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January 16, 2008 3:06 PM

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ummmmm DUH

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il1lupo1970

January 16, 2008 3:10 PM

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i love my free time away from work. i also love crime dramas... i've watched enough law & order to give me a good background on how to be a criminal. so that's how i'm going to make extra money.

i plan on selling stuff out of the office i work in (computers, furniture, office supplies, etc). i will list it on ebay while i'm supposed to be working. i'll use the shipping department to ship the items to my customers.

sound crazy? after knowing how things operate at my job, i think i can actually get away with it for quite some time.

anyone need a copier? free shipping!!

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Tracy Ham and Eggs

January 16, 2008 3:22 PM

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@il1lupo1970: I could use a new fax and a gross of pens. Can I get a quote?

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January 16, 2008 3:28 PM

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#12 - Buy winning lottery tickets
#13 - Rob a bank
#14 - Marry someone rich, then wait for him or her to die
#15 - Play golf like Tiger Woods
#16 - Write computer operating system software that continually \"updates\" so that it runs crappier and crappier until you have to buy the overpriced new version of the software and/or a whole new computer every few years (it worked for Bill Gates)

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jamesdenver

January 16, 2008 3:40 PM

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I have a blog in which I write about local Denver travel, places and issues, and plus personal travel and articles abroad.

It's just a hobby, but I enjoy doing it.

Lately I've been getting e-mails from small companies wanting to buy ads. \"Great!\" I thought. A few extra bucks for each month for nothing. But the ads were in the form of text links they wanted incorporated into my posts. i.e. an article about Mexico gets crammed with time share links.

Two of them I wrote back to and said \"I'll put these in, but they'll be a box that says SPONSORED LINK,\" I never heard back.

No thanks. I have to be more sucessful to sell out. james [www.futuregringo.com]

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theWolf

January 16, 2008 3:40 PM

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Me: \"Can I have a raise?\"
Boss: \"No.\"
Me: \"Can I have a promotion?\"
Boss: \"No.\"

Ok, what's next on the list?

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jeff303

January 16, 2008 3:46 PM

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@theWolf: Punch him and take his wallet?

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topgun

January 16, 2008 3:51 PM

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@JulesWinnfield: Way funny!!!
But I do have a serious question and this article was a bit relevant. I'm trying to buy an existing, successful business. The caveat is that because of the way a bank values used equipment & furniture in their view there is a lack of collateral. I come up short on funding. Is there a way to sell \"shares\" privately on the internet or something?

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January 16, 2008 3:54 PM

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@jeff303: Go on the game show \"Sucker Punch\"?

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January 16, 2008 3:59 PM

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Oh, yes, I can take my love of old computer games, which I'm moderately good at, and write a blog about it. Then, since there aren't any other people writing about computer games, I'm sure the money will start flooding in...

No offence, but I get so tired of articles like this. \"I was obsessive-compulsive about stamp collecting for years. I started a blog about it, and I make tons of money on the side!\" Most people won't be able to make money off of their blog, and most of the people at flea markets/farmers markets/street corners don't make more than what they spend on overhead...

If you've spent years of time, as well as a good amount of money on what you love, and then turn around and sell stuff, then hopefully you enjoy it. That's the main benefit you will get for your time.

What I've found is that it is more up to the personality than it is up to what you love to do...

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January 16, 2008 4:07 PM

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So in summary:

To make more money you have to earn more money?

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MeOhMy

January 16, 2008 4:13 PM

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You have to be careful about trying to profitize things you do purely for enjoyment - hobbies can become a lot less fun when they start to look like jobs. Side businesses seem great but I have found that after working all day, the last thing I want to do on my off hours is work more. The money is great, but it means spending less time with family or doing things that I love but don't pay well. That's a big price to pay for extra money.

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January 16, 2008 4:14 PM

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Step 1: Steal Underpants.
Step 2:
Step 3: Profit.

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January 16, 2008 4:22 PM

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Here's a great way to not make any extra money: have a negative attitude.

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ravensfire

January 16, 2008 4:23 PM

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@JOE_BAGADONUTS My thoughts exactly! :-b

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Rectilinear Propagation

January 16, 2008 4:26 PM

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Don't you just love this one?

Take what you do in your current job and consider selling those skills to others at night.

I CAN'T be the only one here who immediately thought of the wrong thing.

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January 16, 2008 4:32 PM

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@Ben Popken: I agree Ben. I take the advice of the picture. I have found countless dollars worth of coins on the ground, and when I started walking to drop some weight, I have so far found $25.00 and a gold chain. Extra income, and healthy too.

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January 16, 2008 4:39 PM

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@Rectilinear Propagation: my immediate thought was: \"what, get f***ed?\"

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January 16, 2008 4:41 PM

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@Ben Popken: gotta agree!

sitting around and bitching wont get you anywhere. With the new year in, my wife and I are about to launch our second side business, with a third one planned for later in the year, now that our first online business is doing pretty well.

All it takes is a little self motivation and the willingness to give up a couple of hours of your 'precious' to get it up and running.

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mustfinallypost

January 16, 2008 5:03 PM

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\"typical cost of living adjustment.\" I'd LOVE to see one of those. My college-educated, tech-certified husband hasn't had a single raise since he started his current job in the tech field almost 6 years ago. NOT ONE PENNY. He was laid off from his previous tech employer after 11 years when they shut down, took a 23% cut in pay for this job after 10 months of being unemployed. He's been looking for another job for 4 years, but not too much fun when you're 60. He's only still there because we need the crappy, overpriced insurance as I am a self-employed tech. I guess we're lucky though. They outsourced his job last year, but they outsourced him with it. Not that it has meant anymore money or benefits. Still the status quo.

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January 16, 2008 5:04 PM

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i currently have a patent pending for a method of motility in which a biped raises one leg & places it in front of the other, then repeats the action with the other leg. this cycle is repeated over & over to move from point A to point B. i call it \"walking\".

once my patent has been approved, you can all expect settlement forms in the mail for your infringement of my IP rights.

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January 16, 2008 5:05 PM

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I have been there and done that with the side work. I just ended a long 3 year stretch working nights at a 'business/ medical school'. I have to put it in quotes because they really are not much of a school at all. They just like to take money and hope you show up for class.
I noticed working there was affecting my day job and I was getting a very poor attitude. I quit and now I have recieved a nice raise for all of the extra work I do at my primary job. Not to mention having time to see my family.

Posting about a career school deserves a WHOLE article of what a ripoff it is to students and people.

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12-inch Idongivafuck Sandwich

January 16, 2008 5:17 PM

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I enjoy reading about stuff like this. I am good/efficient/knowledgable at setting up home electronics, and have done it for people in the past in my spare time (and had the opportunity to make some nice cash/fancy dinners in the process). I just don't know how to go about actually getting myself started to do it as a sort of side business.

Every time I read one of these types of articles I feel a little more motivated to actually get started...

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hn333

January 16, 2008 5:27 PM

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I became a pimp.

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January 16, 2008 5:55 PM

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@il1lupo1970: [Looks for \"BUY IT NOW!\" button in profile]

@Ben Popken: [Quietly waits for checks to roll in]

@Rectilinear Propagation: Bow-Chicka-Wow-Wow.

I've taken on \"off-hours\" freelance work. Two jobs so far this year, and I plan on speaking with my acct. to figure out how to maximize this tax-wise.

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January 16, 2008 6:02 PM

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There is a market on Ebay for used women's socks. I guess fetishists go nuts over them. I'm only half-kidding when I say that I am thinking about going that route.

The thing with an article like this is that even if it doesn't have very specific info, or may seem obvious, it can serve to actually motivate people to get started on their own plans. Every time I run across something like this, it reminds me that there are things I make just for my own cooking needs that I could actually try to sell. Or that I have een meaning to breal into translating work (I am fluent in English and Spanish) as a side job. After enough of these reminders, I may one day get off my ass and do something.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

January 16, 2008 6:03 PM

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@Troy F.: \"Side businesses seem great but I have found that after working all day, the last thing I want to do on my off hours is work more. The money is great, but it means spending less time with family or doing things that I love but don't pay well. That's a big price to pay for extra money.\"

Definitely agree. I teach some craft classes on the side through a community rec organization (a Park District, for those of you in the midwest), and it's FUN, but I always find that four-week period when I'm teaching for community rec EXHAUSTING, and I don't get to spend a lot of time with my husband doing it all the time would suck.

These articles are always based on the thought that you should invest your spare time into making money, rather than (as you said) your family -- or something else. While it's definitely fine to invest your time in earning more money if that your personal goal, it's not everyone's goal. I personally invest my extra time into community volunteerism (and my family, and my social life), something I value quite a bit more than the little extra I could make with a side business.

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Nemesis_Enforcer

January 16, 2008 6:18 PM

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Back in the bad old days with my ex-wife we were always broke and needed money. I sold my plasma for about a year or so until I got asked one time if I did drugs because the needle mark on my arm had turned into a big scar....

Anyway I am in the process right now of cleaning out my garage and closets to sell stuff on ebay. I collect almost anything military related so hopefully I can make enough to buy that new seat I want for my motorcycle...

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January 16, 2008 6:19 PM

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@DrGirlfriend: A male friend of mine in college paid a portion of his tuition in a similar fashion.

We went out for lunch after class one day and he wanted to make a stop at the local Discount Store to buy several packs of \"tidy whities\" and white sports socks. I asked if it was for an \"Art Project\" of some kind or a health problem, he confessed to selling them over the internet.

Men were paying anywhere from $20 to $100 each, depending on what he had to capture in the Polaroids included with each order. I was simultaneously struck by \"Gross\" and \"GENIUS!\" at the same time.

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January 16, 2008 6:20 PM

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I don't think it's being presented as if it were everyone's goal, or should be everyone's goal. For *some* people this may be a goal, or it may even be a necessity. That's how I take it, at least.

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January 16, 2008 6:21 PM

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@mercurypdx: Nice! Socks is about as far as I would be willing to take that little money-making scheme!

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Nemesis_Enforcer

January 16, 2008 6:22 PM

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@Nemesis_Enforcer: Almost forgot I actually make about 3-400 bucks extra a month by doing surveys. I fill out a form online they email me and if I match the profile they are looking for I get an offer to go to the survey office and go thru one. Last weekend I made $200 for 3 hours doing a survey for childrens toys.

Yeah I know it means some personal info of mine is out there but who cares if they know I like Reese's PB cups in my ice cream or that I like Lego and Lincoln logs over power ranger toys for my son?

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Twitch

January 16, 2008 6:31 PM

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It's one thing to make money doing what you love, it's another entire thing to make money at doing something that relaxes you or is your true hobby. How many people have a 'hobby' of making hunting knives? This could extend a certain distance, but camping aint' gonna pay any of my bills, nor will playing the odd computer game.

Blogging can pay some bills, but it probably won't be a full-time job anytime soon (unless you're gawker)

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January 16, 2008 6:32 PM

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@12-inch Idongivafuck Sandwich: i used to do that. here's how i started: i hooked myself up with an associate at a local electronics store. gave him a bunch of business cards & told him i would buy any cables needed for any job from him, or if he preferred, he could buy them with his discount & i'd give him full price (guess which he chose). i also gave him a referral fee for every job i did.

it turned out to be quite profitable (for both of us), but then he got shitcanned. i was also growing tired of listening to guys/gals in million dollar homes bitch about paying a couple hundred dollars to have their $10,000 tv, $3000 surround sound & various peripherals setup & integrated. plus, more & more people wanted wires snaked (esp. for rear speakers) & i don't charge enough for that.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

January 16, 2008 6:39 PM

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@Nemesis_Enforcer: Where do you find such high-paying surveys?

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dgcaste

January 16, 2008 6:43 PM

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@JulesWinnfield: It also worked for the Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop and Illustrator teams.

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January 16, 2008 6:44 PM

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@Joe_Bagadonuts: Much love for that comment. There is no situation that is not made better by the underpants gnomes.

@Eyebrows McGee: Me too - I'm so worn out by my day job and how I'm constantly having to be there for hours on end, that I know my side business would get neglected like whoa.

I also get really annoyed by the attitude that \"OMG, why don't you just start a side business?! It's SO easy and you'll immediately get rich! Did I mention that it's SO easy? And how there's like guaranteed success?\"

All of which is so not true as to be ludicrous but funny how people only want to go on about their side businesses taht made them bank and not the ones that failed miserably and cost all their savings.

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January 16, 2008 6:48 PM

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@Nemesis_Enforcer: I was unemployed (and bankrupt!) and selling plasma. I had to stop when it was really affecting my health... sometimes now my lips turn blue for no reason and I know to sit down and chill out. I still have the scar though, which makes it super easy for having blood drawn or IVs put in - Just aim for the scar!

I HAVE considered hiring an attractive friend and/or coworker to wear some socks and then sell them, sadly enough. Remember when it was panties they wanted? At least socks you're not providing TOO much wank fodder for. I mean, as far as pictures go...

My mom does peri dialysis and she has a cubic ton of used needles just hanging out in her room... all they've been used for is to inject Heparin into saline solution, so they're probably cleaner than anything else in the room (they have to go through two layers of Betadine, first on the bottle, then on the plug). I KNOW there's a market out there for junkies, I just don't know how to word that on Craig's List.

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January 16, 2008 7:04 PM

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How do you market your hobby? I mean, it's one thing to say, \"I like to carve wood\" and then set up a website or blog about it to further your name, but in many sectors there are policies against a blog or website.

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no.no.notorious

January 16, 2008 7:25 PM

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@chili_dog: yeah...im surprised things like 'find a million dollars on the street' and 'pick the winning lotto' weren't on there

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January 16, 2008 7:40 PM

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In the spirit of making a hobby into a second business: I put my handmade stuff upon Etsy.com. Since I'm a knitter and a spinner, I'll put up hand-dyed or handspun yarn when I feel like it, and if it sells, great. If it doesn't, I use it or give it away to other knitters. It's not an official thing, but it brings in enough to support my hobby; I know several people who have been able to turn their Etsy stores into a full-time venture.

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January 16, 2008 7:48 PM

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@Tikabelle: I love Etsy. Thank you for sharing your talents with those of us less skilled!!

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

January 16, 2008 7:50 PM

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@JD: I know a few people who do all right on etsy (and a few who sell nothing whatever). I know a lot of gardeners who, in the spring, join neighbors' garage sales to sell seedlings, rooted cuttings, and perennial splits. If you're diligent about it you can make a couple hundred bucks in a season, which helps offset the costs of being a serious gardener who can't pass a garden center without shopping. :)

My husband is going to try that this season, since he starts a lot of plants from seed indoors and you have to start way more than you need to be sure to get enough. He's going to use newspaper pots (like this: [www.ehow.com]) and most of the seeds are from collecting them in our garden, so the only cost is really potting soil (which we buy anyway for our own stuff) -- and then several of our neighbors have yearly garage sales and are happy to let other neighbors set up a table with stuff, or plants, since bigger garage sales do better. If he makes $30 at it, it'll offset our soil costs for the year; if he makes $200 like some of our friends do, that'll pay for all our annuals, potted veggies, mulch, and soil.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

January 16, 2008 7:55 PM

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@JD: I was going to say -- I can't see any reason why you couldn't sell crafty things at local garage sales as well as plants. Depending on the craft and on the area/crowd, you might or might not sell, but it wouldn't cost you anything to try.

Other ways to monetize your hobbies include teaching classes, especially for children, through community rec (which I do). And I've had a few \"orders\" for specific items come from parents of kids in the classes, and also from people who saw my work at charity auctions.

(I sew to help me relax, and I started sewing doll clothes because I can't afford to keep framing what I sew. I donate doll-sized princess ball gowns and things like that to charity sales, and then often moms call and ask if I can make something like that for their daughter's American Girl doll. Even if I charge $30 or $40, it's much cheaper than the \"official\" clothes. But I only do it when I feel like I want to be sewing anyway.)

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Nemesis_Enforcer

January 16, 2008 8:26 PM

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@Eyebrows McGee: They are called Focus Pointe Global [www.focusgroup.com] I could probably make more but since I work during the day I can only go on weekends and some nights. They have some really good surveys and some I just won't tell them about medical conditions etc. The lowest one I ever got paid for was about $75 for an hour. The most was $600 for an 8 hour study and 3 home visits.

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January 16, 2008 9:03 PM

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@Nemesis_Enforcer: Get anything for the referral? I somehow think \"Nemesis_Enforcer sent me!\" won't bode well on my application. If it doesn't matter, then we're good.

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topgun

January 16, 2008 10:57 PM

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@Eyebrows McGee: Does he sell like any Cannabis plants? I'd be interested. Does he do mail order?

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Nemesis_Enforcer

January 17, 2008 12:11 AM

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@mercurypdx: Not that I know of. At least the guy who referred me didn't mention it! Go for it if you want.

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January 17, 2008 12:13 AM

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@Nemesis_Enforcer:

\"Thank you for joining our contact database.
Your friends and family can also sign up at [www.focusgroup.com]

Please forward them this email so they can click the link!

All the best,
Focus Pointe Global\"

Yay!
Take your hobby (offering my opinion on crap on the internet) and make money from it (Cha-CHING!).

It happened to me, and it can happen for you, too!

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Pipes

January 17, 2008 2:46 AM

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I play the bagpipes, and playing weddings and funerals is a lucrative business. Hundreds of dollars for half an hour worth of work. It's the only thing that keeps me doing it...playing Amazing Grace and Pachelbel's Canon gets totally boring. The only fun time is if you get to bust out some cool jigs/reels at the wedding reception, but that happens less often than you'd think.

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January 17, 2008 2:53 AM

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I tutor biology and fix people's resumes for extra money in my spare time. Both of these take no capitol, just transportation and the know-how. With average of one hour of tutoring and and two hours of resume work a week, I'm hoping to make close to an extra $4000 this year.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)

January 17, 2008 2:54 PM

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@topgun: LOL no.

@Pipes: You can play Pachelbel's Canon on bagpipes?

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MeOhMy

January 17, 2008 3:22 PM

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@Pipes: If you can find a nearby curling club, they are always looking for pipers to lead the players in during tournament championship rounds. In addition to your usual honorarium, you will also get a shot of drambuie for each match (and a club member will probably also buy you a drink or two). You will also be asked to play Scotland The Brave instead of Amazing Grace or the godawful blackballed-from-my-wedding-but-the-bride-to-be-colluded-with-the-organist-to-sneak-it-in-during-the-procession-anyway Canon.

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January 17, 2008 3:58 PM

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@Pipes: how about a round of \"if you think i'm sexy\"?

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Nemesis_Enforcer

January 17, 2008 5:49 PM

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@mercurypdx: Sorry its been a long time since I signed up. But I don't think there is any type of sign up bonus. At least I never got one for the people I sent to them =(

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Upsilon

January 17, 2008 10:28 PM

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You could always go down to your neighbor's house, shake down a few of their trees for fruit (which always grow in sets of three btw) and sell them to your local raccoon shopkeeper.

~Y

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January 21, 2008 3:37 AM

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That link was BS advice, like selling stuff you already have. It's not an extra income if you sell things of value you have, that's liquidation. Asking for a raise or \"get a promotion\"? Are you joking?
To make more money you should start a new business, hopefully an Internet based one with low startup costs that you can work on in spare time, assuming you have a day job already. That's the way to make new income, not just selling what you have, or switching jobs which you could do anyway if the chance came up.

");