I just got off a phone call talking about blogging :) It lasted 60 minutes and was one of the best “interviews” I ever did! Haha… I may not be good at speaking, but I sure am with giving my opinions ;)
And that’s how I earned my quickest, and easiest, $150 ever – by doing a phone survey. Which is funny considering I just posted about odd jobs that people do for side income! That same day I posted it, I got an email asking if I’d be interested in sharing my opinions – as if the universe was trying to tell me something :)
Of course, the first thing I thought though was that it was a scam. I get an email from a company I don’t know, and they want to talk to me about how I live my blogging life — doesn’t seem like that should constitute a Benjamin and a half. But then again, there’s not many people who have these online lives (compared to the outside world) so I decided to contact them back and here we are a week later with a new lesson learned and a blog post :) Pretty cool!
There’s a couple of takeaways here:
- Be open to trying new methods of earning money. Just because YOU’d never pay someone $150 to answer your questions, doesn’t mean others wouldn’t. We all forget how knowledgeable we are sometimes (or at least I do!) and that the rest of the world may not know what we do — which is why there are services and businesses out there sharing their information for a profit! We all know more about a subject than someone else does, embrace it. (I’m taking my own advice too btw – I also need to get better about it)
- Be open to the idea that an opportunity can be “real.” If I hadn’t taken the few seconds to email back, and just deleted it like I’m sure a lot of people did, then I’d be $150 less rich and w/out a new experience ;) Obviously it could have gone the other way and I got scammed into something crazy, but a little research can help determine that for you quickly – or at least narrow it down. Just keep your eyes open and ask yourself “what if” when presented with something exciting! Good things DO happen every now and then :)
I’ll keep my eyes open for other opportunities like this, and post them here if anyone wants to give them a shot. This one was kinda specific, and once word leaked filled up pretty quickly, but I’d love to help y’all find some fun & easy surveys to take too for a nice chunk of change :) Maybe someone reading this will have a connection to a place that offers this kinda stuff up? If so, hit me up via email and perhaps we’ll create a new section up here that lists all opportunities – that would be hot!
In the meantime, keep looking around and taking advantage of your skills! Remember, just because YOU know something, doesn’t mean the rest of us do. Take what you know and try to build an income stream out of it. It’s the best way to make some extra money!
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(Photo by ianmunroe)
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J:
2 places where you can make some money for your skills on the side are Maven Research (founded by a Fraternity Brother of mine), which does micro consulting (like phone/email surveys with experts), ans elance. Both are really good in that they take care of most of the back end stuff for you and they are very easy to work with.
Joe
Congrats on getting such a wonderful opportunity and taking the moment to follow up with it.
Good going, J B-)
A question, if I may: what do you think they’re gonna do with their $150 worth of potted J?
Awesome work!
I can’t think of any really random odd-job stories, other than truly odd jobs. But usually I’m paid on an hourly rate (and not a high one) and one time one of my freelance clients offered me an assignment on a project-based rate. They assumed it would take about 12 hours or so. I took it on, and was able to finish in two and a half hours! Best hourly rate EVER. :)
I love phone surveys! I’m on several email lists for focus groups, and I’ve done about a dozen or so phone surveys and focus groups in the past year or so. I think the highest one was for $150, and it was a 5 day one where you had to go online for about 20 minutes a day and answer a few questions – super easy! Plus, it was about engineering, which is my profession, so right up my alley. I think the lowest one I’ve done was $50, and that was for a 45 minute phone call.
Oh wait – I lied – the highest paying focus group I did was when I was part of a mock jury – free breakfast and lunch and $185 cash – easy money! :)
Where do i find these phone surveys an focus groups
I’ve never done a phone survey but for $150 I might start!
I made a cool $125 the other day doing a phone survey about advertising. I was online w/the surveyor at the same time, and he showed me various ads and then asked me what I liked and didn’t like about them. $125 for half an hour = not too shabby.
I did a post a while back on my favorite paid survey sites (I’m a bit of a survey queen myself):
http://www.cordeliacallsitquits.com/free-money-series-online-surveys/
J$, how did you find this particular survey? I’d love to answer one on blogging!
You make a great point about taking a minute to respond for more details rather than just hitting delete. I get so much junk that it is often tough to distinguish between what could be a real opportunity and what isn’t. Good for you for dedicating some time from the start – it looks like it paid off.
Awesome!!! I probably would have just deleted it. Maybe not in the future as you’ve clearly shown it pays off!
That’s gotta be a nice start to your day. :-) I’ve never made that much with one survey before, I usually stick w/ the quick and easy ones. It all adds up overtime, but not to $150 an hour. ;-)
I just signed up to be a study participant. I’ll get $10 for doing “computer tasks” for 30 minutes. Every penny counts!
I have a couple of survey/research companies I’ve done some with. Not great money yet, but usually easy to do. Any money goes into savings. I’m going to check out some of these listed.
My problem is that I’m not a huge “consumer” of the kinds of things they are probably looking for – no kids, not buying a new car soon, don’t subscribe to any magazines, etc.
I wish I would’ve jumped on this as soon as I heard about it! Looking for more opportunities like this.
Well done, J$. I have never done it and I am not even certain how spread this is on old, crumbly Europe. I suspect we still do it for free; when we decide to, this is.
As to the Universe – I suppose it was trying to tell you something. Could it be ‘Your wish is my command’?
Hmmm…I’d say the easiest money in the “side job” ring would be getting paid to review companies on my blog or web site. Usually legit companies so I don’t mind giving my buck’s worth on what they offer.
Tell those folks your readers want a $150 pop, too. Haha!
Score!
I’ll have to look into survey and other income sources when I have more time. I am just swamped right now. When I’m fired from the day job, I’ll have more time. ;)
Btw, still not sure what I’m gonna do with the $150 :) I’ve decided that I AM going to blow it on something fun for once though. I’m taking ideas!
@Joe Templin – Oh nice, thanks! They’re going on my list :) Cool your frat buddy started one up too, that’s dope.
@cashflowmantra – Thx! It was fun.
@Growing My Own – Haha, probably grow something AWESOME from it ;)
@Melissa @ BrokeTO – HAH! That IS the best! Nicely played, my friend :)
@Jennifer – Oooooh I like that one! I’d totally do that. But really, I’d totally do a LOT for $150 ;) Especially if I already know the answers or I just have to give opinion, that’s easy.
@No Debt MBA – I’ll let you know if any more come my way!
@Cordelia – Hi bestie!! :) That is fantastic, esp for just a half an hour? Wow. I wish I had a place to go and find sexy ones like this, but it really just came directly to me. Via email, which is why I thought it looked kinda spammy. I’m totally gonna check out that post of yours though and add it to my list! That’s really cool, I may spend an entire day on trying them out and seeing how much I can make…. maybe I’ll challeng you to an online survey duel ;) 24 hours to see how much you can raise from those alone! haha…
@ITIN ANDY – Literally! (bah dum, ching)
@Jenny~Z – Yeah, kinda makes you wonder about all he other stuff we’ve deleted over time, eh?
@Jen @ Master the Art of Saving – It’s really the only one I’ve done that I can remember… I usually don’t have the time or patience for them, but $150 had a nice sound to it ;)
@CityFlips – Agreed! I like it.
@Carol in Mpls – Yeah, they like people who blow all their money usually, haha… or who blog about how they blow all their money ;)
@20 and Engaged – Did you get the email too? You should have!
@Maria Nedeva – If that’s the case, “Universe, please send me $1,000 now!” :)
@Work At Home Market – Haha, that works as well :) I usually don’t have the patience to review the products and then write it up… I just prefer to give them away, haha…
@retirebyforty – I can help you get fired, if you’d like?
Bring it! There are no besties in Beat Cordelia At Survey-Taking. :D
p.s. If you’re looking to create a section on survey opportunities, I might be able to help. I’m on a ton of research panels and subscribe to a bunch of hot-deals-n-freebies type newsletters. I’ve gotten myself on a few sweet “opinion panels” as a result that pay you decent ke$h for logging in one a month and answering random questions about things like baked goods and cell phone plans. Hit me up if you want to discuss further.
i dont know how this work, call me so i can do some surveys, thanks
nice!! yes, you better believe i’ll be hitting you up :) the whole thing has started to fascinate me more, just need to figure out how to get more time for them! can you help with that?? Haha…
i want to make some extra cash for me and my son doing surveys
I would love to make some extra money doing a phone survey I am up for something new!
Give it a shot! :)