Get paid to go shopping! How good does that sound? Become a mystery shopper and you really can.

Mystery shoppers are employed by a company to visit shops, banks, hotels, restaurants, travel on trains… anything really, and then write a report about it afterwards. The results are then fed back by the mystery shopping company to the business you have visited so that they can improve their service.

Mystery shopping can be a really good way to earn money, especially if you live near to a big town or city. And the best thing is that you can often take your children with you and get out and about with them, earning money at the same time. Obviously as a mystery shopper you need to look as ‘normal’ and inconspicuous as possible - so having a buggy with you would be quite legitimate and may even raise some interesting customer service issues.

Often mystery shopping companies will want people working for them in specific locations, and if you live near one of them you are onto a winner. Otherwise, jobs will come but it may take a little longer.

What’s the pay like?

In the UK you would usually get paid £6-£20 for an assignment. Obviously this varies on the work involved (you will be paid more if you have to buy something then return it because it involves two visits). You will also be paid expenses for food, drink and any items bought (and sometimes you will get to keep these too!)

You won’t become rich as a mystery shopper, but depeding on where you live and how many assignments you can do a week, you could make a healthy bit extra. As ever, people who prove themselves reliable and prompt with their reports etc will be given more and better assignments.

What qualities do I need to become a mystery shopper?

• A love for shopping / getting out and about 

   

• Good powers of observation and an eye for detail. 

   

• A good memory. You will need to remember what assistants say to you etc. in order to write your report afterwards. If you start taking notes in the shop the game will be up! 

   

• A good command of the English language: your report will have to be accurate and easy to read and understand. If there is ambiguity there, your company will not be able to get a true result and they do not expect to have to contact you for clarification on what you have written.

How do I become a mystery shopper

If you decide to become a mystery shopper the first thing you must do is to investigate some legitimate mystery shopping companies. There are literally thousands on the internet. The legitimate mystery shopping companies will:-

• Ask you more questions when you sign up. Some mystery shopping companies I have looked at ask for name, address, age and sign you up. I have to admit to being slightly suspicious of those (although it is evidently the easier option!) I would prefer the more professional approach of a company who ask some more questions of me before I become a mystery shopper for them, and actually give a trial period and some practice assignments before taking me on board. It is a far more professional approach and I would imagine that indicates a more professional approach to my getting paid as well!! 

   

• Do not ask you for money! You should not be paying them. They pay you!! You don’t become a mystery shopper to lose money - if they ask for a joining up fee it is probably going to be a scam, whatever they promise you in return. 

   

• Will have good reviews in the forums. Google ‘mystery shopper forums’ for whatever country you live in and you should get a good idea of which companies are legit. and which companies pay well.

Don’t expect the really good jobs immediately!

As with most companies, you need to prove yourself first. So you are unlikely to start with weekends at five star hotels or meals at gourmet restaurants. You could work up to them, but there will be plenty of boring trips to garages, building societies and the ‘returns’ desk of you local department stores first!

If you are living in the UK and you want to become a mystery shopper, can I highly recommend the site below. Their materials offer a fantastic insight into the UK mystery shopping world and give you some great tips and resources to get you started. Really really well worth it!

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When people ask “what is network marketing?” it is usually because they have heard negative stuff about it. Usually because it has been confused with the completely illegal practice of pyramid selling.

It’s actually one of the most popular, and some would argue, profitable ways of earning extra money.

Basically, network marketing is recommending a product or service which you are happy with to the people you know… and getting paid to do it!

We recommend things to our friends all the time: a good TV programme, hairdresser, kids’ toy… we do it naturally, and frequently. So what is network marketing? Simply taking it a step further and doing the recommending on purpose. This is also known as multi-level marketing or referral marketing.

Network marketing is an exceptionally popular way of earning extra money because of the flexibility. As an agent you can have your own home based business, with the backing and products of a reputable, tried and tested company behind you. You can put in as many hours as they like when they like and with or without the children in tow! You can be sick, take a holiday and in some cases even retire, and still have a constant stream of income.

Selling a product

Ask the question ‘what is network marketing?’ and usually people will think of the party plan businesses such as Usborne books, Kleeneze or Avon. In these instances a product is sold on a commission basis by an agent and such companies literally have thousands of people distributing their products for them, often earning a healthy income by doing so.

It’s a win / win situation: the companies avoid outlay on shops etc while the worker is able to earn their commission as and when they like, putting as much or as little into their business as they like.

Selling a Service

In some instances, such as LPI or Utility Warehouse, it is not a product that is sold, but a service. This doesn’t lend itself quite so easily to parties or toddler groups, but often the rewards are higher as the agent is not paid a one off commission at the point of sale, but a smaller commission every time the service is used (see the relevant pages for details on how this works).

Don’t discount this!

It may not be your main focus of income, but even a couple of ‘sales’ a month could make a significant financial difference.

Structure

Usually within the network marketing structure you will be recruited by someone who is already an agent for the company, and will be placed in their team (or downline).

You then have the opportunity to recruit others and build a team (downline) of your own. Every agent then earns commission on the sales of the people within their team, as well as their own sales.

This is not pyramid selling! 

What is Network Marketing?

A profitable stream of extra income for many thousands of Work at Home Mums. It does take a while to build up, but I know people who have three holidays a year on their network marketing profits - and drive a BMW (and yes. Their kids are older!)

Don’t be put off by parties you may have been to (and looked for the cheapest thing available to buy). There are hundreds of different companies selling a variety of different products - one of which will be perfect for you. and the network of friends you would naturally recommend it to.

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Five simple steps to writing your first ebook:-

1. Choose your topic carefully

.

This is reasonably easy if you already have a website up and running, and your ebook will be marketed primarily from there. Or if your ebook is part of a bigger marketing plan to sell linked products. In which case you will probably already know exactly what gap in the market this ebook is going to fill.

If not, start by brainstorming a few different topics you are interested in and know something about. Think outside the box!! There is an amazing demand for all sorts of subjects, and what you might think is off the wall could prove to be very profitable!

2. Do your research

You may have some topics in mind, now you need to find out what people are searching for online (demand) and how many people are already writing about that subject (supply). You can then work out how profitable your subject is.

For example, there is a huge demand for books on fitness… but also a huge supply, making it less profitable. Don’t let that put you off completely, however - narrow it down a bit and do some more research on (for example) ‘fitness’ in pregnancy, or ‘children’s fitness’.

Google keywords is an excellent tool for researching demand and supply of keywords (the words which are most important to your subject)- or for preliminary research you could simply try googling the words/phrases you want to write about and see what comes up.

3. Get Going!

The most important step in how to wrie an ebook is to actually get your ideas down on screen. Plan, write, proofread, prune, write some more… there are no simple answers for this bit really, you just gotta do the work.

4. Market it!

There are a few ways you could sell your ebook:-

• Through your website
• If you don’t have your own website it might be worth buying a domain name and setting up a one page sales page to direct potential buyers to.
• Through your blog
• Through ebay
• Through clickbank
• Through an affiliate system (other people sell your ebook for you… but will take a comission off the sale so bear this in mind)

A common sales technique online is to offer a freebie with the ebook. A related product which acts as an added incentive for people to buy your ebook.

These will contain links to take the buyer back to the producer’s own site (which is why they are giving it away free) but have become almost an expected part of selling ebooks.

5. The Next Step

Your ebook is out there, generating an income for you click by click… with the exception of a few regular forum posts or articles to drive people to your sales page the job is done. Don’t sit back though! You now have a list of emails of people who have bought your ebook and are hopefully satisfied and happy and waiting for the next one!!

And, as ever, please let me know how you get on!

“The best time to plan a book is while you are doing the dishes” ~ Agatha Christie

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Build Your Own Website

“Build your own website and make money while you sleep!”

Making money with a website is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling ways I have found to make extra money. And if your immediate response is “But I’m not at all technical - I wouldn’t know where to start.” then please, just read on a while and click on some of the links. I am not a techie - my long suffering techie brother will tell you exactly how much I don’t know!

But there are ways around this!

Within a year - given some time, creativity and determination (and notice that technical ability is not necessarily in that list) you could be making money with a website. Thousands of work at home Moms have.

“When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever even heard of what is called the Worldwide web. Now even my cat has its own page.”

What would I write about?

What do you care passionately about? What are you interested in? What do you know something about? Do you already have a small business or ’sideline’ which you want to promote more?

Your website has to be something that you could realistically spend a lot of time researching and writing about. Then you need to do your research. There are tools online to help you search the subjects you are interested in (keywords) to establish how much demand there is for those subjects. It may be that there is a huge demand… but also a huge supply. So it will be difficult for the search engines to find you. Best to find a ‘niche’ and area of your subject that not too many people are supplying for.

For example, ‘parenting’ is a huge subject and very well supplied. ‘parenting dyslexic children’ (for example), on the other hand will not have so much supply, and you could build your own webite based on this subject which you may have a great deal of knowledge about - and you could do very well.

“I’m not an ‘expert’ on any subject!”

Who said anything about being an expert? You do not need to know everyhting about it in order to make build your own website. Share what you know! You certainly know more on your chosen subject than a lot of people, and you have a unique angle or experience which people want to read about.

Plus the content of your website does not all have to be your own. There are numerous sites on the internet where you can pick up and use other people’s articles, as long as you keep their signature (the part where they talk about their own product or website) intact.

Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic. (anon)

“But how do I start making money with a website? Especially if I’m not actually selling anything!!?”

There are a number of different ways, which I will be discussing in more depth on different pages as the site develops. However, just to give you a few ideas:

• 
  

  Selling an existing product or service

  
  
  
  

  This goes hand in hand with an existing business, or one you are starting up. The main profit will be through sales made. However, people search the internet not just for products or services, but mainly for information, and if you can offer your customers inofrmation as well as goods or services, they are more likely to come back

  
  

  For example, if you build your own website to advertise your farm produce, don’t just sell home-made jam, throw in some recipes as well! Sell your dog-walking business - and throw in some dog psychology alongside!

  
  
  
  
• 
  

  Affiliate Marketing

  
  
  
  

  This is a common and profitable way to make money with the internet where basically you sell somebody else’s product or service, and they pay you a commission. You don’t have to take money, deal with products, worry about custoomer care or any of that. Just recommend a product/service that you believe in (try and test it yourself first if possible as you will lose credibility if it’s rubbish) and if your reader clicks through and buys it, you will be paid a percentage of that. On many websites you will see a small box marked ‘affiliate programme’, if you register with this, you will get a unique code which you put on your website. (Your customer will not see it, they will see ‘click here’ or whatever text you choose). When your reader clicks from your website to buy the product you are selling, their tracker registers that the custmoer has come from you (very clever stuff - don’t ask me how they do it!) and your account will be credited with the comission.

  
  

  To see some examples of this, have a browse through one of the best known affliate sites: clickbank to see how it works and the sort of products they sell. This is just one example of many. (However, be warned that you have to notch up a certain number of sales, paid for in different ways before you will get your commisson cheque through)

  
  

  Affiliate marketing is one of the most common ways to make money with the internet - and can be done with blogging, websites of any size or ezines as well as through a website.

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  A fantastic example of an individual company’s affiliate link is the SBI 5 Pillar club

  
  

  Affiliate marketing is one of the most common ways to make money with the internet - and can be done with blogging, websites of any size or ezines as well as through a website.

  
  
  
  
• 
  

  Google Adsense

  
  
  
  

  Once your website is up and running, with a good number of pages and a constant stream of ‘traffic’ (ie people visiting your site)then you can register with Google Adsense and they will place their own advertisements on your pages, and pay you every time someone clicks on them. These guys know what they are doing - they’re not going to advertise dog food on a site about organic nappies(!) so you can know that their advertising will be in line with your website content.

  
  

  I haven’t started using Google Adsense yet, but this seems a great method for making money with a website and many people make a lot of money through this. Internet guru Joel Comm gives a fantastically clear and informative run down on how Google Adsense works, and how to make it work for you in his bestselling ‘Making Money With Adsense’ (click below)

How Do I Get Started? Some Useful Tools

There are a number of ways you can get going. If you want to start from scratch and have some technical knowledge there are numerous ‘web hosts’ who would be delighted to see you started.

And if you want to learn more about how to research keywords and make sure that the search engines find your site I really want to recommend

‘Optimize Your Website’

by Lyne Lee.

Lynne is a Work At Home Mum who started building her own site a year ago. Her site is going great but in the journey of building it she has learnt valuable lessons about the whole process of making a website work, and she has shared these lessons in her easy-to-understand e-book.

Site Build It!

I cannot recommend Site Build It! highly enough if you want to build your own website and make money on the internet. They give you the tools to build your site from zero to… wherever you want to go, providing support and easy to follow tutorials all the way.

They have ready to use graphics, or build your own; block by block page building (no need for html) and they analyse every page you write to ensure that the search engines will love it.

And that’s just the tip of the iceburg. Yes, it is more expensive than some of the other options - but for what they are giving you it is incredible value for money, and there are no hidden extras as I have found with other hosts - you can have as many pages as you like and build it however you choose to. They then help you find the best ways of monetizing it, and provide you with a monthly ezine to keep you in touch.

Even if you have no intention of buying their product, if you are serious about making money with the internet, have a look at their site: it has a phenomonal amount of free information and some very interesting case studies to get you thinking creatively.

How to build your own website is a huge subject. As I said, I am no expert, but I am having great fun learning! It’s definately a challenge but huge fun, and once you’re up and running you can be making money while you sleep! How good is that?

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This is an easy way to earn money! Most magazines (and newspapers) have a letters page and pay with either money or gifts. Okay, you’re unlikely to become a millionaire if writing letters to magazines is your only source of income, but you could make enough for a few extras – and win some nice prizes. The great thing about this is that there is very little (if any) outlay.

Some magazines also pay well for tips. Basically this is just a few lines, sharing an idea that works well for you in the given context (ie parenting, cooking, household tips)

Certainly if you aspire to write it is a good starting point, and worth browsing through your newsagent’s shelves - or doing it the cheap way and researching at the local library (where they usually have a good selection of current magazines)

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We’ve looked at how to make money from your home: here are some ideas to make money with your home - and you don’t necessarily have to take in a lodger!

• Rent out your driveway

   

  Especially if you live in the city - close to the action - this can be a great way to earn money with your home (or the space a round it), without lifting a finger. All you need is an empty driveway or allocated parking space and you could be earning upwards from £50 per month (and four times that in some areas of London). Living close to a football ground (especially a Premier league one) could also be very profitable on match days.

• Rent out storage space

   

  If you don’t use your garage, attic, cellar etc and as long as it is secure, dry and safe, you could rent out that space as a storage facility. (You can charge more for garage space as your renter can have their own access.) This may mean a tenner for a couple of boxes for a student over the holidays, or it could mean a reasonable rent for a houseful of furniture in your garage for six months: it’s another good way to make money with your home!

  You would need to draw up an agreement, and check insurance cover etc first, then think about advertising locally in the papers, or through the local University.

   

• Take a Lodger

   

  It’s not the only way to make money with your home, but it is a good way! It is also tax free! Not recommended if you like your family time and privacy, but if you get the right person it can work brilliantly. In some areas (cities, or close to main facories/plants) you could also have a midweek lodger Monday to Friday: good money and some space at the weekend.

  Obviously you need a spare bedroom and you need to think through issues such as cooking (most people would expect bed, breakfast and evening meal - possibly lunch at the weekend - but if you can cope with sharing your kitchen you could provide cupboard and fridge space and let your lodger do their own catering.

  Take careful and thorough references It goes without saying (especially with children around!) It can seem a little awkward at times bt when we have had lodgers we have always asked for three references and we have always followed them up (it’s amazing how many people don’t!!)

  We have also always invited the prospective lodger for a meal with us while the kids were about. If the kids didn’t take to them it was a non-starter, and if they didn’t interact with the kids it was also a non-starter. Might sound fussy, but it saved a lot of heartache in the end.

  We also had an agreement (written if possible) that we could give the lodger a month’s notice to vacate if we needed to. That has got us out of trouble more than once when things didn’t work out.

  If you have a local language college they are usually on the lookout for English families to host international students and this is a great way to start as they are usually short term for the duration of the course, your contract will be with the college and not the individual (which makes things easier) and it can be a great experience for kids to have someone from a different culture living in their home.

  Advertising locally can work, although you really would need to screen all applicants.

  Or you can advertise nationally, with companies such as Easyroommate or Roomsforlet

• Rent Your House Out as a Film / TV Location

   

  I’ve never tried this, but it sounds like an interesting way to make money with your home - and think who you might meet in your kitchen!!

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A home based party business is a fantastic opportunity – especially if you have a young family. Chances are you already know someone who is doing this, as it is one of the most popular moneyspinners for work at home moms.

Basically it is working as an agent for a reputable company and selling their products to your network of friends, and their networks of friends (hence the term network marketing or ‘multi-layer marketing’).

Companies such as Usborne Books, Body Shop, Virgin Vie, Pheonix cards are all well known examples of a successful home based party business (those examples mainly from the UK - I’m sure there are similar in other countries!). (Ideas and links to all these sites are on their way!) When my children were small I sold Usborne Books for three years. True, I didn’t make a fortune, and there were many things I could have done to increase my sales had I been more motivated, but I ‘covered Christmas’ every year, got loads of fantastic books which my kids are still reading, and best of all I got out of the house, and the kids came too! We went to every toddler group in the city and surrounding villages and I met new people every week while they played. It was one of my more sociable moneyspinners!

It may be that you want to take the kids along, in which case something like Usborne books is great for you, or you may prefer to head out during the evenings when the kids are in bed, in which case one of the make up or beauty product companies may suit you better – and most offer full training when you start.

There will be a home based party business to suit you: they are becoming so popular there are loads of possibilities out there.

Pros

• A home based party plan business is one of the best money spinners if you want to get out and meet people as well as making some money. 

   

• You can take the kids with you a lot of the time, or work in the evenings if you are fortunate enough to have someone to leave them with 

   

• You can choose your own hours to suit and put as much or as little into it as you like 

   

• You can go on holiday, be off sick or take some time out as you need to and often still have an income 

   

• You usually get full training from the company… 

  … and loads of products at a reduced price to start you off!

   

• There is usually the opportunity to recruit other people into the company and earn from their commissions as well 

   

• Really you can make as much or as little as you like, depending on how much you put into it.

Cons

• There is usually an initial outlay to be made to get started on any home based party business. This can vary in amounts between companies any is often made back quite quickly… but you do need some money to get going. 

   

• There may be some pressure from the company to recruit others into it, and this may not be what you are there for 

   

• It can feel a bit awkward, sometimes, selling to your small circle of friends repeatedly 

   

• There is a fair bit of admin and ‘bitty stuff’ to get your head round (if you are an organised sort of person this will not phase you. It phased me a bit!) 

   

• Although there is the possibility of making a lot of money through it, and whatever home based party plan business you choose to go for will highlight lots of case studies to show that, most mums never quite make it to the higher levels, and simply make ‘enough’ – but that may just be enough!

Getting Started

• Choose a product you feel passionate about, believe in and use yourself. It’s hard to get excited about something you don’t believe in, and people will pick up on this. 

   

• Don’t choose something your friends are already doing, unless you have a completely separate network of friends. Even if they are trying hard to recruit you, you will end up trying to sell to the same people initially (although your network will grow). 

   

• Find out as much as you can about the home based party business and its commission structure. Read the small print! If it is a smaller, less well known company make sure it is not pyramid selling or taking money from you without giving you the products. 

   

• It might be worth timing your joining carefully. Any home based party plan business is likely to sell more in the run up to Christmas, or the early summer can be a good time to start too. Look for special offers at various times of the year. 

   

• Once you have signed up with a company you will probably receive training from them, but for more information, check out the marketing page (under consruction), or have a look at the fantastic (free) training by Jim Rohn which is unbeatable on the subject.

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 The Best Home Based Income Opportunity for You
 
Getting Started
 

Before you start looking for the best home based income opportunity for you,
Take a bit of time out!
 

Get yourself a cup of coffee, make sure the kids are occupied and make yourself comfortable. You really need to ask yourself some searching questions if you are going to make this work.

Unfortunately there is no such thing as get rich quick! I wish there were! If you’re looking for quick and easy money you are on the wrong website. Any legitimate and workable home based income opportunity is going to take planning and time to get it going - even though eventually you may well acheive a passive income which will make your dreams come true! If you are to find the perfect home based business opportunity for you, ask yourself first:-

• How much money do you want to make?

   

  A little bit extra for Christmas? or ballet lessons for one of the children? (or yourself?!) A second income? Enough to leave work completely and become financially independent? All these are possible. They just take different levels of commitment and time, and you will have different expectations of each.

   

• How much time do you have to give to this?

   

  A few hours a week? A few days a week? Do you have any time without the kids, daytime or evenings? or will they be with you all the time?

   

• Do you have any money to invest getting started in a home based business opportunity, and how much?

   

  A viable home based business opportunity will often mean investing a little to start with – whether it is for a start-up party pack, buying a website package, or paying for training. You should make this money back in earnings – often quite quickly - but there does need to be that initial investment.

  If your heart is sinking at this point, don’t worry! There are ways to make money without any outlay, and it could be that you focus on making enough money through these to invest in something bigger (which is exactly what I did)

   

• What skills and experience do you already have?

   

  What did you do BC (Before Children)? Make a list of all the skills you used in your last job, and all the skills and experience you’ve picked up through life. You should have a long list! Be positive about yourself. Have a look at the list of possibilities Can these be converted into your own home based income opportunity?

• What resources do you have?

   

  Make another list! A computer? Space to store stock? Transport? A good list of contacts (friends!) ? Someone to look after the kids or do a kid swap with?

   

• How committed are you to making a home based business opportunity work?

   

  I guess this is linked to some of the other questions. Are you looking for a home based income opportunity that will just make you a bit of extra money? Or do you really want to start a profitable business and attain financial freedom? If so, you are going to have to work for it but you can succeed! Thousands of work-at-home-Moms have! Have a look at some examples – it could be you.

   

• What motivates you?

   

  Are you an administrational person who sees the details? Could you keep up with order forms and trips to the Post Office to send off products? Do you like to be creative and have big ideas – but you can’t seem to keep up on the little details? (that’s me! Mail order never worked for me – I was too busy marketing it to remember to buy the stamps!)

   

• How much of a ‘people person’ are you?

   

  Do you want to get out and about and meet other Mums? Or are you happy working at home on your own? Do you want something safe and solid or something new and untried?

   

• And finally:
  

  Know yourself!

   

  What works for your best friend will not necessarily work for you. (Although you could always merge your strengths and weaknesses and go into business together…) There is a home based business opportunity which will achieve for you all you desire. But there are also ideas out there which will stifle and frustrate you.

Take the time to think through the questions and then look through the website at some of the possibilities - Even the ones which you think definitely aren’t for you!! Some of my most profitable money spinners are things which I first looked at and thought ‘No Way!’

The next step is to set yourself some SMART goals Then

go for it!

Getting started is sometimes the biggest hurdle to overcome. I really hope thast you find the best home based income opportunity for you. All the best on your journey to becoming one of the thousands of successful work-at-home-moms!

“This one step, choosing a goal and sticking to it, changes everything.”

Scott Reed

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