What ONLINE businesses do folks have/participate in for extra income?

[calendula]

I've read in several threads that many people have part-time /extra income from online businesses but they never say what these businesses actually are. Is anyone willing to share? I mean, at least in a generic sense e.g., filling in surveys etc.

Or if you run a web site what kind of business are you in?

How many hours/how much effort do you put into it? Is the income worth it?

Just curious :-)

Thanks.

[gurumama]

If you read my sig you can find out more about what I do. It's my personal blog talking about my WAHM day-to-day issues, not a business plug

[StormySar]

I have a business that runs both from my home (as in, I teach childbirth and new parent classes, and sell homemade/home grown items) and online. Online I publish a monthly newsletter on from scratch living, write e-books/print books, put together handouts and am designing curriculm for natural family living topics.

Right now, teaching is slow due to the economy so there isn't much time I spend away from my family (though my office is located within my home, so I'm never really 'away' just occupied). I write and do business work when my family is asleep and it works out very well. The income is very worth it - I put in about 3 hours each evening/night sometimes more if I'm really involved in something and try to take Sundays off. If my husband wants to hang out sometimes I work less hours that night or just don't work at all - depends on how many deadlines I have set up. If a child is sick and needs me, that is top priority. The job does contribute to paying our bills along with my husbands check

I was involved in companies that do the multilevel marketing but never made any more than I put in - and monthly requirements were needed (in both points and you buying products from the company) before you could get a check... Not worth it, unless you already buy the products to begin with. Or there was a minimum you needed to meet each month in commission. I don't buy that much of anything and I suck at selling other peoples products, so I dont find any point in doing those again. Just a fyi if you're considering joining an established online selling business. :-)

Oh, and I did try filling out surveys and doing typing jobs... All of which required too much time, effort or organization from me and made way too little money. You can make money - the most I ever made from a survey company was $20 in a month and it took me hours to get to that point, a lot of work to get set up, and a lot of record keeping to keep going. Wasn't worth it for me, I make much more than that with far less hours with my own business.

[_betsy_]

I do ChaCha, just started last week as a Guide so I haven't actually seen any money from it.

I also make (or made, when I had more time) some money selling digital scrapbooking supplies at a consignment type online store. I am a designer by trade and digital scrapbooking is a hobby, it just made sense for me to combine the two for some money.

I hope you find something you enjoy!

[Sailor]

I sell on ebay a lot.

And I used to have an etsy shop, but that was when I had a lot of time for sewing. I let that go. Etsy definitely didn't pay the rent or anything like that, but it brought in an extra hundred a month. Which was perfect as I felt guilt free using that money for things like yarn (I love to knit).

I certified myself as a medical transcriptionist, if that counts. It's not an online business, though.

My main source of income, now, is baking. I run a small baking business out of my home. It's great. I love to bake, and I work for myself. Now, when I had lots of medical bills from an accident - I couldn't do this. But, as soon as I went debt free, I switched to baking. Now, it pays the rent, with extra on the side.

[Mom2Connor_Allie]

Before we got married my husband and I sold a lot of books on half.com (part of eBay) and made over $800 for wedding expenses in less than months. Some books sell really well. If you do a little browsing on there you will be able to see what tells. Books sell at yard sales cheap so we would often buy to resell. We had the best luck with textbooks, but they had to be relatively new. Because you can search by ISBN when listing it goes a lot faster than creating eBay descriptions.

I have thought about starting an advertising web site like a directory of stores or services, but my husband isn't going for the idea of a second business. If you have an interest in something in particular that might be fun to do and the overhead would be very low.

[vm9799]

i have a children's jewelry design business that i run online and through wholesale. i have a shop on etsy and a few other up and coming sites, and i sell to small boutiques around the world. i have a studio in my home that i work out of. i'm not sure if i can post my etsy shop site, but if you go to etsy and search by seller, my business name is vmdesigns (VM Designs, but it's all one word on etsy). i LOVE : what i do!

i work while my kids are in school and my hubby's at work......and sometimes at night after the kids are in bed. so i usually put in a 4-8 hour day filling orders, designing new pieces, answering many emails/convos, or just promoting. i even do my post office runs and supplies shopping in those hours only.

[AmandasMom]

I breed and sell freshwater aquarium shrimp. It started completely by accident, I had too many shrimp and rather then feed them to my other fish, I thought I'd try and sell some on eBay. They sold and then I sold more and more. It brings in a little extra income a month and I feel like I'm doing something to help out.

[highlandmum]

Sailor--how did you start out? I have often thought about baking out of my home for profit, but it seems so daunting (having my kitchen checked out, turning it into commercial, etc.) Did you have to do this at first? Sorry to thread-jack!!!

[Jilian]

I don't have a business but when I need extra money I sell stuff online or at our local children's consignment shop. Last week I sold lots of parenting books and the week before I sold the baby carriers we no longer use. When I get more free time I'll be selling the clothes my kids have outgrown.

[Sailor]

Originally Posted by highlandmum

Sailor--how did you start out? I have often thought about baking out of my home for profit, but it seems so daunting (having my kitchen checked out, turning it into commercial, etc.) Did you have to do this at first? Sorry to thread-jack!!!

Yea, you know, I skipped the part about getting permission from the government.

I just started running a "hobby." I mean, it's not a crime to bake for neighbors, you know? Now, sure some of my neighbors are farther away than my neighborhood, and sometimes I ship places. But, technically, we're all neighbors on earth.

I started out via fliers in mail boxes, and I posted up fliers in local coffee shops. I also did a door to door thing at one point, i.e. I baked up a batch of cookies, wrapped 2 to a bag, added my "menu" to the bag, and then went door to door. My partner had a lot of friends who liked warm baked bread in the mornings, and they had friends ... and word of mouth spread business.

Things picked up from there. It took me about a year and a half - almost 2 to make an actual living from it.

Technically, this is a small business. I call it a hobby and forgo government permission. It's the principle of the thing for me (I'm an anarchist). So, it's not like I have a dirty kitchen or am hiding something. Everything is always clean, and everything is of a high quality. I'm sure it would pass with flying colors.

But, then I'd have to pay taxes too.

My advice is to start it out as a hobby. When you get to a point where it starts feeling like a small business ... then, if you want, apply for the license.

[amyamanda]

I do copy editing and some website support for a single business. I am a sort of remote executive assistant. I was hired by a friend's husband for his business, so I can't exactly point you in a specific direction for this kind of work. But I am sure it helped that I volunteered to help him with proofreading and light editing when he started his business, so when he was ready to hire someone, I was already there (I used to volunteer about 2 hours a week, and now I work about 20-30). HTH.

[TravsMom]

Home Business

In looking for the best all natural nutritional and cleaning products I discovered a company called Shaklee. Founded in 1956 to create healthier lives by working in harmony with nature; #1 natural nutrition company in U.S; 1st company ever to be certified carbon neutral. I was so impressed that I became a distributor. NOT something I would have ever thought I would do but the company is so impressive I just couldn't shake it. Not only could I bring in the extra money my family needed at my own pace, but I could do it while still believing in what I was doing. I had thought about starting my own business many times but this was basically a 'business in a box". SO much of the work is already done for you. I could go on and on about how fabulous the company and the products are. If you take the time to check it out I guarantee you will be impressed. I am happy to talk more!! Send me a PM and we can connect.