How do you make extra money?

pyro love bird on 07/08/2014 - 01:09

Hi everyone,

I'm a bit curious as to how you guys make some extra money, I'm currently a uni student balancing an enge degree (kill me!), working at a family business (for no pay), life, and everyday expenses. It's tough to make ends meet at times, but I've found that I'm able to work on odd occasions around the uni (sometimes they need someone to do some filing at uni for a couple hours). But aside from the odd job I don't have any income. I've found that keeping an eye out for the weekly emails at uni have helped find odd jobs around the uni, and keeping an eye on the notice boards means that I can find a study or two which pay pretty well (either gift cards or cash depending).

I also do online surveys when they shoot me an email, it's slow money, but at least every few months I get an extra $50. Focus groups are great too, but they're hard to come by at times. How have you found some extra money? This is all from a uni student sort of situation but I'd like to hear from those of you who aren't at uni as well.

Thanks everyone, I hope this makes for an interesting topic and hope you all have a nice day :)

Financial

Comments

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 00:41

      Love the idea! I will check out babysitting, but I dislike being around young children for prolonged periods of time. They also don't seem to pay much ($15/hour?). I've also been watching too many horror movies where the baby sitter comes over and they end up getting murdered T_T

  • heijira on 09/08/2014 - 14:06
    +8

    I think this is a great post, and there have been a lot of great comments. I noticed a lot of comments saying you should a) demand pay from the family business OR b) potentially up and leave ie. take the time you invest into the business and go live on your own whilst working etc.

    Theoretically these all sound like reasonable things to do, except it really fails to capture the cultural element. Family is really important in asian cultures and it is not so easy to just "discard" family. Asking for money may not sound like an issue, but it is essentially like saying you are no longer wanting to be "in" the family because you want to look after yourself first before family. Not bashing or hating on anyone, but I thought it would be good to elaborate a little bit on the cultural differences. Never hurts to know a little bit more right?

    In answer to OP's initial question, I really do want to commend you on your strong work ethic. I do not have any particularly ground breaking ideas that haven't already been voiced already. However, I do want to caution you in regards to some of the ideas raised. The promise of a quick buck can always be very tempting.

    Arbitrage
    Arbitrage, by definition should be a risk free method of making money. However, it really isn't, because the gambling arbitrages presented are all statistical arbitrage opportunities (ie. not true arbitrage) that can blow you out if you have a string of bad luck (as mentioned by one contributor above). Furthermore, because the arbitrage opportunities are so small, it really isn't going to be profitable unless you have a large capital base to exploit the small arbitrage windows. Additionally, unless you are looking for your own arbitrage opportunities, which can involve a lot of data pulling and technical knowledge, the opportunities for you to profit on arbitrage are going to be small. Services may help identify them, however, basic economics dictates (plus now technologically advanced bookmakers) bookmakers will autocorrect their bids to remove arbitrages very quickly.

    TL;DR - "arbitrage" is still gambling, and ultimately unless you are a professional you are more likely to lose money than to gain money in the long term.

    Shares/Forex any sort of financial investment or derivative
    Again, with these financial instruments, there is a lot of knowledge and expertise necessary to effectively make money consistently. You might win a couple of "investments", but again without proper expertise you are essentially gambling. Warren Buffett has also commented that unless you have more/better information than the market, you are better off just investing with a passive strategy (ie. put your money in a market portfolio and just get lower market returns, but consistently). So far, his observation/conclusion seems to be correct, with many "active" hedge funds (read: guys who SHOULD know what they are doing, ie have lots of expertise) actually performing worse than the passive strategy.

    TL;DR - If you don't know what you are doing - you are essentially gambling again. Long term, bad luck will catch up and send you back to square 1.

    Flipping property, cars and products etc.
    Can't really speak to this, because my expertise/experiences are not in this area. However, speaking to friends who have done this. There is a lot of expertise and knowledge involved as well. I am not 100% sure what your family business does, however, if it is a retail business, you know that one of the biggest risks you can face is having inventory that you can't sell, or can't sell without making a loss. With flipping things, you need to know the market very well. Unless you have an existing expertise, or you want to spend time developing expertise in one of these areas, I think you are better off spending your time elsewhere.

    TL;DR - Lot of expertise involved, unless you have some or want to spend a long time developing some. Time can be better spent elsewhere.

    SOOOO what then?

    I know I sound like a real wet rag, but just wanted to give you the other perspectives on a lot of the ideas that people came up with.

    My suggestion

    1) Get a tutor position at your university. These roles have a very high financial return vs. time invested into teaching etc. Practical steps to get a position?
    a) Do very well in a course (probably the hardest part - but you are capable of getting HDs, so I guess this isn't too far a stretch for you)
    b) Get to know your tutors, lecturers and course coordinators very well. Ultimately, when it comes to recruiting new tutors, your "in" will be from tutors, lecturers or coordinators remembering you and having a positive impression of you. (It's how I got my position - a previous tutor reached out and recommended me to the coordinator)
    c) ASK! I know you have done this before, but keep asking around. Know when to stop, but be persistent. Academics do not like having to do administrative stuff, so sometimes it might take a while to get what you want or at least the attention you are looking for.

    2) Become more self aware in regards to what you are good at. From reading your replies, you seem like a very modest person. As most good asians should :P However, this does not bar you from doing some reflection on what you are good at, what you are passionate about etc. Why do I say this? Because when you are good at something, you have to understand that someone, somewhere is looking for what you are good at. When you know what you are good at, then you can begin finding people who are looking for you. Perhaps you are good at writing, you are good at discussing cultural differences, perhaps you are good at tutoring, good at chemistry or have a technical skill. The internet is an amazing thing, put yourself out there. Freelance, or blog etc. This takes time, but it can also go a long way in helping you develop strengths for in the future. You might be studying enge now, but maybe 5 years down the track you realise that it's not for you.

    3) Look for ways to make the family business more profitable. I may be making a huge assumption here, however, I think that if the family business started making a lot more money, more consistently, I do think some of that should trickle down to you right? If you are in a Cinderella situation where you are worked like a slave, then it's a different story (In that case, get out!). But if you are in an asian family like mine, we all share in the successes. In that regards, stop thinking of your hours as a chore. Think of it as an opportunity to develop some business savvy. Can the business be more profitable if the delivery system was optimised? Is the business losing too much money because "traffic" that comes through your business is not being "converted" into dollars etc. Perhaps, if you are "stuck" with this - take ownership and run with it. Potentially this can be a great talking point on your resume in future when applying to jobs. Every business loves a person who can take ownership, show initiative and make money!

    4) Keep pushing for jobs. Don't let one no shut you down. Keep searching, network, meet the right people. Opportunities sometimes fall into your lap, but I think more times you need to go find them.

    END SUPER LONG RANT! Hope there was at least one nugget of gold within this wall of text for you!

    • pyro love bird on 09/08/2014 - 16:17

      thankyou so much for that! :)

      I'm not much of a gambler, most of the time I play it safe, so when the risks seem a bit high, I won't play :P

      I don't actually think of it as a chore, and whatever money that I do make outside of working for them goes to them. And like you said, I have tried to take the initiative a few times and practically run the place myself, but I can't manage a business, study, and try to make money on the side from odd jobs at the same time. The study load is demanding enough as it is and to be honest I neglect a lot of it because I'm working at the business. I've worked there for 10 years so I'm not terrible at sales, but like you said it is difficult. Dealing with customers on a daily basis is exhausting and I don't get enough sleep as it is. I've applied for a position but have yet to hear back from them. (I have only ever gotten 1 HD and that was just luck!).

      I enjoy writing but I don't think I've got a talent for it. I did blog for a while, got bullied, and stopped.. Although it does sound like it, I'm not trying to shut down your ideas, I just don't really think I've got much talent aside from being as stubborn as a mule.

      If by trickle down to me you mean that I get pocket money, the answer is mostly no, and it doesn't particularly bother me. I just need some sort of income flow, I don't mind working for my parents for nothing as such. But my bank account has been cleaned out and I can't pay my bills. Paid surveys and focus groups aren't enough to live off.

      Unfortunately though I'm never going to be completely able to run the business on my own it's just too much.

      Thankyou again, I truly appreciate you taking the time to write all that. :)

      • heijira on 09/08/2014 - 19:39
        +1

        Sorry, should have given you a timeline - positions for tutors have most probably already been filled for the semester. That tip was to better position yourself for next semester.

        The other good thing, is that almost anything can be learnt. It's the whole 10,000 hours principle - if you practice enough you will be able to develop competency and perhaps even mastery :) But only if you decide to take that first step.

        • pyro love bird on 09/08/2014 - 23:33

          ah, that would be why there's no reply.

          I will give programming another go, but every time I try it's like I'm hitting my head against a brick wall. and I get super frustrated when I get it wrong, I'd spend hours writing a code then it comes up with errors!

  • juventino on 09/08/2014 - 14:30

    Tell your parents that you will find a job outside and give them some of the earnings so they can hire someone to replace you in the family shop ?

    This is assuming you earn more than the cost of hiring some asian students to work in your shop. This way you'll start having pocket money and can start on your superannuation.

    Laid out all the calculation in front of your parents.

    Might or might not work. The place I work for which is 20 square metres have 6 family members as supervisors coming in at different time every day :)

  • p1 ama on 09/08/2014 - 19:25
    +2

    Tutoring.

    It's free money, essentially.

    • [Deactivated] on 09/08/2014 - 23:44

      Yep. This is what I was going to suggest. Either do well at your subjects and apply to tutor them through the uni (depends on if they accept undergrads as tutors - but I was able to tutor mathematics from 2nd year as they tend to struggle to get tutors in a lot of those subjects). Or stick a sign up on your local boards offering to tutor high school students. Good money for not a lot of time. Tutoring at uni is brilliant if you can get in - you are already there for your classes, so no extra travel, and marking is the easiest money ever. I used to sit and watch TV whilst doing it (maths is pretty easy to mark…not a lot of concentration required!).

      • p1 ama on 10/08/2014 - 10:09

        Not to mention that if it's stuff that you have to know, e.g. pre-requisites for the subjects you're doing, it serves as good revision to keep on top of all the old stuff too.

  • TurkishDelight on 09/08/2014 - 21:00
    -8

    i sell my used condoms to make some money…

    • jacknthebeanstalk on 09/08/2014 - 22:56

      I'll give ya my grill'd buy 2 for 1 voucher if you record urself eating ur used one m8

      • juventino on 10/08/2014 - 22:08
        -1

        how do you know that he hasn't been eating the content from others ? wink

  • huntress_love on 10/08/2014 - 03:07
    +2

    Have you tried mystery shopping, like the survey but more work available.
    You get a free meal here and there and also get paid to make enquire at shops and fill out the survey.

    Here's one i know;
    therealisegroup.com
    payme4shopping.com
    gapbuster.com (pays a bit low, but there single vision glasses assignment is good for a pair every year)
    hoed.com

    I'm sure there are others if you googled it, also there's a whole forum somewhere (can't recall the site) where people share different companies which does them.

    Alternatively you can try make money online. Still working on this myself, will update you when I get results!

  • demiurge on 10/08/2014 - 13:07
    +5

    Give Broden a call.

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 00:53

      Who is this Broden guy everyone keeps talking about?

      • Hintswen on 12/08/2014 - 21:12

        He's an old OzB Member.

    • Hintswen on 12/08/2014 - 21:11

      haha man I haven't seen his name mentioned in so long!

  • le3lee on 10/08/2014 - 13:12

    Maybe mystery shopping? :)

  • lenlynn on 10/08/2014 - 17:47

    Hey just remembered something else. Look out for the uni librarian advertisements at the end of the year and apply for the job? My uni always looks for people to work for the following semester then. In your cover letter, say you are familiar with the Dewey Classification system and learn it online it's pretty simple. Hope your uni has those positions too!

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 00:54

      I've never actually seen them around but I'll get looking :) Thanks!

  • shortgum on 10/08/2014 - 18:34

    have been putting extra not needed money bet on interest rate no change for 7 months

    odds 1.02-1.08 btw now n then.

    so far working but will stop this method probably in october

    • juventino on 10/08/2014 - 22:06

      I did this too, but with Forex instead. With low value asian currency like Rupiah and Vietnamese Dong .fluctuation can vary up to 5% in a week.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/08/2014 - 19:32
    +2

    You have to take greater risks.

    Greater risk generally equates to greater return.

    Your decision can be anything, but it always comes down to risk. Risk of alienating yourself, risk of losing money in a business, losing money in a startup, wasting time on pointless endeavours where you have no skills.

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 00:58
      +1

      I understand that, but at this point in my life chances are that I'm going to end up losing everything I have left if I do play it that way. Alienation/ social status doesn't bother me, I want to help my family, and I'd like to be able to pay my bills instead of scrambling for the money.

      I'm one of those people who don't like risks my definition of "big risk" is probably negligible to you. I thankyou for your advice, I really appreciate it. Taking risks like that is the definition of living life to its fullest, but so many things could go wrong and right now I can't afford for things to fall to pieces.

  • zoenicole04 on 10/08/2014 - 23:12
    -3

    Hey! I am currently a uni student as well! I actually work with a company with some of my friends that is really helping us and a lot of students improve our financial situation. We get to work on our own time around our busy uni schedules and we work with people we want to work with. If you want me to get some more info for you, find me on facebook or send me an email at [email protected] and lets connect! Im more than happy to help you out!

    • quirki on 11/08/2014 - 23:39
      +3

      Joined 10 August, 1 post asking to email for info…my guess is MLM

  • GnarlyKnuckles on 11/08/2014 - 03:54
    +7

    Far out pyro, it seems you need a more bluntly worded reality check, and so do your parents.
    MOVE OUT; kick YOURSELF out of the "family nest". Your current conditions are clearly breaking you, and are equally clearly not at all fair on you. You would get way better marks at uni'/ultimately have heaps better job-prospects even if you lived in a cheap group-house, paid average rent, and worked ~10-15 hours per week in a 'real', i.e. PAYING job. This would be better for all concerned (including your parents), in the long-run.

    Do it now, waste no time. If the family "business" cannot survive without one unskilled "employee" working for 40 hours+ a week for no pay, then it is not a business at all; it's a money-sink/ basket-case/ mirage/ recipientless-charity. A relevant question is, when you get an engineering job after you graduate, who will "step in" to do those 40 hours unpaid that you used to do to prolong the torturous perpetuation of the family "business"? No one, of course. Better the "business" dies now, rather than you prop it up with unpaid labour for a pointless, unprofitable last year or two, destroying your enjoyment of youth AND your shot at decent marks at uni' in the process.

    Look around you, including your Asian-Australian peers, get real about things, and draw a line under it. Now.

    I'm not meaning to be harsh or rude, I'm just reiterating what many have said above, without some of the fluff.

    Give your parents one month notice, then move out of the family home, and work-no-more in the family "business". Tell them it's for their own good, as well as yours. Carrying on in the way you are describing is just prolonging the agony for all concerned.

    Best of luck.

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 14:22

      As mentioned above it's difficult to just up and leave. Family is an exceptionally important thing to them, chances are that I'll probably just be disowned. I've been enough of a disappointment, and it's quite selfish to just up and leave because that would suite me better. Abandoning the people that raised me isn't the best thing to do in this situation as of right now I don't think. But I do really appreciate your honesty :)I'll try speaking to them again and see if I can figure out how I can try to settle things a bit

      • sleet on 12/08/2014 - 16:08
        +3

        If I was a parent and that blind then I shouldn't be having children in the first place. There is a big responsibility for the parents to nurture and help their kids grow into independent beings.

        This isn't nurturing, it's borderline exploitation. Unless you are going to take over their business, or the business profit is going to be yours one day, then I see absolutely no point continuing this.

        You are sacrificing your life for them. What happens later on in life? Have you talked this through with your parents? Have you discussed what will happen when they retire? My gosh.

        • pyro love bird on 12/08/2014 - 16:50

          Not openly, but from the things that are said here and there I think I'll be taking care of them.

        • jaybmate on 12/08/2014 - 19:39
          +1

          @pyro love bird:
          It looks like you're already taking care of them.
          I second the question from Gnarly: what will happen with the business when you graduate and get an engineering job?

        • Serapis on 12/08/2014 - 23:49

          Putting this in context however, family a big thing in Asian tradition. It's operates very differently to Western culture, where individuality is a key theme.

          For Asians, family is supposed to operate in a unit, and respect for the previous generation is a big thing regardless of whichever part of Asia you are from. For example in China, one if the factors were that there was traditionally no such thing as pensions. When the kids of the family grew up, they were expected to take over and provide for their elders until the end of time (even after death in the form of tributes like burning paper money, possessions, etc.) This also contributed a lot to how Asian cultures traditionally preferred sons over daughters as sons were seen to be able to make more money than the daughter, which you would lose money due to dowry (lot more reasons why there is prevalent gender inequality but wont go into it here.)

          This leads into why OP is expected to perform free work for the family shop, as she is seen to be an essential to the family unit. Leaving on own terms would be the equivalent of disrespect and could result in OP being disowned. Same as asking to be paid for working from family. Only alternative is to find employment, and to compensate for not assisting the family, you give them an agreed amount of financial support every month or so.

          Source (Worldbank): http://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/pdf/10.1596/1813-9450-2942

        • pyro love bird on 13/08/2014 - 00:59
          +2

          @Serapis: Thankyou for explaining for me, it's difficult to explain to people where I'm coming from, so I really appreciate it, although they're not traditional to the point (or I'm not at least) that it's expected that I burn joss paper for them after they depart, but the rest of that is pretty much spot on. I guess a big issue here is that I'm right in the middle of two cultures that are quite different, whilst I consider myself practically whitewashed (to the point I sometimes forget I'm asian) there are things that I have been brough up with that I just can't really bring myself to do i.e just up and leave because it suites me better. I really feel as though I've let them down enough (not being male as I'm oldest, not getting the best grades etc etc).

          Though I'm not so sure "essential" is the correct word to use here, it's just sort of expected of me and I don't particularly see it as a chore, I just need some sort of income which is why I'm asking if people have had any success/experience with being able to make some money on the side :)

        • sleet on 13/08/2014 - 22:46

          @pyro love bird: I didn't mean to be so blunt. I totally understand you will take care of them. But in terms of the business, it will be yours right? Or will they be selling it and distributing the profits to all the children?

          Or will you guys hire someone else to run it when you get your ENG job?

          The great thing about two cultures for me, personally, is that you get to choose the best of two worlds. I bond very closely with my family but I also have my own independence too.

        • [Deactivated] on 14/08/2014 - 11:03

          @pyro love bird:

          Hi pyro love bird. I come from an asian family as well and can udnerstand where you are coming from. However, you need to live your own life, not a life as an extension of your parents. I wonder if you are privy to the book keeping of the shop. If you can find out where the money is being bled off to maybe you can help your parents make some decisions to turn a larger profit. That said, if the shop is making heaps but your parents pocket the entire profit and consider your contribution "duty" it would be fair for you to consider leaving.

          What is the benefit of staying and what is the benefit of you leaving or being disowned. To be very cold, you have at least 40 years more to live, once you start earning money they will be more of a burden than anything.

          Also, after "investing" so much time and effort into you, do you think they will disown their potential "cash cow" who will be supporting their future just over 3 to 4 years of independence for you (where they will not need to support you anyway).
          Family and money are both very important things to asians. To your parents, the act of leaving will threaten both facets. I really doubt they will disown you (they will definitely imply they might or threaten to do so), but you need to make it clear that you are not leaving for good I guess.

        • pyro love bird on 14/08/2014 - 15:11

          @sleet: It's alright, I admire people who are blunt about things, they're not devious or anything and its good to have people who are super honest :D

          No, business will not be mine, most likely will be sold off for retirement money. When I get my enge job? More like if I get it. The market for it atm isn't looking fantastic :(

          Yes, I agree I like being part of two cultures, but, unlike you, a lot of it is my parents pushing ideas into me, which I don't agree with so it leaves for a lot of stress and strain in my relationships. I wish I could choose T_T

        • pyro love bird on 14/08/2014 - 15:15

          @lolbbq: I actually don't value money very much, unfortunately, I need it to get by though, which is why I'm asking for ideas on how to make some.

          Privy? I don't know what you mean, but I don't really get to look at the cash flow/finances, my parents do that. I am working hard to try and get more income for them etc. But it's really not so easy. I've weighed it up, but I'm been trying to make them "proud" or at least, not be disappointed i me all the time, but to no avail. :( From what I gather, they want me to live with them indefeinately. Even when/if I get married and everything.

          I think they won't speak to me for a very long time at least, if not ever again. And it makes me sad to lose family. Already lost a lot of my friends since childhood over a stupid reason. Thankyou for your insight :)

        • [Deactivated] on 29/08/2014 - 11:26

          @pyro love bird:

          Sounds terrible, do you think your job will take you interstate or overseas?

          What if you find that country/state more appealing and wish to settle down there.

          Your parents sound very overbearing which is typical of most Asians. My mom does exactly that but my dad is completely ok with finding my own way in the world.

          You should try to assert yourself in your family or you will never dig your way out. Eventually your spouse will suffer because your parents will try to control your family unit all the same using emotional blackmail and what not.

          Try to take a look at the books, you as an engineer should be quite handy with numbers and analytical/critical thinking. If you live with them indefinitely, will you tend the shop whenever possible as well? Will they always be the boss until the day they kick the bucket and suddenly all of it belongs to you? Will you get a chance to learn how to manage the business? If not now, what are they waiting for?

          I feel sorry for you because I have managed to dig myself out of my mom's emotional manipulations. This has unfortunately made my thinking very cold. There are many forums discussing this and the only way is avoidance because they will find some way to pull your heart strings. I know that if I keep in contact with her I will definitely cave and lose control of my life.

          The best reason and scariest fact of this emotional manipulation is that its hereditary. My mom got it from her mom. Increased exposure will eventually turn you into something like that. I'm sure you don't want your kids to be like this (assuming you want some).

          Your family are not your friends, they treasure you as much as you, them. However, if you want to gain some control over your life, you have to fight for your space.

          Hope you get your life back!

  • biz 4 all on 11/08/2014 - 09:46
    -2

    Hi

    I am based in Melbourne. You may not be expecting this message, but impressed with kind of work you are doing.

    I have my own company in Business Development. We are expanding our team in Australia. I wanted to check if you keep your options open to explore new ideas / do business projects without disturbing what you do full-time. Let me know and we can take it from there.

    What is a good number to reach you?

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 14:25

      Hi, thanks, I appreciate that :)

      Just to make sure you know, I'm an engineering major student not busienss. Although I am very interested in business/marketing and such I don't particularly have any textbook knowledge on it. If that's alright with you.

      If you could enable private messages I could give you my email and we can talk over that?

      • schwinn on 12/08/2014 - 14:03
        +5

        Beware the new member offering jobs. Not saying it's not legit, just saying most of the time random job offerings from the internet are too good to be true.
        Even the name of the account is created to pique interest from job seekers (!), I suspect you aren't a specific target.

        • pyro love bird on 12/08/2014 - 14:10

          Thanks, I am a bit weary of that sort of thing, I'm not saying that they're not genuine, but most of the time it sounds like it's too good to be true, I don't think there is really such thing as a get rich quick scheme. It's mostly:
          A. Illegal
          B A scam
          C. a LOT of luck

          Edit: Plus a lot of the time it's offering franchising, I don't have the money to start those off anyway, I appreciate you looking out for me though :D

        • GnarlyKnuckles on 14/08/2014 - 04:08
          +1

          Yeah, take it from me and the others who have hinted as much here Pyro, "biz 4 all" is peddling "BS 4 all", ('no doubt at all')…

          Guaranteed.

        • pyro love bird on 14/08/2014 - 10:45

          @GnarlyKnuckles: Thanks :)

  • bsk on 11/08/2014 - 10:01

    Sell stuff using facebook buy and sell sites, free to get rid of your stuff and local area, meet buyer at the shops as well if you do not feel safe having them at your home. I have friends who sell house hold items, books, cds, clothes, you can sell lots, sometimes you can buy a bargain and resell it to.

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 14:23

      I've started posting stuff I don't need on gumtree, and hopefully I'll get someone who's interested to buy stuff :) Thanks for the advice

  • bxpressiv on 11/08/2014 - 15:17
    +1

    I do AFL umpiring and you can get paid as a boundary or goal umpire with almost no knowledge of the game. More as a field umpire. Other local sports probably need umpires too so make some calls. Paid to keep fit as well.

    $50-120 a game depending on discipline, grade and location.

    • pyro love bird on 11/08/2014 - 15:27

      That's excellent pay! I will be keeping an eye out for umpiring jobs :) Thankyou!

  • TopCat on 11/08/2014 - 22:21

    Hi Pyro,
    A little while ago I had a small business where I was able to make websites for people.
    I really like your attitude and would be happy to give you some help in this field for free, if you were interested. I generally use the Wordpress platform, and am a member of the ElegantThemes website and have access to the themes they develop.
    I noticed you have a creative side, but you arent a huge fan of code. My career is an electrical engineer, and websites are now a hobby (that made me a small amount of money from time to time).
    I am not great at writing creatively or doing hand-written wedding invites as someone mentioned, but I can offer you a platform to kickstart any interest you are after.
    While I offer my time to you as free, I do want you to be aware of some costs involved that I have no control over.

    Domain Name Registration: roughly $10/year initially, and roughly $15/year for renewals.
    Hosting: I typically use my friend (who is a 'hosting reseller') to do my hosting, and he costs $5/month and has three servers located in Australia. If you REALLY want to cut down on cost, there are American hosting resellers which can do $10/year.

    If you are willing to pay for your domain and hosting, I am willing to set you up on Wordpress to give you a headstart in something you are genuinely interested in for free.

    Best of luck and let me know if you want some help.

    • pyro love bird on 12/08/2014 - 14:12

      Thanks, but at the moment I don't think I could handle a full time thing or something that requires a lot of my attention, I really appreciate your offer and if I ever get the time to/have an interest in learning I'll let you know! :)

      • TopCat on 12/08/2014 - 16:53

        Sorry if I misled you- this is only a full time thing if you want it to be. In fact, its probably a very small amount of time required.

        This website would belong to you and would be a method for you to market yourself. You would effectively be your own boss, selling\marketing whatever you wish- I am just offering you the first steps for free*.

        You dont need to learn coding or programming. I will set everything up for you. Lets assume you are good at handwriting wedding invitations. All you would need to do is write about what it is you do, who your target market is, and put up some examples for people to see. Getting one client should more than pay for the costs of the domain + hosting, so you would be able to make some money hopefully.
        I wouldn't expect something like this to take up a lot of your time, which is why I thought it might be a viable avenue.

        Offer is still open to you but best of luck, and don't give up trying :).

        *free does not include the domain price and hosting price (which I mentioned earlier). Free relates to my personal time which I am happy to give you in order to set you up with an internet presence.

        • pyro love bird on 13/08/2014 - 01:00

          Considering my current knowledge on that sort of thing is non-existant, it'll probably take a bit of time for me to learn it, even if it's easy, I'm really not all that bright. Thankyou again :)

        • [Deactivated] on 14/08/2014 - 11:10

          @pyro love bird:

          I really think you should give it a shot. You strike me as a very risk adverse person. I am in the same situation except that I have no time at all but have a decent income.

          You could spend your time doing this side-business while tending your store. I assume its not very busy and you don't need to be in action ALL the time there.

          Don't be afraid to try something. If it does not cost you much in money just give it a shot or will not know where/what you are good at. You could be great at this but never realize it (or only realize 10 years down the road when you have "time" to try it out). If you're lousy at it, I'm sure it would not take you more than 1 month to find that out.

        • pyro love bird on 14/08/2014 - 15:18

          @lolbbq: Well I'm at uni atm doing an enge &chem degree and that in itself is killing me, working as well is a heavy load, and if I'm going to try and run something/learn something ontop of it, I think I'll have a mental breakdown!

          (Someone was posting on airtasker to do their entire business course for them for only $5) I'd have asked fr more and done it, but I can't do another course/ spend time on something that could end up leading nowhere

  • SaberX on 12/08/2014 - 00:22
    +1

    May be a good suggestion (given some of the other non-realistic/serious ones here imo) - use your expertise and skills to your advantage. Perhaps do some tutoring of earlier years engineering units, some coaching on other aspects - maybe you can play an instrument well, languages you know etc? Something i wish i did more of, and while your in uni your first or second yr subjects may be still reasonably in the back of your mind.

    You can make decent money, and if you get a job as a tutor in uni they pay pretty good.

    Try airtasker and all those other sorta freelancing task based sites where you can pick up a few $ doing tasks for strangers.. will be competitive though but you may have the flexibility to do some of them.

    • pyro love bird on 12/08/2014 - 14:16

      I actually struggled with a lot of my units because I could barely keep up with the study workload + working + trying to pay bills etc. I don't have much experience with tutoring either, so I don't actually think I'd be a good tutor, I am trying to give it a go though. Hopefully it'll work out! :)

      I actually had to self teach myself to play keyboard/piano (my teacher moved and we never got another one) so I don't actually know how to read music, I mostly play by ear, but I'm really not any good at it.

      I know a couple of languages but I can only speak/read or write so I'm useless when it comes to grammar stuff.

      I hear at my uni they're paying somehting like $30/hour? don't quote me on that though.

      I am constantly on airtasker now, though it seems most people are after skilled works to do something for a bit less than it'd be if you paid a professional.

      I thankyou for your advice :) Have a nice day

      • SaberX on 16/08/2014 - 17:01

        You'll gain the skills for tutoring as yous tart to each, the most important part is your knowledge of the material, and of course a sense of being able to evolve your teaching style with the student. YOu may have to start with lower fees, but as you get better and word of mouth/good marketing perhaps you can take up higher fees and more students?

        Hmm you can still show someone how you play by ear in the sense of your proper technique in finger placement etc ( haven't learnt piano, but wish i have) and whatever not can be imparted? Or perhaps looking to educate yourself abit with books and more self learning before then taking up a teaching role (perhaps to prep yourself amost).

        Sometimes just speakings fine, as long as you can speak the language and teach the general gist of it. Again, perhaps take some books/prep reading to improve your deficiencies so you can excel when teaching. Not to mention it'd improve you personally anyway since you said you don't know the grammer etc.

        I think $30 / hour isn't too shabby, reminds me of my initial graduate pay was around $24/hr, so yeah. I find airtasker some stuff quoted quite low, and i wonder how pplz could dos oemthing for that price but pplz bid on them. But it's just a starting point for you to find something that fits in with your lifestyle to earn some extra moolah.

        How about babysitting too in spare time, so you can baby sit and study (of course still keeping an eye out so they dont run off).

        Nps, best of luck!

  • Hintswen on 12/08/2014 - 21:13

    I make a little bit extra from Second Life. I make at least $50-100USD/month with very little effort (just a few minutes a month).

  • bajillionaire on 13/08/2014 - 10:55

    Setup camelcamelcamel alerts for big price drops in Le Creuset cookware from Amazon.co.uk.

    When something triggers your alert, buy them in bulk and then sell them on eBay for more than you paid but less than what other sellers are charging (which will be close to Aus. RRP).

    You can make ~$100+ on each item by doing this.

    • Heizenberg on 13/08/2014 - 15:47

      is that you Broden?

    • GnarlyKnuckles on 14/08/2014 - 04:30

      Dear Brody, we've all missed you :)

      I mean, there has been 'a bit more to go around' of some of the crappier stuff ever since you left the scene, but yeah, mostly it was just crappy stuff you were into anyway… So rather than being actually "materially affected", we've mainly just missed your "Aussie-larrikin-like" shenanigans… (your comical back-tracking, unsolicited (and unfortunately honest) testimonials from "friends", prowess at baking porky-pies, etc.)

      Welcome back, and please don't leave us again :-)

      We love you Brodes, and we look forward to your next misguided-mass-purchase.

  • aumiser on 13/08/2014 - 22:32
    -7

    Ok, I know I will get negative votes for this but I guess someone has to say it. If you "Asian", a reasonable good looking chic with a good figure, I have read the brothels and massage parlours recruiting "new Asian" ladies. Short term work but high pay I assume. Hell, there are stories of Asian uni students doing it short term just for the money. Source: http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/02/12/brothels-rorting-student… Or get a sugar daddy http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/sugar-daddy-meet-your-s…

    • pyro love bird on 14/08/2014 - 00:07
      +4

      It goes against my personal morals, so I thankyou for the offer but I rather struggle then sell myself/my body.

  • umyob on 13/08/2014 - 23:33
    +1

    send me fifty dollars and i'll tell you how to make thousands of dollars.

    • Serapis on 14/08/2014 - 02:02
      +1

      What if I gave you 100 Trillion dollars?

      http://www.financialjesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/hun…

    • GnarlyKnuckles on 14/08/2014 - 04:43

      I'll tell you for free; work hard for the same amount of hours you're currently working now, at any job that pays an actual wage!

      In other words, do pretty much anything apart from what you're doing now.

      Within weeks, you will have thousands of dollars.

      Welcome to the free world.

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