H&R Block during the tax seasons. You only work January 2 through April 15. There are continuing education requirements, but you can complete the courses online after the first year.

This is a way to pick up a few thousand dollars in a few months, and you can work selected hours. I work a few nights a week and some weekends.

In doing some additional research on this topic, I found a few resources that will be helpful if you are considering seasonal tax work to earn additional income.

Seasonal Tax Work Training

As Janell mentioned, you can take the income tax course through H&R Block, as well as other tax services.

From looking at the H&R Block training site, you will go through 75 hours of instructor-led training and take a 3-hour final exam. Training occurs during the weekends or during the week (whatever is more convenient for your schedule).

Flexible Hours

Yes, you will be working outside of the home for this one but you can set your own hours which is always a plus with any job. You work as much as you want, and can earn as much as you want during this timeframe too.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Earn Money By Creating How-To Videos

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:45:19 +0000

Did you know that YouTube is the second highest search engine, right behind Google? It makes sense though since Google owns YouTube. But, it really makes sense from a resource perspective since many people learn visually and look to YouTube for just about everything, including how-to videos.

I will fully admit that my YouTube channel is pretty sparse (feel free to subscribe here anyway). I want to do more video, I just haven’t found the time outside of writing and editing this here blog, and all the other work I do. Having some video has helped me with gaining credibility in various media outlets.

If you enjoy being on camera and do well at explaining things, consider creating a YouTube channel. Heck, you could record yourself playing Minecraft and put those up (which is what I want to do with Andon).

But, before you break out your camcorder, here are a few things to explain on creating videos to earn cash.

What is a How-To Video?

A how-to video is essentially what it sounds like. It is a video that shows people how to do something.

For example, this video is showing people how to save money on a Disney vacation. I have a few props I show in the video to help them get my point across.

Some of my favorite videos to watch on YouTube are the makeup videos. I could watch how to apply eye makeup over and over again and learn a new tip. When people find videos they like, they tend to subscribe to those video owners’ channels to stay updated when new videos are added. Not all video creators are bloggers. In fact, I’d say the majority aren’t since I really only know a few bloggers that take video seriously.

What does that mean for you? This is a huge opportunity. If you have specialty knowledge you can create videos to teach others. And you can make money!

How to Make Money with Videos

There are actually a number of ways you can make money creating and publishing videos of all kinds. Let’s look at the two most popular ways.

YouTube

Creating a YouTube account is free. When you have new videos, you simply upload them and they will exist on the world wide web. You can turn the monetization of your videos ON so ads will show before and during the video. If a viewer clicks on those ads, you will earn a small amount in exchange.

Information Marketing

We’ve talked about one form of information marketing with the post on How to Create an eBook for Income. But, there are many other ways you can create information marketing.

If writing books isn’t your thing you can create videos. Imagine a how-to video series on how to potty train your pet, cut your child’s hair, or re-organize a closet. Topics that are in demand have the best chance at making money and being successful.

Instead of marketing and selling an ebook you can market and sell a DVD video series. You can even make the images available with an online download. This saves you the expense of shipping and your customer receives the product immediately. You can use the same sites to market and create on-demand publishing that I mentioned in the writing an eBook post.

In a few rare instances, YouTube personalities receive corporate sponsorships and endorsements. So, who knows, you could be the next Kid President. You’ll never know your potential if you don’t try. Profit from your passion!

If you have a unique way to earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Start a Small Business Doing Odds and Ends Jobs

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:45:18 +0000

I have often joked with my husband that we need a go-to contractor for little odd jobs that always need done. Well, it’s not really a joke because we could definitely use a handyman for hire!

Having a versatile skillset and flexible schedule to do do odds and ends jobs is a marketable asset. People are always putting off those small jobs around their house that they never find the time for. If you can offer those services, you could cash in.

What Can You Offer

Take a look around your neighborhood. What do the people you know and spend your days with need? Personal services like dog walking or house cleaning are valuable, especially to busy families or senior citizens. You can offer these services and earn cash.

There are an abundance of things that the people around you probably need. Consider the following list:

Shoveling Snow
Raking Leaves
Mowing Lawns
Repairing Home Exteriors
Interior Home Repair
Interior/Exterior Painting
Basic Plumbing
Pet Sitting
House Sitting
Car Detailing/Washing
Childcare
Cooking
Errand Running
House Cleaning
Child Chauffeur

That’s just a short list. There are certainly more services that you can offer and that your neighbors may need.

Marketing Your Services

Start with what you know. Then ask around for what others may need. I know of a service that will do the grocery shopping for you. I’ve been asked about this myself several times (to shop for someone using coupons) and now it’s interesting to see it’s available!

See what needs are in the highest demand in your neighborhood. For example, a community with young families may need child care. They may also need help with driving kids to practices.

Or, maybe you live in a community where there are a lot of seniors. They could probably use help with their lawn and with cleaning and small repairs. Once you know what you’re going to offer and who your customer is you can then create a plan to market and provide your services.

Flyers, word of mouth and social networking are all free ways to spread the word about your services. Ask each new customer to tell others and give them a discount for referrals.

Again, I’ll be sharing more unique ways to market your business near the end of the series. There are so many ways you can spread the word about your services without spending a lot!

If you have a unique way to earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Selling Online to Make Extra Income

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:45:54 +0000

Stop wherever you are reading this post, do a scan of your room and answer these questions:

What items are laying around that you really don’t need?
Do you really need that knick knack?
Does that basket have a purpose?

If you’re answer is “no” then I’m going to challenge you to declutter and make some cash in the process by selling your stuff online!

What Items to Sell Online

When you think about selling online, the sky is really the limit. Just think about the scan of the room. You found items in just one room. You can sell items from any room in your home online. Here are just a few of the things you can sell online:

Gift Cards
Gold
Electronics: cameras, computers and computer parts
Cell Phones
Vintage Clothing
Jewelry
Books
DVD’s and CD’s
Games and software
Photographs
Small Kitchen Appliances
Small Dishes
Collectibles
Clothing

Seriously, whatever you have in your home now, you will find a market online that is interest in buying your stuff!

Reputable Online Sites to Sell Items

Selling online has become increasingly popular over the past few years. I remember my very first eBay purchase. It was a handheld Weight Watchers points calculator. I think I paid under $10 including shipping. It was something that you could only get if you were an official Weight Watchers member, and I wasn’t going to join just for that.

Just like that item, people are selling everything online because it’s either in high demand or limited quantity, or just because. There is also a market to buy used items online and resell them online too. It’s like a never ending garage sale but with much better stuff.

Wondering where to sell your items and know that it’s on the up and up? Here are a few websites that I have personal experience with.

Selling on Amazon.com

From used books to electronics, games and more you can sell your used stuff on. If you don’t have an Amazon account it’s free and easy to sign up. Then you can begin selling your stuff. Amazon will let you know how much they will pay for the item before you ship it.

You can also trade in your electronics for Amazon gift cards. This could be a great way to get rid of those old electronics and earn some cash.

Selling on Etsy.com

Etsy sells just about everything! I’ve purchased custom jewelry in the past but you can find just about anything that is vintage or homemade. If you have these types of items around your home, create a storefront on Etsy and start selling.

There are no membership fees to have a store on Etsy. It costs $0.20 to list an item for 4 months, or until it sells. Once it is sold, they take 3.5% of the sale price, which is pretty typical for large sites like this.

Selling on Ebay.com

You can sell just about anything on eBay. Seriously, anything! Someone is likely looking for that trinket you have on your shelf right now and will pay a pretty penny for it.

Ebay does charge a small fee to list your items and will take a commission on each sale. This is standard and totally worth it. Most sellers also pay via Paypal which also takes a small percentage as well. Again, this is totally worth it as it does protect you as a seller too.

When you do start to sell on eBay, ask your buyers to leave feedback and a rating. The higher the rating and more positive your feedback, the better. My rating is 100%. This makes a difference for buyers who are contemplating making a purchase.

Selling on Gazelle.com

Gazelle buys back used electronics like cell phones. They also buy back used computers, gaming consoles, cameras and ereaders. Gazelle is one of many buy back establishments, however they do have one of the best reputations.

Like Amazon, Gazelle will tell you what your item is worth before you ship it to them so you can make the decision to sell it to them or to use a different outlet to sell your wares.

Selling on Cash4Books.net

I previously wrote about how you can make money selling books with Cash4Books.net. You can also sell back to Half Price books as well.

Selling on Craigslist.com

I have previously sold items on Craigslist and we purchased our used freezer on Craigslist as well.

Craigslist is free for anyone selling anything. The downside is that it can get quite cluttered and your listing may get hidden in a few hours. To help with this, simply edit the listing or add a new listing each week until the item is sold. It’s really easy to use so it shouldn’t take too long.

When you are selling on Craigslist, you will likely arrange for a face-to-face pickup of the sold merchandise. As I mentioned before, make sure you are in a safe environment and have someone else at home if they are coming to pick up. Better yet, ask them to meet you in a public domain so they don’t know where you live.

Facebook

I have seen more and more online yard sale type groups started on Facebook recently. There are some that are strictly by city, which I prefer. This is simply another way to market your items online and arrange for a face-to-face pickup.

Online Selling and Shipping

This was the biggest hurdle for me to overcome, honestly. I was never familiar with the prices for shipping items but eventually I got a good understanding of how to price the shipping fee on different sized items.

I would highly recommend creating a Stamps.com account. This will help you create postage efficiently and cost-effective. Plus, there is an integration with your Stamps.com account and Ebay so that helps a ton!

I would also purchase a postage scale and tape measure so you can have a highly accurate estimate of what your shipping costs will be. Once you set the price on these sites, you can’t change it when the auction is over if you underestimated. To get a confirmation, do a search for other similar items and see what they are charging for shipping.

You will need something to ship your merchandise in so start stocking up on boxes and paper now. Also make sure you have labels at home (like these Avery shipping labels) so you are ready to ship out your items as soon as they sell.

Income Potential

Selling online at these different sites can truly offer unlimited earning potential. You can not only become really well at selling yourself, but you could create a business to list items for sale for others as well.

I’ve found that many people are confused about how it works and just need someone to help do it. There is another opportunity to earn and more reason to increase your seller ratings on these sites so you can become a resource for people to help sell their items online as well.

I will sound like a broken record, but if this is something that you are finding you become the “go to” resource for your friends, create a website and get hosting for under $5 a month. This is a business and you need to market it. Having a website online to market your services, and even market your items for sale, will be a big plus!

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

Disclosure: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Earn Money as a Home Organizer

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:45:26 +0000

Now is the time of the year where many families are swapping out winter clothes for the summer clothes. If you’re like us and have a lot of hand-me-downs from your older children, this can be quite the task if you’re not organized well. This is definitely a skill that is worth paying for as it will save you headaches down the road.

If you enjoy organizing and like seeing the pleasure on a person’s face when they walk into their newly organized space then this may be your dream business. And a great way to earn extra income all year long. You get to set your rates and your hours and get paid for doing something you enjoy.

What is a Home Organizer?

Are you one of those people that your friends always compliment on having everything organized? Does every item have a place? Do you own a label maker? :) If you have a knack for organizing, and love to create efficient and organized systems, you can help others simplify their life and earn extra money too.

Many people need help organizing. They want to have efficient and organized homes and work places. Either they don’t know how to go about it or just don’t have the time to do it themselves. If you’re interested in offering home organization services first decide who your customers will be and what you can offer them.

How to Start Working as a Home Organizer

The first step is to create your organization plan. You might specialize in a room, like the kitchen. Or you might have a proven organization system. Either way, you can use that specialty to help build and market your business.

Think about it like this: imagine being hired by someone, getting to their house and not having a system or a plan to help them! If you’re an organizer that just isn’t going to work. You will want to have questionnaires, supplies, and of course a proven system for organizing as you prepare for a new client.

Once you have your plan and system in place it’s time to plan your business. You don’t need any certification to be a home organizer. However, you may want to be able to demonstrate success. A few before and after pictures of areas you’ve organized can help. References and recommendations go a long way too.

Pricing Your Professional Organizer Services

Determine what you need to get started in terms of supplies or even various organization tools that you will sell as a distributor. Will it require a lot of costs to start? It can be as basic as purchasing supplies at the Dollar Store but it will be an added expense. Or, maybe you will just go in and create a plan for people and they purchase their own supplies so you won’t have that additional expense. More than likely you will need something to show people how to get started and having a small “kit” of organizational products you recommend would be valuable.

How will you price your services? Will you offer free consultations? I would encourage you to do market research to understand what other home organizational professionals are charging as well. Determine what your skillset is worth and go with it.

Perhaps you only want to work while you’re kids are at school and take the summer off. That will impact how many clients you can take on, and plan for accordingly. Once you determine the pricing, evaluate how many clients you need to meet your income goals that will also fit within your schedule.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Internet Research from Home

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Wed, 08 May 2013 19:45:27 +0000

Do you love to research? I mean really love to find the answer to questions for people? If so, doing internet research at home may be a job that you would find satisfaction in!

Topics to Research

Businesses and people of all varieties need help researching various topics. A few include:

Article Stat Research
Ebook/Information Product Research Stats
Keyword Research
Marketing Research
Business Research
Target Market/Consumer Research

That’s just the beginning of what you can offer online. They key is to start with what you know. What type of research are you interested in or skilled at? Then, explore demand and potential competition. If you’re just looking to make extra money on the side you won’t need to worry about competition too much.

Benefits of Online Services

There are numerous benefits to offering your research services online. For example, it’s easy to communicate with clients from all around the world. Email makes it quick and easy. You can also use web forms to give your clients a quick and easy way to get a hold of you.

Online services also give you the means to receive payments instantly. There are online payment services like PayPal that are easy and inexpensive to use. If you’re motivated you can begin earning money as an online researcher quickly.

How to Start Doing Internet Research

There are well-known sites that you could start to take jobs. In the make money doing freelance work online post, there are several viable sites that list these types of opportunities. People all over list jobs.

There are also a number of sites that you can join by either writing articles or answering questions:

The payment varies depending on the content you share. Sometimes the pay is also dependent upon the amount of visitors you get to each post or conversation.

Whatever you do, it really does make sense to have a website to be your home base and direct people. Someone may stumble upon something you have answered and may want to hire you outright for a freelance job. Having something in your signature or profile on these sites will definitely help you market yourself.

Before you even get started, determine what your main goal is. Do you want to do research strictly and answer questions? Would you rather do full blow blogs on some of the sites I mentioned above? The pay and time commitment will vary greatly.

Next Steps

Create profiles for the various sites you are interested in exploring. Setup your website. Again, you can get a site with hosting for under $5 a month. It’s considered an investment and write-off for your business.

Create policies and procedures so your customers know what to expect if they do choose to work with you in a freelance relationship. This will also help you provide a consistent experience with every customer.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business
Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online
Start a Sewing and Alteration Business
How to Self Publish an eBook to Earn Income
Offer Babysitting Services

Disclosure: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Offer Babysitting Services

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:30:14 +0000

Babysitting is a job that many people probably start in their teens. I think my first babysitting gig was when I was around 14 years old. After that, I ended up sitting for some of the same families month after month and was paid good money as a result.

As a full-time working mom, I can tell you that with summer coming, I will need to find an option for our younger two boys a few days a week. Other parents may simply want a night out without the kids. Or, even a day as a mother who cares for her kids all day needs some time to run errands alone. There are tons of ways that you can provide a service and earn a decent income as a result.

Here are five tips to make extra money babysitting.

Establish a Regular Schedule

One of the problems many parents face is that they have to work around inconsistent schedules. For example, their babysitter might be available one week but not the next. If you can provide some consistency then you will in high demand.

Keep in mind that consistency doesn’t mean you can never change your hours, close your doors or get vacations. Even brick and mortar child care facilities close during certain times of the year. Be up front with parents what those dates are so they can plan in advance.

Get Certified

There are babysitting courses and certifications you can get. I’ve seen these types of classes advertised at the local YMCA. However, those aren’t as important as basic First Aid and CPR courses. Honestly, we will not leave our kids with someone who doesn’t have First Aid or CPR training.

If you can demonstrate that you’re serious about their child’s safety with certifications then you will earn more child care jobs and possibly even get paid more as a result. Safety of the children is the primary concern for all parents.

Set an Hourly Rate

What will your hourly rate be? Don’t sell yourself short here. I think it can be all over the board depending on the regular scheduling, time of day or even weekend rates.

Will you offer a discount for multiple children? Or even consider doing a flat rate for a certain number of hours per child.

As a parent, don’t skimp on this area either. You selfishly will want your sitter to find time when you need them. Paying them what they deserve may also help ensure that you aren’t left stranded on date night :)

Purchase the Right Gear

If your home is filled with items that children cannot touch or aren’t interested in they may be bored. Even if you go to someone’s home to babysit, have some fun stuff for the kids to play with that you can take along.

If you can keep the children occupied, happy and engaged they’ll be smiling when the parents come to pick them up. And if you can get them to ask their parents to come back to your house then you’re golden. This says volumes to me when my kids don’t want to leave a sitter. You’ll have a babysitting job for years if the kids love you.

Referrals and Recommendations

Ask your satisfied parents to pass your name, and business card, along to their friends with children. You’ll earn more babysitting jobs that way and you can demand higher rates. People are willing to pay more for a babysitter that comes highly recommended.

If you are part of a local community Facebook group or forum, mention that you offer babysitting services to other members. Everyone wants to find a good sitter to care for their kids and asking in the community is the first place I go to for referrals.

As we get older, overlooking babysitting as a viable way to earn extra income happens. But, don’t discount what a really good babysitter can offer. There truly is nothing better than finding a babysitter you can rely on. YOU can be that reliable babysitter and earn good money at the same time.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business
Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online
Start a Sewing and Alteration Business
How to Self Publish an eBook to Earn Income

How to Self Publish an eBook to Earn Income

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:45:06 +0000

I used to be fascinated by anyone who had become a “real” author of a book. For that matter, anyone who had been published in a magazine or newspaper! Since I’ve been blogging I now understand how the entire process works and I don’t get starstruck – some of my best friends are authors now!

Many people believe that it takes years to write a book. And many more years to get it published and sold. That’s just not true anymore. Honestly, it is really easy to publishing your own book. You can write a book, or create an information product, in a few weeks. And start selling right away. Many people are opting to self publish, or create digital products, and are earning income, including me.

Why Publish an eBook?

There are some great reasons to self publish your work in an eBook format. Here are just a few of the most attractive:

There are no agents or publishers involved.
There are no distributors or retailers to take a cut.
You have no deadlines to meet, nor editors to satisfy.
There are no printing, warehousing or distribution costs.
Your book could be selling within days of completion.
You get to keep up to 100% of the cover price of every sale!

How to Get Started as a Self Publisher

Creating an eBook is actually a lot easier than you might think. In fact, I wish I had this information when I started blogging because I would have started publishing eBooks immediately.

At its simplest, an eBook can be created in a Google Doc, which is completely free. You can also use Microsoft Word, or even download Open Office which is a free open source program. When your eBook is written, all you need to do is package the product in a PDF format and market the wazoo out of it! To sell online requires a website, or even submission to places online to sell for you which we will discuss thoroughly.

Selecting a Book Topic

When you know a lot about a topic it’s easy to write about it. It’s also easy to speak about it (another topic for another day).

For example, if you know a lot about making bread you could create a bread recipe book, a book about how to make great bread or a DVD about how to become an expert baker. My friend Terrie knows SO MUCH about organic living and natural health remedies. I really hope she will start a blog one day because she has forgotten more than I’ll ever learn on that topic. This is valuable information that would be perfect for an eBook as well.

The more demand there is for a topic, the more potential for customers. You can use online keyword tools like Google’s Adwords Keyword tool to help find topics that are in demand.

Solve a Problem

This is sort of like blogging. I hope that we solve a problem for you on a regular basis, which is why you return to visit. You have to think about a book in the same way.

What will you include in the book that will interest people. The content needs to solve a problem for the potential buyer. Read the selling pages on books that are similar to the topic that you would consider publishing. Read the reviews on those books as well. See where those books fall short on content, and make sure you address the pain points for the consumer.

In order to be clear that you are solving the problem for your potential buyer, make your book’s description compelling. You want the buyer to read it and immediately feel they HAVE to buy your book because the information inside is solving a problem for them.

Create a Book Outline

When I wrote my eBook, Focused Couponing, I made an outline of the chapters that were important for the book. It helped me ensure I was informing the readers in a chronological order. It will also help you write your copy faster.

If it’s easier for you, you can dictate the book into a recorder and pay a freelancer to transcribe your recording. Or you can type out the book yourself.

Whatever you choose, get it out of your head and focus on editing later.

Include Ask and Answer Questions

One of the easiest ways to write a book quickly is to outline your book using questions. For example, if you’re writing a book on how to train a cat your first chapter outline might look like this:

Chapter One: Why train your cat?

What are the benefits of training your cat?
Who should train your cat?
What should you expect when you train your cat?

Each question can then be easily answered. It’s easy to write in this style and it helps you create a full and comprehensive book. You can then go back and change the chapter names later.

Create a Dynamic Book Cover

You MUST have an amazing book cover photo on Amazon. Since there is so much competition, your book’s cover is nearly as important as the content inside your book.

Spend a few hundred dollars and hire a professional to do this for you. Five J’s Design created my ebook cover photo and web creatives for Focused Couponing. She is as good as it gets as far as I’m concerned. You can also use some of the freelance sites I mentioned in how to make money being a freelancer.

How to Sell Your eBook

The easiest way to have an instant audience for your book is by selling on Amazon. Anyone can setup an account with Kindle Direct Publishing and submit a book to sell immediately. The site will walk you through the process.

Another place to place your book so web publishers will find it is eJunkie. You will pay a monthly fee to have your book . There is a great post on how to set up an eJunkie account that will walk you through it.

Publishers and site owners (like me) can then promote your book through both of those sites and get paid to do so.

Publishing a Paper Book

While I am encouraging you to start with an eBook, you can definitely get a paper book published really simple. Check out Createspace.com. It’s an on-demand print model so you can have print copies of your book but only when you need it, or when someone wants a printed version.

You don’t need an ISBN or UPC for an eBook but you will for a published book. There is information on CreateSpace.com to to help you get your own ISBN and UPC codes so you can sell your book in major and minor book stores.

It may make sense to get printed copies of your book to sell if you are going to attend a vendor fair, or speak to a large audience. Part of your fee for speaking could be that all attendees get a copy of your book at no charge. It’s a great way to promote your book and get it in the hands of people that want to learn more on the topic you’re speaking about too.

Marketing Your Book

This is the kicker. I have read some crappy eBooks that sold thousands of copies because a site with a large reach promoted them. You can also have the best hidden gem and no one will promote it if they don’t know about it. Marketing is what really makes your book stand out among the rest. Here are a few simple ideas to get you started:

Give away advance copies to friends. In return, request they leave you a review on Amazon (if you are listing it on Amazon).
Set up a site to direct buyers to learn more about the book. You can get an inexpensive website hosted for under $5.
Request buyer testimonials to use on your book’s landing page, or on the Amazon.com description.
Make your book completely Free on Kindle for a few days. This will get downloads and hopefully also come with some great reviews.
Create business cards with an exclusive code for people to purchase your book at a discount. Hand them out to everyone!

Near the end of this series, I will be sharing more about how you can market you business, in general. I have a lot of other ideas on this area from personal experience.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business
Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online
Start a Sewing and Alteration Business

Disclosure: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Start a Sewing and Alteration Business

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:45:12 +0000

I admit that I have an abundance of ideas for people to run at-home businesses. Why? Because I am NOT good at a lot of stuff and need help. Sewing is definitely one of those areas that I NEED help!

If you have sewing or crafting skills you can make good money quickly by offering your skills and services. There are actually a number of ways you can sew for cash.

How Do You Make Money Sewing?

There are many ways to make money sewing. One of the easiest, and potentially fastest, ways to make money is to offer alterations and tailoring. Most people donít have the ability to hem their pants, repair a sweater or fit a suit. If you do have those skills you can make good money by simply offering your services.

You can also make money by sewing and creating new clothing or products. For example, you can make curtains, pillows, and dresses. You can take orders from people or you can create your own niche. For example, you might sew beds for dogs and cats and sell them online or at your local market or craft fair. Sewing for cash can be product or a service depending on how you set up your business.

What You Need To Know

You need to know how to sew. That step is obvious. You also want to know how you want to set up your business. Do you want to sell a product you sew or do you want to offer sewing services? There are pros and cons to each path.

You want to know how much money you need and how you’re going to price your products or services. You can learn some of this information by researching your competition and similar services online. You also need to know who your audience is. Who needs your services? (I need your services!!)

How to Get Started

Gather the equipment you need to start your sewing for cash business. Do you need a sewing machine? Do you need to print flyers to advertise your services? Do you need to buy fabric, thread and adornments to create your sewing products? Make a list of what you need.

Let people know about your new business by posting flyers at church, sharing with local moms club, posting on Craigslist, etc. You can also advertise in your local paper and ask friends and family to spread the word – use Facebook to your advantage! Etsy is another place online where you can sell your goods – it’s a widely popular site where people with these types of skills flourish!

You could also even contact local companies and see if they would want to offer a discounted service offering like this to their employees. This would be a great company benefit to have available especially if you are willing to do pickups and drop-offs at their office. Think outside the box!

The Next Steps

Create your income plan. Decide how you plan on conducting business, who you’re selling your sewing services or products to and how you’re going to track your income. I can’t stress the income tracking enough! Come tax time you want your ducks in order so you can quickly pay Uncle Sam what is due (remember, there are no Citizen Bailouts!)

This step may take a little time so don’t rush through it since you are essentially laying the foundation for your business. You can make good money sewing for cash if you have the passion and a plan.

So, if sewing is an area that you do well at and are inspired, take an hour today to determine how you can make money with this. Find your friends like me that need some help in this area in their life and start there!

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business
Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online

Make Money Doing Freelance Work Online

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Thu, 02 May 2013 19:30:48 +0000

Freelancing is a business I’ve become quite familiar with over the past 5 years online. Quite honestly, this is something I wish I would have known more about before I started blogging. If I had, I may not actually be a blogger now. Well, scratch that because I love blogging!

My point is that if you are looking for something to provide a nice part-time income, or even create your own empire, freelancing can offer that for you. If you are wanting to make money doing freelance work, there are many things you need to know and an abundance of ways to make money.

What is a Freelancer?

A freelancer is someone who provides a service to another person or business. They are not employed by the person or business but rather provide work on a project or a consultant basis. As a freelancer, you are responsible for all taxes, insurance, social security, retirement, etc. You work for yourself.

With each job, you will likely draft a subcontractor agreement with the client which outlines the project’s parameters. Some may also request a Non-Compete and Non-Disclosure (NDA) as well. This is to protect their business. No matter the case, do NOT go without getting at least a subcontractor agreement as that will protect you as a freelancer just as much as it protects the person you are working with.

How to Make Money Freelancing?

Here are just some of the potential freelancing opportunities you can take advantage of.

Tutor
Copywriter
Sales
Consultant
Writer
Coach
Assistant
Social Media
PR
Graphic Designer
Website Management

This is just a short list. Were you employed in CorporateAmerica prior to your current position? Use those skills and make something that is marketable and necessary in today’s online economy.

Being online, people can provide a number of services. You operate as a self-employed person and pretty much call the shots and make your own hours as long as you meet your client’s expectations.

How Do You Find Freelancing Jobs?

There are several freelance job sites. Here is a short list of a few additional freelance sites:

You can also check with your local newspaper, media outlets and even online job boards. Bloggers also have freelance opportunities so if you know a blogger that you follow regularly, you can always ask them! No matter what, NEVER pay for a service that claims to offer you freelance work. As you can see from the sites above, the opportunities are readily available and paying someone isn’t necessary.

Getting a Freelance Job

With these different sites, you will be asked to create an account in order to start bidding on jobs. Most projects are paid directly through the site so there is no need to worry about sharing your bank account information. Many sites also have strict policies in place for payment so there is some reassurance that you will get paid for delivering your work.

I suggest you build a portfolio. It’s good to have a website to show clients what types of work you can do. Hostgator has relatively cheap hosting options for under $5 a month if you are looking to create something simple to start. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is updated with your new Freelance work experience as well.

Join groups for professional looking to hire Freelancers. Make sure you apply for the jobs that best match your skills and goals. As you begin to win clients you’ll be able to add more to your portfolio. Request feedback from every client so you can also include those testimonials on your website. This valides that you are good and will likely help you get additional jobs.

Freelancing is a job that truly offers unlimited potential. If you are willing to work hard and have great work to back it up, you will find that finding paid jobs will be easy. The hard part will be deciding which jobs to take based on your newly busy schedule!

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

More in the Earn Money from Home Series

Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business

Disclaimer: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclosure Policy for additional information.

Start a Homemade Cake Decorating Business

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:30:59 +0000

Can you think of how much you have spent over your children’s lifetimes on birthday cakes? Yeah, me either. While I have made a homemade cake or two in my day, I much prefer to leave the cake baking to the experts! But, by experts, that doesn’t mean a high-priced store!

I have several friends who have taken their passion for baking and turned it into a successful business. The picture below is from my friend Courtney’s company, Sweet Top Cakery. If you visit her Facebook page you will see so many amazing works of art. My favorite is the fire truck with real lights!

If you are a force to be reckoned with in the baking department, this can become a profitable business for you too! Here are a few suggestions to get started:

Learn How with a Few Lessons

If you don’t consider yourself a pro yet, but are passionate about baking, consider taking a class. Most cities have classes where you can go to learn how to decorate like a professional baker, or you can watch videos online and practice on your own. If taking a class isn’t convenient, there are several cake decorating books on Amazon – start there!

If you get good enough at baking and decorating, you may even get calls from other parents for orders when they have a party. Many cake creators started out by impressing their friends at birthday parties for their kids.

Use a Few Pieces of Professional Equipment

Find cake pans in the shape of whatever you want, like lady bugs, cars, and castles, etc. Visit sites like Wilton.com to find videos and articles that share tips on how to make and ice your specialty cakes to look just like a real professional baker created it.

Most specialty pans cost less than $15 and come with complete instructions for how to decorate them (here are a few on Amazon). You can use the weekly craft store coupons to save on these as well. You may need to spend an additional $20 for decorating supplies and icing kits. But, once you have them, they will last for several cakes which makes it even more affordable. Specialty baking pans can also be found in your local thrift stores for a lot less. Do the research and you’ll find what you need.

Ask Other Creative People

You can always ask your friends and family if they ever decorated cakes. Or, search Pinterest for an hour. You will surely find recipes and instructions from others who have discovered ways to make cakes look professional.

Also, there are always fun, inventive ways to create cakes without a designed cake form. As a simple example, a ladybug can be made with a round cake pan for the body and a cupcake for the head. Then add red food coloring and mini chocolate chips and you will have what you need to create a ladybug.

Determine Pricing

I pay good money at grocery stores for cakes, and I would much rather support a small business owner. So, you could start with what the grocery stores are charging. The competitor pricing is readily available to you when you walk up to the bakery counter.

Determine how much your time is worth and differentiate yourself amongst other private bakeries. Maybe consider at-home delivery. I just thought of that one and seriously think it would be awesome if someone would offer it! Sometimes that’s the biggest challenge with picking up a substantial size cake – how to get it back home! That could definitely set you apart, especially with people wanting to find ways to save time too!

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, please share it with us.
I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Disclaimer: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Make Money in May Series

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:45:00 +0000

This series has literally been in my head for about 2 years. I finally have forced myself to find the information and resources to share with you how you can…

Earn Money From Home

Yes, it’s possible! I’m living proof and will share more on what I’ve personally done with blogging and consulting as part of this series. The first official post in this series will go up on May 1, and we will have a new post each day of the week detailing a way you can earn money from home.

If you have a unique way that you earn money from home, or with a side job, please share it with us. I would love to include your experience with our readers!

Pinecone Research is looking for New Applicants!

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:30:00 +0000

Pinecone Research is once again looking for new applicants between the ages of 18 – 24 years old. This really is one of the best survey groups to get in and it’s not always open for new members.

I almost always do a Pinecone Research when I get an invite! You earn $3 per survey and it’s a quick payment by paypal. This is probably the highest paying market research group out there! You can read more about Pinecone in my Survey Page here.

If you are interested in online surveys to earn, please also check out my snack, Online Surveys to Earn Cash. I have a list of other great survey companies I have had personal success with (even Nickelodeon for those of you with wee ones)!

Open Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel

Savings Lifestyle: Andrea — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:30:41 +0000

We have mentioned Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel several times. It’s another way you can earn money online legitimately. See our overview of how you can earn cash with the Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel. That post has all the juicy details.

Nielsen regularly holds a bonus for panel members. Once you become a NCP panel member and scan your household purchase information (with a handheld scanner that they provide), you earn entries into the monthly sweepstakes towards a $500 American Express Rewards Card. Every month, 25 panel members win!

Sign up now for Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel.

If you are interested in online surveys to earn, please also check my post, Online Surveys to Earn Cash. I have a list of other great survey companies I have had personal success with (even Nickelodeon for those of you with wee ones)!

Earn $5 Bonus for New Applicants for Inbox Dollars

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:00:07 +0000

Right now, Inbox Dollars is looking for new applicants! You can earn cash by reading emails, taking surveys, online shopping and just searching the web. The best part is that you will earn $5 Bonus for just signing up!

I really like that you have several opportunites to earn cash for giving your opinions. You can even watch short videos, too! If anything, it is worth trying out just for the $5 Bonus. You can get started by signing up here!

Recyclebank: Earn 30 New Points

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:00:53 +0000

Recyclebank currently has several opportunities for you to earn points. Remember, you can redeem your points for great rewards.

Most of my favorites have been high value coupons (for several products). Recylebank was one of the only ways I could get Kashi coupons for a while (and still can but the $2/1 coupon is now 125 points). Also, you can score coupons for some of your favorite retailers as well.

Earn 30 points easy just by answering a few questions on recycling. Here’s how:

Log into your Recyclebank account or sign up for free here.
Click on “Earn Points.”
Scroll down to the “Quiz Yourself on Recycling Collection” and click on the link.
Answer a few short questions for an easy 30 Points!

Read my overview of Recyclebank and how it works!

Disclaimer: This post contains a link to an affiliate. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Disney Movie Rewards: New 10 Point Code

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:59 +0000

There is a new Disney Movie Rewards Point Code. Just log in or sign up here and enter the code DMRPIN worth 10 points.

This is a great program to earn Disney posters, DVDs, books and more! I have earned quite a few points with these free codes!

Hurry, this code end at 11:59 pm EST, tonight!

Pinecone Research is Once Again OPEN

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:30:28 +0000

Pinecone Research is currently open again for new applicants! This really is one of the best survey groups to get in and it’s not always open for new members. It has been quite a while since I have seen it open, too!

I almost always do a Pinecone Research when I get an invite! You earn $3 per survey and it’s a quick payment by paypal. This is probably the best offer from research companies and a great way to earn a little extra cash.You can read more about Pinecone in my Survey Page here.

Recyclebank: Earn 100 Points for Learning about Recycling

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Recyclebank currently has several opportunities for you to earn points. Remember, you can redeem your points for great rewards. Most of my favorites have been high value coupons (for several products). Recylebank was one of the only ways I could get Kashi coupons for a while (and still can but the $2/1 coupon is now 125 points).

Earn 100 points easy just by learning about recycling from Coors:Here’s how:

Log into your Recyclebank account or sign up for free here.
Click on “Earn Points.”
Scroll down to the “The Case for Cans” and click on the link.
Click on each recycling icon to earn your points and it only takes a few minutes

This is a great way to earn some great coupons to save at the grocery or at the mall. I used my points to purchase shoes for my hubby at Macy’s.

Read my overview of Recyclebank and how it works!

Disclaimer: This post contains a link to an affiliate. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

MySurvey is Looking for New Applicants

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 14:00:32 +0000

Right now, MySurvey is now accepting new applicants. It is free to join and is a great way to earn rewards for giving your opinions on new products and services.

Just fill out a short form in order to join. Then, you will be able to begin to qualify for surveys. You can earn points in order to redeem for cash and rewards.

Recyclebank Points: Earn 30 Points

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Recyclebank currently has several opportunities for you to earn points. Most of them are pretty easy and you will just have to answer a short quiz.

Remember, you can redeem your points for great rewards. Most of my favorites have been high value coupons (for several products). Recylebank was one of the only ways I could get Kashi coupons for a while (and still can but the $2/1 coupon is now 125 points).

Earn 30 points easy just by answering 6 questions on recycling. Here’s how:

Log into your Recyclebank account or sign up for free here.
Click on “Earn Points.”
Scroll down to the “Discover how aluminum is recycled” and click on the link.
Answer the questions!

Read my overview of Recyclebank and how it works!

Disclaimer: This post contains a link to an affiliate. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

Earn $50 with a New ING Direct Account

Savings Lifestyle: Bridgett — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:00:38 +0000

It is still not too late to take advantage of the $50 Bonus by opening a new Electric Orange Checking account? This is a great way to earn a little extra cash for the New Year! The benefits to opening these accounts will make it easy to transition to banking online.

$50 Opening Bonus, ING Electric Orange Checking Account

No ATM or Account Balance Fees
Make 3 Card Purchases or Person2Person Transactions with 45 days
Your $50 Bonus will be deposited on day 50 after opening account.

Visit ING Direct to open your account and get your bonus! This is a great incentive for opening a new account for new account holders. I know I could use a little extra after Christmas.

I hardly ever actually go into our bank. I do most of my banking online and even make deposits using my bank’s app on my iPad.

Disclaimer: This post contains a link to an affiliate. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.