Ten ideas for making money

Ten ideas for making money - Some of these you've heard before, and some you haven't. The last one is our favorite. I've shared with you some of my favorite posts about ways to make more money. Now I'm going to divulge some of the ideas we've been kicking around.

In no particular order:

Wedding invitation addressing.

Back in the day when the pen was more popular than the computer keyboard, a few people told me I should cash in on my penmanship skills by professionally addressing wedding invitations. I have no idea if people even pay for this sort of thing now that the computer has shown its dominance over the human hand, but hey, it's a thought.

Make T-shirts.

We could come up with a few T-shirt designs that would appeal to some sector of the population and sell them on Zazzle or somewhere similar.

Sell photographs.

I have some photographs I took many moons ago that I could try to sell via Etsy or DeviantART. This would involve converting 35mm to digital, but I bet the Internet can instruct me on that.

Monetize our websites.

Yes, websites, plural. Sneaky sneaky we are. You thought it was just this blog that we run, but actually A-Rob has a little secret site of his own. It's his professional musician website, but recently he's converted it to a blog and has been posting music-related stuff to it.

Since he's been operating under the same domain name for eight years, his SEO (search engine optimization) is pretty snazzy. We could look into one of the many options for advertising, or implement an Amazon affiliate program, or both. A-Rob also has some ideas for digital products he could sell through his site, similar to an e-book. Post continues after video.

Start another website.

There's a lot of buzz in the blog world about starting niche websites. This is a pretty complete article on the subject. I hear the key is having killer SEO so that people searching for information in your niche will find your site and then click on your ads. SEO is my arch-nemesis. I have neither the patience nor attention span to learn it. But maybe with a few cups of coffee I can get it figured out some day.

Invent a case that holds the iPad AND the Mac keyboard.

I've searched high and low for one of these, and the four in existence are all stinky. I'm thinking of making a prototype and going on "Shark Tank" with it. Or maybe just selling them on Etsy. Did I mention I don't own a sewing machine? This one might be a stretch.

Make something else. And also sell it on Etsy. Preferably something that doesn't require sewing, perhaps?

Surveys! I have to admit that doing surveys for money sounds like no fun at all. But I feel like I owe it to the blog to dedicate a month of my time to hard-core survey filling-out, just to see how much I can make.

Design house calls.

I could offer my services on Craigslist to help people pick out paint colors or finishes for their homes. However, my memories of "The Silence of the Lambs" may compel me to hire a bodyguard in the event of a Buffalo Bill situation. That may eat into my earnings a bit.

Chair sprucer-upper.

I have this idea for a business where I would pick up old chairs and tables at yard sales for dirt cheap, then tighten their loose joints, sand them down, and throw a coat of primer on them. Then people can come buy a chair and paint it whatever color they want, or pay us to paint it for them.

Ideally this business would operate out of a storefront in the artsy part of downtown and would have a gourmet coffee shop attached. I'd call it "Bones." But since I won't be opening up a shop anytime soon, I could sell the rehabbed chairs on Craigslist, or maybe look into a crafters' co-op.

I could probably go on if I stretched my brain a little more, but 10 ideas seems like a nice round number, don't you think? We've pretty much settled on three of these ideas. We'll be putting them into action this month, when the selling of the stuff is complete. Which reminds me, I have a pile of CDs I need to tend to, so I better scoot.

Have you tried any of these methods for making money? Do you have any of your own? Do share! ( msn.com )

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Ten Ways to Find Customers with Mobile Marketing

Ten Ways to Find Customers with Mobile Marketing - Smart business owners find customers by placing their marketing messages where the most eyeballs are focused. And nowhere are there more eyeballs than on the screens of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

More than two thirds of the world’s population has a mobile subscription, and mobile users are highly active. Facebook recently reported statistics indicating that over half of its 500 million subscribers access Facebook from a mobile device and exhibit twice the activity level of non-mobile users. The time for mobile marketing is now.

Finding customers with mobile marketing involves either pulling people toward your messages or pushing your messages out. Here are 10 mobile-marketing channels that'll help your efforts:

Text-messaging (SMS)

Pull customers to your SMS messages by asking people to opt-in to your text-messaging list. Use a text-messaging provider such as eztexting.com or motomessage.com to access a short phone number known as a common short code and an opt-in keyword. Then, use the text-messaging service to push periodic text messages out to the people who opt in.

Multi-media messaging (MMS)

MMS messages are like SMS messages, but they can contain pictures, sound and a lot more text. Pull customers in with the same opt-in process as SMS, and then push out multi-media content via your MMS service provider.

Mobile email

Pull customers to your email list with signup links on your website or ask people to text in their email addresses to join. When you push your emails out to mobile users, ask for mobile-friendly actions such as clicking phone numbers instead of links or using the mobile device to show an email coupon at the point of sale.

Mobile search

People searching online with mobile devices are often looking for a nearby product or service. Pull customers to your business by including mobile-friendly maps and directions on your site. Push your location out to new potential customers by asking your customers to check in on their favorite social media service when they visit your physical location so their friends see where they are.

Mobile Internet

Pull mobile visitors to your site by advertising your site's address or by including a mobile barcode -- also known as a Quick Response or QR code -- in your advertising that points to your site. Push messages through your site by formatting content and navigation to be mobile friendly.

Mobile apps

Pull customers to your mobile apps by listing your apps in the app stores and by offering app downloads from your own mobile site. Then, push your marketing messages through the downloaded apps.

Mobile content

Pull customers to content such as videos, images and downloads by providing links and mobile barcodes that activate the content. Push that content by posting to mobile-friendly sites such as YouTube or your own mobile site.

Mobile advertising

Pull customers to your advertising by placing ads on external mobile sites such as mobile versions of newspapers, blogs and other content sites. Push your advertising out by including ads in your e-mails, text messages, mobile content and branded apps.

Voice

Pull customers in by advertising your phone number. Push your messages out by answering the phone or by using Interactive Voice Response systems to answer calls and deliver voice messages automatically.

Capabilities and enablers

Mobile devices come with built-in capabilities and enablers such as cameras, WiFi, and GPS. Pull customers in by asking customers to use their capabilities. For example, taking a picture of a product and e-mailing it to you for a discount. Push your messages out in reply to people who use their capabilities by using one of the aforementioned nine channels.

Have you attempted a mobile marketing campaign? Let us know how it worked for you in the comments section. ( entrepreneur.com )

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Do's and Don'ts

Job Hunting On the Job -- Do's and Don'ts. It's a common dilemma: You have a job but you want a better one. Whether you've outgrown your current role, seek increased compensation or need a change of scene, you're ready to explore new employment options.

But how should you go about tracking down opportunities and meeting with hiring managers without jeopardizing your current position? Following are some do's and don'ts for conducting a job search while employed:

DON'T overlook opportunities within your own company. Before updating your résumé and hitting the job boards, consider employment opportunities that may be right under your nose. Many companies looking to fill vacancies give preference to internal candidates and make an effort to encourage these individual to apply for other positions within the company.

Share with your boss your interest in pursuing a new or higher-level position. He or she may be able to help you transfer to a different department, move into a role of increased responsibility or give you a chance to work on projects that will expand your skill set and prepare you for advancement.

DO be discreet. If you want to keep your job search a secret, don't talk about it. If you tell your co-workers, you can be sure that it will get back to your boss, one way or another.

DON'T search on your employer's time. You're being paid to work for the company, so you shouldn't be surfing the Web for job openings during business hours. Any activity related to your job search, including scheduling interviews, should be completed on your own time.

DO get organized. Set aside blocks of time that you can devote to your employment search; you will be amazed by how much you can get done in just a few hours. In addition to focusing on your job hunt at night and on weekends, you can use your lunch break to scour the want ads or review your résumé. This also is a good time to return prospective employers' phone calls on your cell phone.

DON'T use company resources. No matter how convenient it may be, don't use office stationery, stamps, fax machines or copiers. It's not only an inappropriate and unethical use of company resources but also an easy way for colleagues to find out about your job search from evidence you accidentally leave behind. Along the same lines, avoid using the office's computers and phone systems to reach out to hiring managers. Many employers monitor Internet usage and review phone call logs, making it easy for them to learn of your job hunt.

DO be careful where you post your résumé. If you don't want your current firm to accidentally find your résumé when searching for new hires, post on a job site where you can keep your employer and contact information confidential. For example, CareerBuilder.com offers three levels of privacy from which job seekers can choose.

DON'T make up excuses when meeting with hiring managers. Most hiring managers will understand that accommodations may have to be made for you to attend an employment interview. Try to schedule meetings for either the beginning or the end of the day, or during your lunch hour. If a prospective employer can't interview you during those times, take a personal day.

DO pay attention to how you dress. If your normal work attire consists of jeans and sneakers, showing up to the office in a business suit is likely to arouse suspicion. Avoid the attention by bringing a change of clothes.

DON'T forget to network. More jobs are obtained through word of mouth than any other method, so take every opportunity to expand your circle of contacts. In addition to getting involved in professional associations and other networking groups, focus on meeting people while doing everyday activities. Try striking up conversations with those around you, from the coffee shop barista to the person sitting next to you at the doctor's office. These discussions can help you gain job leads or other valuable contacts.

DO register with a staffing firm. Consider partnering with a recruiter, who can work discreetly on your behalf to distribute your résumé and uncover job opportunities. These professionals also can offer guidance on enhancing your résumé, improving your interview skills and increasing your chances of landing a new position.

If you want to find a new job, stick to your game plan, be persistent and, perhaps most importantly, be respectful of your current employer. Though you may be tempted to conduct a quick search between projects or work on your résumé on the job, think twice before doing so. You wouldn't want to do anything that could jeopardize your current position and future references. ( msn.com )

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Come to the Fair

Come to the Fair -- Prepared!. Job fairs are a great way to shop for new job opportunities, network and make personal contacts with recruiters at various organizations.

Here are some techniques recommended by experts to ensure that your performance at the fair doesn't turn into a circus:

Do some scouting.

If you've never been to a job fair, attend the next one that comes to your city for observational purposes. Pay attention to recruiters and fellow job seekers to pick up some pointers on how to dress, how to approach a company's booth appropriately and how to successfully work the room.

Do some research.

Find out which companies will be represented and learn about them in advance through corporate Web sites or other tools. The more you know, the more you can converse with the company representative in the booth and the more memorable you will be. You will also appear much more professional than unprepared job seekers who make the mistake of starting off their conversations with company representatives by asking, "What does your company do?"

Deliver your key messages quickly.

Interviewers are very busy, so don't waste their time. Work on a "sound bite" that says what your skills are, the type of work that interests you and the kind of company with which you want to associate.

Plan some questions. If you have additional time, be ready to ask intelligent questions. Ask how departments are organized and how your skills might be utilized within the framework of the company. Also show you know something about the company by asking questions about a recent product release, acquisition or other relevant news. And make sure to ask the interviewer what he or she likes best about the corporate culture to better assess if this company is right for you.

Get the interviewer's business card.

If an interview goes well, you will want to follow up with a letter that reinforces the points you made and the facts you learned. If you made a good impression at the fair, the interviewer probably has made a note to that effect and will remember that you passed his or her on-site screen.

Take advantage of the obvious.

Sometimes recruiters will post job openings at their booth and provide written information. Grab all of the information you can on site before you get in line for an interview so you won't waste precious time discussing the obvious.

Dress appropriately.

You are going to a job interview, so dress the part. Break out the business attire and shine your shoes. It's better to error on the side of the conservative than to be too casual.

Show your pearly whites.

Smile when you meet the interviewer. Give a firm handshake. (If you are prone to sweaty palms, bring a handkerchief to use as a towel.) Keep breath mints on hand and make eye contact.

Be organized.

Bring plenty of resumes with you. Keep them in a nice folder so you don't get fingerprints all over them. Have a notebook for memos to yourself.

Avoid the shopping spree.

Many companies give out freebies at their booths. It's OK to pick up an item or two, but don't leave the impression that you are shopping for your kids. The main impression you want to make is that you are very interested and very qualified for a job.

Keep lively.

The lines may be daunting, but don't fail to maximize this opportunity. Talk to every company that fits your experience and ambitions. If you meet with 20 recruiters, at the end of the day you will know 20 people by name. That sure beats sending a blind resume to "Personnel Director." ( msn.com )

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Five Job Search Tips to Survive a Recession

Five Job Search Tips to Survive a Recession. Today's economic news may be gloom and doom but it needn't derail your job hunt. You can still win a great job, even in a lousy economy. You will have to get smarter in your job search strategy, though.

Here are five tips to incorporate into your job search approach during an economic downturn:

1. Research your options

Does your industry or line of work offer little promise of employment in the coming months? If so, now is a good time to step back to identify the projected top performing industries and jobs. The best place to find this info is on the Web through Google or Yahoo. Start with "best industries work recession" or "recession jobs 2008" to uncover articles describing some of the more "recession-proof" sectors to target.

2. Change your focus

Start asking yourself the question, "What's in it for them?" as opposed to, "What's in it for me?" Especially in an economic downturn, you'll want to stay focused on what you can accomplish for your next employer. Show them that you understand the macroeconomic "bigger picture" of the role you play in moving the company forward.

3. Sell results, not skills

Leave behind that old mindset that your job-related skills or length of service are selling factors. The new mindset is to think of yourself as a mini profit-and-loss center rather than just an employee. Employers today buy results and are less impressed with candidates promoting a long laundry list of skills. You'll want to define the many ways your past and present job performance is an asset to your next employer.

4. Start talking money

The downturn has made the private sector economy even more bottom-line-oriented than ever. Hiring managers categorize employees into one of two distinct groups:

a.) those who help make money

b.) those who help save money.

Which one are you?

For example, Barry, who preferred to withhold his last name for the purpose of this story, worked as the human resources manager of a midsized company. While much of his work focused on compliance issues, he noticed that the company was paying many thousands of dollars to locate and hire good employees. As a result, Barry developed and implemented an in-house employee referral program that netted three quality hires in a six-month period. This saved the company almost $70,000 that the company would have paid for recruiters and advertising costs.

Barry saves money for his company, and this is an accomplishment future employers will want to hear about.

Rethink your current or past job to understand your position in the bigger corporate P&L picture. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How did my work improve the performance of my department or company?


• How many roles did I perform that saved the company the expense of added employees or contractors?


• How has my work made the work of others (employees and managers) easier, faster and more effective?

Collect specific examples of the benefit that your company gained from the work you've already performed. Clarify the specific benefits your company received by making money or saving money, and write them down.

5. Add achievements to your résumé

Employers don't hire employees, they hire problem-solvers. Your new résumé should be a hard-hitting sales tool designed to accomplish one goal: get the interview. To demonstrate this, add a specific achievements list to your résumé. Take the list that you developed in the previous section and hone it down to your biggest and most notable accomplishments. Now, describe the benefit that your employer gained from each example. This will put you several steps ahead of your job-seeking competitors. Plus, you'll now have some talking points ready for that next phone interview.

Summary

Don't let all the hype about the recession spook you into a state of panic. By revising your tactics to include a more solution-selling approach to employers, you stand a better chance of getting hired in today's faltering economy.

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Is Job Hopping the New Norm?

Is Job Hopping the New Norm?. When will you leave your current job?. Your answer is probably much different than it would have been 10 years ago.

Workers today aren't staying with their employers as long as they once did. Job seekers used to approach a new job as a path to retirement, but now they view it as a way to gain experience until they're ready for a better opportunity. Job hopping is the new norm for many workers and it's gaining popularity.

The influence of the Millennials

Although job hopping isn't an overnight phenomenon, workers under 25, also known as Millennials and Gen-Y, are considered the catalysts for the trend. As a whole, this generation of workers is more assertive than previous ones, and they have a laundry list of demands. Millennials want more money than previous generations, a healthy work-life balance and a job with a sense of purpose, according to Nicholas Aretakis, author of "No More Ramen: The 20-Something's Real World Survival Guide."

Millennials look for jobs that pay well, don't interfere with their personal lives and give them a sense of purpose, Aretakis says. They don't know if they'll stay with an employer longer than a couple of years, so the traditional view of company loyalty isn't a chief concern for them.

The new reality

Job hopping isn't necessarily a self-serving tool of "Generation Me." It's necessary for survival in the current job market.

"The fast moving pace of this century does not embrace staying still, and this includes staying still in one job," says Tina Hamilton, founder of human resources company HireVision Group.

After all, hoping to stick with one employer for the rest of your career isn't a realistic expectation, she points out. "Layoffs are commonplace, 'change management' is a job title, and loyalty means being honest and working with integrity -- not staying at a company until retirement."

How it affects everybody

Job hopping might have hit its stride with Millennials but it's catching on with workers of all generations.

"Gen X fits in between attrition rates of Gen Y and baby boomers, recognizing a need to stay a bit longer, but not nearly as patient or committed as boomers," Aretakis says. "Only three in 10 Gen-Xers have been with their employer for 10 years. Boomers, on the other hand, work for the same employer three times longer than Gen-Xers."

Aretakis has also seen an increasing amount of once-loyal boomers looking for new jobs and careers than before, supporting the idea that job hopping is not a trend but rather a new way of life.

Employers, meanwhile, want to retain their employees for as long as possible. Once you consider how much time and money it takes to post a new job then recruit, interview and train a new candidate, you can appreciate the value of a long-term employee.

Even if you are a long-term employee with no plans for a career change, you can still reap the benefits of perks that employers adopt to attract job-hopping Millennials. For example, flexible schedules and telecommuting become options for everyone in the company, not just twentysomethings.

Even the benefits that aren't necessarily written into a company's guidelines can still improve everyone's job situation. For example, according to Aretakis, improved communication between management and lower-level employees, mentorship opportunities, opportunities for career advancement and an overall positive environment keep Millennials with a company.

Changes are already affecting the work world at large.

"While I can't imagine a world that ever embraces an employee that changes jobs every 24 months or less, we have already moved to accepting every three to five years as a 'steady work history,'" Hamilton adds.

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Four Ways to Clean Up Digital Dirt

Four Ways to Clean Up Digital Dirt. 83 Percent of Recruiters Look for Digital Dirt. Job seekers, beware! That MySpace photo of you doing a keg stand may get a few chuckles from friends, but it's no laughing matter in the job market.

Employers are increasingly scouring the Internet for "digital dirt" to help them weed through job candidates. In fact, 83.2 percent of recruiters acknowledged to using online search engines in 2007 to uncover information about candidates, according to ExecuNet, an online referral network for executives and recruiters. Of these recruiters, 43 percent acknowledged eliminating candidates based on the negative information they found.

Everything from racy Facebook profiles to scathing posts on community message boards to public arrest records are to blame for why perfectly qualified candidates often miss out on great job opportunities. Ellen Sautter and Diane Crompton, authors of "Seven Days to Online Networking" (JIST), add that digital dirt doesn't even have to be disastrous to knock candidates out of the running for a job.

"Digital dirt comes in all shapes and sizes. For example, the Internet might reveal that you're a member of a controversial association or that you're part of a moonlighting business that could be a conflict of interest with, or distraction from, your primary work. It can simply be something that is irrelevant to your professional reputation and distracts people from the real message you want to get across about who you are and what you have to offer," Sautter and Crompton state.

Many job seekers think they're squeaky clean in cyber space, only to discover that someone with the same name is soiling their reputation with recruiters. Sharing a common name with people who work in the same field or live in a similar area can be extremely problematic for job seekers if negative information is lurking online.

In their book, Sautter and Crompton offer the following four strategies to clean up digital dirt.

Wash over it

Create so much new online content about yourself that the negative or irrelevant information is buried under fresher, more relevant and more positive content. This method is useful when you're dealing with content that relates to someone else who shares your name. The more positive, relevant content you can create that is truly yours, the more you'll stand out from the pack of Jane Smiths and John Does.

Wash it out

Get rid of it entirely. Having online content deleted is not easy. Unless someone you know well created or posted the content in the first place, you might have a difficult time getting the owners of the site to remove the offending content.

Wait it out

Take no active measures to hide or delete the content, but just let nature take its course. Nature, in this case, is the natural sequence of events in most reasonably active, visible professionals' lives. This approach is recommended only if you write, speak or blog often.

Call in the pros

Now you can employ the services -- for a fee, of course -- of businesses that will keep an eye on your online reputation and help you keep it clean. One of the pioneers in this field, Reputation Defender, goes on a search-and-destroy mission. This organization scours the Internet to dig up every bit of information on you and then sets out to destroy (at your request) any negative information by getting it corrected or removed, whenever possible.

Sautter and Crompton encourage people -- whether they're job searching or not -- to remember that everything they do online leaves a digital footprint. It's up to each individual to determine whether those footprints take a step in the right -- or wrong -- direction in cyberspace. ( msn.com )

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