I haven’t written about the subject in a while, so, in case you’re still interested in ways to make money here it is:

Next set of MMI’s:

16.  Breed cats.  I’ve just mentioned it because someone I know was telling me she’ll start breeding cats. I’ve done a bit of research on this, and it really seems like something very hard to do! It might sound easy, but… it’s not. First of all, you need to know what you’re doing, before you even buy your first cat. You can learn from the Internet, from books, and from talking to actual breeders. Then you need to decide on one breed, something that would fit you. The place where you breed cats is called a cattery. You also need to have the financial resources before you start breeding. This are some of the things that will cost you (lots of) money: buying the cats (pure-breds can cost over  $1000), providing an adequate shelter for them, the best quality food, regular visits to the vet (the more cats you have, the higher the vet bill!), providing papers for the cats. And then you have to have strong marketing skills, selling an expensive cat is not easy (and after all the bills, you won’t want to sell it cheap!). Overall, I don’t think this is a get-rich business idea, unless you really really know what you’re doing, or you’re just doing it for the fun and love of cats. Here’s a great site about it:  http://www.breedlist.com/faq/breeding.html 

17.  Make baby stuff. I also got this idea from someone I know that was making money by selling her own hand made baby shower gifts. With the help of some diappers and a bit of imagination she was making some nice extra money! If you’re good with sewing, knitting and putting things together, than you can start making stuff like clothes, blankets, even baby food.  Here’s a site that talks about just that: http://www.make-your-own-baby-stuff.com/

18.  Make ash trays from oyster shells. Yes, you read correctly. The good thing about this business is that the starting costs are minimal! Many restaurants just throw away the shells, and you can get them for free. Some wire, bolts and paint, and there you go, you have a cool, unique, ash tray.  If I had a restaurant specializing in sea food, I would definitely consider decorating with some hand made , unique ash trays. Here you can find all about it: http://www.profitfrog.com/profitable-hobbies-articles/oyster-shell-ashtrays.htm

19.  Put advertisements on your car. Many companies pay you to do that, I’m sure you’ve seen many cars driving around with big ads on their doors. A good way to pay the gas and the insurance, right? Drive safe and go here for more info: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/167229/how_to_sell_advertising_space_on_your.html?page=2

20.  Since St. Patrick is almost here, I was going to save this for last: make all sort of green/St. Patrick stuff. You can buy green dye, cloves, accessories, and make all sorts of stuff, from rings, earrings, beads, hats, glasses, purses, t-shirts… anything. All you need is a bit of imagination, you can buy for example a regular green hat, and add cloves and iron some letters saying Happy St. Patrick! The same for t-shirts. Or beer mugs, etc.  Then sell it to people you know, or on e-Bay! Great for parties, or for people in Vegas

This was all for today, folks! Suggestions? More MMI’s to come.

Here is the next set of MMI’s:

11.  Buy a franchise. This is not a simple making money opportunity (well, all the ideas presented require effort), but if it’s something you think you’d be good at than maybe you want to try it. I think getting your own franchise business up and running can be done in about a year or so. First of all, you have to be very well informed. Spend time reading about different franchise opportunities and decide which one would be good for you, and would be profitable for the area you want. Do some research and see what the market is like, and also what the franchisers have to offer. If you don’t have enough money to buy the franchise, don’t worry too much. If you’re really serious about this, make a well structured business plan and present it to the franchiser for financing. Many of them will be pleased to help you if they see you know what you want and are serious about it. You can also loan money or get a business partner. It is easier to start  a franchise than your own business, because they help you every step of the way, plus you already have their good reputation and fame. (more help on the net: http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol3/franchisemoney.htm, http://franchises.about.com/)

12.   Make gift baskets. Many people are doing this for a second income. If your business does well, you can become a full time gift basket maker. Just like any other business idea I present, this is not for everybody. You have to enjoy doing this and have a well developed artistic side. Now, again, research is everything. The good thing is that many people are involved in this, so you will find many helpful resources on the internet about the business, and you can even participate in classes to learn how to make gift baskets. Once you’ve watched some videos, went to some classes, and made some gift baskets yourself, you can start your business by buying discount or bulk items and making a few, lets say 10, baskets. Then try to sell them (in places like gift stores) and give some away as gifts. You will make some money that you can further invest in buying more material to build more baskets. Advertising is everything. Make business cards and spread the word. (I found two good web pages about this business, but I’m sure there are many more out there: http://www.giftbasketbusiness.com , http://www.giftbasketarticles.com )

13.   Sell your own handmade soap. Again, if you enjoy crafts and have an artistic side, this can also make you some money. Plus, the two businesses of making gift baskets and handmade soap go hand in hand. You can sell your soap to stores and include it in your gift baskets. I have done a little research about this MMI, and I came up with the conclusion that you can’t really make a good income from this, maybe if you combine it with candle making, lip balm making, and gift basket making, creating a “brand” for yourself that sets you apart from other gift basket makers. Anyway, if you enjoy making stuff like this, who knows, you might come up with a formula that will make you famous. But, meanwhile, use it with caution and mostly as a hobby.

14.   Raise earthworms. This is one of the business ideas that I’ve stumbled upon while doing research for the topic. It appears that it might be a good business idea, if you put some dedication into it. And there are also resources on the Internet on how to get started. The starting costs are low and there is money to be made. Again, research. You can sell your worms to fisherman, people who use it for land restoration, pet stores or individuals as live food. If this MMI might interest you, look into it and see if it’s something you could do.

15.  Take photos of cars for dealers. Especially used cars dealers often don’t have photos of all their cars. If they don’t have a website you can even offer to make one for them and post your photos of the cars there. This would be very advantageous for them, as they will get more clientele from the Internet, so you might get “hired” to maintain such a website for them and take photos on a regular basis.

That’s all for now. More MMI’s to come

Here is the next set of MMI’s :

6.   Win stuff! How? There are millions of contests all around you, on TV, in magazines, in stores, on the net…

If you apply to one contest per day at the end of the month you will probably win something. I’m not talking about millions of dollars, but some cash, maybe some nice things…For example, many blogs hold contests because it’s a powerful tool for attracting traffic. You can win cash, maybe a nice TV, or that MP3 player you always wanted. Or, you can apply to a contest in the store where you shop and win some free groceries. If you have a hobby like photography, why not enter your best pictures in a contest? Maybe you win a new camera. If you have a cute baby, or a cute pet, why not send a picture of them to a contest for the cutest baby/pet? If you took a funny video, we all know there are contests to win with that… You can enter a baking contest, or train for your local marathon. The bottom line is you will probably never have a chance at winning the lottery, but many contests will give you a lot of opportunities. Perseverance is the key;

7.   Earn extra money by testing products. Many companies will pay people to test their new products and make evaluations about the taste, texture, smell, appearance, etc. You can test anything, from detergents, shampoo, soup, to electronics. The companies may pay you for it or allow you to keep the product. There are many companies you can find on the net that will send you freebies (t-shirts, candles, flags, etc.), or you can contact a big company and become their product tester for money and more expensive products you get to keep;

8.   Wash windows! There is a lot of money to be made in this business, I met somebody that makes a very very good living by doing this. You probably don’t know anything about washing windows, but, believe it or not, there are books out there about this too. Or, even better, you can work for a window washing company for a few months just to get some experience and learn how to do it. After that, marketing is everything. Make business cards and tell people about your service, and once you’ve established a clientele, you’re set;

9.   Cook, bake. You can open a little stand for hot-dogs, or popcorn, or bake and sell cookies. If you’re really good (in a Martha Steward kinda way), you can cater to weddings or events, or deliver home-made healthy food for offices. At my job there was a lady that used to bring food she had cooked and nicely arranged in restaurant lunch boxes, and a lot of hungry employees would buy them on the spot;

10.   Get into the vending machine business. There is a lot of money to be made, that is if you know what you’re doing. You can, of course, buy books about it and educate yourself as in any other business, then start small by buying one cheap second hacound machine (like a candy machine), and then start looking for places to place it. Of course the more populated the place is, the more money you’ll make. Look for newly opened stores and talk to the owner to negotiate a contract. Always keep in touch with the market so you know what places are popular and for what age group. For example, a store where a lot of kids come into might do well with a candy machine. The good thing about it is that it’s an automanted business, it will make money for you even when you’re sleeping, and you can keep your day job and do this on the side. You will only need to check your machine every week or so and collect the money.  The bad thing about it is (not so bad) that you need to get knowledge to properly profit from it. Like any other business, you’ll need to be genuinely interested in making money and be good at what you do, meaning studying the market, investing, learning. But I think it’s a good idea that makes you money with a minimum effort from your part;

Well, that was all for today.

Hope you found it useful.

I will keep looking for interesting ideas to post.

More MMI’S to come soon…

OK, I’ll admit it. I read blogs about money. About how to make money. Lots of it. I know, I know, most of it is BS, the only person getting rich is the guy who wrote the blog only to promote his E-book that sells at an incredible price of 9.99!

But I still read a lot of posts about money, and some of the ideas I read seem duable.
How do you know a scam? Easy. If they say it’s easy to make 1000 dollars a week in your first week they’re lying! If they don’t give you details about how to do it, unless you BUY their E-book, they’re lying! The only doable money making ideas out there will involve hard work and will bring in little money, at least in the beginning.
     

Like the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! People want money FAST and EASY and LOTS of it.

And those people get burned. They will never have money. The only way money will come to you (and stay) is if you grow it. Throu hard work, power of will, determination, and a realistic expectation of revenue.

We all want money, but some don’t admit it. Don’t feel guilty for it. If you want it for a good reason, nobody should make you feel guilty. They will say “he’s too materialistic, always with money on his mind”. It’s good to have money on your mind. There are too many of us who don’t. 

My personal reason for wanting money is freedom. Not cars, houses, jewelry. I want the freedom to work for myself, have my money work for me, not have a boss, live a relaxed life without having to worry I won’t be able to hear the alarm clock and I’ll be late for work. Not have to worry I’ll get fired. This are my selfish reasons. Now I also have unselfish reasons to want money: to give my family the best life so they won’t have to worry about anything, to help people around me, help the community I live in.

Whatever reasons you might have to want it, don’t feel guilty. You have to know why you want it cuz that will be your motivation. The force behind your efforts. My strongest motivation is always freedom.

In this series of “Money Making Ideas” I will post ideas of my own, ideas I found on the net, ideas I saw on TV…all ideas that seem interesting enough to read about. And if any of them work for you, please share your experience. I’m not selling any E-book (I probably will if I get rich from any of them LOL), all the info is FREE.

The MMI series will hopefully have a long life, and I will keep posting ideas as soon as I find any interesting ones.

So this are the first 5 MMI’s for today:

   1.  One idea that might work if you have imagination is to invent stuff. Keep a notebook with you and write down ideas you get from everyday objects that you think you might improve. I have ideas coming to me while I surf the net, when I’m in the bus, when I’m at work…just write it down. The life span of an idea in your head is short, so you might come up with 5 good ideas a day, but if you don’t write it down you will forget. Also do drawings and whatever else helps you remember exactly what came to your mind. It might just be the next big thing. For example, here are things that others thought about and made money from: new colors of paint, improving video games, thinking of accesories for existing products, improving existing products. You need to do an invention assessment or market evaluation to see if your ideas will work. And if people think you might have a chance, why not make a prototipe and try to market it?  (http://inventors.about.com/od/patentdrawing1/a/assessment.htm will give you an idea about how to make a prototipe without investing a lot of money);

   2.    Walk dogs. Yes, just that simple. It’s a good business for some extra money. Put adds in your neighbourhood with your phone number and price, and you can easily make more than 500 dollars a month by walking dogs a few hours a week; there actually is such a thing as professional dog walkers: there is a Professional Dog Walkers Association International (it merged with the International Association of Canine Professionals), and they say you can train yourself to become a good dog walker (http://www.dogpro.org/index.php?pageID=209). And you can make 10-15 dollars per hour per dog (if you are a professional you can walk a lot of dogs at the same time, so think how much you can make an hour!);

   3.   Figure out a way to do the same thing you do at work in private, open a business doing that or just do it part time to make extra money. For example, if you are a food server, you might advertise your skills on the net, on business cards, for private parties, weddings, etc. If you are a web designer, take on some solo projects and do some work for yourself. Make a catalog with your best work, with references, resumes, anything that might help you. Do some work for free at first, take pictures of the event/work you did, gather testimonials and references from the clients. When you have a file relevant and convincing of your expertise, start making business cards and charge people. There are few things that you do at work that you couldn’t make extra money out of. Most people will be willing to pay you for your skills, and since you already work in that field you obviously have the experience;

   4.   If you have an eye for deals, know how to negotiate, buying and selling might make you rich. A lot of people know a deal when they see one; for example buy stuff in bulk from e-bay/craigslist and resell individual items; buy cheap stuff from companies that want to get rid of their merchendise and resell it with a profit; import interesting stuff from other countries and sell it to stores; go to auctions and buy cars (or anything for a good price), repaint, fix, sell for a good profit;

   5.   If you are good with your hands, have a hobby that everybody tells you you are good at, than why didn’t you ever think you can actually make money from it? Fixing stuff, repairing cars, painting, taking pictures, gardening, writting, there’s a lot of things you can do for some extra money. And if you are good at it, be assured people will want it;

I will post the next 5 MMI’s soon! I hope you found it interesting

MORE COMING SOON…