Are You Crafty? Your Hobby Might Be A Gold Mine!

I grew up sitting at our dining room table watching my mother sew.  I always joked around that if my clothes didn't come from K-Mart, my mother sewed them herself.  The truth of the matter is that I wish my mom still wanted to sew custom made and fitted clothes!  I didn't always like the warm sweaters or scarfs she crocheted for me back then, but I hold onto those very items to this day.  When I wasn't watching my mother sew, crochet or going after another of her latest cute ideas with a hot glue gun, I was usually at my grandmother's house witnessing the same thing.  I consider myself very fortunante to have grown up in such a creative family.  My grandfather has always been into woodworking, grandma likes quilts and scrapbooks, and if there is a way to create or make it, somebody in our family will figure it out!  I was never so great at any of the projects that my mother had, and I have yet to learn how to sew.  (Although I do intend to learn how to use the sewing machine my grandma sent me sooner than later!)  Hey, maybe that can be my next blog, writing about learning to sew.


Anyway, the other norm in my life were all of the craft bazaars, 4-H shows, and or conventions we attended or helped other family members set up.  Looking back at it, I think that was the 80's version of personal blogs, websites and internet marketing.  So why can't those of you with true talent sell your things online and make money too?  You could go a few different routes with it such as creating your own blog and talking about your projects there.  If you are blessed to know something about web design, you could even creat your own website displaying the inventory you want to sell.  I have found you can get started for free or very little money. 


I personally think a free blog to "get your feet wet" until you build the confidence to branch out from is a good idea.  Your only start up costs will be for the supplies you need to make your project.  You could provide step by step instructions on a simple project.  How about giving pointers on knitting, lighting for photography, or some other type of art that you are good at?  There are many possibilities with no limit in sight.  Your going to be surprised at how many people will be interested in reading what you have to say.


Then again, maybe you like the idea of seeing people face to face, if this is you, the good old bazaars are still out there.  Contact your local convention center or other large place that hosts such activities.  If the entry fees in a large event are too expensive, you can always consider smaller places.  Look in your community for local neighborhood events.  In the city where I live there is a street that is lined with vendors and artists of all kinds on the last Thursday of every month.  We also have a local venue called Portland Saturday Market where artists and vendors of all kinds set up booths on Saturday and Sunday.  Your local farmers market might be a good option too.  Depending on what you are selling, often you will find numerous items that aren't from a "farm".  Check some out and you will see. 




Contact the activity director or management in local retirement communities. Sometimes they will sponser a craft sale in their facility and renting a table or two is super cheap. Ask friends and family, on occasion employers will host small holiday craft bazaars. Reach out to parent/teacher committies at a school near you. Find out if they have considered a fundraiser for the school by renting tables. Talk to your church. Get your products and name out there! Put out flyers or attach business cards to your sales receipt. It doesn't need to be fancy, but do make it look as neat as possible. Last but not least, set up an individual business email with a way to promote your products or name. If you give customers a way to reach you in the future, you may very well secure reorders. I hope these tips are helpful, in the mean time, happy crafting!

Elance: Could It Be An Alternative To Outsourcing?

I'd be rich if I got a dollar every time I've heard somebody say, "I'd love to work from home but everything I find when I search online is a scam!"  Fear no more, I have found a valid solution to your problem!  Elance is a great place for people with variety of skills to find an extra income.  Some people have even turned it into a full time career.  Whether you are looking for work, or need somebody to provide a service at a reasonable rate, this is the website to check out.


I signed up for Elance and expected the screen for me to enter my credit card information to come up.  However, this place is different.  You get to apply or submit a proposal for real work with real money.  There are literally thousands of jobs available right now!  Employers add new projects every single day, 24 hours a day from around the globe.  You can find work for IT, legal, marketing, virtual admin assistants, customer service, finance, translation etc.  The best part of all is that it is FREE to sign up and start your profile.


Part of the deal is you get to submit proposals for up to 15 jobs each month without having to pay one penny out of  your pocket.  They offer upgrades which in my opinion are worth the small investment.  The upgraded membership allows you to apply for more jobs but there is no obligation to upgrade.  Once you sign up it is well worth your time to begin working on your profile.  A lot of employers expect your profile to be complete prior to submitting a proposal.  You also have a section where you can market some of your best skills and qualities and you get to prove it with real online tests.


Figure out what your top five qualities are that you want an employer to see.  If you have exceptional skills with web design, take the test so the employer can see how you measure up.  If your expertise is making a great database, or administrative duties you have a chance to show off.  Make sure you treat any assignment you get in a professional and confidential manor, just as you would where you currently work.  This is very important if you want to get more assignments.  Also, do not submit a proposal for something unless you are positive you can complete it within the time expected.


One last important thing to keep in mind when you begin providing services is that you are self-employed.  This means that you need to claim this income on your taxes.  Taxes will not be withheld when you get paid.  You will get a 1099-form when tax time rolls around.  Other than that, best of luck!

Make Money by Organizing Your Closets

Which closet in your home do you think is most valuable?  Was the kids room your first thought?  It will be after you read this!  Yes, that outfit you got that didn't quite fit during the season it was meant for can make money for you.  The bouncer, walker or boppy pillow, if in great shape can be sold or traded for more things you can use.  Cribs, changing tables and other baby furniture that you don't need any longer can go too.  All of the toys and books your baby has gotten bored with or outgrown are also popular.  Open up your local yellow pages or search the Internet for a children's clothing resell shop in your local community.  To save time you can also call ahead to schedule an appointment.  A lot of places will accept walk-ins as well but be prepared for a longer wait.


Generally you will have a couple of options when you take your items in.  The first is to take a store credit in which you will usually get about 40% of the resell value that you can then use to purchase more clothes if you want.  Didn't find anything you need or want today?  You don't have to use your credit right away, it can be saved for another shopping trip.  The second option is to take cash but you will get a smaller percentage paid out.  This second choice will probably offer you somewhere between 20-35% of the resell value, but it is paid to you in cash instead of store credit.


Something to make a note of when selling the old clothing is that the store is looking for high quality gently used items.  It can be frusterating to see them overlook one of your favorite outfits but I have another suggestion for the things the store doesn't want below.  When the store is buying clothes, they are keeping season, current stock and demand in mind.  So if you want to save yourself some frustration, do not include any items that have stains or holes because the stores will not buy these items.  What they will often offer you is the option to donate those unsellable items to their monthly "Quarter Sale" which is a huge bin or tub with clothing tossed in that you have to dig through.  If you really feel your things are worth more than a quarter, I suggest bundling them up by clothing type, size, season or another similar theme and sell them on Ebay or Craigslist.


Make sure you wash everything prior to taking it in.  Your items may be high quality but if they have a certain smell or appear dirty, the clerk might not be as quick to see the value in the item.  A fresh smelling bag of clothes are going to be more appealing than a funky one!  Wash the toys as well, would you be interested in buying something that still has old food pieces or slobber still visable?  This small effort can pay off big when it's time to turn those old items into cash! 


So most of this has focused on children but the same concept also applies to adult items.  There are resell shops for adults too!  The adult stores operate under similar rules, except some may even offer you a percentage of the selling price when you sell under consignment.  This is often how you would earn money selling your furniture as well.  Just look up consignment and resell shops and find out who will give you the best deal for your things.  If you follow these tips and start looking around, you could find extra money & room for new stuff!

Find Extra Money Sitting On Your Entertainment Center

One of the first ways I started making extra money from home was by going through all of the things that I've collected over the years but really haven't had much use for.  For example, since the popularity of MP3 players has gained momentum, my collection of Cd's started attracting dust.  So I went to Half.com which is part of EBay and began selling all of the movies, books and Cd's that I no longer used.  Even though some of the items were sold for just a few dollars, it added up quickly & I earned a few extra hundred dollars within the first month for very minimal effort. The best part was that it only took me about 30 minutes every few days to prepare and ship orders when they came in.  It was some of the easiest money I ever made and I was thirsty for more.  So I began looking at garage/estate sales and thrift stores for items that I could make a profit on. 

Pawn shops are good options as well. I once found a near new InStep bike trailer at a pawn shop for $45 and I was able to turn around and sell it for $90!  How simple is that for 10 minutes of "work"?  Look into setting up a free Craigslist account too.  If you use CL, you get to keep all of your profit.  There are no selling, payment or transaction fees.  All of the money goes into your pocket.  Keep in mind if you do end up turning this into a full time business, you will need to keep records and pay taxes.  I see it as a catch-22 where you need to spend money to make money.  There's no way around it.

It might take some trial and error but you will get better with experience.  Look at places like Amazon or bookstores for reasonably priced guides and books.  Pretty soon, you'll have yourself up, running and enjoying the thrill of making money!  Check out the Amazon link below, there are 100's of books with online buying/selling information and tips.

So until next time, I wish you a prosperous adventure into the world of online selling!

Introducing.....Work From Home Ideas

I discovered a multitude of different avenues for generating an extra income and I’m excited to have finally found a way to make my dreams come true. I want to share my discoveries with everybody else. My intention with this blog is to bring some of the legitimate work from home (WFH) ideas forward to those who are really interested in finding a way to earn an income. My mission is to bring forth reputable opportunities that may require a small upfront investment, but often the wealth of information provided is so valuable that you will not believe you paid so little for what’s offered once you become a member. I am speaking from personal experience here, not a sales pitch! I have done my homework and found my niche within all of the opportunities available. I’d love to help everybody else find theirs as well!


I knew I couldn’t be the only person out here in this vast world of cyber space looking for ways to create an income for myself by working from home. With the hundreds of “Work-At-Home” opportunities out there it’s extremely difficult to find the legitimate companies mixed within so many that are scams. I set out on a mission a while back to see if I could indeed make $100 to $1,000 a day as so many e-commerce businesses entice us with. Along my journey I ended up getting scammed a couple of times but ultimately I struck gold with some very interesting and lucrative WFH ideas. I’m not going to promise you’ll get rich by earning six or seven figures, but if you put an honest effort into it, you really can earn an extra income too. Who wouldn’t love to save a few extra hundred dollars in their spare time to help with bills, or that dream vacation?


We can take the old advice to “do what you love to do” for a happy career combined with a few hours each week to earn extra money.  Personally, I've always enjoyed writing and had long considered writing.  The problem was that I'd never really been able to find a subject I liked writing about.  That is, until I realized how much I love finding deals and money!  I enjoy looking for small ways to find money.  I plan to share some of the things I have done with you.  As this blog progresses I hope to find more and better opportunities for my readers as well as myself.


One idea that will make you some extra money is taking surveys.  Yes, get paid for giving your opinion!  This might not be a career changer for you, but why not earn money and let companies know what you think at the same time?  Some times, you can even make money by reading the emails you receive about the surveys!  It might only be a few cents here and there, but I'm telling you it adds up at the end of the year.  I usually cash all of my rewards, points, cash, what ever it is that I've accrued, right around Christmas time.  I can say first hand that it helps out tremendously!

I'll leave you with an example of what I am talking about.  InboxDollars is one of those places.  They literally give you $5 just for signing up for a free account.  The amounts for surveys vary, you also get paid ten cents for each email that you read.  I've been earning money doing both.  It may seem like a small amount at first, but stick with it and get yourself something nice later!  I haven't downloaded the search bar, but you can get paid for searching the web with them too.  The reason I don't use their search is because I have one with another program I will be writing about soon.