Month: August 2011

We all know many times in life it’s not “what you know, but rather, who you know” that will help you land that great corporate job or meet the right contacts for a business opportunity you’ve been working on.  That still applies when you are thinking about ways to make extra money or change your career focus all together.  However, if you are in a position where you need to do something completely different to make additional income, replace income due to a lay off/downsizing or are just in a plain ole stuck-in-a-rut  frame of mind, why not do something that you love or are really good at instead of doing what is familiar for you?  Here are some ideas to think about if you love Art or have an artistic/crafty flair that you haven’t thought of sharing.

#86 – Art; if you are a seasoned artist or novice, share your art –

There are many forms of art and beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder, but if you happen to dabble in some form of artistic endeavor to relieve stress or just because you love it, why not share it with others?  See if any local Galleries, Coffee Houses, or Cafe’s would like to do a showing of your artistic medium?  You could host an “Opening Night”  event and serve wine or see if the Coffee House or Cafe might offer a special discount for anyone who comes in to see or purchase your art.  Offer the place that is “hosting” your art a percentage of your sales.  They will be more apt to want to display your art if they might be able to make a buck or two.

For “Openings” or events that showcase your art, I’d recommend advertising through word of mouth, Facebook, local newspapers, events pages or local TV station events pages.  Make sure you print up the name of your pieces, with pricing on the display cards and post them near the painting, drawing, etc. I’d recommend keeping an inventory with pricing in an excel spread sheet and check the location My Birthday Status for Whatsapp at least once a month to see if any art has sold.  Some places will collect the money and then cut you a check later, like consignment.  You’ll have to work out the terms for each place that you are working with, but it’s definitely a great way to showcase your art or craft and get your name out there.

#87 – Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn to showcase your art and announce any upcoming events –

Create a “Fanpage” on Facebook & ask your friends to”like” it.  Start tweeting about any new things you are working on and add “Artist” to your resume and your LinkedIn profile.  Make sure you get the word out about any upcoming events or shows you may be participating in.  Keep your events page up to date and archive old events or set the page up to do this automatically for you to save time.

#88 – Holiday Bazaar’s or Craft Fairs –

The holidays are coming up, how about finding some craft shows in your area that you can participate in. You just may be pleasantly surprised who may want to purchase your art as a gift for someone they love or maybe even for themselves.

#89 – Gift your art –

Art of any form is a great gift.  My Mom is a fantastic artist and I absolutely LOVE getting a painting from her as a gift during the holidays or for a special occasion.  So if you aren’t up for selling your art but it’s overtaking your home, think about making a list of those in your life who would love getting a piece of your art as a gift.  It will be cherished and your gift budget this year might just go down a bit!  Win-Win!

#90 – Teach your medium or craft –

If you are an artist or are just plain “crafty”, why not teach a “how-to” class at your local adult school or alternative education center?  These types of organizations are often looking for unique classes to offer their students.  You will need to actually have a curriculum or outline of what you propose to teach prepared and ready to present when you ask to teach your class.  Most organizations like this, keep a percentage of the total fee that is collected.  All are different, so check out a few in your area to see which one may work best for you.

If you live in a rural area and don’t have an alternative school like this near by, see if maybe your local church, recreation center, or fire hall may have a space that you could rent or use how ever many times a week or month you may need the space.  Sometimes in more rural areas, these types of places may just let you use the space out of the kindness of their hearts or let you use it for a small donation to the organization.  This is when “who you know” may actually come into play and be very helpful!

 

Idea #91 – Baby-sitting or Kid-sitting for friends or friends of friends

I baby-sit quite often for friends who have kids when they need a night out or a weekend away. If you don’t have kids and enjoy spending time with them, this is a great way to get your kid fix and make some money. I love kids, don’t have any of my own and enjoy spending time with kids but also enjoy “giving them back”.

I normally charge between $10 and $15 an hour for shorter time periods. If they need me to stay over for a night or two, I charge by the day. Normally $100 to $120 a day. Of course, the rates for babysitting vary across the country, so ask around to see what the going rate is.

If they have little kids and I’ll need to drive them anywhere while they are away, I usually ask to use one of their cars (the car seats are conveniently already in the back seat) and ask them to add me to their car insurance for the weekend, to be safe. I have my own car insurance too, but think it’s better to be safe than sorry. I try to keep the kids on the schedule they normally keep with their parents and I try to do fun things with them; play games, color, paint nails (if they are girls and like to play “spa night”), read stories and if staying over night or for Fix Windows Update errors longer periods of time, watch kid movies. I’m not a big television watcher myself and don’t like to put kids in front of the TV when I’m watching them, so we normally just do a little bit of TV and I try to be more interactive with them.

Word of mouth is the best way to find babysitting gigs. So ask your friends, post something on Facebook or check out a site like care.com and see if anyone needs your help. You don’t have to be a 14 year old girl to babysit these days, in fact, most parents are more comfortable leaving their children with a more mature, professional adult and will pay more for quality child care in their home while they are away.

Idea #92 – Pet Sitting

Are you a dog, cat, bird or rodent lover? If so, why not pet sit, walk dogs, or clean cages and feed birds, hamsters or ferrets for people when they are away or work crazy hours? You can post flyer’s on local bulletin boards at Church’s, schools, grocery stores, and online bulletin boards like craigslist.org or care.com. People love their pets, spend a ton of money on them, treat them like they are their kids, especially if they don’t have kids and usually will pay well to make sure that they are well taken care of. Call some local doggy day care and over night kennels to see how much they charge for day care and boarding. Then decide what your rate will be. I suggest making it a little bit lower than what the doggy day care or boarding kennel charges, to stay competitive and get your calendar filled up. It may be a good idea to take a Pet CPR class and get some liability insurance just in case something happens to someone’s pet while in your care. Better to be safe than sorry. I have been pet sitting off and on for the past 15 years and have made anywhere from $20 to $35 a day depending on the level of care the pet needs and how many pets I care for and for how long.

I recently used hotels.com on a trip for two last minute hotel stays that I booked the same day that I needed to stay. The hotels were clean and affordable. I even had a problem with my reservation on the first night and not only did the hotel honor the hotels.com for last minute hotel deals but hotels.com refunded my original reservation.  My only word of caution is to make sure that you book your reservation well before midnight so that it arrives at the hotel for the same day. If you book it after midnight, the computer Tesla model3 specs thinks you are making a reservation for the next day at normal check in time and usually won’t recognize the reservation until they run their night audit.  Lesson learned!