In Part 1 of this series, we presented 10 ideas for bringing in some extra income. Here are 10 more.
11. Providing Lodging ($100-1000+ per month)
If you have a spare room in your home, you may be able to earn some extra money by renting that room out to a lodger. The most obvious benefit to renting a room is that, if handled properly, it brings in money with very little commitment in the way of cost or time on your part.
There are clearly some concerns with renting a room to someone you don't know. This article offers a fairly thorough set of guidelines to walk you through the process, from preparing the room to the move-in itself. Depending on the room, the market you live in and the specific terms of the rental, a monthly room rental could vary from $100 per month to more than $1000 per month.
12. Catering ($2000-6000 per month)
If you like to prepare food and entertain, you can make extra money by establishing a small catering business. A key to success is establishing the kind of food preparation you are best at and most like to do. For instance, if you are a particularly gifted baker, you may want to focus your effort on preparing baked goods. You can always outsource some of the preparation and subcontract areas of responsibility (table settings and furniture, for instance) to others as needed. Vertex42's monthly menu planner could help you create shopping lists based on ingredients, recipes, and number of servings.
Catering fees vary widely, depending upon the size of the event and the food supplied, among other things. Some small, private catering businesses generate hundreds of thousands of dollars per year but a successful part time effort is more likely to produce a few thousand dollars a month in profit.
13. Drive a Bus or Cab ($6-14 per hour)
Becoming a part-time professional school bus or cab driver can put some extra cash in your pocket. Advantages to these jobs include some flexibility in hours (for cab drivers) and a limited amount of special training and certification (only for school bus driving). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see bls.gov), school bus drivers earn an average of approximately $14 per hour and nearly half of them work part-time.
The job does require a commercial driver's license and usually involves a modest amount of safety training and instruction. Driving a cab usually requires a hack license. Cab driver pay varies dramatically depending on the market and shift and is heavily driven by tips, but is estimated to typically be from $6-12 per hour.
14. Dog Groomer ($40-125 per dog)
If you love dogs and are already caring for your own dog's appearance, you may be able to make some extra money as a dog groomer, either working for someone else or by establishing your own, independent dog grooming business. The transition will be particularly easy if you have a long haired dog as those are the most likely to need professional grooming. If you don't know much about grooming already, there are classes at vocational schools and through home study that you can take that will instruct you. You could also start out by working as an assistant to an established groomer and learn the trade as an apprentice of sorts. This way you are being paid to learn.
There is no formal requirement for certification, though there are several organizations that offer it as a way for groomers to demonstrate credibility with dog owners. If you work independently, this is something you can do from home. You will need to invest in a set of grooming tools. Earnings are variable, but on a part-time basis it should be possible to bring in a few hundred dollars a week.
15. Provide Non-Emergency Transportation for Seniors Who Don't Drive ($100-200 per week)
There is an ever growing market of people who are in need of personal transportation services as the ranks of the elderly who want to remain in their homes continues to expand. These people are frequently in need of some sort of car service to attend appointments, shop, meet friends and family and for other routine trips. Special requirements to get started are minimal—an appropriate vehicle, some kind of safety training and business liability insurance—and you have the flexibility to decide which jobs to take.
The amount of money available in this business isn't necessarily great since many of your clients will be operating on fixed incomes, but there is something to be said for the good feelings you will experience by helping others. Use a printable gas mileage log to keep in your car for tracking all tax deductible mileage.
16. Online Personal Assistant ($25-55 per hour, part-time)
Many businesses these days employ online personal assistants, who take on such tasks as conducting online research, making client contacts and analyzing data. The job allows you to work from home. In addition to being comfortable with Internet tools and personal computers, no special talents are required, other than being sociable, organized and having good communications skills. The per-hour pay is usually quite good and there is often at least some flexibility in terms of hours worked. Use Vertex42's free to do list to keep yourself organized, or to collaborate with others on each project.
17. Running Errands for Pay/Personal Concierge Service ($25-50 per hour)
Personal errand runners work for companies, individuals or, sometimes, both. Errands might include document delivery, grocery shopping, dry cleaning delivery and pickup, making reservations, meal preparation, dealing with auto service appointments, meeting planning and transporting children, among other things.
At the individual level, the service holds the most appeal for families with children and the elderly. A business license of some sort may be required and obtaining business insurance is strongly recommended. There is some flexibility built into the job, in terms of deciding which assignments to accept in advance, and there is little in the way of training or special skills involved in most of the tasks.
18. House Staging ($30,000 - $120,000 per year)
A home stager is a consultant who specializes in preparing a home to move quickly on the residential real estate market. Home stagers specialize in making a house look its best—especially inside, but often deal with outside "curb appeal" issues as well — so that it will make a strong first impression on potential buyers. In some cases, house stagers will bring in rented furniture, usually when attempting to help stage an empty home, to help add appeal. The job requires no specific credentials, but a good feel for interior decorating and design is obviously a plus. The size of fees charged for home staging consultation vary dramatically depending on the value and condition of the property.
You may want to help your clients out by providing them with Vertex42's free moving checklist so they can get organized for the big move!
19. House Sitting ($20-50+ per day)
Many people who own more than one property or who travel for long stretches at a time employ house sitters as a way of making property appear lived in to discourage break ins. House sitters earn money for doing relatively little. Not only are house sitters paid, but if they have long standing assignments they can actually avoid the expense of maintaining their own residence. If they work from home, they can take their businesses with them.
House sitters — who also sometimes have pet sitting and pet care responsibilities as well depending on the assignment — can work for house sitting agencies or work independently. Either way, good references are a must and a criminal background check may be required. You can have you references use Vertex42's reference letter template if they a convenient start.
Even when working for an agency you typically have the right to refuse assignments, which preserves flexibility. Pay will vary widely depending on the specific responsibilities and the length of stay. For a few hours during daylight hours, and no added responsibilities, a $20-25 daily fee is common. For an overnight stay, $50 is a starting point and as responsibilities (pets, for instance) increase, so does the fee.
See the article Make Money House Sitting at MoneyMagpie.com.
20. Delivering Newspapers ($200-600 per month)
If you don't mind getting up early, and have access to a car (or a bike in some cases), you can make some extra cash by delivering newspapers. Many working people choose to do this as an income supplement because the delivery time does not interfere with regular working hours. Income potential varies depending on the size of a route and the concentration of subscribers, but in most cases runs several hundred dollars per month after expenses are accounted for. Absolutely no special skills or certification is needed.
Subscriber renewal periods and the holiday season provide an opportunity to supplement income with tips (which can, on occasion, exceed the regular pay). Walking a route is more cost effective if it is tightly concentrated, but this is becoming more and more difficult as newspaper subscriptions decline in the Internet age.
More to Come...
We'll have another 10 ideas for you next week.
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