How to earn money when you are not employed #1
Once you have done all the footwork (please see yesterday’s post) and have your resume, your brag book, and your outfit all set for your interviews and have sent (and continue to send) your professional profile out into the universe, there are ways to earn money to make ends meet while you are in your formal job search process. The funny, wonderful thing is – lots of times these “temporary” part-time jobs have a way of catapulting into full-time businesses and you become your own boss and focus your time and energy into making your business grow vs. securing a job where you are making money for someone else. While the list of ideas is endless, today I am going to share one idea with you on how you can earn money immediately.
#1
Help your homebound neighbors and area businesses by offering a service where you will pick up and deliver food ordered by them from fast food drive-thru joints or sit-down restaurants in your neighborhood.
If you are home all day anyway and have access to a car, know that there are lots of people right in your own neighborhood who, for whatever reason, cannot leave their home or their office and/or do not have a car or the time to pick up their breakfast, their lunch, or their late-night dinners.
To get started, there are several things you ought to do:
1) Come up with a clever name for your business and, if you plan to do this for a while, get business cards and flyers made with your name and contact number on them. (Be sure to change your voice mail message so that callers aren’t confused when they call !) I recommend you use a company that I have ordered a lot of products from personally. They have hundreds of pictures and designs from which to choose – and perhaps instead of ordering business cards, you’ll order postcards where you will have more room and options for graphics and wording! Check them out!
2) Go to all the area restaurants and fast-food places within a certain radius (however far you are willing to drive) and get their menus or take a few minutes to write down their menus and create a list of restaurants you are willing to go to for your clients (include Chinese, Mexican, Italian, etc. - the more varied your offers, the more business you will get!)
3) Create a booklet listing all of the menus and phone numbers of the places.
4) Distribute the booklet (could be as simple as a few pages stapled together) The client would order the food, pay for the food via credit card or by giving you the cash BEFORE you pick up the food (they can simply ask the person taking their order at the restuarant what the total will be) and then you can add $5.00 on to that (or however much you want to charge).
In addition, you might want to contact managers at local restaurants and see if they can offer specials or discounts or coupons that you can distribute to customers and/or if they can pay you a few dollars themselves (as a sort of tip) for every new client you bring them through your service.
We all get tired of pizza at some point! (Which is why pizza shops sometimes offer other choices). But how awesome would it be for someone to order a grilled salmon for lunch and have it delivered to her home?
Let me know your thoughts on this idea, if you have other ideas in your community, and if you need help designing your flyers or getting started! Stay tuned for more great ideas!
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