Making Money

Tips for Beginners Looking To Fix and Flip

August 3, 2020 By Paula Leave a Comment

Residential real estate offers great investment opportunities. If you’re someone who is looking to turn a profit and are willing to put in the work, fix-and-flip properties can be a wonderful consideration. While this is one of the easier ways to see a return on your investment, there are still plenty of risks involved. To see the best results, consider these tips for beginners.

Conduct Heavy Research

Before you purchase a property to restore, you need to dedicate time to research. Not only do you need to understand the ins and outs of how much work is involved with fixing up a piece of real estate, but you also want to know about how to select the right property. Different neighborhoods will be easier to sell a home in than others. Learn about which areas are in demand and it can dramatically alter the results of your journey.

Consider How You Buy

Financing is a big part of any transaction involving real estate. While this is not going to be possible for everyone, cash buyers real estate is a great option for those with extra funds to spare. Without the need to take out a loan or explore alternative methods of financing a property, you can cut back on overhead and sink all of your money into the project. Plus, people are more likely to sell when they receive a cash offer.

Be Prepared To Work

Fixing up a home to flip it on the market is not a small task. A lot of difficult work is involved, especially when it comes to remodeling the space. If you are going to see lasting success from this endeavor, you need to be willing to get your hands dirty and commit to long hours of painting, peeling, hammering, and anything else involved with restoration.

Sensible investments are the best way to see a return on your funds. While not a guarantee, trying your hand with fix-and-flip properties can be an amazing way to get more out of your future finances.

Why You Should Still Care About Postcards

August 2, 2020 By Paula Leave a Comment

Technology makes communication fast and easy. You can post about your vacation on social media, connect with clients through email and have a meeting through a video chat service. So are traditional methods of communication, such as postcards, going out of business?

The Beauty of Old-Fashioned Letters

Although you could share the same information in a text message, there’s something special about sending a postcard to a friend or family member. Whether you are on vacation or living away from home, a postcard is a simple way you can keep in touch and give a memorable souvenir. Postcards are known for their attractive designs, and you can always leave a handwritten note on the back.

The Convenience of Postcards

Postcards aren’t just used for vacations, but they are also effective marketing tools. Postcard marketing real estate is an affordable way for realtors to reach their target audiences. If you want to reach your clients without spending a lot of money, consider sending them a visually appealing postcard with contact information and a catchy call to action.

The Originality of This Type of Art

Do you want to stand out from others or show your loved ones you care about them? Postcards are the way to go because they are memorable. They are a great way to bring a smile to someone’s face. You might even get a postcard in return.

If you want creative ways of communication besides technology, pick up some postcards that show your hometown or have a cool picture. These are great for both marketing and entertainment purposes, and they look great on the refrigerator.

If you do decide to use postcards, try to add a personal note on the back. Brush up on your cursive, add some stickers and make it unique to you. Those you send it to will appreciate the time you took to send them the postcard, and you will have created another connection with those you care about.

How To Keep Your Online Business Going During COVID-19

April 9, 2020 By Paula Leave a Comment

The coronavirus outbreak has had an effect on almost every industry, and while brick-and-mortar stores may have felt more of a strain, online businesses have had to change policies as well. If you are operating an online business like smokingthings does, these easy tips can help you keep your business going during COVID-19. While it is important to maintain all safety guidelines set forth by local and national agencies, there are a few key things you can do to stay afloat during this time.

Let Customers Know About Your Safety Measures

Consumers are concerned about getting products from anywhere at this time, as reports have come out that the virus can live on inanimate surfaces. However, there are some things that customers still need, so it is important that you follow any safety measures possible to keep your business going. Disinfect all surfaces on a regular basis, and encourage employees to use hand sanitizer or wash their hands. You should make customers aware of the measures that you are taking to keep them safe. You can do this by sending out a mass email and having a banner posted on your website. Make an inbox where customers can bring forward any concerns during this time.

Prepare Customers for Longer Shipping Times

Because so many industries are shut down, customers must be prepared for longer shipping times. While you can do everything possible to stay on a reasonable timeline, delays in materials shipping to you can affect how quickly you can process orders. Make sure that clients are aware that you are doing everything to get products out on time, and ask for their patience during this difficult time for everyone involved.

Encourage Employees To Stay Safe and Healthy

Your business will suffer if employees continue to come to work when they are sick. They can potentially infect other workers and cause a chain reaction of employees having to be away from the facility. This could lead to a complete shutdown for weeks at a time. Therefore, you must have a strict sick policy in place during this time. Tell all employees if they have any symptoms to stay home and follow directions given by a physician.

While this can be a scary time for personal and financial health, panic will not solve any problems. By following a few smart steps, your business can come out on the other side of the COVID-19 outbreak.

What’s Next For The Gig Economy?

June 13, 2019 By Paula 17 Comments

Future of Gig Economy

The phrase “gig economy” can be used in different ways, and is hard to define exactly. In some cases it’s meant to refer almost to a type of career in which someone (usually a young person) pieces together adequate income through a variety of positions or part-time jobs. On a somewhat less serious level, however, “gig economy” can also refer to the little odd jobs a lot of us now do simply to generate some supplemental income. And it’s this way of thinking about it that leads to some interesting questions about what might be next.

Based on shifting technology and some other trends, these are some of the ways in which we expect to see people seeking some extra pocket cash in the coming years.

Get Paid To Consume Content

“Content” is a buzz word these days for a reason. We consume it constantly, in the form of quick videos, articles and listicles, social media posts, podcasts, and more. When once people spent this sort of energy on full books, scheduled TV programs, and long-form articles, we now opt for quick consumption – which in a way means more consumption. And believe it or not, some models are starting to emerge that essentially pay people for churning through as many pieces of content as they can. Case in point, a new app called Podcoin is actually paying people to listen to podcasts (or at least helping them accumulate “coins” to exchange for gift cards or contribute to charitable efforts). We expect to see more services like these in the coming years.

Provide Freelance Sound Bites

It’s fairly clear if you merely look around the internet that a lot of prominent mainstream writers are turning at least partially to podcasting. Ezra Klein of Vox, Bill Simmons of The Ringer (and formerly ESPN), Michael Lewis of “The Big Short” and “Moneyball” fame…. All of these people are now doing as much or more podcasting as writing. Even the website Longreads, which exists specifically to aggregate some of the best long-form writing on the internet, has its own podcast! Given all of this it stands to reason that the freelance writing business – a common place for “gig” employees to look for work – could evolve to include audio content. That is, in the next few years we may see opportunities for writers to provide freelance sound bites, rather than just written articles.

Play Real-Money Games

A lot of people in the U.S. are unaware of how expansive real-money gaming (which is to say casino content) has become, in places like Canada and Britain where it’s legal. It’s not just poker sites and slot apps now. There are massive websites full of engaging slots that feel more like full video games; there are also all sorts of simulated table games, new-age bingo gaming platforms, and, yes, poker rooms – but more sophisticated ones than those that were taking off 15 years ago. As fun as it can all be, most of it is still off limits in the U.S., but because this is starting to change (a few states are easing up on casino prohibition), it’s conceivable that gambling will become a “gig” activity in the coming years.

Sell Photos

Plenty of people already sell photos, and don’t need to be professionals to do it. There is an existing gig economy specifically for people who want to take this approach, with apps and websites alike that are set up to help people make money on their photography. What we’re counting on though is improving mobile cameras making more people interested in this sort of practice, and thereby making this “gig” activity more popular. We’re already hearing that the next iPhone will come with a major camera boost, and if millions of people can suddenly take even more impressive photos, they may start asking, why not sell them?

The Reality of Working From Home

March 9, 2019 By Paula 17 Comments

So You Want To Work From Home?

Working from home is more than the freedom to move and travel, and the ability to work in your pajamas.

Working from home can prove to be way more challenging than you imagine. You will need to:

Stay Focused – It’s easy to get distracted when you telecommute. Distractions that just don’t exist at work are bountiful at home.
Have Excellent Organizational Skills – You need to keep your desk neat and organized so you can do your best work.
Be Able to Work Alone – You may find that you miss talking to people and the interaction found at a common workplace. Chatting through IM and on the phone is often how I find a healthy balance between having peace and quiet you need to get your work done and the much-needed interaction with others.
Have Good Communication Skills – You need to be proactive about communicating all aspects of the job with clients. You will need to ask and answer any questions you or the client might have.
Be Self-Motivated – You may be tempted to put off work and start working later than you should. You’ll need to keep yourself motivated. Give yourself monthly, daily, weekly, or even hourly goals if you need to.

Working from home is a hot topic and has been for quite a while. People often think of all the positives about working from home, but do not grasp the reality of doing it.

Searching for jobs that you could do from home used to mean scanning the Sunday classifieds for offers to get rich quick by stuffing envelopes. With today’s technology, that’s no longer the case. Work from home jobs have become extremely popular. From virtual assistants, bloggers, and social media managers, to support specialists, direct sales consulting, and data entry; work from home jobs are on the rise thanks to the internet, which has created opportunities that didn’t even exist just a few years ago. Over the next few weeks, Amazon will be hiring more than 3,000 customer service associates to work remotely in 18 states across the U.S.! Amazon customer service associates earn $15 per hour for 20 to 29 hours per week, though it may go up to 60 hours per week during large-scale events or peak seasons.

If you are looking to make an extra $50 to $500 per month, one of the easiest work from home jobs around is to take surveys. By taking opinion polls and answering questions about your shopping habits you can help companies improve products and target their audience better. Companies need to better understand potential customers so they ask questions to improve their marketing tactics. And, they pay survey takers via PayPal or with points that can be redeemed for gift cards for helping them do that. Two great survey sites to check out are Survey Junkie and Swagbucks (free $10 signup bonus).

We’ve all heard of rags to riches stories. People going from nothing to achieving incredible success beyond their own wildest dreams in a short space of time. From living out his parents’ basement to redefining the model of consulting, Sam Ovens, the millionare consultant, is one of those stories. If you’d like to start a profitable consulting business Sam Ovens’ online consulting program, Consulting Accelerator™, is an excellent way to make that dream happen. This isn’t the traditional form of consulting of designer suits and board rooms. Rather, it’s a new type of consulting that uses expertise to provide a solution to a problem. You pick your own niche based on your area of expertise. And, the 6-week intensive training program teaches you how you can use those skills to create a profitable, work from home business.

More Legitimate Work From Home Jobs Hiring Now

Here are some of the best work from home jobs to start earning money from home, on your own schedule.

1. Virtual Assistant Jobs – Commonly referred to as VAs often make between $35 and $50 per hour, according to Gina Horkey, a professional virtual assistant and work from home jobs coach at HorkeyHandbook. You can start by taking a training class that’ll teach you the common skills needed to become a virtual assistant.

2. Start Blogging for Money – Choose a topic that you are passionate about and start writing about it on a regular basis. If you are an expert in a particular area, starting a blog that focuses on it is a great way to teach people about a particular skill, entertain, or share about life experiences. Bloggers can make between $0 and $150,000 per month through a variety of different methods including, but not limited to: affiliate marketing, accepting paid advertisements, and by selling digital (or physical) products.

3. Work from Home Freelance Writing Jobs – You can hire yourself out and write for newspapers, large online publications, and even other blogs. These “writer for hire” jobs usually pay between $30 and $500 per assignment, depending on difficulty, the writers experience level, and the length of the material. Veteran freelancers can earn well over $1,000 per assignment. You can start by taking a course that teaches you the basic skills required to pursue these types of writing jobs. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll need to create a portfolio of writing samples that you can show to prospective clients. You may need to offer free work to clients to build up your portfolio. Once your portfolio is complete, you can find work on sites like Upwork and Freelancer.

4. Online Teaching Jobs – If you are a (licensed) teacher, you can now start teaching classes from home via Skype or pre-recorded sessions. The average salary for first-year teachers is $30k. K12 is one of the biggest providers of online teaching services and since you’ll be working with kids (even though it’s online), you still need to go through the typical hiring process for a teacher: background check, reference check, interviews, etc.

5. Online Tutor – Teaching Chinese children English through VIPKID is one of the hottest online jobs right now. Tutors typically earn anywhere from $14 – $22 per hour according to their website.

6. Freelance Proofreading Online Jobs – Are you the kind of person who is great at identifying errors in printed content? If so, proofreading may be the stay at home job for you. According to Salary.com, the median salary for a freelance proofreader is $49,729 per year.

7. Direct Sales Consulting – One of the more common work from home jobs, known as multi-level marketing, has become extremely popular. Think of the Avon, Beachbody, Tupperware, and Thirty-One posts that you see all over your Facebook feed. Most of these programs require an upfront investment for purchasing your initial inventory.

8. Testing Apps and Websites – Similar to taking surveys for money, companies will also pay regular people to give feedback on their website and apps. You can test how it looks, how easy it is to navigate, etc… through Whatusersdo, Enroll, UserFeel, Analysia, TryMyUI and make $8 to $10 per test.

9. Web Design – If you know the basics behind web design, you can start offering those services to small businesses. In addition to emailing businesses in your area, Alignable and Upwork are great sites to find these jobs.

10. Do Local Odd-Jobs – Offering any skills that you have locally on Craigslist is a great way to make extra income. From running errands, buying groceries, doing yard work, there are all sorts of jobs on TaskRabbit, also.

11. Driving – Consider driving for Uber or Lyft. These ride-sharing apps are an excellent way to make money and meet interesting people in your town.