For those unemployed/who asked: Ideas to supplement your income or start your own business.

The strange thing is, most of the women out there today have it all wrong: they are sleeping around and not getting paid for it! The women of previous generations were much better entrepreneurs. :)

Shuckie-darn. I've been mulling over PMing you and asking you for some guidance about a product-based business idea I have, but figured you're a busy woman. Good thing I held off long enough to see this response.

Well, that and it's just a matter of finding the small funds to get started, and the marketing tools...the later is the part stumping me.

Perhaps, just off the cuff, you'd have the answer to this one question: Is there a really good marketing software that can be purchased? Or do you have a link to a fabulous how-to-market-a-product web page?

I packed up my job of ten years.Bought a food van,pay 45quid a wk rent to the council.Minimum overheads.I am earning more than Directors that come and eat and my van lol.

Who let you out of your cave, hmmmm?

for those who have a pickup truck, put it to good use. hauling.

many ppl do not have trucks. they cant haul shit to the dump. the HBG incinerator charges alot....200 a ton i think, minimum i think 50.00 or something. know your prices first.

charge the dump fee, add your fee. **metals take to the scrap yard for xtra cash. ppl always have mattresses and appliances to haul away. ***and you can contract in the cities too. the bad areas have a huge problem with garbage in alleys & streets.

***re appliances, contract for a local repairmen to sell him these appliances. some of these guys fix/re sell them. you can go to sears, lowes or wherever - these places usually pickup the old appliances when they deliver the new ones theyve sold. you in turn can sell them to these used places.

haul wood: ppl who sell firewood may not deliver. leave your name with them for their firewood customers.

use your truck to move ppl. build a moving business. no truck? rent one for 19.95 - some ppl do not have a bank acct or CC to get a rental nor anyone to help them move.

Last Edited by Phennommennonn on 06/15/2009 11:37 AM

Just favorited this thread, Phennomm...thanks so much for the help!!!

g'head say it. im an old fart but im a smart one. with age comes wisom & that has its perks.

dot com business' are really over. what have you got in mind? PM me if you dont wanna thread it.

good for you !!!!! ^5

Well said!!!

PM me, ill give you my phone number; treasure bound is calln me later. if i can help you i will.

LOL I wasn't really thinking along those lines, but that was pretty funny. Actually I really admire your tenacity and wisdom with regard to entrepreneurship. I am the only person in my family who has been corporate my whole life (aside from my pressure-washing business on the side). The rest of my family are all small business owners. I would have left this job a long time ago, but I just kept making more and more and with the benefits and a family, it wouldn't be good for me to leave.

I don't have a problem with that I pay my taxes and the sellers I know do also...as much as I wish I didn't have to I do...for what I sell it's best to have a very large international customer base. I'm keeping it going as long as I can until things change...and at that point I'll be doing local things. But until then it is paying my bills.

Now this is something I have always been interested in!

Very good thread Phenom. My son is heading off for college this fall - and since I'm good at typing, I'm putting in an ad for typing up their college papers. And Lord knows, most of them suck at grammar.

BTW, one excellent way to save money is to do everything possible yourself. Hubby does all car maintenance and we only pay mechanics for jobs he absolutely cannot do (such as lifting the engine to get to the uncooperating or failed part).

Hair cuts. I've learned over the years to cut my hubby and boys' hair. Personally I've let my own hair grow out, forget the expensive perms, coloring, and fancy cuts. Every six months or so, I get a trim for $16. People say I have beautiful hair and I saved big bucks.

Gardening - I'm a do-it-yourselfer all the way. People pay professional maintenance companies big $$$ to cut the grass, trim the bushes, whatever. A lot of these people get $20/hr. Yikes. With resale in mind in the next few years in a very difficult housing market, my yard has extraordinary street appeal (or so I'm told). Doing so literally shouts to people that your home is well-maintained. Also put in a flowing water fountain in front by the porch - very good fung shei - people love it. All natural stone, etc. The only purchased part was the pump.

Built a playhouse with a deck in the backyard with materials a former lawyer neighbor left behind (he had an exclusive DOG HOUSE, no kidding)- it's an 8' x 10' with loft, electricity, skylight - my cost was about $500. Some people want to rent it. (Not a chance though.)

Painting - yep, painted the inside and outside of the house myself (with $1 brushes from the dollar store). The paint itself was the most expensive item.

But, like you say, Phenom, there are a LOT of opportunities to provide services for people who don't or can't do these jobs themselves. Unfortunately, I live in the environmental/political/tax-and-license-you-to-death-Nazi State of Washington, where I would have to get a license, bond, and insurance for any service professionally offered.

But there are ways around this. We all just have to learn to be creative.

i understand 100% its not for everybody. but we as a whole here/GLP have so many smart individuals and theyre jobless, or in the debt hole - they just need a push in the right direction - not off a cliff.

after working for the feds for most of my life ive held side businesses and supplemented myself.

from real estate to restaurant - even selling cocks. yes i sold dildos - well drew did - as a one time sale thing to prove a point. it started out as a joke. our friend had this home based business doing it. pvt parties etc. the girl was making 1500-2500 a night. no fuckin joke. but her parties were lame....and i tried to point out things to her. believe it or not, she wasnt as risque' as i am. so....i made her a bet that 'we' could drop a 5000 sale in one night. (that would be 90% commission bc of the amount) not in a week, not in a weekend but one night. drew became an independent consultant. the deal was with her....since we had no contacts she would give us the next party (her contacts) and we would give her 10% - why only 10%? bc we did the work and SHE would benefit in using our skits/tactics to boost her own sales......i made cdz, i came up with hilarious trivia/games....i took the husbands, drew took the wives - and we fuckin sold 5300 plus.

Some good ideas here. Saving this to my archives. I've done a few of these in the past. But some of the ventures failed for various reasons. Like the window washing thing. I almost got arrested for extortion over trying to do that.

there y'go....more info for ppl :)

damn jax, wtf???

Yeah, the business owners in the plaza thought that by asking to do their windows, I was threatening to break them if they refused my services. Maybe it was how I was dressed. I dunno.

this should be pinned!! very nice OP

Type correctly!!!

Skits? Ohhh lord. *Now* I'm distracted. You had me at hello, but now I am intrigued. lol

You sound like my Uncle: he could make a dollar selling turbans to Marines.

so my question would be//why have you not bought GLP?
OR contact Trinity and tell him what up! May be Trinity will speak to you on a business level..
just joking
wow lots to digest-there
great post

Great thread! Here are some more:

Have a talent? Give group lessons at your home.
ie - macrame, knitting, guitar lessons, etc.

Buy umbrellas wholesale - On rainy days, go to a business or train station, etc. and sell them. (Check town laws for vendor's license.)

Put an ad around to be an errand person for older people who can't drive. They need people to fetch them groceries, prescriptions, etc.

Older people also need people to do simple chores, like cleaning, changing high lightbulbs, resetting electronic stuff, etc. Put in your ad that you will do chores for so much an hour. They should just make you a list. (Often they just enjoy he company, and pay hourly rates for that.)

All my life I did dippy things from home, so I could be there to raise my kids. I wound up doing better than my friends who were working low-pay jobs. Really - add up the wardrobe, gas, childcare expenses, eating out etc. and the net net is sometimes pitiful! You may not appear to be making as much, but often your net comes out higher from working at home. Each day, I would wake up and think - How can I make $50 net today?

My God is this what you people have become, trying to scratch a fucking living, how depressing.

Great thread, Phen...some great ideas!

Cool ideas, Phen!

I think working for yourself is the way to go in the current economy.

Waiting for someone to hire you is like finding a needle in a haystack.