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If you are on social media, it’ likely that you’ve been exposed to multi-level marketing (MLM) products. Perhaps you’ve noticed a friend who posts frequently trying to sell skin care products, makeup, or athletic wear. Or perhaps you’ve been approached by an old high school acquaintance that you’ve forgotten about who is looking to recruit “boss babes” to be on their “team”.
Before we move further, I want to make it clear that there are some legitimate businesses that allow people to sell products from home and earn a sales commission. I do not intend to shame anyone for trying to make money. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. My intent is to educate folks on the types of businesses that could potentially be lucrative—and which ones to avoid.
If you’re a part of the financial independence movement, you’re likely on the hunt for ways to earn extra income, and some of these MLM opportunities might look like a tempting way to earn some cash without a huge time commitment. Others MLM companies assert that they are giving you an entrepreneurial opportunity to be your own boss with unlimited earning potential.
Let’s look at the details of multi-level marketing so you can judge for yourself if it’s something you should pursue.
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\n\n This is not a long list, \n so go ahead and start now, but be sure to bookmark this post so you can easily return later. \n We’ll keep it updated as offers change or expire.\n
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\nMulti-level marketing involves working as an independent contractor, selling products for a company, and recruiting others to work below you. The “multi-level” part comes from the fact that as you recruit others, they will be placed below you. They’ll (ideally) recruit others who will be placed below them, and the structure will resemble a pyramid with many levels.
Most MLM companies refer to these independent sales reps as “distributors” or something similar. As a distributor, you’ll have two parts to your job:
Distributors generally make some money from the retail sales they make to end-users, but no one is getting rich off of this income (well, almost no one).
The key to success with MLM involves recruiting and developing a large and active team of distributors. Each company works a little bit differently, but you’ll earn money from the sales made by distributors who are beneath you in the organization, what’s often referred to as your “downline”.
Some popular MLMs include Amway, Herbalife, Avon, Mary Kay, and Tupperware.
MLMs are sometimes referred to as “pyramid schemes” but it’s important to point out that legitimate multi-level marketing companies are legal and technically not a pyramid scheme.
For an MLM business to be legit, there must be a real product being sold, and distributors should have the opportunity to earn a profit simply by selling the product, even if they don’t recruit other distributors.
Illegal pyramid schemes focus almost exclusively on recruiting more distributors. The products are an afterthought. Distributors may be forced into buying more products than they could ever sell.
On the other hand, a rep or distributor with a legit MLM like Avon or Mary Kay can earn a profit by selling the products directly to customers. Recruiting other distributors is necessary to reach the maximum income potential, but it is possible to make some money without recruiting.
The FTC provides more information about the differences between MLM and pyramid schemes to help provent people from falling victim to scams.
There’s a fine line between a legit multi-level marketing business and an illegal pyramid scheme. The legit companies are not a scam in the sense that it is possible for someone to run a completely legal and profitable business.
However, most MLM companies have a bad reputation because of the lies or partial truths that are often told during the recruitment process, and because the success rate is extremely low. MLMs may be viewed as a scam because you’re more likely to lose money than to make money, but the legit companies are not illegal.
Let’s look at some of the most common issues related to multi-level marketing businesses.
\n Not every job in the gig economy is equal. Here are the best \n side hustles \n to consider during your layoff to make the most cash.\n
\nIf you’re being recruited by someone in an MLM, they’re probably telling you about the opportunities you’ll have to earn a six-figure income and live life on your own terms. They may show you examples of people who have had success with MLM, and there certainly are plenty of success stories.
However, the success stories are the exception, not the rule. Most people who try MLM don’t succeed, although the exact statistics vary from one report to the next. A study conducted by the FTC found that 99% of MLM participants actually lose money, and 95% quit within three years (source). A separate study conducted by AARP found that 25% of MLM participants turned a profit (source).
Many other studies have been conducted over the years, and the general consensus is that the success rate with MLM is very low. In fact, the report from AARP with a 25% success rate feels surprisingly high.
While this isn’t always the case, it’s very common for distributors or reps to use a lot of pressure to convince people to sign up. You might be discouraged from taking your time to research the company and decide if it’s right for you. In some cases, you may even be made to feel foolish if you don’t recognize the opportunity or have an interest in joining immediately.
As a direct sales rep or distributor, you’ll need to sell products to run a legit business. Who do you sell those products to? You’ll probably have to sell, or attempt to sell, to your friends and family.
Now, selling products to your friends and family isn’t always bad. Your products may be able to genuinely help someone. However, trying to sell to friends and family will often become uncomfortable, and it may even cost you some relationships.
And selling products isn’t the only way friends and family are often involved. If you need to build a downline, your prospecting will almost certainly start with the people you know. This can lead to a lot of uncomfortable conversations and awkward situations. And with the success rate being so low, it may lead to strained relationships from people who decide to join your downline.
Smriti from Yogic-Experience had one of these uncomfortable experiences with a friend who was a co-worker. After an impactful motivational speech, Smriti invested $1,200 into a business opportunity that resulted in nothing gained and would have forced agressive recruitment of other friends and family with no clear business plan. Smriti says, “I chose not to strip friends and family of their hard-earned money like my friend did.”
Those who beat the odds and have success with network marketing typically are very good at recruiting new distributors. In order to do this, you need to be constantly looking for new prospects.
Former Amway distributor Ryan Healy found this to be difficult to accept. He says, “Quite honestly, it was a stressful way to live. When everybody is a prospect, then nobody is ever just a friend or just a waitress or just a [fill in the blank]. Everybody you meet, anytime and anywhere, is a prospect who might be looking for a business opportunity like Amway. This mindset creates pressure to always be thinking about selling people on the idea of an Amway business.“
Unfortunately, the products of an MLM business are usually overshadowed by the emphasis on recruitment. Selling a product might make you a few dollars, but the real money is made in recruiting others and building a downline. As a result, many MLMs focus 90% of their time and emphasis on recruiting and only 10% on the products.
Does anyone even care what the products are? Could you switch out the products for something different an no one would think twice? If so, that’s not a good sign. A legit business should have more interest in the products it sells than in recruiting more people to sell those products.
Many multi-level marketing businesses require an upfront payment to get started. You may need to pay some sort of registration fee or be forced to buy a certain amount of products. The sponsoring rep who signs you up may receive a bonus from that amount. If the upfront payment involves buying products, everyone in the upline stands to benefit.
Unfortunately, many people who join an MLM never earn enough money to even cover the upfront cost.
In order for a network marketing business to remain legit, products must be bought and sold. If no products are being sold and the only activity is new distributors signing up and paying an initial fee, the entity becomes an illegal pyramid scheme.
As a result, many MLMs have requirements that force distributors to purchase a certain dollar amount of products each month or each quarter. Typically, the products can be used for yourself or sold to your customers. Distributors who aren’t having success at finding customers often spend a lot of money buying products they don’t need just to meet the requirements.
While it’s not always the case, you’ll find that many MLMs sell products that are priced significantly higher than the competition. The higher prices allow money money to be made by everyone in the upline, so it makes sense why cheap products aren’t being sold. However, if there’s anything worse than trying to sell products to friends and family, it’s trying to sell significantly overpriced products to friends and family.
In general, it’s advisable to avoid multi-level marketing. Sure, some people will have success and build a profitable business, but the odds are stacked against you. Even if you do have success, it’s likely that you’ll lose some friends and family along the way because of the aggressive nature of recruiting.
If you do opt to join an MLM company, it’s best to choose a company that sells quality products and places as much emphasis on the products as the recruiting aspect.
If financial independence appeals to you, and it probably does if you’re reading this, there are plenty of other options aside from multi-level marketing. Here at Think Save Retire, we’re big fans of side hustles and online business. Working to increase your income, living below your means, and investing as much as possible will make it possible to achieve your goals without resorting to MLM. Be sure to read The Roadmap for How to Retire Early for more information.
\n\n\n\n","tags":[{"name":"Side Hustles","slug":"side-hustles"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"things-to-sell-from-home","feature_image":"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/11/Vintage--1-.jpg","title":"Things to sell from home (and where to sell them)","published_at":"2020-11-20T19:00:54.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Tristan Luciotti","profile_image":"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/07/TL-Headshot-1.jpg"},"html":"Once upon a time, I was a shopaholic. Aside from retail and online binge-shopping, I would grab a wad of cash and head to yard sales, estate sales, and antique shops. I had more knick-knacks than your great aunt Bertha. Over the years, I accumulated a lot of things, and weeding through my garage one summer will forever be known as the “Nightmare of 2019.”
When you spend a lot of hard-earned money, it’s hard to say goodbye. Getting rid of items that still had price tags felt the same as dumping buckets of cash into Niagara Falls.
And then it happened. I had the epiphany that if I liked all of these goods, wouldn’t someone else? I found numerous things to sell from home and I was as giddy as a kid petting a rainbow unicorn.
My eyes lit up like it was Christmas day when I removed the lids from old boxes in my garage to reveal coveted vinyl records and first-edition comic books. I kept digging and found the Fender guitar I tried to play in 1997 right beside a pair of Nike shoes still in the box.
I then realized that I had things to sell from home extending beyond my garage. If you’d like some tips on what is of value in your home (and what you need to let go of), let me become your personal Marie Kondo... with a beard.
Let’s find things to sell from home (and where to sell them) starting with your wardrobe.
When it comes to going through your closet, it’s important to sort items from what you can resell from items to donate. That old Justin Bieber t-shirt with a hole under the arm is easy to toss in your bag for Goodwill.
When you choose to donate, an option is to bring gently used clothing to nonprofits that give clothes directly to the homeless, foster children, and women who have escaped domestic abuse.\nWhen you’re burrowing inside your closet, go ahead and “shop” and pull out items you no longer need, but would still buy. That’s the key to reselling successfully. \nThe first place in your closet to look is for clothing that still has tags on it. I typically have a few shirts that are brand new. I bought them the previous season thinking I’d be a size smaller, but Ben and Jerry’s kept releasing new flavors.\n
A note-worthy place online to sell new or gently used clothing, shoes, purses (you name it!) is Poshmark.
It was easy to set up an account. Once you list your items to sell, they are stored in your “closet,” and you attend “parties” to get your items noticed. It’s like eBay, but for the cool, in-crowd.
If you’re into designer fashion, then Tradesy and re{fASHION}er is your place to shine. If you’d like the option to swap items with others, then check out LePrix. You can trade your Stella McCartney sweater for a Hermès scarf. Need to sell your designer handbags, then head straight to Rebag.
If you uncovered several trendy-looking vintage and retro items out of your closet, Etsy and ASOS Marketplace are the winners. Important note: you cannot sell on Etsy unless it’s vintage or you made it yourself.
No, I didn’t forget about eBay, Mercari, or Facebook Marketplace. I sell on these platforms religiously and it’s actually my main hub for retail arbitrage. We’ll talk more about eCommerce sites later on.
![\"Retail-arbitrage\"](\"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/11/Retail-arbitrage.png\")
I’m writing this article in the midst of the 2020 pandemic. So, right now, it’s smart to play it safe. In the season of contactless delivery, there is also contactless pickup. ThredUP sends you a “clean out kit” (a.k.a. an empty bag) that you can fill up, leave it to be picked up by your mail carrier (it ships for free), and then they’ll take it from there. Sellers take a lower cut, but it’s a no-fuss process.
Another option for free in-home pickup is The RealReal. In addition to clothing, shoes, and accessories, they also accept fine jewelry, home decor, and even fine art.
When it’s safe to wander back to in-person stores, a place I frequent is Crossroads Trading. I enjoy the option of 30% of the item’s selling price in cash right on the spot, or 50% store credit. From the years of selling clothes there, they tend to take items that are gently used, name brands, vintage, retro, or highly unique. Yet it all depends on who goes through your bags that day.
A place that I have adored since the 90s when I shopped at their first store location in Tucson, AZ is Buffalo Exchange. They have grown and sprouted locations across the United States and they now offer their pack it, send it, and get paid option. It’s very similar to ThredUP and you’ll get 25% of the selling price or 50% store credit.
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Let’s start from square one. What defines something that is a collectible? It’s an item that is of great value and interest to collectors. That sounds reasonable. This can include everything from trading cards and coins to dolls and vinyl records.
After prowling around my attic, I found a box of MAD Magazines from the 1960s and 1970s in good condition. I quickly realized that these are vintage and highly collectible. Instead of selling the entire box of around 50 copies in one lump sum, I took the time to check the value of every single edition. I sold some as individual copies and others in lots of 10. That dusty box I found ended up putting around $600 in my pocket. I even saved 6 copies for a rainy day.
I sold the magazines on Craigslist at the time. That was a decade ago and when it comes to local pickup, I’m a fan of Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and LetGo these days. It’s very easy to list your items and also to share them on multiple local selling pages. My items typically sell fast and these days people pay me through my Venmo account. They pay, pick up the item on my front porch, and we don’t even have to see each other.
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An item that is over 100 years old is considered antique. I owned an antique store in Atlanta, GA and I’m a big fan of antique furniture and memorabilia. My prized possession is my upright victrola from the historic (and famous) Potter house in Atlanta that was housed by soldiers during the Civil War. I also have a magazine in very good condition from the 1800s that I treasure.
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To make the most bang for your buck, it’s best to sell antiques locally and directly to the buyer. Other options include auctions, antique stores that offer consignment, or eBay if it’s small enough to ship.
Pro Tip: When you sell on eBay it’s very important as a seller to protect yourself from crooked buyers. I actually take close-up photos and videotape myself carefully wrapping and packaging items. I make sure the items are highly protected from major drops, bumps, etc. This way, if a buyer says something is chipped, cracked, or broken, I have proof of how it left me.
Vintage typically is anything older than two decades, but younger than your grandma. My Nirvana t-shirt is now officially vintage. Come to think of it, I’m vintage.
Many vintage items (outside of fashion) that are of value to resell typically fit into the collectible category. You’re looking at memorabilia items like Boy Scout merit badges to old metal signs and license plates.
That tin Superman lunch box you had in 1st grade is now worth $100. That Pyrex set your grandma gave you that sits in the back cabinet of your kitchen? The butter dishes sell for around $225 on eBay. Do you still have that original American Girl doll from 1986? If her name is Samantha, she sells as high as $4,200 on eBay.
What you have sitting around your house can easily turn into thousands of extra dollars in the bank.
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There are many things of value around your home. Musical instruments and accessories uphold their value if they remain in excellent condition. I keep my guitars in their cases, so they stay flawless. There are always musicians out there needing a new keyboard, drum set, or piccolo, and these items are best sold locally and directly to the buyer.
Unless you’re desperate, I do not recommend selling instruments to pawn shops or second-hand music stores. You’ll barely get anything for it. In my freshman year of college, I sold my like-new saxophone for only $50. My parents had paid over $400 for it and my original plan was to take that secret to my grave.
Other items that hold their value are outdoors, sports, and exercise equipment. I once bought a snowboard from Goodwill for around $30 and after going 4 winters without touching it, I sold it for $75. You know that treadmill you bought that just sits there? You need to either love it or list it. If it’s something bulky to ship, you know what to do if you’ve read this far.
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I’m a gadget guy and a bit addicted to buying the latest and greatest electronics. Items you can resell (if they’re in good condition and working order) include cell phones, laptops, tablets, TVs, cameras, and video game consoles to name several. For the smaller items, I typically sell these using eBay or Facebook Marketplace. Another option is to use Amazon’s trade in program. You can receive an Amazon gift card in exchange for thousands of eligible items and it’s free to ship your items to them. I call that a win-win situation.
If you have a lot of books, it may be worth it to set up an Amazon seller account. After all, that’s how Amazon began back in 1995 as a website that only sold books. College textbooks retain their value, so if you’re done with World History, sell it. If you are an avid reader, find places where you can trade out your old books for new ones.
You know that DVD collection that you’ve held on to, but never touch since you’re glued to Netflix? Selling used DVDs can actually turn into a little side hustle if you have enough. I ended up with close to 1,000 (I’m a movie buff), and finally sifting through the bins and kept the ones I’d feel too sick to let go of. While you’re at it, go through your video game collection.
Things to sell from home also include kitchen items which tend to do well in the eCommerce marketplace. Especially, if you have a like-new Instapot, KitchenAid mixer or Vitamix. If you’re ready to invest in new appliances, you can sell your old ones for local pickup. Appliances do not hold their value unless they are under 2 years old and a major (and reliable) name brand.
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First off, don’t hold your breath. It’s very exciting when you start this side hustle. It can certainly feel like a business depending on how much you have to sell. The reality is that the jacket you listed yesterday, may not sell for a couple of weeks, if at all.
It’s smart to see what similar items like yours are being listed for and make sure you are competitive with your prices. What you may think is worth $50 may only sell for $20. Yet there will be times when you really score and realize that old toy you thought was trash-worthy is actually a collector’s item.
My best advice is to keep at it. If you need to relist an item, perhaps take better photos and offer free shipping, but make the price higher so you aren’t losing a penny. Play around with it. Try different online sites and local selling platforms until you understand how to play the game.
There will be wins and there will be losses. But at the end of the day, you will have more money in your pocket and less clutter in your closet.
![\"Guide-to-selling-DVDs\"](\"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/11/Guide-to-selling-DVDs.png\")
The events of 2020 have impacted the workforce significantly. During the spring and summer months, we saw unprecedented unemployment with many different industries experiencing major disruption. While some of those jobs have come back as the economy has begun the process of getting back to normal, millions of people are still without work or looking for additional income to make ends meet.
Read next: 11 Behaviors you shouldn’t be ashamed of during a pandemic
It’s in times like these that we realize just how important it is to be able to find work. If you’ve been impacted or if you’re looking for ways to make money, Shiftsmart may be able to help.
Shiftsmart’s mission involves “transforming the modern labor market” by matching companies and workers for mutual benefit. Businesses are able to find capable workers whenever and wherever needed, and people who are looking to make money can pick up shifts and get paid quickly.Workers are able to sign up, install the Shiftsmart app (available for iPhone and Android), view details of the shifts that are available, claim shifts, and get paid for their work.Through Shiftsmart, you can find part-time opportunities in a variety of different industries and different roles. The opportunities involve temporary work, and when one opportunity ends, you can pick up a different shift with another company.
Shifts may be available for:
\n Not every job in the gig economy is equal. Here are the best \n side hustles \n to consider during your layoff to make the most cash.\n
\nShiftsmart makes it as easy as possible to find work and get paid. Signing up is simple. You’ll need to install the app and provide basic personal information to create your partner account (Shiftsmart refers to workers as “partners”).
Once your account is created, you’ll be able to see a list of shifts that are available. Some of the work can be done from home and other shifts will be done in-person at the location of the business. The shifts that can be done remotely will be available to a wider group of people, but the availability of local shifts will depend on where you live.
In many cases, the availability of local shifts will be limited if you’re not in a major city. If you live in a rural area, you may be able to take advantage of the shifts that can be done remotely.
As you might expect, the availability and types of shifts have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many partners have been able to work remotely thanks to Shiftsmart. Some of the biggest opportunities for Shiftsmart partners in 2020 have been making calls for the Small Business Administration (SBA) and making political survey calls. (The shifts for political calls were the result of a partnership with Dynata.)
The amount that you’ll get paid will depend on the shift, but many of the shifts fall into the $10-$20 per hour range. The SBA call shifts, for example, paid $15 per hour.
You’re not going to get rich by using Shiftsmart, but if you’re looking to pick up a few extra bucks to invest with, or you need to pay down some debt, this is a fantastic option.
Many of the jobs will require brief training before you are able to work. For example, you might have to complete 1-2 hours of training before you’re eligible to make survey calls. Sometimes the training is paid and other times it is unpaid, so you’ll need to look at the details for each opportunity as it is listed.
Most of the shifts that are available through Shiftsmart involve fairly simple work. The requirements for these types of jobs are generally very low, so just about anyone (18 or over) can meet the qualifications and pick up some extra work.
In the wake of the COVD-19 shutdowns, Shiftsmart’s President Patrick Brandt co-founded Get Shift Done, an organization that has had an amazing impact. Get Shift Done has worked with Shiftsmart to provide work for people in the hospitality industry by matching them with non-profits that need help providing meals.
This creative solution provided furloughed employees with income while helping to meet the needs of others during tough times.
Get Shift Done has already provided more than 50,000,000 meals thanks to the help of 22,000+ workers.
Companies like CapitalOne have provided support to Get Shift Done. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks (NBA team) and star of the TV show Shark Tank participated with Shiftsmart and Get Shift Done. His arena staff was out of work when the NBA was shut down and Get Shift Done matched these workers with local non-profit organizations.
If you’re considering Shiftsmart as a way to make money, you may want to see what other partners have to say about their experience. There are plenty of reviews online and to be honest, the results are mixed.
You’ll find plenty of positive reviews from Shiftsmart partners who have had great experiences finding work and getting paid. You’ll also find a lot of negative reviews from others who say they have not been able to consistently find work through Shiftsmart.
At Indeed, Shiftsmart has an average of 2.8 out of 5 stars. At Glassdoor, Shiftsmart has a rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars. You can browse through the reviews on either site and find both good and bad experiences from Shiftsmart partners.
Working as a Shiftsmart partner can be a great way to make some money when you don’t have other work available. If you’re currently out of work and you need a way to make some money temporarily until you’re able to find something more permanent, Shiftsmart could be a good option for you.
Shiftsmart could also be a good option as a side hustle or second income. If you’re looking for a way to make some extra money and you have some time available, you could pick up shifts that fill that time and make some extra money to supplement your income.
Because the availability of shifts is not always consistent or predictable, it’s not ideal as a primary source of income for an extended period of time.
\n\nIf you like the concept of Shiftsmart or if you simply need to find work, there are some other options that you might want to consider as well.
Read Next: The safest side hustles to start right now
Finding work can be a stressful and frustrating challenge. If you’re in a situation where you need to find work quickly, you may be able to find some available shifts through Shiftsmart. While it’s probably not a long-term solution for full-time work, you can make some money to help carry you over until you’re able to find something more permanent. Looking for even more ways to make some extra dough? Check out our ultimate guide to side hustling!
\n\n\n\n","tags":[{"name":"Reviews","slug":"reviews"},{"name":"Side Hustles","slug":"side-hustles"},{"name":"Retire early","slug":"retire-early"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"rat-race-rebellion-review","feature_image":"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/08/Coffee.jpg","title":"Rat Race Rebellion Review 2026: Is it Legit or a Scam?","published_at":"2020-08-21T16:21:44.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Marc Andre","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/85a5f01860472fd1f4aac6b85dab0d70"},"html":"With tens of millions of Americans looking for work and many traditional job opportunities being limited right now, flexible work-from-home jobs are more appealing and in higher demand than ever before.
If you’ve spent much time online searching for work-from-home jobs, chances are, you’ve come across Rat Race Rebellion (RRR). With so many scams related to work-from-home opportunities, you may be wondering if Rat Race Rebellion is a legit place to find alternative ways to make money.
When you search for ways to make money from home, you’ll come across all kinds of stuff. It can be a real challenge to know which opportunities are legit and which ones are either outright scams or simply not as good as they’re presented. As a result, the quest to find a way to make money from home can lead you on a wild goose chase that takes hours and hours and leads to wasted money.
Rat Race Rebellion aims to be a one-stop-shop where you can quickly and easily find a lot of information that will lead you to the right opportunity.
This article provides plenty of details related to Rat Race Rebellion, including the strengths and weaknesses of the site, and details about the types of opportunities you’ll find there, as well as what you won’t find there.
Rat Race Rebellion is one of the most popular websites dedicated to helping people like you and me find legit ways to make money from home or online. The site was founded in 2006 by Christine Durst and Michael Haaren. Over the years, RRR has been featured by mainstream media like Good Morning America, The View, Dr. Oz, and more.
\n\nIf you need extra money, you’ve come to the right spot.
\n\n Our team has compiled a \n list of creative ways\n you can fatten your bank account this week. Certainly, there’s something here that fits your needs.\n
\n\n This is not a long list, \n so go ahead and start now, but be sure to bookmark this post so you can easily return later. \n We’ll keep it updated as offers change or expire.\n
\n\n Check it out!\n
\nIt’s important to understand that Rat Race Rebellion does not directly provide employment or work opportunities. Instead, the site serves as a platform that connects visitors with opportunities from other companies and websites. You will not be getting paid directly by Rat Race Rebellion, but RRR helps users by curating opportunities that can be found all in one place.
Outside While there are plenty of legit ways to make money online or from home, this is an industry that is filled with scams and opportunities that are not as good as they appear to be on the surface.With millions of people looking to make money from home, scammers are always looking for ways to take advantage of the situation. Rat Race Rebellion aims to help visitors cut through the junk that’s out there and get straight to the best opportunities.
\nWhile there are plenty of legit ways to make money online or from home, this is an industry that is filled with scams and opportunities that are not as good as they appear to be on the surface. With millions of people looking to make money from home, scammers are always looking for ways to take advantage of the situation. Rat Race Rebellion aims to help visitors cut through the junk that’s out there and get straight to the best opportunities.
Related: Ranking the Best Digital Nomad Jobs
It’s also important to understand what Rat Race Rebellion is not. In general, RRR is not for those who want to build an online business or build a significant income online. Most of the opportunities you’ll find on the site involve working as an independent contractor or employee for companies who are looking for people to do specific types of work. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and you want to make money from home by building a business of you’re own, you probably won’t be interested in most of the opportunities that you’ll find at Rat Race Rebellion.
\n Not every job in the gig economy is equal. Here are the best \n side hustles \n to consider during your layoff to make the most cash.\n
\nRat Race Rebellion is a free website that is accessible to anyone. You don’t need to pay a membership fee and you don’t even need to create an account in order to make use of the site.
The site is set up as a blog, with new content related to working from home and side hustles being published on a frequent basis. You can follow the latest posts to see the most up-to-date opportunities.
In addition to blog posts, RRR also has a page that lists the newest jobs & gigs so you can take action right away. The site also includes a big list of opportunities that you can sort and filter in several different ways. This page is one of the best databases to quickly locate specific types of opportunities.
If you’re looking for ways to make money from home, you can use the blog posts or these pages on the site to see what is available and what might be a good fit for you.
1. Lots of Opportunities
While there are a lot of websites and blogs that provide information about working from home or making money online, Rat Race Rebellion offers one of the largest collections of opportunities. Not only does RRR have an abundance of content, but the site is also updated very frequently, which makes it easy for job seekers to stay on top of things without the need to follow a lot of different websites.
2. Variety
At Rat Race Rebellion, you’ll find information and details about many different ways to make money, including things like customer service jobs, technical support roles, virtual assistant positions, transcription jobs, writing gigs, data entry jobs, and much more. Regardless of your skills, experience, or background, you’re likely to find something of interest at RRR. Some of the opportunities will require specific experience as it relates to customer service or education, but many entry-level jobs with limited requirements are also posted.
3. Helps You to Save Time
The biggest benefit of using Rat Race Rebellion is the time that you can save. All of the opportunities listed at RRR can be found elsewhere online, but you may have to jump through a lot of hoops and dedicate many hours for research to find them. RRR can help you by simply compiling a huge collection of opportunities in one place. They dedicate time to finding the best opportunities so you won’t have to.
4. Multi-Platform
Rat Race Rebellion has developed quite a large following over the years, and those who want to find work-from-home opportunities can connect with RRR through a few different platforms. Of course, the website RatRaceRebellion.com is the primary platform, but you can also stay up-to-date through the email list and/or Facebook page.
By subscribing to the RRR email list (which is not a requirement to use the website), you’ll get the latest news and updates sent directly to your inbox. Those who are active on Facebook may prefer to follow the RRR Facebook page, which has more than 200,000 followers.
Although Rat Race Rebellion is a great resource, it does have some weaknesses that should be pointed out.
1. Primarily for U.S. Residents
Many of the opportunities that are posted at RRR are open only to United States residents. Of course, the details can vary from one opportunity to another, but in general, the site is best for those who are United States residents
2. Low-Paying Work
Probably the biggest complaint about Rat Race Rebellion is related to the amount of money that you’ll make through the opportunities featured on the site. While there are some higher-paying jobs that are featured, many of the opportunities are low paying.
This may or may not be an issue, depending on what you’re looking for. If you’re just looking for a flexible way to make money without a traditional job and you don’t need a high-paying job, this may not be a problem for you. However, if you’re looking for opportunities to earn a six-figure income, RRR is probably not the best resource for you.
3. Opportunities Are Not Thoroughly Vetted
While RRR lists countless opportunities and those who run the website attempt to promote only legit opportunities, these work from home jobs or opportunities are not significantly vetted or necessarily endorsed by Rat Race Rebellion.
If you’re using the site (or email list or Facebook page) to find ways to make money, you’ll need to do your own research and homework to verify the legitimacy of any opportunities that you would like to pursue. While RRR does claim to screen the opportunities and is likely to catch and not promote any obvious scams, there may be some low-quality opportunities that make it through this screening process.
RRR is ideal for anyone who is looking for a flexible way to make money from home and is willing to pursue opportunities with low-to-moderate pay. If you’re interested in finding simple work that doesn’t involve building a business, Rat Race Rebellion can be a great resource. If you’re tired of weeding through the results from countless Google searches trying to find ways to make money, you should check out RRR.
On the other hand, if you’re more interested in making money by building an online business, or if you’re looking for something that gives you higher earning potential, RRR may not be a great fit.
Related: How to Make Money Blogging: For Beginners
Rat Race Rebellion can prove to be a great resource if you’re looking for a way to make money from home or online. While it may not offer a lot of high-paying opportunities, there are plenty of flexible ways to make money that are featured on the site, and even if you have no prior experience, you’re likely to find something.
The main benefit of using RRR is that it can help you to find legit opportunities without the need to wade through hundreds or thousands of different websites. It’s possible to use RRR to find an opportunity and start making money quickly.
While RRR can be a great resource, there are a number of other sites that you might want to check out.
How many times have you found a job on a job site, uploaded your resume, re-typed your resume in the provided boxes, and STILL not heard a word back? Probably too many to count, right?
Whether you’ve recently been laid off or you’re just simply looking to upgrade, your job search will be far more productive if you’re familiar with some of the quality resources that are at your disposal. With the help of the best job search sites, you’ll be able to find the opportunities that you’re looking for, apply for jobs quickly, and ultimately land the new job that you’re after.
While there are countless websites that can help you to find job listings, not all of them are equal. You’ll find different jobs at different boards, and each site will have its own unique strengths and features. Once you know the details of the sites that are available, you’ll be able to choose the resources that are right for you and your own job search.
Finding a job can be a challenge under normal circumstances, and it’s especially challenging in tough economic times when unemployment rates are high. With so many people searching and applying for the same jobs, the competition is fierce. Today, you’ll need to be on your game to have the best chance of finding and landing a great job, and part of that is simply knowing where to look.
While there are a lot of different sites that exist for the purpose of helping job seekers, it’s helpful to understand a key difference that separates some of the websites covered in this article.
A job board allows employees to create a job listing and post it for job seekers to find. There are other sites that may be referred to as job search engines or aggregators that don’t directly allow employers to place a listing. An aggregator or search engine will scour other job boards, as well as job listings on company websites, to allow you to find opportunities.
This list includes job boards as well as some search engines or aggregators.
Finding a job can be a very time-consuming process, but the following sites can help you to find and apply for the right jobs.
1. Indeed
![](\"https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/PEK54rv1Mzr6-rhnnG1-5cAfzOaUoK8MW1Rm5tU5Yo_1EL5ipprqoQj6W2hU81QIGo2PJreoD7jiHco5QBpEenTQppIPQVvK44MKahRdyHGpIu8gJtvTNdbMMJHBORdE3KTROa1G\")
Indeed is an extremely popular job search engine that pulls data from hundreds or thousands of other websites, including job boards and company websites. In addition, employers can also place job listings directly on Indeed.
As a job searcher, you’ll probably find more listings at Indeed compared to any other website. Searching for a job is easy and you can also use the advanced search to filter listings based on details like salary, experience level, company, and more.
You can upload your resume to Indeed, which makes it easier and faster to apply to some openings.
Aside from actually finding jobs, Indeed can be very useful for research. You can read company reviews to find a good place to work, and research salaries to give yourself more information for negotiating.
2. Glassdoor
![](\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/UroBJkFjEyw4UK2H5GtjyZbG3fMdUXJrk1H4Lh_4JIb9TLmhUz1gt9An88zTObFQT1G37Tl0PXZRT9K050Bqu0nTsSopbWPWKLojs3fEw1EB0yJEA3Obe-nwSDjd4HK3YzXhy8fL\")
While Glassdoor does allow you to search for job openings, the research capabilities are where it really shines.
Glassdoor is one of the best places to find information on employers and to find salary data on different jobs. Anonymous users can leave company reviews for employers, which can be extremely helpful when you’re trying to decide where you’d like to work.
You’ll also love the fact that Glassdoor collects salary information from anonymous users, so you can find out how much you should expect to make for different types of positions. You can get a free personalized salary estimate to see how your current job or available jobs stack up against other similar jobs.
The only downside to Glassdoor is that you need to register in order to get all of the benefits. You can use your existing Facebook or Google account, or create a Glassdoor account with your email address.
3. LinkedIn
![](\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/IZmsyFv_8bnsnOgQ8Bp35RRwUokk-VDo5syGRa9OMrhQsvf-SPz_9qqVH56XxfzploQmeu76ox83VMP8jeoGmUKioP-QznAnz4gNTzhgFyMmFZbl8I-1jFc_9HDVVnEwzdES4X2k\")
LinkedIn is a professional social network that includes a job board. You can search the listings and take advantage of some nice features that involve the social aspect of LinkedIn. For example, you can view job openings at companies that employ other people in your network.
Aside from actively searching for jobs, LinkedIn is often used by employers to recruit workers for positions that may not be listed publicly. Be sure to keep your profile up-to-date and maintain an active presence on the site and you never know what opportunities might arise as a result.
4. ZipRecruiter
![](\"https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/fkKuoVXPXwRS2xQIpW5iGBIbajwJoKhnN0xdWIMdxVgQ8_GwafpQ0JuTFIVermKEZcCaAL9Up4PnY_koX8G_8gsmtPMGx7ZMGaaxm7XJB1m226k0RCuUVpQ6A6Bl-Mci6OI4KeZ7\")
ZipRecruiter is similar to Glassdoor in some ways. Like Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter provides a wealth of data related to jobs and salaries. You can get salary data for particular jobs in your local area to know how much you should expect to earn.
Employers are able to post job listings directly on ZipRecruiter and the site also shows search results that include listings found at other websites.
5. Monster
![](\"https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/HTw7MIed-VQYX4KvTEWyH9IHF1dDT-XUyrzTHntCkSHmmFzqPFoWGfzLzyXd_CSFdBbH-DpUdrppf5kAsep_934SNBFxTb73lpTx_PO-AIe7jEQBKr1aYL33wHHXLNNnNQePn08E\")
Monster was the original job search website and is still a popular and useful option. Of course, you can search jobs and upload your resume to make it easier to apply (as well as to allow employers to find you).
One of the unique features of Monster is Job Fit Scoring. You’ll need to create a free account in order to take advantage of this feature that will show the jobs most relevant to your skills and interests.
Monster also provides salary data that you can search to see how much you should be making.
![](\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/RVCV9KXa4mP_XI6CtZgoDV81ke69m7inYg_g_wl9Z6qkHOu8MMPbxtqnACiGF4jdDYIYABpuXvrW8dDFL_rTLjw2HEBA8Tw8-fj62FlEw3tBdgIVjSmiLU-opzSdbqq3sp5_5u0H\")
CareerBuilder is another popular job board that has been around for a very long time. Like many other sites covered here, CareerBuilder allows you to search for jobs, upload a resume, and research job salaries.
When you search for jobs at CareerBuilder, you can filter the results in a few helpful ways. In addition to filtering by details like salary and distance from your desired location, you can also filter to see opportunities that allow you to work from home and jobs that offer an easy application process (if you have a free CareerBuilder account).
7. Dice
![](\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/sO5_f1-NDa93jtUm3y54kwy3eAMG0TCqjDZUAXTORc0bXkxjDhkv-W2C4jXBpWqUo-3eW4JkZMFlfVpAtfY0niWSdqPXFudR9xy5fP3uNjySJn3GWGzSH6uK3Z9BWKZnsr5E3qcq\")
Dice is unlike any of the other sites mentioned so far because it focuses specifically on tech jobs. With a free Dice account, you can upload a resume and use an easy application process for certain jobs.
One of the nice features of Dice is the ability to filter jobs based on only remote opportunities or to remove all remote jobs from the listings.
The salary predictor at Dice will help you to see how much you should expect to earn for a specific tech job in your area (or in another location). The Career Path functionality can help you to identify your next career move based on your existing experience and your current position.
![](\"https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/YGj_59OVe61sek549Pi11OSYlmZwDytFG-7HaUd-Ckl5d6rHNb5-iVLPaRhwTeVCFZospIA_Oqf1bEdki-PVMuqdDgLvMm9uGj825-gbFOEPYGxfRXhpxUXKU_JD_4za1wRNU9NZ\")
While it’s not a job board, Google can be a helpful resource for finding job openings. If you do a simple Google search for a job in a specific location, Google search results will show opportunities from various job boards and company websites.
Top jobs will be shown above the regular search results, and then you can click on the “more jobs” link to see many more openings.
While Google for Jobs lacks some of the features of other job boards, it does have some options like saving your favorite job listings and setting up alerts to notify you of new openings that meet certain criteria.
9. LinkUp
![](\"https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/1z3FJC7k2EKG5-7TNwcxXqI7NeKf-yE4JbJCOZuSSsPZZlQdTJEjvWA6XiPyUQn6Ku3UyNVI8A1DO6KKSIscAA010rRO9MVbuT-UAJ-I3tkSjPXVcYamrueYBEw0_-qOk-Uxz9df\")
LinkUp stands out by displaying only listings that have been verified. While some other job boards may show more listings, some of them can be spammy opportunities disguised as job listings. LinkUp helps you to avoid these types of listings.
The jobs displayed at LinkUp come from employer websites in order to be able to provide higher-quality search results. Rather than paying to post a job at LinkUp, employers must have an opening that has been verified by LinkUp, and then the employer can sponsor the listing to get more exposure.
10. SimplyHired
![](\"https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/OllY-Rn5gxCA2i6X72H89thuENyXFRYk-xS-S7TjycqXH3lWH5B9Z3vH11lbAJeONwSOdaDFM5DEBIHZ5SQf6yaDS6r0oT8Mwr5wLLFLwMpnCHs8wCNRVBq1YC2k3L2bj6PvhSFB\")
SimplyHired is a job board that makes it easy to search for openings. You can also create a resume and easily apply to certain jobs. Like many of the other sites already mentioned, SimplyHired also offers a salary estimator.
11. Snagajob
![](\"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ELHCE0Bc7BsSm9A2DiaamxCht5AwBNmwAYmx0YjIG-y41-rkfph84EzkEUFiVN4tA0bw-eHDMsU2KINnfQBWHeQmgpajm-Mv0XSMGwDwqokNe4Ix47uhIsePlrF7gMKJbcy1llBY\")
Snagajob is unique because it only shows listings for jobs that pay hourly. You won’t find any salaried jobs here. While this job board may not be for everyone, it’s one that you should definitely check if you’re looking for an hourly job.
If you create a free account with Snagajob, you’ll have access to a unique feature that allows you to track the progress of your applications. You can see if the hiring manager has looked at your application or if you’ve been put on a shortlist.
12. USAJOBS
![](\"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iFN6dCPa9HsQ3BY1DUsZoKo3e2AkQecyf9JNt7PDofbUoWGY3a4dLZ5nf24Zoqucv9A4OLWnEc8-d-ES0XP6Z7XWU7BjEB39ZJs3-O7Dg_r8EHbzXyOl1cjYNE5aRixQ2IImBq2S\")
If you’re interested in a federal government job, USAJOBS should be your go-to resource. You might be surprised to see how many federal jobs are available in your area (that’s the case when I search in my local area).
One of the major perks of this site is the fact that you can see exact salary data for every listing. You can create your free profile to save jobs, upload your resume, and easily apply for jobs.
13. Niche Job Boards
While a few niche job boards have been mentioned in this article, there are hundreds or maybe thousands of other niche-specific job boards that might be able to help you locate a specific type of job.
You may be familiar with a niche job board that you can try, and if not, it’s worth searching to see if any exist. Just do a Google search for “accounting job boards”, “developer job boards”, or whatever type of job you’re looking for.
These job boards aren’t as popular as some of the sites listed above. While there will be fewer job listings, you may face less competition to get the attention of the hiring manager or HR rep. Employers like niche job boards because the applications are usually more relevant, so it can be a great way to get noticed.
Each job board will show different opportunities. While there is definitely a lot of overlap between job boards, you’ll miss out on some opportunities if you’re relying on a single job board. For this reason, it’s recommended that you use a few different websites to increase your odds of finding the best openings.
While job boards and job search engines are definitely useful, keep in mind that there are other ways to find jobs too. The downside to job sites is that many people use them because they’re easy. The easier it is, the more competition you’ll face. You may need to apply to a lot of openings in order to land a job.
Sometimes the best opportunities come as a result of your personal or professional network. Who you know will often matter more than what you know. Make an effort to establish and develop connections with others in your industry and you may and you may be able to find a job without applying to lots and lots of openings.
I don’t want to work anymore. I need a break. A long break. I don’t want to work today, tomorrow, or next week. I want to go on vacation—a vacation that lasts forever. I never want to work again.
Ever.
I hate my job. I hate my boss. But it isn’t just this job or this boss. I hate having to have a job, any job. I hate working for someone else—someone always checking in and asking me to do juuuust a little more.
Aaaand maybe a little more?
And how about a little more?
No. I can’t give a little more. I hate this brutal, hollow, endless cycle.
I’m tired of spending my time doing something I don’t want to do. I’m tired of living my life on another person’s terms.
![\"1-2\"](\"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2023/12/1-2.png\")
I’m tired of people telling me that I must not really mean I don’t want to work anymore, that a normal person should want to work, that I all need to do is find another job. I don’t want a new job. I don’t want use what little free time I have now browsing websites, updating my resume, writing cover letters, and showing up to interviews so I can lie and force myself to smile through gritted teeth:
“Oh wow, thank you so much for the opportunity! Yes, I would love to work here! I’m a self-starter and a team player! I think I’d be a great asset to your company! This is my dream job!” I don’t have a dream job. My dream is to lie down on an empty beach and stare at the sun until my eyes hurt, until my brain melts, until I become one with the sand and the waves.I’m tired of the noise—the clicks and keystrokes, the ringing phones, the co-worker clearing her throat, the customer tapping his foot. The constant demands. The incessant emails and calls. The early mornings and late nights. I’m tired—I’m straight up exhausted. I’m overworked and underpaid. I’m bored, burned out, and angry. I’m pissed.
![](\"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/06/Quote.jpg\")
Why do I need a job? Why does anyone? How come some people never need to work a day in their lives while others spend every waking moment toiling away for practically nothing? The rich get richer, the poor get poorer, blah blah blah.
It sucks. It literally sucks the life out of people.
I look in the mirror and I don’t recognize my face. I’ve become wrinkled and slouched. Work’s changed me. It’s turned me into an old, ugly, sad-looking little goblin.
![\"1-2\"](\"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2023/10/401k_Comparison_970x90-4.gif\")
Life wasn’t always like this. I was a kid once. I played in the grass, I explored, I made friends, I marveled at the beauty of the world, I fell passionately in love.
Now, I’m another miserable, soulless adult. Another goblin in a button-down shirt holding a putrid cup of coffee. Now I’m either working or trying desperately to escape from work, trying to pull the weeds of work from my mind so I can spend just one day—just one hour—not thinking about my job.
I have nightmares about work. I wake up panicking, realizing I forgot to tell someone about something or get something done in time.
I feel sick. I feel dizzy. My stomach hurts. My head hurts. My hands shake. My eyelids twitch. I’m constantly stressed out and worried. I’ve given everything I have and it’s not enough. If someone asks me for more, I might snap.
I’m done with work. D-O-N-E, done-done, legitimately and officially done with work. Work is bullshit. And guess what?
Whew. That felt good to write. If you haven’t written down your feelings recently, I recommend it—it’s pretty damn cathartic.
Now, let’s take stock of where we’re at. How did you feel reading the words above?
If you found some or all of it relatable—if you’ve been feeling beaten down, overworked, and exploited lately—I encourage you to stick around and keep reading.
If you thought, “whoa, this is pretty dramatic—I’ve had some bad days, but come on, work isn’t that bad,” then please feel free to close this tab and read another article. We have hundreds to choose from.
Go ahead, click that X. Goodbye! Enjoy your—ahem—career!
…
All right, now that the sheep are gone, I’m going to level with you. You’re here for a reason. You typed “I don’t want to work anymore” into a search engine or clicked a link to this article for a reason.
Maybe you’re here because you were laid off recently and have noticed how much more enjoyable your life has become since losing your job. And now you’re wondering if you really need to go back to the working world.
Or maybe you’re here because anything that even slightly chips away at the hustle-hard, lean-in, let’s-get-this-bread mindset feels like a glimmer of hope in an increasingly greedy, corporate society.
Whatever the case, you’re here because deep down, you already know the truth:
Work is bullshit.
It’s a scam.\n\nYou, my friend, are being used. Someone somewhere is using you—your body, your energy, your ideas—to make money for themselves. They’re using you to do something they simply don’t want to do themselves.
\nYou know the saying “time is money?” Not true. They tell you that so you feel better about wasting your time making money. Time is much, much more valuable than money.
Money comes and goes. Time just goes.
When you trade your time for money, someone else gets to keep their time in exchange for money you will make back for them.
Following me here? They’re paying you to squander your life generating cash—the same cash they’ll use to pay you to do it again tomorrow.
Meanwhile, every second is a second you’ll never get back. Every bad day at work is a day of your life stolen from you. You have every right to feel angry. What your boss is doing to you is wrong. Work is theft—theft of time, theft of dignity, theft of humanity. It should be illegal.
And if you’re your own boss, well…
What about all the jobs that are necessary, purposeful, or creatively fulfilling?
What about doctors, teachers, farmers, scientists, artists, musicians, and social workers?
![\"1-2\"](\"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2024/01/Profile_FeaturedBenefit-Leaderboard-Banner_728x90_07092019.gif\")
Yes, those jobs are bullshit, too. The things those people do are certainly important, but the economic framework around them is bogus. The financial value we assign to actions such as planting seeds, healing the sick, or unearthing the secrets and wonders of the universe is totally artificial. It’s made up.
Money is made up. You can have a whole bunch of it, and it won’t make your life any better.
That means there’s always something driving work besides the significance of work itself. There’s always a layer of bullshit. A layer of money. One could argue, as many have, that this layer stinks things up and casts a shadow—that money devalues labor and, ultimately, the people performing the labor.
Isn’t saving someone’s life—or giving meaning to a life—worth more than a paycheck? How do you even assign value to something like that?
And yet in our society, we do. We define people by their professions—and often, by how much money they make. This is capitalism. It’s not a perfect system by any means, but it’s the system we live in. We can try to ignore its failings, or we can try to find an alternative (people smarter than me have imagined a few), but for now, we’re stuck with it.
This means there’s an inherent tension between what we want to do and what we need to do to survive. We need money to feed, shelter, and clothe ourselves; and to pay for access to the stuff that makes life worth living. To earn that money, we need to work. And aside from a select few lucky individuals, most of us need to keep working for years and years and years—long past the point when we feel interested in our work or physically and mentally capable of doing it.
I’m talking five or six decades of work. That’s an extremely long time to be doing anything. You could be doing something you love—curing diseases, or studying ancient Greece, or teaching kids how to fingerpaint—but at some point, you’re going to get worn out. The less you enjoy your job, the faster it’ll happen. It’s just a matter of time.
When you do reach the point where you’d rather stay in bed than face yet another day at work, the world will try everything to convince you you’re the one who needs fixing, that your feelings of burnout are your fault.
You just need a break and then you can get back to work.
You wouldn’t feel this way if you had a job you actually liked.
You need to start taking better care of yourself.
You’re letting people down.
You’re entitled.
You’re lazy.
I’m all for self-care and for recognizing mental health struggles, but come on. Are we really supposed to be happy little worker bees our entire lives?
What if some element of the depression or anxiety you feel is a response to your circumstances?
What if you feel tired all time because you are tired all the time?
What if you’re reading an article centered on the phrase “I don’t want to work anymore” because you really, sincerely do not want to work anymore?
What if you’re a human being—a lifeform on planet Earth with biological needs and desires that have nothing to do with a system we’ve devised in an attempt to fairly divide limited resources?
Here’s a fun fact for you: most primates sleep between nine and 15 hours per day. That’s twice as much as our species tends to sleep. Even the least productive members of society work harder than the most industrious monkeys.
“Productivity.” Bah! What does that even mean? If you spent eight hours entering data into spreadsheets, the world would consider you productive. If you spent the same amount of time playing The Sims, you’re lazy and should feel bad about yourself.
But what if you streamed yourself on Twitch playing The Sims for eight hours and earned ad revenue for it? That counts as work, right?
![\"1-2\"](\"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2024/01/AskAnAExpertOnline-728x90.png\")
Or what if you like inputting data for fun? What if you’re using that spreadsheet to organize your record collection, and not getting paid for it?
Is volunteering work? Is teaching or firefighting “productive” if you’re not making money?
Is a pointless, unnecessary job truly a job? If your work doesn’t make the world better, is there any productivity to speak of?
Again, it all comes down to money. Productivity, as our society defines it, has nothing to do with the amount of work you do, but the amount of cash you generate.
With that in mind, the real issues underneath all of this should become clear.
When people tell you you need to keep working, what they’re really saying is “you need to continue making money.”
When they complain about you being lazy, they’re saying, “you need to maintain our social contract.”
When they urge you to take care of yourself, they’re saying, “you need to keep the money-making machine in good condition.”
It could mean a few different things:
1. “I am no longer capable of doing any work of any kind.” The machine is broken. There’s nothing left in you—not now, maybe forever. You need to quit your job and rest for a long, long time.
2. “I am tired of making money.” Capitalism and meaning have become two entirely different, irreconcilable categories for you. You still have energy and passion for something, but that something isn’t work. You need to find a means of survival outside of trading your time for money.
3. “I need to find another way to make money.” This is where most people end up. You don’t necessarily want to extricate yourself from a capitalist system, but you also can’t imagine doing what you’ve been doing for much longer. At this point, you have several options:
Depending on your goals and circumstances, you may be able to do one or more of the above right now, or you may have to wait and—sigh—work to get there.
Don’t waste any more of your precious time on this planet engaging in bullshit. We have the tools you need to live life on your terms.
Why do people feel dissatisfied with work and express a desire to stop working?
Many individuals find themselves questioning the conventional notion of work due to factors such as burnout, unfulfilling job roles, and a desire for alternative lifestyles.
Is it possible to live without working and still meet financial needs?
While it may seem challenging, there are alternative approaches, such as living frugally, finding unconventional sources of income, or retiring early, that allow individuals to pursue a life beyond the traditional 9-to-5 work structure.
How does society's definition of productivity impact our perception of work?
Society often links productivity to monetary gains. This narrow definition may lead to a disconnect between personal passions and the need to generate income, prompting individuals to question the value of their work.
What are some practical steps one can take to escape the cycle of unfulfilling work?
Options include working less, exploring alternative occupations, finding profitable side hustles, adopting a frugal lifestyle, or even considering early retirement, depending on individual goals and circumstances.
How can individuals reconcile a desire for meaning and purpose with the necessity of earning a living in a capitalist system?
Striking a balance often involves finding or creating work aligned with personal passions, seeking financial independence, or redefining success beyond traditional career paths. It requires a thoughtful exploration of values and priorities.
\n","tags":[{"name":"Retire early","slug":"retire-early"},{"name":"Side Hustles","slug":"side-hustles"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"make-money-blogging","feature_image":"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/06/Typing.jpg","title":"How to Make Money Blogging: For Beginners","published_at":"2020-06-17T16:40:10.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Marc Andre","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/85a5f01860472fd1f4aac6b85dab0d70"},"html":"If you’ve read income reports or featured stories that detail how a blogger is making a six or seven-figure income, it probably made you think about starting a blog of your own. After all, blogging seems like a great way to earn a living, especially if it generates an above-average income.
While blogging can certainly be an ideal way to make money, the topic can be confusing and overwhelming for beginners. For example, how does a blogger actually make money?
I’ve been blogging full-time since 2008, and when I started my first blog in 2007, I had no idea what I was doing. Over the years, I’ve seen a number of people go from complete beginner to a stage where they’re actually making pretty good money. If people like me and millions of other bloggers can do it, so can you.
Maybe you’ve thought about starting a blog, but you’re not yet convinced. If that’s the case, these reasons should be enough to get you motivated to take action.
1. Start a Blog on Any Topic
You can start a blog that will cover any topic that you like. If you’re just blogging for fun, you can write about whatever you want and whenever you want. If your goal is to make money (and I’m assuming it is since you’re reading this article), your blog should be focused on a particular topic or theme. It could be a broad topic like health and fitness, it could be a narrow topic like gluten-free dessert recipes, or it could be somewhere in between.
Although some money-making blogs do cover random and unrelated topics, those blogs are the exception to the rule. You’ll have a much better chance for success if you focus on a particular topic because visitors will be likely to have an interest in most of the content that you publish. It’s easier to establish a following and build your brand.
When it comes to choosing a topic for your blog, you can pick something that interests you. Even if you’re just blogging about your dreams or aspirations, that means you’ll be able to spend your time working on something that you enjoy– and you’ll potentially get paid to do it.
Regardless of whether it’s just a side hustle or something you hope to be able to turn into a full-time income, blogging about a topic that you enjoy is a pretty great way to make money.
2. Requires No Experience
You don’t need any experience to start a blog. Even if you’re not tech-savvy, you could have your own blog set up in 10-20 minutes. It may sound intimidating, but it’s really not complicated.
It’s also not necessary that you have experience in the topic that you’re blogging about. If you do have experience, you’ll be able to use that expertise to your advantage, but it’s not always required. For example, some personal finance blogs are run by people who started a blog as a way to chronicle their own progress as they learned about managing money, or to track their debt payoff journey.
3. Start Your Own Online Business
A blog can be a legit online business that gives you unlimited earning potential. How many businesses do you know that can be started in 10-20 minutes with less than $100 and allow you the potential to make six or seven-figures per year?
Many people would love to run an online business either for extra money or as their full-time income. Some types of online businesses require a lot more money and risk to get started, and others offer only limited income potential.
4. Set Your Own Hours
Regardless of what your current schedule is like, you can work on your blog in the hours that are available to you. You’ll need a little bit of time (I’d recommend 10 hours per week), but it doesn’t matter when you’re able to work those hours.
If you have a traditional 9-5 job, you can work on the blog in the evenings or on weekends.
If you’re a morning person, you could get up early and work on the blog at the start of your day.
If you’re a night owl, you can stay up late to work on it.
If you have kids, you can work on the blog when they’re napping or after they’re in bed at night.
You’ll have the flexibility to work the hours that suit your schedule, so you can make blogging fit into your existing life rather than turning your world upside down to find time to work on the blog.
And if you’re able to get to the point where you earn a full-time income from the blog, you can choose whatever hours you want to work.
5. Work from Anywhere
Blogging is a perfect match for those who are attracted to the digital nomad lifestyle, because you can very literally work from anywhere that has internet access. Keep in mind that there are ways to get internet access just about anywhere these days.
Regardless of whether you’re interested in working on your blog a little bit while you’re occasionally traveling or whether you’re a digital nomad that is constantly traveling, this can be very appealing.
6. Brand Yourself as an Expert
Growing your own blog can be a highly effective way to build name recognition and establish yourself as an expert on the topic of your blog. Being viewed as an expert can help you to grow and monetize your blog, but it can also offer many other benefits and open up lots of doors.
The blog content that you write and publish will do the work to demonstrate your expertise. Think about the way that you want to be viewed and write content that will help you to establish that image.
While there are a lot of convincing reasons to start a blog, I don’t want to make it sound like it’s easy to grow a blog to a full-time income.
The truth is, it will take time, effort, and patience, but if you’re willing to dedicate yourself, it’s a very realistic goal.
One of the keys to having success as a blogger is to start with realistic expectations. Most people who set out to make money with a blog wind up quitting before ever making any money. In my opinion, the biggest cause is unrealistic expectations.
A lot of bloggers start out thinking it will be easy. They publish a few posts and expect that visitors will start coming to their blog to see what they have to say. Disappointment usually sets in when they realize that it’s going to take more work and patience.
If you start with realistic expectations, you’ll be much less likely to reach a level of frustration that leads you to quickly give up on your blog. You’ll be in a better position to see it through until you reach the success that you’re after.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what you should be expecting as a new blogger.
You Probably Won’t Make Very Much Money the First Year
Most new blogs make very little money during the first year. Even a lot of high-earning bloggers took some time to find their rhythm and start generating income.
Of course, there are exceptions, but in general, you should plan to make very little money from your blog during the first year. The specifics will depend on a lot of factors, like how you monetize your blog.
My recommendation is to plan to make no income from your blog for the first six months. Chances are, you’ll probably make a little bit during those first six months, but it might not be anything significant.
From months six through twelve, your traffic is likely to start picking up and you may be able to make some money. After the one year mark, things are likely to pick up even more.
You’ll Need to Put in a Consistent Effort
Blogging isn’t a great side hustle if you’re going to be sporadically putting in time or effort. It’s pretty difficult to build a blog if you’re going a month at a time without touching the blog.
Ideally, you’ll be able to put time into your blog each week. That’s not to say that you can’t ever take a week off, but don’t want big gaps where you’re not publishing new content and not doing anything to grow your blog.
As a new blogger, it’s a challenge to get momentum. Taking a long time off will kill whatever momentum you have.
You’ll Need to Work to Get Traffic
One of the most common mistakes from new bloggers is thinking that all they need to do is write and publish content. Your content could be phenomenal, but if nobody knows about it, it’s not going to do you or anybody else any good.
As a new blogger, you’ll need to work to get exposure for your content. This might involve being active on social networks, writing guest posts for other blogs, commenting on other blogs, networking with other bloggers in your niche, or any number of other things.
In the early stages, promoting your content is almost certain to take more of your time than actually writing the content. Once your traffic increases, you won’t need to work so hard to get traffic and you can dedicate less time and effort to it.
The Long-Term Payoff Can Be Significant
It may seem like a lot of work to get a blog off the ground if you’re not going to make very much money the first year. Honestly, it is a lot for very little return during that first year. But the long-term payoff can be huge.
All that work that you’re doing in the first year may seem like it’s not paying off, but if you stick with it, you can see the benefits later. Once your blog has some momentum, you’ll be able to get traffic and make money much easier. You can make more from the time that you’re putting in, or even put in less work while your income grows.
Additionally, a money-making blog is an asset that has real value to buyers and investors. If you decide that you want to be done with the blog, you can sell it for a nice chunk of money. The amount that you’ll get will vary depending on a lot of different factors, but a lot of blogs are able to bring in 3 years’ worth of profit when they’re sold. So if you’ve made $50,000 in the past year with your blog, you might be able to sell it for around $150,000. That’s a pretty significant reason to consider starting a blog!
When you hear or read about people making money with a blog, you may have no idea who is paying them or how they’re actually generating income. While there are a number of different ways to monetize a blog, these are some of the most common and popular options:
Advertising
Possibly the most straightforward way to make money from a blog is through advertisements. Most advertisements on blogs are banner ads, but other types of advertisements (like videos) also fall into this category.
There are several different ways that you could make money from ads on your blog. It’s possible that you could sell advertising placements on your own and work directly with the advertisements. Although it’s possible, it also takes time and effort, and you may not have the right connections to companies that would be interested in advertising on your site.
Google’s AdSense program is the most common way for bloggers and other website owners to make money from ads. You can sign up for AdSense for free and Google will provide you with ad code that you’ll put on your site. All you have to do is put the ad code on your site and get traffic. Google will keep the ad slots filled and you’ll make money whenever a visitor clicks on one of the ads.
AdSense is popular because it’s open to anyone, as long as your blog and content don’t violate Google’s terms. You don’t need to reach a certain level of traffic to be able to use AdSense, so it’s an option even for new or small blogs. However, most bloggers don’t make all that much money with AdSense. If you have the traffic to get into another ad network, you’ll probably make more money.
There are a number of ad management companies or ad networks that you can use to handle the ads on your blog. Most of them will also handle the technical details of getting the ads on your site, and it’s totally hands-free for you. All you need to do is keep traffic flowing to the site and you’ll make money.
These types of ad managers and networks tend to generate more money for bloggers than AdSense, but you’ll need a certain level of traffic in order to get approved into these networks. A few of the most popular options include:
Advertising is one of the easier ways to make money online because you don’t need to sell anything. As long as you have visitors coming to your site, you can make some money from advertising.
However, advertising is generally not the most lucrative way to monetize a blog. Most of the high-income bloggers make the majority of their money from other methods.
Affiliate Programs
Affiliate programs allow you to earn money by recommending products and services to your visitors. You’ll use special tracking links and you’ll earn a commission whenever a visitor clicks through your affiliate link and makes a purchase.
For example, you could join Amazon’s affiliate program and put affiliate links in your blog posts that lead to specific products on Amazon.com. If a visitor clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you’ll earn a commission.
Some affiliate programs allow you to earn a commission without requiring the visitor to buy anything. You might get paid if the visitor takes an action like downloading an app, signing up for an account, and filling in a lead generation form.
There are affiliate programs for just about any type of product or service you can imagine, so becoming an affiliate is an option regardless of what topics your blog covers. It’s also possible to use affiliate programs without being overly pushy. Your blog posts may allow you to naturally mention products and services that are relevant to the reader, so it doesn’t have to be a hard sell.
Amazon has one of the most popular affiliate programs because you can promote just about anything through their program. You can also use affiliate networks to find products and services to promote. Networks manage the affiliate programs of hundreds or thousands of companies, so you can find a lot of opportunities within the same network.
Some of the most popular affiliate networks include:
Some companies choose to manage their own affiliate programs rather than going through a network, so you may also find these types of private affiliate programs. If you’re not sure if a company has an affiliate program, check the footer of their website. You may see an “affiliates” link in the footer.
While there are lots of possibilities for making money with affiliate programs, the best way to get started is by promoting products and services that you already use personally. You’ll be more familiar with these products and you can provide a genuine, honest recommendation and show your readers how they can benefit.
Affiliate marketing offers excellent income potential, but you don’t need a huge blog with lots of traffic to start making money through affiliate programs. As a new blogger, you can include affiliate links within your articles whenever it’s relevant, and it’s possible that you can start making money pretty quickly even without very much traffic. As a result, this is one of the best ways for new bloggers and beginners to start making money.
Sponsored Content
There are many brands that are willing to pay bloggers in exchange for exposure to their audience. They may pay you to write an article about their product or to show how the product can be used.
The amount of money that you’ll be able to make through sponsored content will depend on a few factors, like the size of your audience and their level of engagement with your content. Some bloggers will also work with brands for promotion through social media channels or YouTube videos in addition to blog content, which can increase the amount that you’re able to charge.
Publishing sponsored content can be a great way to make money once you have an established audience, but it’s difficult as a new blogger who is just starting out. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend making it a priority if you’re new to blogging.
Once you have a steady flow of traffic coming to your blog and you have an audience that brands would want to reach, sponsored content can be worth pursuing. You could find sponsors on your own, or you could use networks that exist to help bloggers/influencers and brands find each other. Some options include:
Sell Your Own Products
Many of the highest-earning bloggers make the majority of their money by creating and selling their own products. This typically involves digital or downloadable products, but some bloggers do sell physical products that are shipped to customers.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to digital products, but some of the common options include:
Of course, the types of products that you could offer will depend on the niche that you’re in and the types of products that are relevant to your audience, but there are plenty of possibilities.
Some digital products may earn you hundreds or even thousands of dollars every time they are sold (high-ticket courses, for example). Other products may sell for only a few dollars (like printables or stock photos). The smaller ticket items are generally easier to sell as a new blogger because you may not enough name recognition yet to demand a high dollar amount for a course.
From my experience, selling digital products is one of the best ways to start making money as a new blogger. When you start a blog, you’ll be faced with the decision of trying to monetize the blog right away, or focusing on growth first and monetizing later. It’s possible to launch a blog with your first product already created, and you may be able to start making money even with just a small amount of traffic.
Membership
The last monetization method that we’ll look at is the membership model. As a blogger, you could offer something specific to paying members in exchange for recurring payments (usually monthly or yearly) in order to maintain an active membership.
There are unlimited possibilities here, but a few examples include:
The membership model can be used with just about any type of blog in any niche. Sometimes it’s used in combination with another product, especially online courses. You might sell a course for a one-time fee and offer an upgraded membership package that provides additional on-going education and resources for a monthly fee.
Membership can be extremely lucrative because of the recurring payments that keep coming in, but you’ll need to give members a high level of value in order to prevent them from canceling. Most people are hesitant to sign up for anything with recurring payments, so you’ll have to make it a very strong offer in order to overcome that objection.
The Best Approach is a Combination
We’ve looked at five different ways to make money from a blog and you may be wondering which one is the best option. Truthfully, the best approach is to use a combination of monetization methods rather than relying on one source of income. That doesn’t mean that you need to start your blog with a few different monetization methods right away, but you should be working towards that goal.
I believe that affiliate marketing can be a good fit for just about any blog, including brand new blogs. Aside from that, you can evaluate the other ways to make money and see what might be a good fit for your blog and your audience.
When you’re ready to get started, there are only a few steps that you need to follow in order to launch your own blog.
Step 1: Choose Your Niche
First, you’ll need to decide on the topic of your blog. The ideal niche will combine your experience/skills, interests, and income potential.
Think about your existing skills and experience. What do you know well? What do you do at your job or what have you done at previous jobs?
It’s also important that you enjoy the topic of your blog. It will make your work a lot more fun! Think about your hobbies and interests. If you could work on anything, what would it be?
You should also think about income potential. The major topics that offer income potential for bloggers include things like business, finance, health & wellness, family & relationships, fashion, beauty, and travel.
With so many different ways to make money, most blog niches offer plenty of income potential. The ones that you might want to avoid would be very obscure topics that won’t be of interest to very many readers.
Step 2: Pick a Domain Name
After you’ve chosen your niche, the next step is to decide on a blog name and domain name. The domain name is what visitors will use to access your site (like thinksaveretire.com).
Finding a .com that you like can be a challenge because so many of them are already taken, but I recommend putting in the effort and going with a .com because it will make your domain easier for people to remember. If you have a .net or .org or something else, many people may forget and just type in .com out of habit, making it harder for them to find your site.
Namecheap is my favorite resource for finding a good .com that is available. All you need to do is enter the main keyword and it will provide a list of suggestions. For example, if you’re starting a travel blog, enter “travel” or another travel-related keyword.
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Step 3: Get Web Hosting
Once you’ve decided on a domain, the next step is to purchase web hosting. If your goal is to make money with your blog, I don’t recommend using free blogging platforms. Paying for hosting will give you full control over the site, and it doesn’t cost that much.
Step 4: Install WordPress
Through your web hosting account, you can install WordPress, which is the content management system that you’ll use to manage your blog. WordPress is free, easy to install, and very powerful.
Don’t be intimidated by the thought of installing WordPress, it’s very easy. For clear instructions, please refer to this guide.
Step 5: Choose Your Blog Theme
WordPress themes are templates that control the design and layout of your blog. There are literally thousands of WordPress themes to choose from. Many of them are free, and if you have $50 - $100 to spend, you can buy a premium theme that will give your blog a more professional look. In addition to a better look, most premium themes will also give you more customization options and technical support from the theme’s developer.
There are a lot of places to buy premium WordPress themes but my favorite options include:
Step 6: Start Writing Blog Content
Once your blog is set up, it’s time to start writing content! Always keep your target audience in mind when you’re deciding on the topics that you want to write about and be sure that you’re publishing content that will attract the right readers.
There is no set amount of posts that you need to publish, but 1-2 posts per week is a good goal for new bloggers.
Step 7: Promote Your Content
In order to get traffic to your blog, you’ll need to spend some time promoting your content. Social media is a great option for new bloggers, but the specific platforms that you’ll want to focus on will depend on the audience that you’re trying to reach. Think about your ideal audience and the platforms that they are already using. Are they on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, or LinkedIn?
","tags":[{"name":"Side Hustles","slug":"side-hustles"},{"name":"Retire early","slug":"retire-early"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"best-businesses-to-start","feature_image":"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/06/Coffe-cup.jpg","title":"The best businesses to start in June 2020","published_at":"2020-06-01T18:05:50.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Dock David Treece","profile_image":"https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/thinksaveretire.com/content/images/2020/03/dock.jpeg"},"html":"More than 30 million people lost their jobs in spring 2020. Even those who still have their jobs are still largely stuck at home, trying to be productive in an environment that seems increasingly closed off to advancement.
Yes, work is frustrating. Days aren’t as productive. And the worst part is that all their work and all of their juggling—work, home, kids, school—is to benefit someone else. To put money in someone else’s pocket.
All the uncertainty and the feelings of helplessness are leading many people to go stir crazy or just plain burnt out. People wonder what else they can do to make a living. Surely there’s a better way to pay the bills than putting in 8- to 12-hour days working a meaningless, dead-end job that mostly benefits somebody else.
The simplest answer is obvious: start a business of your own. Take back control of your own life, set your own sails, and become the determinant of your own success.
But how? Between the pandemic, shutdowns, lower economic activity, higher unemployment, and general all-around negativity, this hardly seems like the time to start a business.
But, despite all the bad, there are still opportunities, even and especially in a crisis.
If you want to set out on your own and carve your own path, here are some of the top opportunities we’ve found for businesses to start this summer:
If you have skills with javascript—or even just the patience to deal with Wordpress for hours on end—-you can make money helping build and maintain websites for businesses, individuals, influencers, and others. Most of this work can be done completely online. It helps if you’re skilled with coding, but this may not even be necessary. Most web platforms offer templates and tools that make web-building easy. Or, you might be able to work as a project manager or tester. You’ll still need some technical skills, but not nearly as many.
We’ll excuse you for thinking this is the same as web development—it’s not. It’s a totally different gig with totally different skills. It’s still technical but involves very different types of projects. And, while a lot of work can still be done remotely, the tools and apps you build won’t always be web-based.
If you’re good at managing your own finances, you can get paid to manage the books for small businesses and individuals. Using tools like Quickbooks, you can track income and expenses, reconcile accounts, and provide insight to help people make important decisions.
This may not sound like the best gig, but remote bookkeepers can make $30 to $60 per hour working completely remotely for individual clients. And, you don’t even need to be a CPA.
You might’ve heard of this thing called the internet. It’s a magical place where eyeballs equal dollars—they convert to clients, sales, and profits for businesses. So, companies will pay handsomely for those who can help them get in front of more of those eyeballs. The more you know about reader intent, buyer journey, selling funnels, conversions, and SEO, the more you can charge. Many businesses—from startups to large corporations—also look for specialists who can deliver enterprise seo optimization services, helping them improve search visibility, manage large-scale websites, and compete in highly competitive markets.
On the other side of digital marketing is the world of content creation. Content can take several forms, including articles, videos, podcasts, downloadables, or ebooks. Becoming a publisher can be as simple as setting up your own YouTube channel or as complicated as you’d like. You can build your own website— or a series of sites— and post all different types of content. You can offer content for free, sell banner ads, market products, or hide content behind a paywall. It all depends on what eyeballs you want to be in front of how you want to turn those eyeballs into revenue.
Editing videos is another great business to start in the digital age. Normally, weddings are big business for video editors, and that business is obviously slower of late. But, film editing isn’t all about weddings. You can also edit promotional videos for businesses, presentations for sales teams, speeches for online influencers, and more. Be as creative with your clientele as you are with your editing and the money will follow.
If you’ve got access to the right software and love a good, clean aesthetic, you can help create company branding materials, logos, banners, ads, email campaigns, and even small projects like infographics.
Oh, and there’s also wedding work, too—whenever that industry makes a comeback.
Cleaning services will see more of a comeback once lockdowns end and people go back to work. Even now, there are plenty of people who need cleaning services for offices, daycares, rental properties, and even their own homes. It can take a while to get started but, believe it or not, cleaning franchises are actually super profitable.
This is another slightly obscure gig, but literally thousands of businesses need help recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training new employees—not to mention taking care of HR needs for existing employees. Someone needs to make sure that i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed and that employers comply with federal and state laws. If you have a background in this area or are willing to do the research, maybe get a certification or two, and keep careful track of paperwork, this could be your next gig.
You may not personally need help, but lots of people need someone to help encourage and mentor them— especially coming out of this crisis. People need help gaining perspective, seeing their options, and making choices. You can do that by providing coaching sessions via phone or video chat.
Educating kids was one of the biggest challenges that many people faced in recent lockdowns. For some, it was difficult. For others, it was all but impossible. And still, kids need help keeping up with curricula to prepare for standardized tests, college entrance exams, and more. Many skills are moving more and more teaching online, but you can offer the individual attention that many need to absorb their lessons.
Businesses all around the world rely on servers and systems to connect their people and drive projects forward. While enterprise-level companies usually employe dedicated teams to ensure systems run properly, many small- to mid-level businesses don’t have the resources to do that. If you know about systems administration or are willing to go through classes to get certified, you can help fill those needs.
This is another accounting-related opportunity that can spell big revenue for knowledgeable consultants. Being a controller is different from acting as a bookkeeper. Sure, you can keep the books, but you can also make sure bills are paid and invoices are collected, too. And, you still don’t usually need to be a CPA in order to work in this field—though you might be able to charge more if you pass your exam licensed.
If you’re used to juggling multiple tasks at once and making sure things run smoothly, there may be people who need your help. Small business owners, consultants, and entrepreneurs across the country need help to manage their operations and their time. Working remotely as a VA, you can help run someone’s calendar, respond to emails, take messages, and manage projects. Your job is to make sure they have whatever they need to keep their lives— and their businesses—running smoothly.
You’ll have to be careful with this one, as it’s like a cross between tutoring and herding cats. Unlike tutoring, the job is less about learning and more about keeping kids engaged while their parents are busy working. Not that teaching is frowned upon. Most parents are thrilled if you can further their kids’ development while keeping them entertained.
Across the country, there are companies that hire remote workers to help with customer service. Jet Blue used to hire people to work from home answering questions and taking care of ticketing requests. Today, many loan brokers and other companies hire customer success specialists to work remotely. There are also platforms like LiveOps that let you get paid by the minute to help small businesses’ customers. This is a job that you can do for someone else, or you can start your own small business to help other companies serve their clients.
If you’re a hard worker and good with your hands, you can work as a handyman or property manager through a platform like TaskRabbit or directly with individual clients. You might help with small tasks like fixing things or you might make sure properties are managed—that lawns are mowed and properties are cleaned and maintained.
Depending on how you structure your business, you may not even have to do a lot of this work yourself. You may just need to work within a landlord’s budget and coordinate with maintenance workers, cleaning staff, etc.
A lot of people felt stagnant in their careers even before the coronavirus crisis started. After 8 weeks of lockdowns and 30+ million jobless claims, it’s even worse now. Millions of people are trying to get their careers back on track coming out of this crisis, and you can be one to help them.
This is different from being a financial advisor or an investment advisor. For one thing, you don’t need to be licensed since you won’t be giving investment advice. Instead, you can focus on helping people with their budget and managing their household finances, so they can make smart financial decisions.
eCommerce is a niche field, but if you have the skills, they’re worth a lot of money. With the right know-how, you can help structure and run online ad campaigns, set up and administer online stores, and streamline payment processing and shipping, driving your clients’ bottom lines through online sales.
Say no more. No one came through quarantines without becoming friendly with their local UPS driver—and maybe the pizza delivery person. Amazon, Instacart, Postmates, and tens of thousands of restaurants and grocers nationwide need delivery people to get their goods to consumers who are still self-isolating or social distancing.
If you’d rather not run a business yourself, you can always work through any one of a number of apps. Or, you can develop your own relationships with client companies and hire your own drivers.
If you’re used to maintaining your own tools and other equipment—or if you’re just an expert-level tinkerer—you can make good money helping people keep their lawnmowers and weedeaters in good running order. And, you can run your business right out of your garage.
Everything that you read on the internet was written by someone—and it’s usually someone who got paid to write it. If you have expert knowledge of certain topics, you can get paid to write expertly-crafted content that helps readers get the information they’re looking for.
Sometimes, you don’t even need a ton of expertise in a single topic—you just need to be willing to do extensive research, write in-depth pieces, and learn as you go.
This one is a bit further down our list because it will take a bit longer to recover. Basically, the job involves shooting videos for other people. (Obviously, we know there’s a lot more that goes into it. We’re not hating on videographers or their art.)
In this field, you may be shooting anything from weddings and proposals to promotional videos, YouTube videos, or interviews for business owners to establish themselves as thought leaders. What you film will depend on the types of clients you can find, and you can do your own editing or outsource it.
This is yet another option if you’re good with finances. It’s different from being a bookkeeper or controller, but you still don’t need to be a CPA to do this work. All you do is help people prepare their tax returns before the 2 big tax deadlines—April 15 and October 15. In fact, you might only need to work 8 to 12 weeks per year. But still, this is big business—especially if you get enough clients that you can hire assistant preparers to help scale your operation. And, people are usually all-too-willing to pay you since your fees come out of their tax refunds.
If any of these ideas sound appealing to you—or if you have another idea for a business of your own—it’s important to get set up properly. Depending on the type of business you’re starting, this may mean filing as an LLC, preparing independent tax returns for your business, buying insurance, or arranging small business loans to finance your operations.
If you want to know more about what it’s like to start your own business, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to becoming an entrepreneur.
When it comes to resources, my time and money are very precious. One thing I don’t have time for is learning to code. I also don’t have an unlimited budget to work with developers.
So, when it comes to creating delightful content, I’ve had to get pretty scrappy compared to the many fancy pants competitor sites I’ve been up against.
For a long time, this meant flexing my writing muscles and allowing my glowing personality to shine through the most mundane of topics—like GAAP accounting or saving on a trip to Disneyland. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on losing my edge any time soon, BUT I have found a solution that allows me to uplevel my ability to create engaging content, Outgrow.
Simply put, Outgrow is what I’ve started using to build the latest interactive content on Think Save Retire without having to hire a developer or learn to code. Two things, as I stated before, that I don’t have time or money for!
Here are a few examples of what we’ve been able to create:
And we’re just getting started!
Here are the types of content Outgrow is primarily known for:
All with a branded, customizable design and simple, user friendly UI.
As you can see, Outgrow is a tool that allows you to create content that would otherwise take at least one developer and probably a designer at least a week (if that was their only priority) in a matter of minutes.
In past jobs, I have worked with teams of people to build tools and quizzes like these and it tooks weeks or months and cost a fortune. With Outgrow, you can sign up and have a quiz running on your site the same day for $14/month. Before you make the commitment, you can try Outgrow free for a week!
There is one clear disadvantage to relying on subscription-based tools to create interactive content like this: If you stop subscribing, you lose the tools or have to recreate them from scratch. In that sense, there can be cost savings with developing your tools and owning the actual code forever.
In my case, I wanted a tool that was agile and had a lot of capabilities—something that I could use to create versatile content to compliment what Think Save Retire is writing about that week or month.
When it comes to using Outgrow to create content, getting set up is as simple as setting up a domain. You can use your domain or choose to set up a subdomain. This is especially useful if you know you’ll share the tools you create by embedding them throughout your site. Once you have that set up, you can start building!
Outgrow offers templates with a variety of designs which makes it easy to design interactive tools. You also have access to an account manager who you can ask questions via chat or email. Leaning on this resource was helpful right away since they manage other clients who might have already built something similar.
The resignation letter was a blast to create and write with our content manager, Sarah. We had fun with it and tried to make it useful for the FIRE community where leaving your job to retire before 50 or 40 might be hard to communicate to a boss. I recommend drafting out your content as much as you can before you go to build it into the tool.
The trickiest part of building the calculators was the actual calculations or algorithms. Once we had those, there was some troubleshooting involved, but creating the calculator was as easy as adding our brand elements (logo, fonts, buttons, colors) and choosing other design factors (imagery and photos).
When building any of the tools you have the option to ask for a user’s information—name, email, phone number. So it can be great for bloggers who are in the process of building their audience.
Once you’ve published your interactive content, you’ll have a link that you can use to share it but you’ll also have the embed code to add the tool virtually anywhere!
A note about SEO best practices: \nOnly the “Business” level allows you to use your own domain for your tools—the others are on the Outgrow.co domain. This means if you are to use the link they provide, you won’t see any SEO benefits. If you aren’t at that account level, you do have a way around this by choosing to have your Outgrow.co page be hidden from Google and embedding the calculator on a dedicated page.\nI’d recommend this approach anyway, since it allows you to include additional information about the topic or tool that searchers might be interested to read and learn about.
Right after you publish you’ll want to head over to the configure tab to make sure you adjust all of the experience settings with the tool to your liking. This is where you can set up a follow up email including the user’s results so they have those handy and also connect the signups to your email provider or list management system for sharing future information or articles they may want to read.
It sounds cheesy but, after using Outgrow once, I definitely asked myself where it had been my whole life. As a marketer-turned-blogger, I can think of anyone who considers themselves a writer or content pro would benefit from having Outgrow’s capabilities in their arsenal of content creation tools.
If you write about anything that involves advice based on personal circumstances or a variety of outcomes, it’s a great solution for that.
One of the biggest keys to being a successful content creator is using, personalization as a way to connect with your readers. As a former marketer, I also realize that you could also use Outgrow as a way to create giant, but super valuable forms for both your leads and your sales team. This is the type of information sales teams drool over. Yes, you’re using a tool like this to generate leads that you know a TON about, but you’re also providing value with hyper-personalized information that your leads can benefit from.
Outgrow has a lovely customer service team that has taken any potential roadblocks and frustrations out of our experience. They’ve helped with everything from setup to finding or refining our calculator algorithms to implementation and publishing our final products.
They are also pretty quick to respond—usually within a few minutes to an hour and resolution times haven’t been longer than a day when it came to more complex issues.
If you have questions or want to share an experience you had with Outgrow, comment below. I can share what I know from my experience using their tools to generate different types of content for this blog, as well as ideas for what you might want to create based on your needs and goals.