LentilSoup 4 Posted February 18, 2017 Hi everybody, I'm looking for some stories and suggestions of how you make extra income outside of your "normal" line of work. Recently bought a house on my own, and I'm struggling a bit to live relatively comfortably as much of my salary is pretty much absorbed for mortage, bills and living expenses. Always have very little savings even with virtually no car expenses, never going out to expensive restaurants/clubs, electing to cook at home versus going out and not buying much else than house repairs. What kind of ways have you previously and/or currently do that were able to make you some extra ronds? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Noobly 4 Posted February 18, 2017 Hey LentilSoup! Welcome to the forum. Totally get it, 2016/17 has been a tough year and this one seems to be the same with prices just going up and up. Predominately for me it was overtime. Worked almost any and all overtime that was available to earn more money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Solly 0 Posted February 19, 2017 That actually is a good topic to focus on as I'm sure a lot of us could use extra money and perhaps we can exchange ideas and ways to generate extra income streams other than our normal jobs Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spreadsheet Ranger 19 Posted February 19, 2017 That actually is a good topic to focus on as I'm sure a lot of us could use extra money and perhaps we can exchange ideas and ways to generate extra income streams other than our normal jobs Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Completely agree. Well, some weekends I built websites for people just normal brochure style sites nothing too fancy, but they pay good money and seem to really like the personal service instead of working with a fully fledged agency. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bandit 29 Posted February 20, 2017 Think I need to get into after hours quick "bash it all together with the default theme" wordpress sites. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spreadsheet Ranger 19 Posted February 20, 2017 It occurred to me one day that the reason small business owners are late in getting web sites up is the high initial investment. I met so many business owners who wanted to be selling more, attracting more clients, and taking their business to the next level—but felt hamstrung by the high initial investment a new site can require. They were stuck with an old web site that had once been state of the art, but now was out of date, didn’t meet their needs, and in many cases had become just plain embarrassing. Then it occurred to me: why not provide a solution where people can rent a web site, and do away with that large initial expense. That is where my new web rent-a-site program came to fruition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LentilSoup 4 Posted February 24, 2017 Wow. Some really insightful feedback. I like this website. I think I need to save up and start a micro brewery, seems to be the in thing now? Everyone going craft beer crazy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outlook 3 Posted February 27, 2017 I used to buy stuff from classifieds like Cape Ads this was before Gumtree and the likes. Then I would sell it at a slight markup poor man's trading I suppose, but it bought a few fancy dinners here and there. I had a good margin on refrigerators had a small Bakkie and a friend's storage (Unused garage) I would search for good refrigerators, but on special examples would be restaurant auctions and people moving flats, but they cannot ship the fridge back to JHB for instance so they sell it for very cheap to just get rid of it. I still think there is money to be made in buying and selling second hand goods. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pratlou 0 Posted February 27, 2017 Really insightful ideas. Been thinking for offering bookkeeping services to small businesses but i have challenge how i will market the service. Website or classified ad not sure which will work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spreadsheet Ranger 19 Posted February 27, 2017 Really insightful ideas. Been thinking for offering bookkeeping services to small businesses but i have challenge how i will market the service. Website or classified ad not sure which will work. I definitely think both has their place. If you have a domain name I'll create your website for you, for free. Assuming you don't have any advanced functionality requirements. I'll host it for you as well with a ssl certificate. Call it a formatee special Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Purply 2 Posted February 28, 2017 I sell my body on tinder Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Solly 0 Posted February 28, 2017 Anyone here know of an accountant or auditor that can help with small businesses? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spreadsheet Ranger 19 Posted February 28, 2017 Anyone here know of an accountant or auditor that can help with small businesses? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro @padjakkels should be able to help you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Purply 2 Posted February 28, 2017 Anyone here know of an accountant or auditor that can help with small businesses? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro We've been using this accountant for almost 6 years, she is awesome. Last I checked she only has 5 dedicated clients [email protected] In case you interested. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LentilSoup 4 Posted March 1, 2017 Really insightful ideas. Been thinking for offering bookkeeping services to small businesses but i have challenge how i will market the service. Website or classified ad not sure which will work. This might work quite well, considering this is a skilled service not anyone can do it so the barrier to entry which you already meet might be able to make your competition a lot less. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dancshares 3 Posted March 1, 2017 Really insightful ideas. Been thinking for offering bookkeeping services to small businesses but i have challenge how i will market the service. Website or classified ad not sure which will work. Direct marketing will work best for this. Define who you want to target and go at them directly. Work on a document that sets you apart from others and communicate this to them. :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebulba 0 Posted March 9, 2017 I recently started doing freelance work using the Upwork website. Did 2 small projects for a US company. Worked well, except for when payment rolls around. I don't have an international bank account, making payment a bit more tedious, luckily they were willing to pay into my Paypal account, so the money is just sitting there for now. I think if you really give it a bash you can get quite a few projects on the website, seeing as you get rated by the clients as-well. Higher ratings = more jobs (i hope) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spreadsheet Ranger 19 Posted March 9, 2017 I recently started doing freelance work using the Upwork website. Did 2 small projects for a US company. Worked well, except for when payment rolls around. I don't have an international bank account, making payment a bit more tedious, luckily they were willing to pay into my Paypal account, so the money is just sitting there for now. I think if you really give it a bash you can get quite a few projects on the website, seeing as you get rated by the clients as-well. Higher ratings = more jobs (i hope) Is this in a particular skill or general, the problem I find with these website is I often end up competing with a Indian kid who just want to put food on the table so he comes in at like $2 for a large job and then I just leave it. I think a website like that aimed specifically for South Africans would be quite amazing as it will all be rand value. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sebulba 0 Posted March 9, 2017 Is this in a particular skill or general, the problem I find with these website is I often end up competing with a Indian kid who just want to put food on the table so he comes in at like $2 for a large job and then I just leave it. I think a website like that aimed specifically for South Africans would be quite amazing as it will all be rand value. Particular skill I suppose. I try to target US companies, as I know they don't really make use of quantity surveyors, thus making my proposal a niche one to building contractors. I mostly compete with Australian guys, but due to the exchange rate i am mostly able to undercut them. A few US dollars gets me a lot further than it would a Aussie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outlook 3 Posted March 9, 2017 Particular skill I suppose. I try to target US companies, as I know they don't really make use of quantity surveyors, thus making my proposal a niche one to building contractors. I mostly compete with Australian guys, but due to the exchange rate i am mostly able to undercut them. A few US dollars gets me a lot further than it would a Aussie. Ahhh yea that would work! People myself included tend to forget the online world does contain only developers and content writers, but also have other real world skills like building a server room's building. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spreadsheet Ranger 19 Posted March 9, 2017 Oh. Yes haha Outlook is spot on. I also go straight to dev or content or graphic design when I hear freelancer or upwork etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spreadsheet Ranger 19 Posted March 19, 2017 I like this idea, I wonder how profitable they really are: http://veldmuis.co.za/services/ So they basically distribute 5000 of these little booklets (http://veldmuis.co.za/editions/) every friday for free, asking for companies to advertise in the booklets. I like this idea, I wonder what printing 5000 8 page booklets costs? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Purply 2 Posted March 28, 2017 Need someone to fix my wordpress site www.brosengraving.co.za The design company that did the site has gone under and the site hasn't been maintained since then. Probably need some updates installed and security features needs some beefing up since we've had some hacking attempts and think one might have gotten access. I'm currently trying to prevent further access, which is kinda difficult considering I have no idea how this stuff works Drop me a PM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LentilSoup 4 Posted March 28, 2017 Need someone to fix my wordpress site www.brosengraving.co.za The design company that did the site has gone under and the site hasn't been maintained since then. Probably need some updates installed and security features needs some beefing up since we've had some hacking attempts and think one might have gotten access. I'm currently trying to prevent further access, which is kinda difficult considering I have no idea how this stuff works Drop me a PM Seems you got sorted, yay forum power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
