Category — Extra Income

It’s been a hectic day in the life of a Broke Wall Streeter. I think I’ve punched my desk about 4 times today. During the mayhem, I received a call with a callerID of “Unknown Number”. Answering the phone while I was in spewing-fire mode would probably have produced a very different outcome to this story.

I have a mirror right above the phone. It’s an old trick that salespeople use, which is to smile before you answer the phone. It makes your voice sound more pleasant and in turn makes the caller more comfortable with you. The caller happened to be a small business owner that was referred to me by a friend of mine. He needed help with his company website ASAP and I took a few minutes to fix the problem. It took my mind off of the madness at work, and I cultivated a potential client, and in this case, one with deep pockets. He offered to pay, but I turned him down this time.

In these rough economic times, I have plenty of competition for the few paying side gigs out there. Why did my Broke self turn down $$$$$?!?!?! Well, I’d rather keep the potential of earning steady business from Mr. Deep Pockets in the future, than making a quick $100 right now. Cultivate the seed. When the economy improves, he may come to me a with a huge project or a fresh crop of referrals. Trust me, they will remember you for it.

Here’s a quick-read article from Time Out New York magazine’s website. They ask four millionaires what they would do to turn $100 into a lot more. The four millionaires are John Catsimatidis (founder of a supermarket chain in NYC), Mary Buffet (ex-daughter-in-law of Warren Buffet), Craig Zucker (NYC entrepreneur), and Nick Schulman (pro poker player). I think $100 is a tough bankroll to start any business, but the underlying advice can be applied to any amount of start-up capital.

Here’s a great feature article in Time Out New York magazine on making extra money in New York City. Some can be done where you are, so it’s worth a read. Oh, the first photo is of a nude model, so try not to launch the article at work, unless you want the side job to be your only job.

Time Out New York

Are you an amateur photographer and want an easy way to sell photos? iStockPhoto is a community-based stock photo website that allows users to buy and sell royalty-free stock photos and illustrations. If you’re accepted into the community as a contributor, you can make $ without much effort. I do web design as a side job, so I’ve been a member for years. Purchasing photos are easy and affordable. They even give away one free photo every Sunday. I set up a reminder to download these high-resolution freebies every week. I’ve built up quite a collection over the years.

You can also display your amateur collection on photo sites, like Flickr. Getty Images, the top stock photo provider, actively searches Flickr for suitable material for their collection. You may get contacted for a purchase/licensing agreement, which means cash in your pocket.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I sell things on eBay for extra income. In the early years, I remember listing a couple of empty beer cans as a half-serious experiment to see what people would be willing to buy. When the beer cans sold, I began checking the completed listings on eBay to see if anything destined for my trash can ever sold, before I threw it out. Suffice to say, I have built up quite an “inventory”.

Here is an article of one lady who did not do her research when listing an extremely rare baseball card for just $10. The estimated value is in the low six figures. Luckily a friend intervened and she ended the auction before it sold. eBay auctions are contractually bound transactions, so do your due diligence. It could save you a lot of money.

Do you want more tips on researching/selling on eBay? I may do a regular eBay tip Tuesday if there’s enough interest.

In this economy, we all probably know someone who is unemployed. Since I work on Wall Street, I know a lot of people out of work. In fact, we laid off 40% of our staff, so it really hits close to home. Well, my sister is also unemployed and she has been on a few interviews, but the rest of her days are filled with playing the Wii or watching DVDs from Netflix. Why not go out and have some cheap fun in the city while you have plenty of free time?

There are lots of free activities, especially in New York City. I got her tickets to the David Letterman taping and Martha Stewart taping. She was upgraded to the front row at both tapings and received free goodie bags at the Martha Stewart show. I got tickets to the Antiques Roadshow tour last year in Baltimore. You can fill in your application for the random drawing here. While walking around NBC studios, they give out tickets to fill their studio audiences for lesser known or new shows. She still has her college student ID, so she can get into museums for free, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hey, you can always grab a NYC hot dog and just people watch.

There are some events that actually pay to to participate, like focus groups, surveys/taste tests, and being an extra in a film or TV show. You can find these listings on Craigslist, usually under the ‘etc.‘ subcategory of jobs. Some are medical tests, so you might want to think twice about those, but I’ve done a few of them in college and I turned out fine…I think.

It’s a good idea to update your skillset in between interviews and sending out resumes, but you also need to blow off some steam and do something fun, especially for free. What do or did you do for free fun while unemployed?

Threadless.com is having their annual Bestee Awards for the best t-shirt design of 2008. I have been buying t-shirts from them for a couple of years now. All designs are submitted by the community. They award at least $500 for a winning slogan t-shirt to $2500+ for a graphic design t-shirt. Then you are eligible for the Bestee award which has a top prize of $20,000. You can get a submission kit here.
I’m no artist, so I like to submit slogan ideas, but it may be worthwhile to have a graphic designer friend or student who will work on the cheap, to bring your idea to life and possibly win the prize. If you want to purchase some snazzy T’s and throw a few credits my way then click through here. Thanks!

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