For people who are gifted with making sweet creations and have been the go-to cake-maker of family reunions, and even gotten treats giveaways or cupcake commissions from friends, the next progression is deciding how to sell baked goods from home.
And why not?
You have the skills, the passion, the market, and now you just have to make it official.
This post will guide you on how to sell baked goods from home, regardless of how big or small you’d like the business to go.
6 Steps to Take to Sell Baked Goods from Home
Selling baked goods to your officemates or family friends can bring you extra cash to your savings, but if you want to make this side gig income a lot bigger, follow these 6 steps:
1. Complete Legalities
The business permits and requirements will depend largely on your location. You may need one, any or all of the following:
Create a business entity (like an LLC or partnership) – Launching a business entity is smart because it separates your personal assets if ever your ex-customers decide to sue you for getting sick from eating your baked goods.
Business license – Most cities require a business permit regardless of how big or small you plan your business to be. Note that this license is needed for you to operate the business, but you might be required to obtain additional permits to run a food business from home, such as ‘food preparation license’ or ‘food handler permit’.
Zoning board permission – Sometimes, in-home businesses might not be allowed to open up shop in the residential area where you live. Check the zoning board about their policies or requirements to be given permission.
Health and fire department approval – When obtaining a food business permit, one major part of that process is to seek approval from the city’s health department and fire department. They will visit your home, check your kitchen (or any area where you’ll be baking) and give recommendations on how to renovate your kitchen to be fit for producing baked goods.
Sales tax – Some states will require you to collect sales tax on your baked goods and pay either monthly or quarterly.
Insurance – Seek advice from an insurance company to determine the insurance type you need to run your home-based baking business.
Of course, the easiest way to learn which permits you’ll need is to go visit city hall.
They’ll direct you where to go, from the health or fire department, to the business regulations office, and so on. Prepare to pay fees for permits – these are rarely free of charge.
2. Gather Supplies
This will become a major part of your business plan, since gathering all the ingredients and supplies will give you an idea of how much investment you’ll need to start your business. During this phase, you should be able to:
Write a business plan – Not only will getting a business plan set-up help you in assessing finances, it will also help in anticipating the future.
Decide on you main products – Focus on your best-sellers, before expanding your menu. Once you settle into your new business, you’ll learn which ones are more profitable and marketable.
Make a list of ingredients – This includes flour, sugar, eggs, and any other items you’ll need to create your baked goods. You’ll have to replenish these ingredients regularly, so it is better to have a pantry or storage room to keep them organized and easier to detect once a particular ingredient is running low.
Make a list of supplies – Separate cooking equipment you’ll only need to buy once in a few years (such as oven, stand mixer, and so on) with supplies you’ll need regularly (like spatula or cupcake liners).
Decide on packaging for your baked goods – Go with a box, plastic, or an eco-friendly packaging. Regardless of the type of packaging you choose, you’ll get discounts when you buy in bulk.
Once you’ve gathered all the supplies, it would take you several weeks or a few months to have a regular shopping regimen for your ingredients. Make sure to keep all receipts so you’ll be able to do accounting accurately.
3. Set-up Your Online Accounts
I know marketing can be scary, but the internet has allowed small businesses to thrive and compete with better-financed companies because promoting your baked goods business online is virtually free.
However, you do have to set-up these accounts and manage them by adding news, promos, and other relevant posts. For starters, make sure you build online presence on:
Facebook – Create a business page, set-up cover and profile photos, list down contact information, and update it with at least 1 post a week.
Instagram – Instagram is a haven for drool-worthy pictures, so there’s no better way to promote your baked goods than to share photos of them on Instagram. There are different ways to earn money from Instagram, but if you’re smart with marketing, there really is no need to explore other methods.
Twitter – For quick announcements and answering inquiries, Twitter is a great platform because it is designed to keep messages short.
Pinterest – Like Instagram, Pinterest is filled with beautifully-crafted photos. The main difference is that Pinterest could serve as your online menu or product catalog, while Instagram is a bit more informal for anything-goes kinds of posts.
All these platforms give you additional (but paid) marketing tools when you’re ready to expand. Boosted posts on Facebook is a good example and a cheaper way to promote your baked goods to a targeted audience.
4. Market Locally
Aside from getting the word out about your baked-goods business online, you also must be promoting your products locally. Print out fliers and posters, then post it on bulletin boards and other storefronts (with permission from storeowners of course).
The great thing about home-made products is that places like the Farmers Market welcome small business owners like you with open arms. As such, slots get filled out pretty quickly when registration opens up. Be on the lookout for the next dates and locations will be.
And if you’re having a hard time getting a slot into your local farmer’s market, here’s a comprehensive guide to ensure you always do.
Word of mouth is still important, so make sure you build an excellent rapport with customers and your products would do the promoting for you.
When customers taste your baked goods and they become a fan, there’s a good chance that they’ll send referrals your way.
5. Keep Track of Incoming and Outgoing Funds
Tracking expenses and revenues is important to any business, since it is a solid representation of your gains or losses. You can track cost traditionally with files and folders, or you can utilize a do-it-for-you service like ShoeBoxed.
Make sure you begin your operations with a bookkeeping system, so you wouldn’t have to rush during tax season.
If you’re hiring people, set up a payroll system as well.
6. Expanding Your Business
If you’ve set up everything and you feel that your business is ready to jump off to another level, there are several things you should consider:
Product research – Add more items to your menu. Try seasonal offerings. Or make a survey what your existing customers would like you to make.
Competition research – Check out what your competitors are doing. You don’t necessarily have to copy everything they’re doing, but if you look at
Find partners proactively – Look for restaurants, cafes and other local food shops that will be willing to sell your baked goods on site. This is particularly helpful if your in-home baking business has no storefront.
Create an online community – If you don’t have a website yet, make one. You can even create an online community by working on a food blog and sharing recipes. It’s a great way to promote your company without being in-your-face to customers with ads.
The Bottom Line
It goes without saying that your baked goods should be better than most home-baked goods.
It isn’t really necessary to have baking certifications, awards or formal training to build a full-pledged baking business from scratch.
You do have to practice safe food preparation, learn everything about food allergies and other dietary issues. If you have a food service background, that training would have probably been instilled in you until today.
Plus, use the information above as a checklist of-sorts on how to sell baked goods from home and hopefully become one of the hundreds of home bakers with thriving small businesses in the country.
You may think that shoveling a neighbor’s driveway is only a teenager’s job, you’d be surprised to know that you can get paid to shovel snow, earn big bucks from just a few hours of work each day, and turn it into a snow-shoveling business.
Although seasonal, the trick to snow-shoveling as a business is to find a market, organize your time, and choose the right tools.
And if you’re still doubting how you can turn this into a real business, check out the steps below:
Snow-shoveling Business 101
For this to work as a full-scale business, you need several things:
Location – This is important. You need to reside in a city that gets heavy snow every year. It wouldn’t be feasible traveling to another state just to offer your snow-shoveling business.
Good health – If you, the business owner, will also be the one shoveling snow, you’d have to be able to take the intense labor you’re going to face. This is especially true if you want to stick to traditional snow shovels, instead of going for a more advanced equipment like an electric snow shovel or snow thrower. And since you will be outdoors in winter for several hours, your body should be able to take the climate day in, day out until the season ends.
Personality – The only thing that would give you an edge over your big snow-shoveling business competition is how many of your first customers are friends, family members and referrals. Because of this, your business will always have a personal touch, so your personality will definitely be a major factor in keeping and maintaining your clients.
Equipment – Technically, you can launch this business even if you just borrow a friend’s snow shovel. But this business require you to work smart and better equipment (like an electric shovel or snow thrower) would make the job a lot quicker, and let you accommodate more customers.
Time – Let’s face it, if you only have a couple of hours available each day, you couldn’t earn enough to consider snow shoveling as a business. There has to be a balance of having time to cater to several jobs and not stretching yourself too far.
Like any kind of business, you’ll need a business plan. You must identify your market and determine how you would like to approach marketing (by word-of-mouth, local ads, online, and so on).
It’s important to invest in either better equipment or additional people (either a partner or employee). You’d like to accept as much jobs as possible during heavy snowfall, but you can’t do it if you’re using only a conventional shovel. Just think of the customers you’re going to have to say “no” to if you’re still working on a job all by yourself.
How Much Can You Get Paid to Shovel Snow?
You need to be able to decide on pricing before offering your services.
In general, you can get paid to shovel snow from $25 to $75 an hour, or from $100 to as high as $500 per job. The range will depend on several factors, such as:
Hourly vs. set fees
Hourly fees are better for larger properties with bigger areas to clear, such as longer sidewalks or drives, simply because it would take longer to complete the job.
On the other hand, you can also set pricing to certain packages, such as $25 for quick snow blowing under 10 feet area and below 2-inch snow, or $150 for 5-inch snow within a 24 feet driveway.
I recommend you find out how long you can shovel a driveway, sidewalk and so on. Take note of the area size and the amount of snow when you fulfill your initial jobs, so you’ll be able to charge more appropriately in the future.
Location and Demand
The demand for snow shoveling services will depend largely on where you are. Cities that have yearly snowfall will have higher demand for shoveling snow.
In the same vein, if your area has no big companies that offer snow shoveling, you’ll have a higher chance of making it big.
It’s all about supply and demand – the more snow to clear, the higher demand is for shoveling. And with no other business to take care of this demand, you can price your services a bit higher than other areas.
Other Considerations
When pricing your service, consider transportation cost (if you go to the client’s location by car), and maintenance of your equipment.
If you’re going to be using a snow blower, make sure to list down gas as an added expense.
Equipment and Tools
As I said earlier, you can start this business even with just you and a basic shovel in hand. Some people have ZERO investment when they began. But they worked their butts off during intense snowfall to cater to as many clients possible.
However, if you have some funds as you launch this business, consider buying:
Additional shovel – You can buy any shovel for as low as $10 and it could last you for a good year. Adding shovels to your equipment ensure you sustain your business even if your existing set of shovel.
Traditional shovels with advanced features – You can also go for shovels with wheels or snow pusher/plow to make the job easier. It would cost a bit more than traditional shovels, but it isn’t as labor intensive as before.
Electric snow shovel – These cost somewhere above $50 to $200 depending on how long the cables you need and features you’d like to get. There are also battery-powered variations, if you’re not a fan of cords.
Snow blower/thrower – Spare $100 to $1000, if you’re interested in buying a snow blower. There are corded electric models, cordless electric snow blowers, and gas-powered snow blowers.
Snowplow for your truck – These removable snow plow kits attach to the front of your truck. They look massive, since they cater to larger spaces like outdoor commercial parking, or driveways of mansions.
Get Paid to Shovel Snow with Apps
Shovler is a cool mobile app that caters to both snow-shoveling businesses and the clients looking for these services. It is free to download, but Shovler does get a cut of your fees (15% of it) at the end of a job.
This app makes it a breeze to find people within your community who need their homes or business places shoveled.
As a snow-shoveling business, joining Shovler allows you to accept credit card payments via the app, send you notifications whenever a new job near you is posted.
What’s great about Shovler is that the app computes rates for each jobs based on the amount of snow, size of area needed cleared, and other factors. In general, Shovler charges $2 per square foot.
The Bottom Line
What makes a shoveling business interesting is that you could start big or small.
You have total control on how much you want to expand it – you can be aggressive with promoting via local ads, hunting through Facebook groups, and a wide range of marketing techniques. Or you can keep it small and cater only to family and friends.
Living in a colder climate can sometimes be a hassle, but if you use this time each year to offer your snow shoveling business, you can add significant income to your finances even if you only open up shop during winter.
The 2020 Census jobs are now open for applications, so if you have several weeks of free time available, you can be one of the hundreds of thousands of temporary workers hired across the United States and Puerto Rico.
Why would you want to apply to these jobs, you ask? Well, you’ll enjoy flexible work hours, paid training, weekly paychecks and competitive wages.
This post explains everything you need to know about applying to Census temp jobs, how much you can earn, who are qualified, and what types of positions are available.
Types of 2020 Census Jobs Available
Here are the 5 types of 2020 Census jobs:
1. Census Takers
These temp workers help in collecting responses from households that haven’t responded to the census.
You can apply for this position from January to April 2020.
Paid training is scheduled to begin in March and end on mid-May. Actual work occurs from May through July 2020.
Location: Field
Available positions: Hundreds of thousands across the country
Work hours: Since the job is done in the field, work has flexible hours and would depend on the area you’re assigned to. However, most census takers will be required to work on weekends or in the evenings.
2. Census Field Supervisors
They will serve as the supervisor of census takers working in the field.
Their roles would vary on a day-to-day basis, but focus on monitoring performance of census takers and ensuring quotas are met on time.
Applications and job offers will be made until February 2020.
Location: Field, office and at-home
Available positions: Thousands across the country
Work hours: Work schedules follow regular business hours, but can extend to evenings or weekends on specific days.
3. Recruiting Assistants
They’re like HR people, but exclusively working for the Census Bureau.
These recruiting assistants promote employment opportunities available in the U.S. Census and recruit local residents.
They are also the ones assigned to talk to media outlets, communities and other groups about current Census jobs. Compared to other jobs on this list, this one isn’t available at all times, but opens periodically throughout the 2020 Census.
Location: Field
Available positions: Thousands across the country
Work hours: Follows business hours, but can be flexible depending on the location assigned.
4. Clerk
These admin jobs are in-demand and handle many clerical tasks, such as recruitment, payroll, and other functions.
Job offers will be made periodically throughout the 2020 Census.
Location: Work is done at census offices across the country
Available positions: Thousands of slots
Work hours: Follows business hours, but could also extend to evenings and weekends depending on the area.
5. Office Operations Supervisor
These supervisors manage activities of Census clerks.
They work in or near U.S. Census Bureau offices and manage work schedules, conduct quality checks, and wear many hats to ensure operations run smoothly on a day-to-day basis.
Location: Work is done at census offices across the country
Available positions: Thousands of slots
Work hours: Follows business hours, but could also extend to evenings and weekends depending on the area.
How to Apply
To be eligible for any of the jobs above, you should be a U.S. citizen, 18 years old (or older) with a valid Social Security number, valid email address and fully completed application form.
You only need to submit your application ONCE. Your background and answers to the application assessment questions will determine which type of job you’d likely excel the most.
Applicants interested in being considered for supervisory positions must answer additional questions, which take approximately 10 minutes to answer.
For all positions, other requirements include:
Ability to speak, read and write in English
Basic computer and internet skills
Fingerprinting, criminal background checks
Complete training
Valid driver’s license (or access to a vehicle)
Non-citizens may be hired, only if no other applicants are willing to take the job.
If you’re bilingual, you have an edge over your competition because the Census Bureau is always looking for temp who can speak other languages other than English.
However, you may still be required to take an English proficiency exam.
Applicants located in Puerto Rico have the option of completing their application forms in either Spanish or English, but the assessments are only allowed to be completed in Spanish. Puerto Rico-based supervisory positions and office-based Census jobs are also required to pass the English proficiency exams.
Sometimes, additional documents may be required after the interview.
How Much Can You Earn from these 2020 Census Jobs?
The U.S. Census Bureau only released hourly wages of clerks and census takers. Their pay ranges from $13 to $30 per hour, which depends largely on the town and state you applied to.
Temporary 2020 Census employees are paid weekly through direct deposit or a paycheck in the mail.
The first paycheck arrives 2 weeks after the first day of work, then every 7 days for subsequent paychecks.
If you were a bit worried about driving to the field, you’d be glad to know that you can be reimbursed for authorized work expenses such as mileage incurred while conducting census work.
Extra Side Hustle after Field Work
The cool thing about doing field work and having flexible working hours is that you can still participate in other side gigs after working your Census jobs.
Here are just several examples, but you can incorporate them into your schedule as you wish:
Unfortunately, these 2020 Census jobs are only temporary. If you enjoyed your temp job at the Census Bureau, you can always check USA Jobs or the Census Careers page to see what other permanent jobs are available for your profession.
If you weren’t lucky enough to get a slot this year, don’t worry. Each year, the U.S. Census Bureau opens up these temp jobs once again. Add it into your calendar, so you’re ready next year.
Have you experienced working for Census before? Would you recommend applying for these jobs? Would love to hear about first-hand experiences from anyone below…
Flipping various items has proven to be a lucrative side hustle for many entrepreneurs. Clothes, shoes, electronics, and even houses can all be flipped for a profit.
Furniture is yet another one of those items that can be flipped, and probably one of the more profitable ones, that is if you have the skills.
Repairing and redecorating damaged furniture reduces waste and helps contribute to saving the environment.
Also, there’s something satisfying and fulfilling about transforming something that’s worn, damaged, or even merely unattractive into a useful work of art.
Here is all you need to learn about how to make money from flipping furniture: how profitable it is, as well as how and where to buy used furniture,
Can You Make Money Flipping Furniture?
It’s possible to make money from flipping furniture, but it all depends on your existing tools and materials, skills, and artistry.
Having all the woodworking or metalworking tools considerably reduces your overhead and initial spending. The same goes for materials like paint, varnish, etching acid, etc.
If you have to buy tools before you start, it might set you back some and you start your endeavor already too deep in the red.
You can try renting tools from places like Home Depot to minimize your initial costs and then purchase tools for yourself when you start turning in profit.
Cleaning and polishing furniture are relatively simple tasks, but refurbishing and repairing furniture take considerable skills.
Of course, you can take carpentry, woodworking, and metalworking classes locally, but again, this involves cost before you even start. Alternatively, you can learn by watching various instructional videos on YouTube. Real-time feedback on what you’re doing is very limited, but it’s free to learn online.
Even without these skills, though, you can start buying used furniture, simply cleaning them, and then reselling them for a profit.
However, because you can’t add anything to the furniture to considerably increase its value, you’re limited to flipping furniture that’s already in good condition, which is more expensive to buy.
Bottom line: Flipping furniture is most profitable for people who already have experience and comfortable repairing, remodeling, and redecorating used furniture.
Things To Consider When Buying Used Furniture
Type of furniture
There are many different types of furniture that you’d need to familiarize yourself with.
Wood furniture, when built and maintained correctly, can last for decades. In addition, there is a huge market for pieces of furniture that have been refinished so that it retains its old-world charm while finding its place in a modern home.
Upholstered furniture can also be profitable; simply cleaning the upholstery can spruce the look of the furniture, but reupholstering it can give it a whole new look that buyers may be more willing to spend on.
Another type of furniture that you can flip is outdoor furniture, although they don’t fetch as much as indoor furniture. The wear and tear may be a tad more than indoor pieces, so keep that in mind when you buy this type of furniture.
Antiques are one of the most profitable types of furniture that you can flip if you find the right target market. Because they’re higher in value, the level of scrutiny should also be higher.
Condition upon buying
If you’re buying something that’s already in good condition, you minimize the amount of work you put into it.
It might cost a bit more, but saving on materials, labor, and time can offset the cost and still give you a nice profit.
Uniqueness of the design
You want something one-of-a-kind so that your buyers don’t feel like they’re buying something they can buy from anywhere.
But you need to balance this with its functionality. For example, if a chair looks distinctive but you can’t sit in it, it’s worthless.
A uniquely designed furniture that doesn’t function as it should is no use to anyone.
Where To Buy Used Furniture
Shipping and freight for heavy items like furniture may prove to be too expensive, so you might not want to order from too far away.
Now that you know what to look for when shopping for used furniture, here are some of the places where you can find and buy used furniture for flipping.
1. Thrift Shops
These are probably what first comes to mind when you say “used furniture.”
You can find good deals in thrift shops, secondhand stores, or charity shops, but just because it’s in a thrift store doesn’t automatically mean that it’s a bargain. It’s possible to find used, even slightly damaged items priced even higher than retail prices.
2. Garage Sales/Yard Sales
When one of your neighbors or other local people in your area do a Marie Kondo or plan to move out and get rid of their old stuff, you’ll want to be there.
They’re highly motivated to sell off their furniture and might be more willing to negotiate with you for a lower price.
3. Estate Sales And Auctions
Estate sales are a good place to find well-loved used furniture. An appraiser normally determines the value of the furniture before it gets offered, so the price isn’t as low as you’d find in garage sales.
Your local paper should have a list of estate sales in your area, or you can go to a website like Find Estate Sales.
If you can find businesses that are closing, they normally sell their assets for a much lower price than retail. Furniture businesses are of course ideal, but pretty much any business that has furniture can be a goldmine of used furniture.
You might get an even better price if you have a lot of cash to spare and can buy their furniture as a lot.
4. Flea Markets And Vintage Markets
Flea markets are another good source of used furniture. The good thing about flea markets is that there are many sellers in one place and thus, they’re driven to sell their merchandise at lower prices, as there’s plenty of competition in one place.
Vintage markets aren’t very different from flea markets; they’re places where home goods and furnishings are old enough to be collectible but not old enough to be antiques.
5. Online through Craigslist
Craigslist, the modern-day local classified ads, is another great source of used furniture from people in your area.
Since Craigslist is a free platform for displaying ads and not really a marketplace, they don’t provide payment or shipping facilities. It’s up to you and whoever you’re buying from to meet up and exchange goods and cash.
Thus, you’d have to be careful. There’s a reason why there are plenty of scammers in Craigslist and you need to exercise the utmost care. Meet up in public spaces as much as you can, take a companion with you if you can, always inspect the furniture carefully, and never ever pay first before you meet up.
Where To Sell Refurbished Furniture
As I’ve mentioned, shipping and freight for furniture may be too expensive, so it’s best to sell your pieces locally.
Of course, if a not-so-local buyer wants to buy your items and is willing to shoulder the cost of having the item sent to them, then there’s no reason not to accommodate them.
Here are some of the places where you can sell your overhauled furniture.
1. Online Through Craigslist Or Other Selling Apps
Selling locally is a better option than selling online, and Craigslist and mobile selling apps let you do just that.
Flipping furniture on Craigslist is as simple as buying them. But if you’re the one selling, you’ll need to market your furniture better, which also applies when you’re selling them through other selling applications.
Clear photos from multiple angles, materials used, size and dimensions, as well as any other details of your furniture should be included in your listing.
It also helps to mention the work you did on the furniture, such as any repairs, paint jobs, upholstery changes, etc.
These details attract serious and interested buyers.
You also should learn to protect yourself from scammy buyers, too. Make sure you’re meeting in a public place, such as the mall or any other building or structure that hosts plenty of people.
If meeting in a public space isn’t possible, such as if the item is too big or if you have some restrictions in driving or in motion, at least do the exchange in a publicly visible area such as your garage, porch, front yard, or anywhere else that people on the outside can see.
Never give up your item without at least seeing the money.
If you want a quick way to move inventory, this is a good way to sell your used furniture. In addition, selling through a third party give you exposure to a wider clientele who might want to deal with you directly in the future.
The advantage is that they come to wherever your furniture is, appraise it, and take it off your hands if they think they can sell it at a profit.
However, you might not get the best price for your items because these dealers also have to make a profit. It might help to think of this minor loss as the price for being able to offload your stock quickly, exposure to new clientele, and having someone else handle selling your items.
3. Flea Markets And Vintage Markets
Renting a space in your local flea market and selling your furniture from there is another good way to sell your furniture.
Buyers who shop at flea markets are normally on the hunt for original, well-made furniture that can’t be found elsewhere.
A good strategy to sell your pieces quickly is to have an attractive display and access to foot traffic so that buyers can see your items on display.
4. Garage Sales
Hosting a garage sale is another way to attract local people to your merchandise.
Advertise your items for sale through your community boards, if you have them, and then invite them to your garage sale.
It’s probably not a good idea to be posting your home address on public bulletin boards, though. Either hold a garage sale in a public space or post contact details such as your email address and phone number so you can send your address in private.
5. Thrift Shops
Selling your pieces to thrift shops should be your last resort, if at all.
You want your furniture to sell at a good price, but shoppers at thrift stores expect low-priced items, so you might not earn enough to make it worth your while.
Tips To Earn More From Flipping Furniture
Learn how to negotiate.
Haggling is a huge part of flipping anything; you want to buy cheap and sell high.
Knowing how to negotiate a good price for the furniture you’re buying to flip allows you to get a good selling price for your refurbished furniture as well.
Avoid working with fake wood.
You want to put out quality furniture every single time, not only to build your reputation but also to get repeat business and solid referrals.
To produce high-quality furniture that lasts for years, you need to stay away from low-quality materials, such as particle board or medium-density fiberboard (MDF).
Those pieces won’t last, no matter how much you sand them or how pretty you paint them.
Know how to take eye-catching photographs of your merchandise.
Half of your business is advertising and convincing your target market to buy your furniture.
A big part of it is making sure that the visual aspect of your marketing is done well. There are plenty of online courses that teach how to take awesome photographs of furniture that showcase details as well as display their overall aesthetic.
Consider expanding your business to doing custom work.
Sometimes, customers want to keep their furniture but also turn it into something unique to them and their taste without having to buy new pieces.
You can monetize your skills in revamping furniture without having to look for furniture to buy and flip. Thus, you can make more money from the same work.
However, before you can make this into a profitable venture, you’d have to have a solid customer base to do this work for and to spread the word, so consider doing this later on in your business.
Quality always trumps quantity.
This is the most important thing to keep in mind if you want to be successful in this business.
This applies to everything. For instance, it’s better to use quality tools and materials that are a bit more expensive rather than settle for cheaper but lower-quality ones.
In addition, putting out fewer, excellently made pieces is a better strategy than churning out inferior furniture.
Is Flipping Furniture For You?
As you’ve probably gathered by now, buying and overhauling furniture can be a profitable way for you to make some side cash.
Hopefully, I’ve given you everything you need to get started flipping furniture and making some side cash from it.
Other Things You Can Flip To Make Money
Buying and selling furniture isn’t for everyone, though.
If you decide that flipping furniture isn’t for you, or maybe you just want to up your flipping game, here are some other items that you can buy at a bargain and then sell:
How do you sell used laptop without settling for bargain prices? Is it better to sell it whole or for parts?
This is a common dilemma for people who upgraded their laptops even before their existing laptops begin to be problematic. Most of the time, the old laptop ends up being stored away while you decide what to do with it, and eventually forgotten.
If you have an old laptop collecting dust somewhere, the best thing you can do with it is to sell it and recoup some of the money you spent for a new one.
Things to Do Before You Sell Used Laptop
Although you could just hop on eBay and list your used laptop, there are things you must do first to ensure you’re going to end up with a good deal.
Check for damages
Check your laptop for damages. No detail is too small.
Look at the exterior (keyboard, monitor, USB ports, etc.) and interior (hard drives, CD drive, and so on).
Be clear about the defects you know, such as ‘laptop not charging’ and admit if you haven’t found a diagnosis to a broken laptop.
Find the original boxes, cables and other accessories
Prepare the original box that came with your laptop.
If it isn’t available anymore, find the accessories such as charger, cables, manuals, CD installer, and so on.
In general, if you have original accessories still working, you have a higher chance of selling the laptop for a better price.
Save copies of your files and clear the laptop
You also have to copy your files, photos, videos, and even browsers (with saved passwords).
The easiest route is to move it to Google Drive, or any cloud-based storage you have. Once you’ve saved everything, just delete all your files and reformat the laptop.
If the laptop isn’t working when you plan to sell it, find out how to retrieve files off a hard drive.
Know the value of your used laptop
Like all kinds of gadgets, the value of laptops decrease quickly.
You should visit appraisal sites like Gadget Value to learn how much you could sell your laptop for.
It’s important to know the make and model of the laptop to get the most accurate estimate possible.
Unfortunately, the site only values laptops from the last 10 years, so you can only get laptops from 2010 to the current year appraised.
Compare pricing
Visit buy and sell sites like eBay and search for the laptop make and model.
Do this for all similar sites, so you could get an idea how much you could sell your laptop.
Now that you’ve prepped your used laptop for sale, it’s time to list it on (one or all of) your chosen sites below…
10 Places to Sell Your Used Laptop
eBay (with over 170 million users) remains the best place to sell any used items, but Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Groups comes in a close second.
Craigslist isn’t the most intuitive or best-looking design-wise, but it is still a popular way of selling used items locally.
All three are free of charge, so you can list your item there simultaneously.
Note that the list of the best places to sell your used laptop below no longer includes eBay, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
Device Pitstop exchanges laptops for cash and accepts trade-in as well. They also accept tablets, smartphones, and game consoles.
Unfortunately, since you do have to bring in the laptop to the store personally, this will only help those living in or near Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan, and Kentucky.
You simply fill up a form with details about your laptop, which will help them quote your item properly. Once you agree to the price, they will send you a postage-paid shipping label so you could ship off your laptop to Gadget Salvation via any UPS store.
Once Gadget Salvation receives the laptop, the company’s team will test the laptop and assess if the laptop conditions you stated are accurate.
If not, they might send you a revised offer. You have the option of accepting or rejecting the offer. You can cancel the deal anytime and still have the laptop shipped back to you free of charge.
If you do accept the offer, expect the payment after 48 business hours via PayPal, bank transfer, Venmo, or check.
Launched in 2015, LetGo lets you sell your laptop (and other items like furniture, cars, clothes, and so on) as quickly as taking a photo and listing it onto the marketplace.
Sellers decide on the price and who they sell the laptop to.
If someone is interested on your used laptop, you have to meet up so they could review the item in person and you could receive the cash once the buyer decides to buy it off your hands.
Offer Up, Varage Sale and Close 5 work exactly the same as LetGo.
As the marketplace of MacOfAllTrades.com, it’s pretty obvious that the site focuses solely on Apple products.
So if you’re trying to sell a Mac, just fill out a form telling them all about your laptop, wait for an estimate and formal offer, then decide if you’re OK with the offer or not.
Once you accept the price, just ship the laptop using Mac Me an Offer’s paid shipping option. Receive the agreed-upon amount within 3 business days via check or PayPal.
SellBroke and its sister site SellLaptopBack both let sellers list their laptops and other devices.
Like other marketplaces on this list, SellBroke and SellLaptopBack will quote your item based on your detailed description of the item. They’ll send you a quote back, and if you agree, they’ll give you a pre-paid shipping label via UPS.
There’s one difference though: SellBroke and SellLaptopBack guarantee that all personal information of the seller would be permanently deleted before putting the laptop back on sale.
Nextworth has been around for over 12 years and has paid out over $210 million through the 3 million gadgets that has passed their way.
Unlike other sites, Nextworth may not accept certain brands or types of gadgets depending on need.
If you get lucky and the site is accepting your laptop’s make and model, follow the same process of quoting, shipping the device and getting paid through check or PayPal.
Founded in 2010, Swappa is a user-to-user marketplace for gently used laptops and other devices.
You have control over pricing and who to sell the item to. Swappa just makes it safer and easier to handle payments. The site doesn’t charge seller fees, which gives it an advantage over more popular sites like eBay.
Trade-Ins and Swap Sites
If you’re open to trading your used laptop instead of selling it for cash, there are several programs you may find interesting:
Best Buy Trade-in Program – Best Buy’s Trade-in Program makes it easy to get rid of an old gadget. Just let them know about your device’s make, model and condition, wait for an estimate, and if you agree with the offered price, bring it over to a brick-and-mortar store or ship it to Best Buy for free. Payment is via a Best Buy gift card.
Amazon Trade-in Program – This program allows customers to receive an Amazon.com Gift Card in exchange for Amazon Devices, laptops, electronics, books, video games, and other eligible items.
The Bottom Line
This is list is everything you need to sell used laptop for cash or trade in for another gadget.
The cool thing about buy and sell marketplaces these days is you can do the transactions from start to finish with minimal effort on your part.
Just send the device using a prepaid shipping label, let the company assess your laptop, and if you (or the company of your choice) do not agree on the price, the laptop will be sent back to you without charge. How easy is that?
So instead of leaving your old laptop collecting dust in a corner of your room, put it to good use and turn them into cash today.
Before we dive into the best money making apps, let me first ask you…
How much time per day do you spend staring at your phone?
If you’re anything like me, you’re glued to your phone all hours of the day.
In fact, you’re probably reading this article on your phone right now. And if you aren’t you probably glanced at your phone at least twice already to see if there were any new notifications.
There probably wasn’t, but you still looked anyway.
Truth is, we’re addicted to these damn things. But wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to turn that addiction into a little extra cash?
Advertisers are spending more money on mobile ads than any other platform, coming in at around $70 billion per year.
You can get a little slice of the pie just by using the right apps.
I did the research for you and found 13 apps that make you money.
All you have to do is download them and get to work.
You might also want to look at this list of selling apps. These are apps that will pay you money for things you have sitting around your house.
13 Highest Paying Money Making Apps
If you’ve read any other “money making app” list, you’ve probably come across a lot of the same apps or premises.
Answer surveys, shop online, or do mindless stuff on your phone for a few pennies.
Some of those are in here, but I really wanted to explore new avenues for making money off of your phone and I certainly didn’t want any repeat tasks.
The opportunities below are “best in show” meaning these apps pay the most amount of money in their category.
I broke down each section with the app name, what you need to do to get paid, and a screenshot or two of the app in action.
Want to make $50 just for downloading an app? Nielsen has you covered.
Nielsen is a consumer research agency and they want to know how you use your phone, meaning where you shop, what kind of music you listen to, what websites you visit etc.
They do collect all of this data anonymously and keep your information private.
Why collect it at all? They use your demographics to figure out what people who are similar to you may be interested in or what they may want to buy.
All you need to do is download their app, install it, and you will earn $50 per year.
Google already knows pretty much everything there is to know about you.
This doesn’t mean they don’t want to know even more. This app will send you a notification to answer a few questions about yourself, your spending habits, your travel habits, or just where you’ve been recently.
The short surveys are usually 3 questions long and will net you anywhere from ten cents to a dollar. A survey will usually take less than 30 seconds to answer.
It’s an incredibly quick and easy way to pocket some extra cash. The only drawback is having to wait for the next survey.
Open up the Gigwalk app and you’ll instantly see a list of tasks that need to be done around you.
Most of the tasks revolve around making sure a product is being properly displayed in the store.
You walk to the store, verify the display is being show appropriately and the product is priced correctly, then snap a picture, then get a payout directly to your Paypal account.
Acorns is a pretty cool app that works entirely in the background to help you grow your savings account.
Every time you make a purchase, Acorns will round up the total to the nearest dollar, and take your spare change and invest it into the market on your behalf.
So that $3.40 coffee now “costs” $4.00 even, but the extra 60 cents gets added to a stock portfolio and grows silently in the background.
It’s a great way to save up for retirement or even a vacation without even realizing you’re doing so.
(Take notes, DietBet. Someone else doing all of the work for you is way cooler than getting paid to move around.)
How much time have you spent playing with dogs for free!?
Rover connects pet owners with pet lovers. If you have extra time during the day, you can find local dogs that need daily walks, play time, or cuddles and get paid for your services.
The real money is in overnight stays. Pet owners don’t want to drop their animals off at kennels any more. If you can provide a safe, friendly space for someone else’s pet, you can make quite a bit a money.
I would suggest signing up for Wag! as well. The premise is exactly the same, play with or board other people’s pets and get paid.
The more sites you join, the better chances you have of getting paid to play with animals.
Finding the Best Apps That Make You Money
I hope this list helps put a few extra dollars in your pocket each month.
Sure, you aren’t going to get rich, but you already use your phone a ton, you might as well have a little extra spending cash at the end of the day.
If you are looking for some quick cash, be sure to read my guide on how to make money online fast. There are 5 tasks in there that if you complete them all (takes about 30 minutes) you’ll make $126.
Let me know if any of the above apps work out for you.
(Am I really going to end this post using the words “work out” and not make another DietBet joke?)
We’ve often heard how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
But in the case of Amazon returns, one man’s returned goods is another man’s inventory.
Buying Amazon pallets and then selling them doesn’t sound like a solid business plan, but other people have earned thousands of dollars from doing this.
However, just because others have profited doesn’t guarantee that you will, too. The key is knowing everything you can about the process: where to buy the pallets, how you can find good products for flipping, and maximize your profits.
In today’s blog post, we’ll look at how buying Amazon returns and flipping them can be a profitable exercise.
How Do Amazon Returns Work?
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, and one of the reasons they’re the biggest in the world is they do their best to make it easy for their customers to buy from their website.
One of the ways they do this is through their return policy.
Amazon’s return policy is a lenient one. For most items, Amazon allows customers to return orders within 30 days of receiving it, whether it was a damaged or defective item or for whatever reason.
The thing is, even though many of these products get returned unopened, and presumably, in the same condition as when they were shipped out, Amazon sellers can’t sell these unopened products back on sale as brand-new.
So what happens to all those returns that Amazon readily accepts?
Some of the returned items end up on Amazon Warehouse, where they’re sold at a discount.
The items that end up in Amazon Warehouse are usually those with packages that have been opened, even damaged, and the products have been used but still in good condition.
Business buyers go to these sites and look for liquidation lots of returns and overstock inventory in various sizes and parts.
These lots may have been casually sorted by product category. For instance, home décor, kitchen equipment, apparel. But this isn’t very strict. A liquidation lot marked as containing “home décor” may very well contain random pieces of clothing, toys, or beauty products.
In addition, these lots are sold via auction, much like eBay. That is, buyers can name their price and the highest bidder wins the lot.
Because Amazon only sells these liquidation pallets to businesses, individuals like you Instead, you’re going to purchase from what’s known as a third-party wholesaler or liquidator.
They buy the liquidation lots from Amazon in bulk and then they sell it to smaller businesses and individuals for a profit.
Pros And Cons of Flipping Amazon Returns
Advantages
Much lower cost per item than buying retail or even wholesale
Can attract more buyers by selling items at competitive prices
Can select certain pallets containing certain categories of products
Disadvantages
Requires research to find the right liquidator
Quality of items in a pallet is hit-or-miss
May end up more expensive with the freight costs
Where To Buy Amazon Returns
Here are some reputable places where you can purchase Amazon return pallets.
Liquidation.com is probably the largest liquidation company on the internet, working with over 11,000 retailers aside from Amazon.
Similar to eBay, they auction off the pallets based on a starting bid.
They source their Amazon pallets from customer returns from Amazon, as well as through Amazon Liquidations. Not all of the pallets they offer have photos displayed, especially those from Amazon Liquidations from fulfillment centers, which are usually sealed.
Liquidation.com provides a list of the contents of each opened pallet, like those from customer returns. The retail prices are also indicated on the list.
They give you the location of the warehouse they’re shipping out from, but they don’t allow you to pick them up physically. You can opt to let them handle the shipping or find your own shipping service.
Direct Liquidation offers plenty of Amazon pallets, and they also work with other big retailers, such as Walmart, Target, Lowes, and other retailers.
Again, similar to eBay, there’s no fixed price for a pallet. There’s a starting bid based on a percentage of the estimated retail price of all the contents of the pallet and you get to compete with other bidders to get the pallet.
Direct Liquidation also shows photos of the pallet to give you an idea of the condition of the contents, plus it gives you a list of what’s inside plus the estimated retail value.
They indicate the warehouse location, too, so you’d know if it’s driving distance from you, or at least you can estimate how much the freight would cost if you have a pallet sent to you.
BULQ is another reputable liquidation company that offers pallets at a fixed price. They even have a measurement for what a pallet is: 48”x40”x42”. They also sell smaller units called cases, which measure 24”x20”x23”.
BULQ works with many different retailers, but the website doesn’t have a specific section featuring pallets that they sourced from Amazon, so you’ll have to search for “Amazon” on the search box to see those pallets.
The prices for the pallets are fixed. The shipping fee per pallet is fixed as well at $200, no matter where the pallets are shipped from.
The pallets are organized by category, and the contents of each box are examined for quality, which they list down on the pallet description.
BULQ indicates the quality of the items in the pallet prominently on the pallet page, as well as a detailed list of the items inside plus the retail price of each item. They even guarantee a 98% and up accuracy for this list, or they refund the difference in price.
TDW Closeouts offers pallets from various department stores and online retailers, but of the other companies here, they’re the most secretive.
They offer the pallets online, but you can’t order from the website. You have to call them and inquire about what pallets they have available, how much they are, and how to get it shipped to you, wherever you are in the world.
It looks like it’s geared more toward medium to big businesses, not only in the US but worldwide. They’ll ship to various countries.
But if you’re from Florida, specifically in the Fort Lauderdale area, you’re in luck: you can visit their 35,000-square feet warehouse and buy from them directly. They’ll give you better prices as well if you buy direct.
Things To Consider When Buying Amazon Return Pallets
Making money from flipping Amazon return pallets is a relatively new trend, so here are a few tidbits of advice to help you make as much money as you can.
1. Buy only one or two pallets initially from a liquidator.
You’ll want to get an initial, first-hand grasp of what a particular liquidator’s pallets are like.
Not to say that all liquidators aren’t trustworthy, but buying a liquidation lot is already a big risk, and you don’t want to add more risk by going in blind.
2. Manage your expectations of the condition of the items.
The items in the box won’t all be brand-new, in the original packaging.
The packaging, if there’s even any of the original packaging present, will be damaged, at the very least. The conditions of the items range from slightly used to almost worn out.
Buying liquidation lots is a numbers game. When buying a lot, you’re essentially betting that at least a few of the items are still in sellable condition.
Don’t get discouraged if you’re halfway through your pallet and it’s all trash. In his business, it’s typical to throw away a third to half of everything.
3. Electronics involve a larger investment.
When you buy an electronics lot, be aware that you’re signing up for a huge time investment.
First, you have to test each and every one of them if they’re working. Once you’ve sorted out the working ones and the non-working ones, you’ll have to check if there’s a market for broken units of these electronics.
If you do manage to find a market for these broken units, then at least you can sell them off. Otherwise, you’d then have to find a market for its parts.
It’s a lot of time to invest in items that you don’t even know if people will buy.
4. Understand freight costs.
Pallets may weigh hundreds of pounds, depending on the merchandise involved, meaning it might cost you a few times more to ship the pallet than the cost of the pallet of returned goods.
Focus your search on companies within driving distance to minimize your costs.
5. Sell your inventory as fast as you can.
When you sell an item, it may seem like the logical pricing strategy is to get as much profit as you can for it, so you tend to price it higher.
But when you’re dealing with pallets of Amazon returns, it makes more sense to sell more of your inventory, even if it’s for a lower price than you wanted than squeezing every dollar you can out of a single item.
This strategy makes sense when you’re dealing with plenty of inventory. The more units you can sell, the more profit you earn from all the units sold.
6. Invest only what you can afford to lose.
The most important thing to remember is that buying Amazon returns is NOT a guaranteed way to make money.
And because there’s a high risk, I would absolutely not recommend investing all your life savings in this endeavor.
The Bottom Line: Is Buying Amazon Returns Worth It?
Buying Amazon returns is an interesting side cash opportunity that will only grow as online retail grows.
If you find the right places to buy Amazon return pallets and if you buy the right pallet, you have a great chance of being successful.
Welcoming the new year with a new bank account? If you don’t know yet, there are banks that pay you to open an account with them, so don’t miss out on free cash!
What’s the catch, you ask?
Well, most of them don’t have a catch. The free money from banks is usually just a welcome gift and a way to show you how much banks value your business.
How do you sign up? What are the stipulations?
Some small banks offer this promo only for local residents, while national bank chains may make this available nationwide. Depending on the bank or new bank account promo you choose, you might need to meet or follow requirements such as:
Deposit a minimum amount of money in the account to qualify
Keep the account open for a specific amount of time (or you’ll be owing the bank the money you got at the start)
This is the first account you have with the bank or you are already a member but need to open an extra account
Answers to all these questions, plus all other bank-specific information with these 2020 bank promotions…
Which Banks Pay You to Open an Account?
Different banks offer different amounts of cash. Here are some of the banks you might be interested in, along with the accounts available with bonus cash.
As one of the oldest banks that pay you to open an account with them, Citibank keeps this promotion for new accounts available throughout the year.
For example, open a new checking account (Basic Banking) or savings (Account and Priority Account) with certain deposit amount requirements:
Earn $200 if you deposit $5,000 into a Basic Banking package
Earn $400 if you deposit $15,000 into the Account package
Earn $700 if you deposit $50,000 into the Priority Account package
Within 30 days from opening your account, you’ll receive free cash from the bank. You’d have to maintain this balance for 60 consecutive calendar days, or else you’ll be owing the bank.
Earn $100 cash bonus if you open an online checking account (either the Bank of America Core Checking and Bank of America Interest Checking).
To qualify, you must set-up at least 2 direct deposits of $250 within the first 90 days of opening your account.
Deadline to open is on March 31, 2020.
The downside here is that these types of checking accounts come with monthly fees, which can be waived if you’re a student under 24 years old, maintain a $1,500 (or more) daily balance.
You can receive $250 cash from Fifth Third if you open a checking account before April 30 2020.
You’ll need to deposit at least $500 within 45 days after opening the account and maintain that balance for an extra 60 days.
This checking account has an $11/month service charge, which you can waive by having a line of credit, auto loan or personal mortgage via Fifth Third, spending a minimum of $500 on your Fifth Third credit card or having a combined monthly average balance of $15k across all your Fifth Third accounts.
With Santander Bank, you can receive up to $225 if you open a checking account on or before March 31, 2020.
Use the bank promo code “SDB225G699” when opening online. You’ll receive the free cash if you made direct deposits that total $1k or more and if you kept the account open for at least 90 days.
The best thing about this bank account is that the monthly $10 fee can be easily waived with just 1 transaction per month. Plus, there is no minimum balance requirement or other complicated rules.
CIT Bank has two promos currently for new and existing customers.
$150 cash bonus – Open a Savings Builder with at least $100 initial deposit. Use the promo code “Bonus19” and add $25,000 to $49,999 direct deposits within 15 days of account opening date.
$300 cash bonus – Open a Savings Builder account following the instructions above, but deposit at least $50,000 within n15 days of opening the account and maintaining that balance for 90 days.
Go to the Regions branch to open a new checking account (or do it online). Follow it up by opening a Regions LifeGreen Savings account with at least $50 initial deposit. You’ll qualify for a yearly $100 cash bonus if you:
Transfer at least $10 from your checking account to the savings account every month
Do this for 12 consecutive months
The cash bonus will be deposited a day after your anniversary date of account opening.
Unlike the other banks that pay you to open an account, this one is a bit different because it involves a third-party person and a referral bonus.
Ask around and look for family members or friends with an existing Schwab account. Request for their referral code and use it to open your own Schwab account with a deposit of at least $1,000.
The amount you get for free depends on how much you’ll be able to deposit 45 days after you opened the account. $1000 to below $25,000 equals $100, above $25k to $49,999 gets you $200, $50k+ up to $99,999 equals $300 and deposit over $100,000 gets you $500 bonus.
Open a Discover Bank savings account online before February 3, 2020 with at least $15,000 deposit, so you can receive $150 bonus, or $25,000 deposit for $200 bonus.
Only new clients can qualify – those who have former Discover bank accounts can’t receive the bonus cash.
If you open a Huntington Bank Asterisk-Free checking account with at least $1,000 initial deposit, you can earn $150 cash bonus as long as you made qualifying deposits and keep the account open for 90 days.
This is a good account without ongoing balance requirements and monthly fees, but the bank promo is only available to customers in WV, IL, IN, KY, MI, OH, and PA.
You can receive up to $150 cash bonus if you do the following:
$25 – Open a new Capital One 360 Saving account with at least $250 deposit and you get to earn $25 automatically.
$100 – Open a new Capital One 360 Money Market account, deposit any amount below $10,000 to get a $25 bonus. If you have over $10,000 deposits, you can receive $100 cash bonus.
$25 – Open a new Capital One 360 account and deposit at least $250, followed by at least 3 debit card purchases or Person2Person payments within 45 days since opening the account.
Receive a $150 cash bonus from TD Bank if you apply online for a new TD Bank Convenience Checking account. You’d have to add more funds (about $500 or more) to this account within 60 days since account opening.
A Warning about Banks that Pay You to Open an Account with Them
As you may have figured out, these bank promotions are not made equal.
When I say most of these banks do not have a catch, it’s because none of them really hide the conditions of the promos. You just have to read more carefully, so you’d know that many of them require monthly fees (that you can still waive if you meet certain requirements).
The fine line will always be posted under the bank promo info, so make it a habit to double-check before signing on.
Once you are fully informed of the pros and cons, it’s easier to gauge if the offers of banks that pay you to open an account with them truly benefit you (or just entice you enough to be “trapped” into a bank account that’s unfavorable to you in the long term).
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve almost certainly heard of Fortnite, an enormously popular and sometimes controversial online game.
What you might not know is that playing this video game can make you some money.
As of September 2019, the highest-earning player is Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, who has earned over $3 million in prize money. The top 5 earners have collectively earned $9.5 million.
That’s some very real cash.
You might not earn as much as Bugha right away, but you can still earn a few dollars from playing. Here are some ways you can get paid to play Fortnite.
What Is Fortnite?
Before we get into how you can earn money from playing Fortnite, let’s look at what Fortnite is and why it’s popular.
Fortnite is an online first-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games.
It is available in three distinct game mode versions, and by far the most popular is Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play game that can be played by up to 100 players that involves being dropped in an island where they have to build bases, find weapons, and eliminate all the other competitors until only one player is left standing.
The Battle Royale mode is free to download and play, but users have the option to make in-game purchases, such as Battle Passes, costumes, skins, and dances, using V-Bucks that can be bought with actual money or won in in-game challenges.
Why is Fortnite so popular?
As of March 2019, Fortnite has 250 million registered accounts, and the highest number of players active in a single month is 78.3 million in August 2018.
Surveys show that 62% of Fortnite players are aged between 18 and 24, and 22% are between 25 and 34. The number of hours played weekly ranges between 6 to 10 hours.
Obviously, Fortnite is highly popular among the youth, but why?
1. It’s free.
In-game purchases are fully optional and don’t give players any unfair advantages over other players. They’re either cosmetic or access to additional content.
2. It’s available to be played on multiple platforms.
You can play it on your smartphone, PC/Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
3. It’s well-designed.
The designers conceived Fortnite as a more creative, visually appealing, and youth-friendly version of a first-person shooter game, which was in stark contrast with other dark-tinted, violent first-person shooter games.
4. It’s a complex game.
Fortnite offers opportunities for players to express their creativity through building forts and encourages them to slink their way through the virtual world and find secret spots and hiding positions, enabling players to win games without firing a single shot.
5. It’s generally a positive experience.
There are some instances of teasing and taunting, but players rarely get aggressive and abusive with each other. It’s a refreshing change from the usual behavior of players of other video games.
How To Get Paid To Play Fortnite
1. Play in tournaments.
Anyone can make money playing Fortnite by joining an online tournament.
Players purchase credits on the site that hosts the tournament they’re interested in, the site then generates a bracket against other players, then everyone plays for prize money.
You might earn a few dollars per tournament, but if you join a few tournaments in a week, the prize money can add up to a few hundred dollars a week. If you get better at it, you can earn more prize money.
Fortnite also hosts its own in-game tournaments for Solo players, Duos, and Squads, where you play for a target score that allows you to win prizes.
Also, the Fortnite World Cup is a free-for-all annual esports competition with a total of $30 million in prize money divided up across various competitions.
2. Bet in tournaments.
If you understand the game, know what it takes to be a good player, and have a handle on your odds, you can get on third-party sites such as Unikrn, SickOdds, eSportbetting, or Esportsonly and bet on Fortnite tournaments.
Note: If you’re struggling with a gambling problem, chat, text, or talk to a gambling helpline.
3. Stream or upload to Twitch and YouTube.
Twitch and YouTube are both streaming online video platforms that allow you to broadcast whatever you’re doing. Twitch is more popular with gamers, but YouTube is also fast catching up.
Video gamers use Twitch or YouTube to broadcast themselves playing games. The broadcast usually shows the game that you’re playing from your perspective.
You can broadcast it with your audio commentary or video commentary in an inset. Viewers can interact with you through a chat window.
Below are some of the ways you can get paid to play Fortnite while you’re streaming your game.
Twitch streamers with more than 50 subscribers and have broadcast for at least 500 minutes in the past month can become Twitch Affiliates.
When you become an affiliate, you can then earn money from ad revenues, subscriptions, and Twitch Bits, which are pseudocurrency that viewers buy from Twitch and then give to their favorite streamers through Cheering. Twitch gets a percentage from your Twitch Bits.
Turn on YouTube ads.
You can turn on YouTube ads if you’re on YouTube, but bear in mind that YouTube is stricter with your content; they prefer content that’s more “family-friendly.”
As you will see as we go down this list, you’ll need to have thousands and even hundreds of thousands of viewers, followers, or subscribers for you to monetize their views.
Accept donations.
Viewers can show their support by donating through various ways.
You can set up a PayPal.me link to share to your viewers so they can donate directly to your PayPal account.
If you have fans, they’re usually more than happy to support you, but they won’t donate if they don’t know that it’s an option. Show your donation links on as many places as you can, and mention them on your streams.
Encourage your viewers even more by including a list of your top donors on your profile page, as well as giving them a shoutout in your stream.
Encourage viewers to subscribe.
Following a channel on Twitch is different from subscribing to it. Following is free but subscribing involves a monthly fee, which you split with Twitch 50-50.
In return for this monthly fee, subscribers get perks such as special emoticons to use in a stream chat room, loyalty badges, and more importantly, exclusive chatrooms, competitions, and content that’s not available to free viewers.
YouTube has a channel membership feature, but you can only turn this on when you have more than 50,000 subscribers (which is free and is the equivalent of followers on Twitch). As with Twitch, this comes with various perks.
Promote affiliate links.
Affiliate marketing is yet another way you can get paid by playing Fortnite.
Affiliate marketing involves promoting links for products or services on affiliate sites. Affiliate programs that you can choose from include GearBest, NewEgg, Zavvi, and the classic program Amazon Associates.
When you’ve proven yourself as an affiliate marketer, you can apply to Epic Games’ Support-A-Creator Program that allows a few creators to earn money from Fortnite.
Creators get $5 for every 10,000 V-Bucks spent by other players to support them in-game. So you earn from your viewers’ support, and Epic Games supports you even further.
Get sponsorships.
Brands take notice of content creators that have a lot of engaged viewers. When brands sponsor you, they’ll pay you to promote, show, or even mention their products in your stream.
When you’re ready, you can check out Twitch’s Bounty Board Program or YouTube’s FameBit, which connects video creators with companies who are interested in sponsoring their content.
Sell your own merch.
When you make it big as a celebrity streamer, you can partner with manufacturers and create your own merchandise to sell.
Selling your own brand by selling mugs, T-shirts, cellphone cases, etc. not only adds to your revenue but promotes your brand to other viewers and gets you more fans and subscribers.
Here are some reminders before you start streaming.
Get the highest quality webcam you can afford. When your content of choice is video, getting the clearest, sharpest quality you can get is crucial.
Your viewers want to be able to see your expressions, and you want to be able to convey your personality.
Don’t skimp on your internet connection. You need a fast internet connection for playing Fortnite in the first place, but you’ll need an even faster connection if you’re going to stream videos.
Plus, you’ll have to be online almost constantly because you want to be online when people are online and watching.
Don’t quit your day job… yet. If you manage to get plenty of subscribers and a steady income, then you can probably quit your day job at some point and make a living by getting paid to play Fornite.
But it doesn’t happen in a matter of days. It’s going to take some time. And if you quit your day job before you’re ready, you’re in a situation where you don’t have a backup source of income, and you’re setting yourself up for financial ruin.
4. Become a professional eSports Fortnite gamer.
Fortnite: Battle Royale is now in the realm of eSports, and if you have mad skills, you can join eSports tournaments as a pro gamer and play for prizes in the millions of dollars.
You can compete Solo, get a partner and compete as a Duo, or join a team. For an idea of the top Fortnite teams, here’s an unofficial list.
Just like professional football or basketball players, you can then find brand sponsorships on your own or backing from an eSports franchise team owner willing to pay you to play for their team.
5. Coach other Fortnite players.
If you’ve built your reputation in Twitch, in eSports, or in both, you can earn even when you’re not playing Fortnite by sharing your expertise with other players as a coach.
Some of the websites that offer coaching include GamersRdy, ProBoosting, and Eloboostpros. You can also offer your coaching services through freelance sites such as Fiverr or Upwork.
You’ll find that Fortnite coaching is in high demand nowadays, with gamers willing to pay as high as $20 to $30 an hour or more.
6. Boost other players’ accounts.
Another way to get paid playing Fortnite through your expertise is to boost other players’ win or kill statistics, power levels, or simply play daily quests if they had no time.
The same websites that offer Fortnite coaching normally offer account boosting as well. Interested gamers would go to these websites to get boosting services, they provide their Fortnite account information, and you get to work doing what they need you to do.
This is perfect for you if you don’t like the idea of coaching, and depending on the specific task or goal that you have to accomplish, you can get paid anywhere from $10 to hundreds or even thousands of dollars at a time.
7. Sell Fortnite accounts.
Yet another way to get paid playing Fortnite is to create an account, play excellently, collect various items, and win lots of times.
Afterward, you can sell these Fortnite accounts loaded with skins, emotes, and accessories on third-party, unofficial marketplaces, such as eBay or Craigslist. Once a transaction is confirmed, you can send the email address and password of that account.
While this is not exactly illegal, it is certainly frowned upon in the community, so if you go this route, protect your personal information and do your best to fly under the radar.
Start Making Money To Play Fortnite!
Playing video games is not just a hobby anymore; you can get paid to play Fortnite and make a lot of money doing so.
If you’re a beginner to Fortnite, start honing your skills and becoming a good player to catch hardcore Fortnite fans’ attention.
Ever wondered if you can save money on groceries enough to make a dent on your overall savings?
Just about anyone could cut down on the price of their monthly groceries if they tried. Armed with an open mindset, willingness to try and some effort, it is definitely possible.
So how do you do it?
7 Tips to Lower Your Grocer Bill
Here are 7 useful tips you can make incorporate into your day-to-day lives from 2020 and beyond…
1. Learn the Art of Choosing Coupons
Here’s the thing about coupons – there is an unlimited supply of coupons everywhere.
You can download multiple coupon apps and be updated with the newest coupons by the hour.
You can visit hundreds of websites that exclusively organize these coupons for you.
You could get coupons straight off the racks of your favorite grocery stores.
You can even do it the old-fashioned way and strip them off magazines and other coupon booklets.
If you’ve ever been hooked to extreme couponing (I have a guide to do that here), you probably know how overwhelming it can be. Like anything done in excess, couponing can consume your time.
However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take advantage of coupons. If done right, couponing could save you money that would’ve have been wasted if you paid for items full price.
There is no right or wrong way to use coupons, but choosing which ones to focus your time on is important. If your household has a baby or two, make coupons of baby essentials a priority. If you have pets, then filter coupons that are known to showcase pet-related deals.
Simply put, the coupons you choose now should benefit your unique situation.
2. Coupons vs. Sale Prices
Here’s a tricky scenario: if you have a choice between using coupons or sticking with sale prices, which route do you take?
On one hand, coupons could help you stock up on grocery at home while they’re still discounted or having a type of promotion. However, if you’re using coupons to buy beyond your grocery list can quickly blow the lid off your budget and leave you with a surplus of that item but not much of others on your list.
In cases like these, buying your intended quantity but with sale prices can be the better move.
3. Get Modern with Apps
Those who are responsible for budgeting and grocery shopping should definitely find an app that would best fit their needs. Know that there are thousands of apps for grocery-shopping alone, so you have be specific with your goals before diving into Google Play or Apple Store.
Price comparison – Compare prices of the same products between two or more stores. Use apps like Basket Savings or Price Cruncher to make the decision easier for you.
Getting cashbacks – This doesn’t technically save you money as you shop, but you earn some of your cash back if you follow specific tasks, such as taking a photo of a receipt and uploading into an app. Ibotta and Fetch Rewards are two good examples of this.
Grocery list – One of the simplest, yet decades-old advice when it comes to budgeting is making a grocery list. Fortunately, apps today help not only in making sure that you’re on top of the household and pantry items that run out, but also help you stick to your budget. Apps like MealBoard or AnyList (with its shareable list) were designed for this purpose, but most other grocery-focused apps include a type of list-making capability.
Coupons – Don’t be consumed by hunting for coupons. Be smart and choose apps like Flipp and Grocery Pal feature coupons from brands you love, your favorite stores, or other relevant coupons based on your interest or lifestyle.
Grocery delivery – If the chore becomes expensive in terms of gas, snacks for the kids on the way to the grocery, parking fees, and other expenses that add up from the time you leave your house, go shopping and back home, then grocery delivery may be a money-saving option for you. Sort through apps like Instacart or Shipt and see if your area is included within their delivery zones.
There are also apps like Key Ring that save your store membership details for easier swiping.
4. Skip Branded for Store-Brands
Many household have favorite brands of food, cleaning products, toiletries, or other day-to-day needs by now. It’s a pretty common thing – from your toothpaste to breads, and everything else under the sun.
Sometimes, we’re left out with better, newer brands because of our own biases.
If you really want to save money on grocery, try to skip some of your favorite branded items for their store-branded alternatives.
There’s a good chance your grocery store has sampled quite a lot of brands for that particular product (for example: peanut butter). The one grocery stores may pick to be branded as their own have gone through varying levels of testing (for quality, taste, consistency and other considerations), so the possibility of getting a product that meets your preference is high.
5. Try Something New
Like the advice above, trying something new will open up many doors you were unaware, weren’t checking out, or simply didn’t care for before.
When it comes to grocery shopping, here are some ways you can try something:
Reduce the amount of meat or produce you buy
Check out a new grocery store
Instead of ready-made, make from scratch
Change grocery schedules. Early grocery shopping can be a good idea if the store you frequent pushes clearance items as soon as they open up. Saturdays are always busy, so stores stock up on all products and less clearance items are available.
Reduce the frequency of grocery-shopping per week. May it once or twice a week for better planning.
Bring your own bag, especially if your grocery store charges you for each bag.
Avoid last-minute grocery runs. Don’t grocery-shop when you’re hungry because studies have shown that not only do you choose unhealthy food when you’re hungry, the probability of just randomly getting stuff NOT listed on your grocery list (and breaking your budget) is very high.
Even the simplest of change can save you some money on groceries.
There’s no harm in trying.
6. Plan and Prep
How well you plan your grocery-shopping could affect how much money you can save.
For example:
Frozen vs. fresh – Know when choosing frozen meat is ideal and when to go with fresh produce. Your choice will directly affect your meal prep, since you might need to clean, cut and store fruits and vegetables, or even meat as soon as you buy them.
Seasonal sales – Your plan should also change by season and depending on the sales cycles of local grocery stores. It’s okay to switch between stores throughout the year.
Plan for bulk shopping – If you’re a member of wholesale clubs, visit at least once or twice a year for products you’ll be using the entire year. Make sure to separate a budget for your scheduled stock-up, so your regular weekly or bimonthly grocery-shopping wouldn’t be affected.
Of course, this can be hard at first, but once you’ve got it down for an entire year, the following years would be easier.
7. Create a Realistic Budget and Stick to It
This is the hardest advice to follow, but it is possible. Just set a realistic, grocery budget and stick to this budget as much as you can.
The savings you earn will add up eventually. Be patient.
Do One or All, Save Money on Groceries Either Way
Whether you’re looking for ways to save money to be used for something else, or add to your grocery fund, these 7 tips are pretty solid advice.
Use them all, or pick just a few. I bet as long as you incorporate some of these tips to your regular grocery shopping, it could still result in something positive financially.
And if you’ve got this grocery-shopping, money-saving thing mastered, you can even turn this into a side gig and offer your personal grocery shopping service to others.
If you’re currently in college, chances are you have a student loan hanging over your head, and you want to get a head start on repaying that massive debt.
If you’re one of the lucky ones who don’t need student loans to get a college degree, you’re probably still looking for a way to earn some side cash for other expenses.
But it’s hard to find the time to do a side hustle. Attending classes, doing homework, participating in extracurricular activities, and trying to have at least a semblance of social life can take up much of your time.
Fortunately, there’s a way you can make some money by doing something you have to do anyway: taking notes.
In today’s blog post, I discuss how to sell college notes: why you should do it, how to effectively take notes, and where to sell them.
Why Sell Your Notes?
There are plenty of ways you can make some side cash, but why sell your study notes?
First, if you’re taking a course that is in demand, you can certainly help plenty of students, not only in your school but even around the world.
Also, as I’ve already mentioned, you’re going to take notes anyway, so you might as well make money from it.
In addition, you get to learn how to be a good entrepreneur, as you become better at sales and marketing.
Lastly, in the process of trying to earn money, you get to be a better note-taker and you might even get a higher GPA because of your excellent notes.
How To Take Excellent Course Notes
When you’re looking to sell a product that you make, it’s on you to make sure that they’re high-quality.
Here are some tips on how to take college notes that you’d be proud to sell.
1. Go to class.
Seems obvious, but this needs emphasis.
The only way you’re going to earn money from taking notes is if you’re actually in class to take them in the first place.
2. Choose to take digital notes if possible.
Digital notes on your laptop are easier to restructure in terms of layout, format, and chronological order, plus they’re easier to upload.
However, there are some subjects that will require handwritten notes, especially those that deal with graphs and illustrations. Do your best to scan these handwritten notes.
Or better yet, invest in a digital notebook so you can convert them to digital files and upload them to the cloud.
3. Focus on the most important concepts.
Information overload is real, even for notes.
Students learn better when key terms and concepts are emphasized, such as names, dates, thesis statements, and definitions.
4. Make your notes as readable as possible.
The most important aspect of your notes should be the content, for sure, but it helps if your content is aesthetically pleasing as well.
If you’re typing, use fonts that are easy to read and non-distracting. On the other hand, if you’re handwriting your notes, make sure your handwriting is legible and you use a pen thick enough to show up clearly on scans.
Another technique you can use is to have a color-coded system to highlight the key concepts.
Perhaps most importantly, format your notes such that topics are organized under headers and subheaders so that they’re easier to scan.
5. Don’t sell something that you didn’t make.
Never, ever offer up copies of your teacher’s, professor’s, or classmates’ homework, presentations, or course handouts. Earning money from others’ hard work is unethical and illegal, and will lead to you being blocked from selling them.
On that note, most websites don’t accept essays that you’ve submitted, because the moment you submit them, they become property of the college or university; it’s no longer yours.
7 Places To Sell College Notes
Now that you have some premium notes to offer, here are some websites where you can upload and sell college notes.
UK-based Oxbridge Notes only accepts the best of the best notes, so if you’ve got what it takes and pass their application process, this website is for you.
They will only take digital documents, such as Word and PDF, so if you only have scans of handwritten notes, this site isn’t for you.
But you barely have to do anything once you’ve uploaded your notes; just wait for the monthly payments to be credited to your account.
Note that they only accept notes from the following countries:
United Kingdom
United States
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
Ireland
2. OneClass
Official site:Official Notetaker – OneClass Pay: As much as $470 per course per semester for elite notetakers; 25 OneClass credits per document for casual participants.
OneClass is a community of university students sharing course content, such as lecture notes, textbook notes, chapter summaries, and study guides.
They accept both digital documents and scans of handwritten notes in exchange for OneClass credits that you can swap for other course content posted by others.
They also offer a service called Homework Help, which provides unlimited access to a library of real questions and answers from students and allows students to ask one question a month, all for a subscription fee.
If you want to earn actual cash, apply to be an official note-taker, which earns you up to $470 per course per semester.
OneClass accepts notes from the following countries:
United States
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
3. Stuvia
Official site:Stuvia Upload Pay: Pricing is up to you; minimum price per document is $2.50; earnings per download is automatically calculated by Stuvia when you upload files.
Stuvia allows you to upload your digital files, determine your own pricing for it, and earn money every time someone downloads your notes.
They accept summaries, lecture notes, study guides, flashcards, as well as bundles of these materials.
Although they accept notes from students all over the world, most of their students are from the following countries:
Notesgen considers itself the number one online platform for various kinds of online study material.
To become a Notesgen Author, upload your notes in a digital format, whether they’re digital documents or scans of handwritten notes, price your notes according to the Notesgen pricing policy, and start earning from your notes.
Notesgen also has a mobile app that makes it accessible to its users.
They are based in India, but they accept notes from 143 countries worldwide.
StudentVIP caters to half a million student members in Australia and is a great place to sell your notes if you’re studying in Australia.
Only members are allowed to sell their notes on the platform, but membership is free and also gives you access to other students’ notes.
Bonus: How To Become A Top Note Seller
Here are some tips on how to sell the heck out of your college notes and become a top seller on your chosen platform.
Offer a sample of your notes or a mini-study guide for free.
Free samples are hard for students to pass up. Students who get free samples of your notes are more likely to buy your notes and are more likely to leave positive reviews.
Keep your prices affordable.
Free samples are great, but students won’t end up buying your notes if your prices are too expensive.
Don’t sell yourself short, but bear in mind that college students don’t have much to spend. Strive to price your work product such that you’re compensated for your hard work while still allowing college students to afford it.
Advertise to your network.
No matter where you sell your college notes, make sure that you let your target market know that you’re selling.
Chances are your school would have a digital noticeboard or forum where you can post the link to where you’re selling your study notes.
Advertise on social media and your website as well. If you don’t have a website yet, it’s the perfect time to get one set up, not only for this side cash endeavor but for all of your future online businesses or endeavors.
Observe what other top sellers are doing.
Learn from other people who are successfully selling their own notes.
Find out what strategies other top sellers are doing and see if you can implement it or a version of it that fits with the other techniques that you’re doing.
Start Selling Your College Notes Today!
The main challenge of making side money as a college student is finding the time to do the work.
Luckily, there’s a way you can earn money by doing what you normally do as a student, and that’s by selling your college notes.
Start taking high-quality notes and selling them today!
Other Ways You Can Make Money
There are other ways you can make some side cash aside from selling your notes. The most popular is to become an online tutor.
If you have a house, apartment, condo, or even a spare room, you might want to rent it out and learn how to start an Airbnb business to pull in some side cash or even make it your main source of income.
Ever since the company now known as Airbnb was founded in 2008, millions of property owners and hosts have been making money off of renting out their properties temporarily to short-term visitors.
Some have even acquired properties with the main purpose of listing it on Airbnb to make some money.
In today’s article, learn how to start your own Airbnb business: what to consider before starting, how to make your listing attractive to the right customers, and how to be successful in this business.
How To Start Your Airbnb Business
Before you start your business, you need to understand that while renting out your property has the potential to make you a living, it’s a huge undertaking that requires commitment.
That is, it takes plenty of time, effort, and focus to create and maintain a successful Airbnb business. If you don’t think you can spare a lot of these, maybe this business isn’t for you.
Here are the steps to take to start running your Airbnb business:
1. Research the specific laws in your city.
The laws related to renting out a property on Airbnb differ among cities.
For instance, for short-term rentals (less than 30 nights), San Francisco requires that the permanent resident (that would be you) be present when someone rents your property for the entire duration of their stay. You are also required to register as a business and pay a transient occupancy tax.
It pays to know what the laws are so you can avoid paying hefty fines. You can look up the gist of short-term rental laws for major US cities in this page, but for more complete information, it’s best to contact your local government directly.
2. Read up on the rules and contract provisions if you’re renting.
If you’re only renting the property that you’re listing on Airbnb, make sure you aren’t any violating any of the terms of your rental agreement.
Landlords generally don’t allow renters to sublet, and if they do, they normally have certain rules and safeguards in place to protect themselves and their property. Find out all you can so you don’t have to worry when you do start your Airbnb business.
3. Create a solid business plan.
Wanting to succeed is one thing, but planning to succeed is another thing.
Having a business plan allows you to map out the details of your business, discover some previously unknown factors, and know exactly what you need to work on.
Here are some of the questions to ask when writing out your business plan.
What are the costs involved?
When starting your Airbnb business with a property you already own, you can expect to spend initially for sprucing up the property and making it attractive to potential renters.
How much you spend is almost entirely dependent on the existing condition of your property. Cleaning, furnishing, repairs, and general maintenance are just some of the likely costs.
Regularly recurring costs include Airbnb’s host service fee (normally 3% but may be higher based on your location), cleaning materials, amenities such as coffee, snacks, towels, and bed linens.
Other costs that you have to get ready to spend for include repairs and maintenance fees for the appliances and furniture.
You can incorporate the costs into the price of the rental to cover them, or in the case of cleaning, you can add a cleaning fee in your pricing settings.
Any repairs for furniture that’s damaged by the renters should be covered by the deposit that they’re required to pay when they book through Airbnb. Any damage beyond that can be claimed through Airbnb’s Resolution Center.
Who is your target market?
Unlike other businesses, when you go into an Airbnb business, you already have a product for which you’re trying to find a target market.
Airbnb renters are usually looking for a place to stay briefly, usually around 2 to 5 nights.
In addition, renters are generally looking for a more personal experience than staying in a hotel or motel.
Depending on the size of your property, you can either target individuals, couples, or families.
Consider the location of your property as well. Is your area a tourist spot popular with vacationers? Or are you in an urban area that is visited for business trips, seminars, or conventions?
Think about the traffic of visitors to your area. Is there a seasonal music festival, sporting event, or convention near where you are? Or are there peaks during the holidays? Or is there a regular influx of visitors into your area all throughout the year?
How much rent should you charge?
I know, I know. Math.
The price of your rent should depend on multiple factors, and doing some market research will help you get to a fair price that’s profitable.
Consider the size and the location of your property, as well as the amenities you’re willing to offer them.
Also, think about your competition. Does your area have hotels around? Or other Airbnb properties? How much are they charging?
Also consider if you’re going to charge higher for peak days or even months when your property is more likely to be in demand.
As I’ve mentioned above, you’ll need to consider your costs and if your rental price can cover these costs while still earning you money.
How much money can you expect to make?
Yup. More math.
When you haven’t started, it’s quite difficult to estimate how much you can make per month.
The best you can do is to estimate it by assuming your property is booked three nights a week at the minimum rental rate that you were planning to charge renters.
Then, calculate how much profit you earn per night by subtracting the cost from your rental price. Multiply this profit by three nights a week and four weeks a month to estimate your projected monthly income.
When you have your business up and running, keep meticulous records of your income and costs so you know whether or not you’re making money on the property so you can adjust your strategy and pricing if you need to.
How can you make your business more profitable?
Your business plan should also include how you’re going to increase your profits over time.
You can do this by raising prices, but you risk dissatisfaction, especially if you manage to get regular renters or your prices are higher than other properties in your area.
You can balance this out by offering more amenities or doing minor renovations and improvements to the property to justify the price increase.
At some point, you might want to expand your Airbnb business, either by acquiring and listing additional properties in the same area, or branding out into a new area entirely.
If you do decide to expand, check first if it’s possible given the laws in your area. As I’ve mentioned, some cities require the property owner to be a permanent resident of the property being rented out, meaning you have to be physically there for most of the year.
And if you’re allowed to do this, what’s your plan for overseeing the properties? Are you going to hire a caretaker to help your guests? Can the increased income accommodate hiring an employee?
4. Form a legal business entity to protect your Airbnb business.
The usual legal business entity that Airbnb business owners set up is a limited liability company (LLC) because it’s simple to file and benefits both you personally and your business.
The major benefit to you is that your personal finances are separated from your business finances. So in case a renter ever sues you for something related to your business for any reason, you personally won’t be held liable, only your business will be.
To make sure your finances are segregated, make sure you open a business bank account and credit card. That way, when you set up payment with Airbnb, the payments go into your business accounts.
Operating as an LLC allows you to register for state and federal taxes, as well as take advantage of a few tax breaks.
Also, make sure to take out insurance on your property, if you haven’t already done so.
Decide whether to sign in using your email address, Facebook profile, or Google account. Once you’ve selected your option, fill out the information requested, submit it, and you can start customizing your profile and putting up listings.
Read the terms and policies thoroughly to make sure that you don’t unwittingly violate these policies and get banned from Airbnb.
When you’re ready to list your property on Airbnb, you can now start creating the listings for your property.
Here is a guide on how to write listings that attract potential renters.
Create a compelling title.
“One-bedroom condo” doesn’t quite cut it, not if you want users to notice your listing right away.
Find descriptive words and phrases that sincerely capture the experience they’re going to get when they stay. “Quiet” and “tranquil” are great to describe a peaceful retreat. Or maybe “lively” or “dynamic” if you’re located in a bustling urban area.
If your property has other unique features, such as a balcony overlooking a view, or proximity to a place of interest, make sure to mention it.
Of course, don’t go overboard with the adjectives on the title, because you want the property to sell itself.
Upload multiple photos of your property.
The title of your listing will catch their attention but what keeps them on your listing are images of the property.
Take multiple, high-quality images of the property inside and out from a variety of flattering angles.
Show off the main areas: bedroom/s, bathroom/s, kitchen, laundry room, and the living room.
The extras are also worth showing; if you have a state-of-the-art kitchen with modern stoves and equipped with nice cookware, or a balcony with a fantastic view, or access to a swimming pool, make sure you capture them on photos.
Plenty of Airbnb veteran hosts recommend posting not less than 10 photos per listing. This gives users a very good idea of what your property looks like and if it’s a good fit for them.
Quick note: Before you do your photoshoot, make sure everything is clean and tidy while still showing off your personality.
Write a detailed description.
This is where you can make good on the promise of your title and really delve into what makes your property special and why they should book it now.
As with your title, use descriptive words to help them visualize your property’s amenities.
Bear in mind that these descriptions should match with the photos of the property you’ve uploaded to your listing, so you need to write separate descriptions for all the main rooms that give details that may not be apparent in the photos.
For instance, you can have a photo of your couch that you can describe as “comfortable,” or you can have a photo of your kitchen and in your description, you can include the brands or style of the appliances.
Also, if you offer something extra, include it in your description. So if you’re featuring a fully-stocked fridge or pantry where they can get whatever they like or a stack of board games in the living room, make sure to mention that.
7. Promote and market your Airbnb business.
Running an Airbnb business means your listings and bookings are handled by Airbnb’s site. Because of the way the site is set up, your rating is one of the first things Airbnb customers will see when they’re looking at listings.
This means much of your marketing will come from word of mouth; that is, your renters’ positive reviews. With this in mind, you need to ensure that your renters are satisfied with the whole experience from start to finish.
Make sure you’re always responsive to their queries, from the time they reserve your property to the time they check out. Don’t forget to reach out to them afterward and ask for their honest feedback.
Aside from the word of mouth, you also want to attract potential renters to Airbnb and book your property. Promote your Airbnb listing on your social media and your website.
If you don’t have a website or social media presence, now’s a good time to create these marketing channels that link back to your Airbnb listing.
Even if your listing “lives” in Airbnb, having a web presence is essential in case Airbnb ever folds up or if you want to eventually list your property on other platforms as well.
8. Aim for repeat customers.
Promoting and marketing is mainly to get new renters, but it’s also a good idea to get regular renters and keep them coming back.
Of course, the best way to attract and retain customers is to invest in the upkeep of your property. Make sure it’s perpetually clean, furnished, and comfortable.
Also, I’ve previously mentioned asking feedback, but feedback is only as good as what you do with it. Pay close attention to what your renters say you did right and what can be improved.
Additional Tips On Being An Exceptional Airbnb Host
Whether you’re hosting for side cash or as a fulltime Airbnb business owner, being a good host is essential. Here are some tips to be an excellent Airbnb host.
1. Be honest and straightforward.
When you’re writing descriptions and uploading photos, it’s tempting to embellish the great aspects and hide the not-so-great aspects of your property.
But this will definitely backfire when your renter gets to see and experience everything up close.
Always be upfront with everything about your property. Chipped paint? Some discolored tiles or imperfect grout? Just be honest and price your property accordingly.
At the end of the day, most renters simply want an affordable, clean place to stay, rest, and relax. Your goal should be to provide that to them.
2. Familiarize yourself with all the legal aspects of renting out.
We’ve covered this above, but this needs to be emphasized.
You don’t want to deal with legal issues on top of the things you already have to deal with when running your business.
If you require permits and licenses, get them together as soon as you can. Some areas also charge special taxes for Airbnb hosts.
Know your rights as a property owner, as well as your renters’ rights.
3. Treat your renters as guests.
Remember that most of the time, your renters will behave as guests.
They normally wouldn’t expect you to act as their butler or maid and expect you to wait on them hand and foot. They’re generally respectful of your furniture and appliances.
You might even get an occasional thank-you note or a small gift of appreciation.
This coin has two sides, though. Know your rights as a host and draw the line at unreasonable demands and behavior.
For instance, if your renters come home drunk and puke everywhere and don’t clean up, or they violate any of the House Rules you’ve set and they’ve previously agreed to (e.g. no pets, no smoking), or worse, destroy your stuff, don’t be afraid to draw the line and ask them to leave.
Also, don’t hesitate to get Airbnb or even the police involved in extreme incidents.
You might want to turn off automatic booking so you can vet your renters before they make a payment.
4. Keep all payments and communications within Airbnb.
A benefit of listing your property on Airbnb is that you’re insured up to $1 million in case something untoward happens. But a condition of being covered is that you have to keep all exchanges of money as well as messages within the Airbnb platform.
Besides, Airbnb takes a cut of your profit. The least they can do is to provide a safe, secure platform for payments, communications, and support for both renters and hosts.
5. Pay close attention to detail.
Successful Airbnb hosts and business owners notice details and give their own personal touches on their properties.
Think about the type of experience you’ll be creating. You want to stand out from the hundreds or thousands of listings, and so aside from providing the necessities to your renters, think of providing little extras and bonuses.
Complimentary snacks, coffee, and tea are nice, as well as various entertainment options like books, board games, movies, and video games.
You may want to leave them a welcome gift, like a bottle of wine or something that fits their personality based on their profile or your initial interaction with them.
If you’re in a tourist location, you may want to create a brief unofficial guide to your city for your renters to peruse, either in a physical book form or a digital file.
So Is Running An Airbnb Business For You?
To be successful in your Airbnb business, you need to maintain a steady cycle of attracting new renters, keeping your renters satisfied, and encouraging repeat bookings.
All this needs to be done along with property upkeep and periodically improving and upgrading your amenities.
So as you can imagine, starting an Airbnb business takes major commitment and investment.
If you’re not absolutely certain you can devote as much time, effort, and attention as needed to make your Airbnb business successful, you might want to list your property only occasionally for some side cash.
Other Resources
There are other sites and applications that can list your property, which we’ve covered in this article.
