For the last 4 weeks I have been racking my brain for ideas to make money from home. Now with the economy the way it is, it is especially hard, as I would guess that people are less likely to spend money on things other than necessities.. (I know I am)
So, I visited the usual suspects and found some great opportunities... but frankly, I have already tried a great deal of them.
Avon: Avon is a great company and a lot of fun... but I found it hard to juggle the kids and my avon schedule. As a single parent, my children were always with me, so we would walk door to door and drop off catalogs and if someone wanted to chat about products... that was invariably when the kids just HAD to tell me something (SMILE). I enjoyed avon and if I could have made more money I would have really really enjoyed it. The way is work is this: As the AVON rep you have to purchase ALL of your advertising material. All of the catalogs, inserts, special promotions, little giveaways... everything, including the avon trademark white paper bags. All that got to be pretty expensive, and took a while and a bunch of sales to actually break even... and it seemed like just when I broke even, then I had to purchase the next months catalogs.
I think with dedication, perseverance and the time available to really sell... This is a good opportunity, I would give it 1 chubby thumb up.
Discovery Toys: I also enjoyed discovery toys, The main vehicle for selling discovery toys is the Home Party. Once I ran out of friends, it was really hard to get anyone to have a party. The toys were great, but expensive, the profit was not exactly what was advertised by the mfg. I can't remember the specifics, but I seem to remember thinking I would be making more then I was, and there was some fine print. PLUS, you had to purchase the starter kit, which consisted of the display items and all the order forms and all that jazz... it was fairly expensive to start up, and honestly, not many people in my circle of friends really wanted to spend the money on expensive toys when they could get the same thing at Target or Walmart for 1/2 the price.
I think that there are people that make money selling these toys, I wasn't even close. I give discovery Toys 1 chubby thumb down.
Consulting: I have been a software trainer/consultant for a while now. When I get a job it's very lucrative, but the jobs are few and far between. My primary goal is the teach people how to use software. Most people taught themselves how to use today's productivity software, and although they can get their job done... they may not be doing it the easiest or most efficient way. many times I can come in just to address the most frequent stumbling blocks and everyone walks away enlightened... however many business owners don't see the value of the training. They feel that since the job is getting down, they don't really care how.
In terms of ease, consulting about something you know is great fun and fulfilling, but it ain't easy to get people to pay for information. I would give this 1 chubby thumb up
Candles, Home Goods: I will be honest with you. I have never had a candle party, a lingerie party, a home goods party, a americana party... I'm not into spending money on that stuff (as evidenced by my interior design style which is a mix between your parents basement and your neighbors garage sale. I just can't bring myself to spend $80.00 on a basket. (Longaberger) Honestly, I did attend several parties and the ones I liked the best were the candle parties, because I like scented things... and atleast when I ordered the box of 9 votive I felt like I was getting something for my money. Now, however, I have kids and candles have gone the wayside. I don't have any experience with selling candles and I would imagine unless they are hugely more popular than avon, that it would be about the same.
Pocket Book Parties: I wouldn't know where to get the products. really. I don't know a think about designer pocket books, I wouldn't know how to tell if the purse is really a coach or not... honestly. However, the purses sell themselves. I went to a pocketbook party, and saw that the person just laid the purses out in the living room and told everyone what the prices are and people just threw the girl money. I would NEVER spend $80.00 on a pocket book even if that was $200.00 off the regular price, I just don't have that in me. (however, I would register 25 domain names at $6.99 a pop just because) So I guess to each his/her own.
In terms of hosting the party and getting a discount on purchases I would say this is a 2 chubby thumbs up... however, I don't know how you would become a seller of these purses. If anyone knows I'd be interested...
Now... the fun part of this blog entry. A POLL
If your neighbor or sister in law or acquaintance from the gym invited you to a "home party" to sell a product please rate these products in the order that you would enjoy and look forward to.
CLICK HERE TO TAKE MY POLL
http://www.polldaddy.com/s/A1EA8336ACCD6E1E/
Monday, October 13, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
How to Start a Freelance Career
Work at Home and Earn an Excellent Income
Imagine being able to work from your own home, doing a job you love, and
getting paid handsomely for doing it. Wouldn't that be great?
Well, the good news is that this is not just a fantasy. It is a prospect that is
well within your reach. Today, millions of people worldwide have established
highly-successful careers as freelance professionals. Writers, designers,
programmers and many other home-based consultants have discovered that
freelancing offers the perfect combination of freedom, creativity, flexibility
and profitability.
So do you need years of experience and fantastic qualifications to join these
lucky people? Not at all. You just need a skill that you can offer to potential
clients, and the willingness to learn how to run a home-based business.
Of course, the biggest challenge for new freelancers is finding enough work to
justify giving up a day job. How can you be sure that you will keep yourself
busy with lucrative work? This used to be a concern, but thanks to the advent of
the Internet, things are now much easier.
Now there are a number of job sites dedicated to helping freelancers find work
and stay busy. Freelance Work Exchange, for example, brings you hundreds of
fresh freelance jobs like these:
Write for Discussion Boards: $1200 per week, plus bonus
A writer is needed for an ongoing writing project. You will need to write copy
to stimulate others into joining the discussion board. The writer needs to
actively encourage regular and meaningful debate on the relevant discussion
board, with some moderating of the content. You must have solid writing skills
and good ideas.
Administer a Web Business from Home: $4000 per month
A successful e-commerce venture is seeking a part-time virtual assistant to act
as a home-based office manager. You will deal with email correspondence, update
site content and deal with general admin issues. You should have your own
computer and Internet access.
Transcribe Author's Notes: $80 per hour, flexible working
A publishing company is seeking a freelance with an eye for detail to
transcribe authors' notes and recordings for a range of ongoing projects. You
must have a good grasp of English, be able to edit content into readable form,
and be able to submit work from home by email.
You can sign up for a trial subscription for just $2.95, and get instant
access to all the projects in the jobs database. So if you would like to get
started on the road to freelance success right now, click here to sign up
today.
