If you’re dealing with reduced hours on your job, you’re completely out of work, or you’re just a plain ol’ money grubber like myself, you might be interested in a little secret I have on how to find quick ways to make money.
What I’m about to tell you isn’t the answer to America’s unemployment “crisis.”
I accept zero responsibility for solving the nation’s problems.
I do, however, feel obligated to provide my readers with ideas on how to increase their income. After you’ve slashed spending and cut every unnecessary expense from your budget, naturally, you want to know how to bring home extra cash.
So, without wasting any more time, here we go.
The Secret
Hit up your friends, family, and lover(s) for paid work.
I ain’t playin’.
Presumably, there are some people within your social circle spending money.
If they’re paying someone to mow their lawn, have them pay you to do it.
If they’re paying someone to babysit their kids, have them pay you to do it.
If they’re paying someone to clean their house, have them pay you to do it.
Assuming you’ve stopped spending like the Real Housewives, your close loved ones know you’re struggling financially. Or, again, if you’re like me, they know you’re unapologetically avaricious and always up for making an extra buck.
Take advantage of that.
Get the Money
Unless you’re married to the prospective customer, charge for your labor.
If the service your friend needs is worth paying a perfect stranger to perform, then it’s worth paying you to do it.
Am I right?
I know I am.
Look for Opportunities to Steal Business Away from the Weak
Recently, one of my friends paid her lazy, non-working neighbor $20 to mow her yard and the yard of her rental property located across the street.
Twenty bucks doesn’t sound like much, but the lawns are really small. The task shouldn’t have taken longer than 45 minutes total.
Of course the neighbor did a poor job; assuring he won’t be rehired.
I know cutting grass is traditionally men’s work, but if I had a lawn mower, those twenty bucks would be mine. I wish you could see me as I write, because I’m saying this with a straight face.
I used to pet sit for a friend who’s a frequent business traveler. When I realized my friend’s pet sitter wasn’t performing her job with excellence, I swooped right in and snatched the work out from under the pet sitter.
If my friend could pay a pet sitter $130 a week to feed, clean up after, and hang out with her cats, then she could pay me.
Charge Full Price
And no, I did not offer a discount. Quite frankly, I don’t recommend you do so either.
You may be tempted to offer family and friends below market rates, but unless you plan on providing lower quality service (and you shouldn’t), don’t do it.
What’s your friend’s defense for expecting a handout as egregious as a discount from the pockets of someone they care about?
She’d rather enrich the life of a stranger more than yours?
What? You deserve less because you’re a friend?
You tell me. Who looks like the bigger a-hole?
Stay On the Lookout
Your primary objective here is to hustle up as much business as you can from your circle of friends.
If they’re willing to pay a moving service to pack up their crap, then they can pay you.
If they’re willing to pay a painter to paint their living room, then they can pay you.
If they’re willing to pay someone to wash their car, then they can pay who?
That’s right. You.
We can do this all day.
Have you ever worked for a friend or loved one in order to make extra money?
This article was featured in the Carnival of Wealth, New Blood Edition at Control Your Cash.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I do taxes for a lot of my family and friends – only the ones with straightforward situations, since I'm not a professional – but I'd rather them hand money to me than H&R Block! I do offer a substantial discount since most tax places charge so much. Plus I don't want them mad at me if something goes wrong.
The dog sitting thing is a GENIUS idea that I never thought of – I have three dogs of my own, so an extra one or two wouldn't be too difficult. I'm sure my friends would rather leave them here than locked up in a cage at the kennel.
I was thinking I should change my Facebook name to Shawanda CallMeIfYouNeedAnyWork Greene and try to take advantage of some free advertising.
The funny thing about me and taxes is that I'm a CPA and I DESPISE them. I use TurboTax. But it's good to know I could drum up some tax work if I needed to.
The dog sitting thing could work for a lot of people. My dogs hated kennels. Poor things were locked up, afraid, lonely. I'd be more than happy to pay a friend over a kennel to look after my dogs.
I used to do stuff like this all the time when I was a teenager. Since then, there just haven't been many opportunities around me. Great post.
Jen
Thanks! If you have the time and interest, ask your friends and family if there are any relatively simple tasks they need done that they're willing to pay someone else to do. Couldn't hurt.
Oh man, I don't know. I have a friend that's always in debt that I've made the mistake of paying a couple of times when she helped me out. But when I help her out, the money doesn't flow the other way. But I don't charge my friends for help either. I vote for keeping money out of friendships period.
Things can get sticky if you have deadbeat friends who don't pay you at the point of service and who insist they'll "pay you when they get paid next week." That's a recipe for disaster.
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