1. Rent out a Spare Room in Your House
If you happen to have an extra room or two in your house, renting out the room can be an easy way to make money on the side. Depending on the rental market in your area, you could make anywhere from $250 to more than $1,000 per month in rent. You can check classified ads in the newspaper and sites like Craigslist to see comparable prices in your area.
But renting out a room isn't as easy as simply sitting back and collecting the money. You'll have to draw up a lease that protects your rights as a landlord, follow anti-discrimination laws when placing ads and interviewing tenants, do credit and background checks on potential tenants, keep your house compliant with state laws and local housing codes, and follow certain federal safety laws. For example, local codes might require you to purchase a new water heater or update your plumbing, and federal laws may require you to pay to have lead paint or asbestos removed. State and local laws also determine procedures for things that will come up eventually, like eviction and security deposits [source: Fannie Mae]. You will also have to pay tax on your rental income. Obviously, there can also be personal issues with sharing your house, so consider whether you're comfortable sharing your living space with someone you don't know.
2. Special Events and Conventions
Conventions and special events are good opportunities for companies to market their products, and they usually need local people to do the work for them. That could be anything from attracting attention to a booth for a new cell phone at an electronics expo, to handing out samples of a new energy drink outside of a concert venue. Sometimes you may only have to wear a T-shirt for a company's product; other times you might be asked to dress in costume as a product's mascot. The pay is hourly. Staffing services let you post your resume, headshot and a physical description in their databases. You'll then be selected by companies running promotions on a case-by-case basis. The sponsors running the promotions use physical appearance as a key factor in picking their staff, so if the idea of getting a job based on your looks is unappealing, working with an event staffer may not be for you.
3. Do Freelance Work
The recession has driven more and more companies to look for contract and freelance work as an alternative to full-time positions. Farming out work to independent contractors makes sense for the bottom line because companies can pay for the work they need done, with decreased overhead expenses like benefits and setting up a physical office for each employee. In today's economy, nine in 10 companies use some amount of contract work [source: Koba]. If you have a marketable skill like graphic design, search engine optimization, Web design, public relations or writing, you can take advantage of those employers' cost cutting.
Hourly pay for freelance work tends to be higher than for salaried positions. On the other hand, you will have to account for gaps between assignments. For a company, the benefit of hiring freelancers is not having to pay them when it doesn't need them. To get started, research online markets to determine the going rate for the type of work you'll be doing. There are multiple Web sites where you can post your resume and search job listings, including elance.com,ratracerebellion.com and flexjobs.com. Some sites charge a commission to connect you with an employer, others charge a flat fee to access the listings, and some are completely free.
4. Be a Direct Selling Company Agent
Before the get-rich-quick hype of eBay, there was the get-rich-quick hype of direct selling programs like Avon and Amway. But like selling on eBay, it's hard to become a millionaire selling makeup and cleaning supplies to your neighbors. According to Amway, the average salesperson earns $115 a month selling Amway products [source: Amway]. Of course, like any other kind of selling, the amount of time and energy you put in is going to affect your sales.
Direct sellers use individual salespeople to sell their products instead of using traditional retail. To join Amway, you sign up with one of the company's salespeople (or "independent business owners"). That person then provides you with catalogs and samples. As you make sales, you purchase products atwholesale from your sponsor, and keep the difference between the wholesale and the resale price as profit. You can also earn bonuses and higher sales commissions as you sell more.
Direct selling may sound like a pyramid scheme, an illegal sales operation that makes more money from the wholesale purchases of its so-called "sellers" than it does from actually selling products to customers.
But in 1979, the Federal Trade Commission decided that Amway's business model is legitimate because it doesn't require recruits to pay large up-front membership fees or make large wholesale purchases before being admitted into the program. So if you decide to become a direct seller, only sign up with programs that don't require exorbitant startup fees.
Have you been driving down the road and suddenly seen a car drive by plastered in ads for energy drink? Maybe you thought the car belonged to an employee with the company. But a number of advertising firms will actually pay drivers to have their own cars covered with ads.
Depending on the firm, the length of the promotion and your region, you can be paid between $400 and $900 per month to serve as a moving billboard. Some companies will even provide you with a car to drive, free of charge. All you have to do is sign up on the company's Web site, filling in basic demographic information [source: Autowrapped, Free Car Media]. Then, if a specific advertiser decides they want to target your particular demographic, they'll select you for a promotion. Promotions last from a few months to years, so the extra income could add up to a nice sum.
Of course, since you're chosen based on demographics and region, it could be that you sign up, never to be selected by a company, or have to wait years before being selected. If a sponsor chooses you, the amount of commitment and effort is relatively minimal. You'll be required to drive a certain number of miles per month to fulfill your contract, and you'll have to set aside four to eight hours for your car to be wrapped at the beginning of each promotion. Once the ads are removed, your car will be undamaged by the process.
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