make money

Is Teespring Legit or Is Teespring a Scam?

February 14, 2015 By Jeffrey Strain 28 Comments

There are a lot of people who are looking to make money online, but there are so many money making scams out there that most look at any opportunity which appears it may be legit with some amount of skepticism. This isn’t a bad thing. Being skeptical can save you from wasting time and money. This skepticism is especially strong when there is a claim of what initially appears to be too good to be true, such as no upfront costs needed to begin the business. Teespring is one of these companies that almost seems too good to be true.

Is Teespring Legit?

The first question is whether or not Teespring is legit. The company has been around for a few years now, and has even produced a number of millionaires and hundreds of people making six figures according to Forbes. In order to ascertain if Teespring is legit, it’s important to understand how they make money.

How Teespring Works

Teespring is rather ingenious by making it a win-win situation for all. Instead of creating a design, paying a T Shirt company to create the T Shirts and then hoping you can sell all of them to make a profit, Teespring has you create a T Shirt and set a goal of how many T Shirts you will sell. The more you think you will sell, the more money you’ll make if you reach the goal. If you don’t reach the stated goal, then the T Shirts are never produced and no money ever changes hands.

This is how Teespring is able to not charge an upfront fee. If you don’t hit the stated sales goal, they don’t have to produce the shirts so they don’t lose money. If you do reach the stated sales goal, a profit for you and the company have already been factored in so they produce the shirts and are guaranteed a profit.

Is Teespring Safe?

There is no real financial risk to using Teespring, therefore making the company safe. Since you don’t need to give any upfront money when using Teespring, you aren’t risking losing your hard-earned money. The real investment is your time. If you create campaigns that don’t reach their sales goals, you don’t earn anything.

What are Teespring Risks?

The biggest risk is costs you may incur when creating and trying to sell the T shirts. If you pay someone to design a logo or other image (you don’t have to, you can do this on your own), you may lose these costs if you don’t ultimately sell the T shirts you have set as a goal. The same can be true if you spend money to try and promote the T shirts. This money is gone and you don’t get anything for your investment in the advertising if you don’t reach the T shirt sales goal.

You also have a slight risk with the number of T shirts you think you can sell. The more you place as your goal, the more you will make for each shirt sold. The problem is that if you don’t reach the goal, then you get nothing. For example, if you set a goal of 50 shirts and sell only 49, the shirts are never produced and you get nothing. If, however, your set the goal at 10 T shirts and sell 49, you would get paid a commision for all the sales since you met the goal, but that commision would be less than if you had said you could sell 40 T shirts. Attempting to accurately estimate how many T shirts you can sell without overestimating is important to get the most money for your efforts.

Is Teespring a Scam?

Teespring is definitely not a scam. It’s a legit business. There are some risks, so it’s important to understand how the company works so you know what you’re getting into, but it’s a legit opportunity to make money without having to pay any upfront costs. If you think you are creative enough to come up with some T shirt designs which you could sell to others, you may want to check out Teespring as a possible way to make some extra money in your spare time.

For how to make a success of selling this business as well as other side businesses check out these articles.

Building Facebook Pages for T-Shirts Sales
How to Mix Investing and Small-Business Ownership
Side Jobs to Grow Your Bank Account

(Image courtesy of Teespring)

Preparing for McDonald’s Monopoly 2014

May 28, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 3 Comments

I received an interesting e-mail from a reader who wanted to know what was the best way to prepare for McDonald’s Monopoly 2014. While many people simply play this game for fun and entertainment, there are a number of people who take the game quite seriously as a way to earn some extra money during the year. It’s possible for someone to earn several hundred dollars on this game, if they know what they’re doing and decide to try to make money instead of try to win the contest. The e-mail that I received wanted to know what was the best way to prepare for McDonald’s Monopoly in 2014. This is what the e-mail said:

“I’m looking for the best way to earn money with the next McDonald’s Monopoly game that comes out. I see that you have written about this contest in the past, and I was wondering if you had any advice on what would be the best way to prepare for the contest so that I can make the most money when it does arrive. I’m looking to use the contest as a way to supplement my income at college, and I want to do everything that I can to make sure that I’m successful when the contest comes about. Any advice you might be able to give me would be greatly appreciated.”

Here are a few steps you can take to better your chances of making money when McDonald’s Monopoly 2014 launches.

Get a Job with McDonald’s

This might be going overboard a bit, and could be difficult to time since the Monopoly game isn’t set for a certain time of the year. It launched in July in 2013, but it had been held in October and November in previous years. That being said, if you want to have access to game pieces, working at McDonald’s would be one of the best ways to accomplish this. You likely won’t be able to take them directly from the packaging (most stores inventory the packaging quite tightly for these games), but you’ll have first access at all the game pieces thrown away by customers.

Make Friends with Those Who Work at McDonald’s

Another way to get early access to game pieces is to have friends who work at McDonald’s. If they aren’t collecting game pieces for themselves, they can save you the pieces customers throw away. The best scenario would be to have friends at different McDonald’s locations across the city or town where you live. This will allow you to have friends collecting the pieces from several different stores, instead of from a single location. This has the potential to get you quite a few game pieces in a short period of time.

Recruit a Team to Help You

Another way to acquire game pieces is to have a team who helps you collect them. By finding a number of people who are willing to help you well before the game begins, you’ll be ready to collect as many game pieces as possible from day one. If you wait until the game begins, it can take several days to organize a team, and waste valuable time collecting game pieces when they’re most in demand.

Come up with a Strategy

Take the time to come up with a strategy for all aspects of the game. You need to figure out ways to collect as many pieces as possible, and how you plan to sell them to make money. By creating a strategy well in advance of the game beginning, you can be ready to put it into action the day that the game begins. The sooner that you’re able to do this, the better chance you have of making money on the game.

Start Quickly

The best time to make money with McDonald’s Monopoly is the first week or two of the game. This is because people haven’t had the chance to collect many game pieces themselves, and many of them decide to buy ones to fill in their board. It’s important to realize that a lot of people don’t understand how odds work. There are many who collect game pieces trying to get any peace that they don’t have regardless of whether it’s a common piece or a rare piece. In the beginning, even common pieces can generate quite a bit of money because there are so many people who are trying to get them for their board. By knowing that people who play the game don’t always logically look at the value of the pieces, there’s an opportunity to make money if you can start selling them early enough.

Commit to Making Money at the Game

It’s important to commit if you plan to make money on the game. There are enough people who do this these days that if you aren’t committed to getting yourself organized to begin selling as soon as possible, there’s a good chance that it won’t work out for you. By creating a strategy, putting it into action as soon as the game begins, and committing to put the time and effort into selling the game pieces, you should be able to come away from the 2014 Monopoly game with a little extra money in your pocket.

(Photo courtesy of Miguel Vaca)

13 Ways to Make Money While Exercising

May 7, 2014 By Danielle Warchol 5 Comments

One of the biggest problems many people face when it comes to exercising is lack of time, mostly due to work and other obligations. Most people who decide that they need to get more exercise immediately think about joining a gym. While this is certainly one way to get more exercise, there are many alternative ways to get exercise at no cost. It’s possible to do even better than that by using a bit of creativity to work while getting exercise. Maybe pick up a full or part-time job that gave you an income and also helped you get in better shape at the same time. Here are a few different ways to make money while exercising:

Tour Guide

If you’ve ever been to any historical or cultural site, you’ve probably seen or taken a guided tour. Tour guides have to do a serious amount of walking several times a day, as they tend to give multiple tours during one shift. If you’re looking for a part-time job, becoming a tour guide is not only a great way to get exercise and make some money, but to become more involved in a cultural or historical site in your town or city.

Teach Gym Classes

Did you know that many of the people who teach courses at gyms only do so part-time? All it takes is a certification class and some knowledge of the area you want to teach, and you’re good to go! If you want a good workout and some decent money, consider teaching a gym class, whether it’s a spin class or yoga class. You can also teach classes at your local YMCA.

Referee for Youth or Intramural Sports

Youth and intramural sports are always looking for qualified referees for their games. You’ll get quite a workout referring such sports as soccer, lacrosse, hockey, or football, since you need to be just as quick on your feet as the players. Some divisions and leagues require certification and previous experience to referee, however, so before you go ahead and look up referee jobs, make sure you’re actually qualified.

Dog Walking

One of the easiest ways to make money while exercising is by dog walking. If you live in a city, you’ll have no trouble finding people who need their dogs walked while they’re at work, away on vacation, or busy on the weekends. You can make good money dog walking, too, sometimes upwards of $50 for a one hour walk. If you have a couple dogs you walk at once, you’ll not only be raking in a decent amount of cash, but will be getting a good workout as well.

Mowing Lawns

Mowing lawns is another great way to make some money while getting a workout. There is even a thing called the lawnmower diet. A lot of people have no interest in mowing their own lawn and if you have the time to push a lawn mower around a yard, you’ll earn some cash and get a workout.

Landscaping or Construction

A lot of people will pay good money for construction or landscaping projects. Landscaping or construction can be a part-time side job or a career, depending on your interest, but it’s definitely a way to make some decent money. There’s also no question that you’ll be getting quite a workout regardless of whether you’re working on a small or large scale project.

Bike Courier

You may think that bike couriers have gone out of fashion, but they’re actually still used in many major cities. With the rise in bicycling, many companies prefer to use bicyclists to help promote an environmentally friendly image. Biking across a city to deliver a package or a takeout delivery is a job that requires a lot of athletic dedication. Not everyone wants to bike four hours on a time, after all. Become a bike courier is a great way to get an intense workout and make some extra money.

Seasonal Yard Work

Do any of your friends, family members, or neighbors need seasonal yard work done throughout the year? Maybe someone doesn’t want to rake their leaves in the fall or clean their gutters in the spring or shovel snow in the winter. Yard work always works up a good sweat, and if you offer your services for hire, you can make that exercise worth your while.

Work at a Youth Camp

Many youth camps are constantly in need of workers during the peak summer hours. Youth camps are very into physical activities, whether it’s pickup sports games or general camp activities. Whatever events and games you may have to participate in, you can bet that you’ll be exhausted by the end of the day. If you love working with kids and being outdoors, working at a youth camp might be the perfect way for you to make money while getting a workout.

Work at a Sports Arena

Have you ever wanted to work at your favorite ballpark or golf course? Why not get a job as a caddy? Even a job showing people to their seats at large arenas is sure to give you a good workout. After all, walking up and down all those flights of stairs is far from the normal sedentary desk job.

Teach an Athletic Class

If you happen to be great at a specific sport, aerobic activity, or fitness routine, get your certification and teach a class. This way you’re actually partaking in a fitness routine while getting paid to do so. Best of all, if you choose to teach a group class, you’re going to make a significant amount of money.

Be a Masseuse

You must be wondering how you’re going to exercise while giving a massage, right? After all, massages are supposed to be relaxing and not at all energizing. But did you know that you can lose 300 calories by giving someone an hour-long massage? Being a masseuse requires a lot of upper body strength and it’s a surprisingly good workout. People pay a lot for massages, so you can also set a decent price for your services.

Do Odd Jobs Around the House

Many people are looking for someone to do odd jobs around their house. This could range from fixing broken appliances, renovating a room, landscaping, running errands, cleaning, carrying furniture, or helping move large items. While some of these activities will be more of a work out than others, you’re still getting exercise. And if someone’s paying you to help them out, why not do it?

These are just a few suggestions to get your creative juices flowing. There are actually dozens of more ways that you can get exercise and make money at the same time. It’s worthwhile taking a moment to consider how you can do this in a way that suits your lifestyle and you may find that getting in shape can actually make your bank account a little heftier.

Go Ahead and Be a Sellout

April 22, 2014 By Jennifer Derrick 1 Comment

A long time ago I had high artistic ideals. I wanted my work to change the world, to bring awareness to important issues, and to be “great.” That lasted until I was out of college. That’s when I realized that I had to eat, pay rent, and fill up my gas tank. High ideals went out the window in favor of any job that paid. And since I graduated in the middle of the 1990’s recession, the bar wasn’t all that high. I took a fair amount of advertising and marketing work, shilling useless products to people who probably didn’t need them. But I got the bills paid, even if my work wasn’t world-changing in any way.

A few years out of college, I met a former friend who was still clinging to his ideals. You can guess the state he was in. He didn’t have a job and was living with his parents. He had no social life or real work. But, dammit, his ideals were still pure. He was still cranking away on his “literary masterpiece.” In his parents’ basement. While I was far from rich, I’d managed to cobble enough money together to have my own place, a car, and a few extras. I felt superior to him in just about every way.

“You sold out,” he accused me.

“I had no choice. Work of high artistic merit doesn’t pay the bills.”

“That stuff isn’t important. Your work should change the world. Be important. Not just be some drivel on the side of a cereal box.”

“Yes, but I also need money to live. These jobs pay my bills.”

“Sellout,” he said, shaking his head.

I think I was supposed to be insulted. I wasn’t. While I don’t live for money and I don’t chase the Joneses, I’m well aware that everyone needs money to exist in this world. Earning money through legitimate work isn’t a terrible thing to do. In fact, it’s pretty darn noble. I’m sure if you’d asked my friend’s parents they would have preferred having a sellout for a son over a mooch.

There is nothing wrong with taking jobs to pay your bills. You may not be crafting life altering prose when you write that ad for weed killer, but you are earning money with your skills. You only become a “sellout” if you let that kind of work permanently derail your higher dreams. If you’re writing marketing brochures by day and working on your novel or Pulitzer winning article by night you haven’t sold out, you’ve just made a realistic decision to keep your head above water and feed yourself/your family.

You might even find that “selling out” can be a good thing. Work that gives you a credit can be a pathway to better things. You never know who will see your work and ask you to work for them. One job may lead to another until you are suddenly being paid to produce work of high artistic merit. (Incidentally, some of the greatest artists in history became famous after they sold out.) The money you earn from selling out can also be used to buy more education or better supplies which may speed you on to that ideal job. Getting yourself out there and earning money is rarely a bad thing.

The exception is that you should never take work which goes against your moral principles. Sometimes you have no choice but to work against your beliefs, as when your jerk of a boss demands that you work on a campaign for fur or be fired, even though you’re vehemently opposed to the fur trade. You may have to do it because you don’t have enough money saved to tell the jerk to shove it. (But you’ll quickly learn to save money and find a better job so that you’re not in that position again.) If you have a choice, though, don’t sell your soul. Try to find jobs that align with your beliefs, if not your definition of great writing.

And try not to take work that will impact you negatively later. Writing that script for a hard core porn movie may net you a boatload of money, but chances are someone down the road is going to frown on that one. Just try to look forward and think about how this job will be seen later when you’re applying for another job. Most employers won’t care that you took “sellout” work like advertising, low budget movies, brochures, and infomercial scripts, but they may not look so favorably upon things written for certain industries or fringe causes. (In other words, if you have to write the porn script to pay for groceries, for heaven’s sake, use a pen name.)

Artistic snobs like to call those of us who get paid for less-than-ideal jobs sellouts. But there’s nothing wrong with selling out. I’d rather be a sellout with a place to live, food to eat, and a cared-for family than a parasite living off of my parents or society. High ideals and great writing have their places and are certainly worth striving for. The reality check is that you have to pay your bills. Fortunately, we live in a world that requires a lot of words to explain (ads, manuals, web sites, easy to read books, brochures, etc.) and offers a lot of jobs for those who are willing to do the work. I’d rather work than not. I still work on my idealistic projects, but I admit that I took the money and ran a long time ago. I’m a sellout, but a sellout with a good life.

52 Week Make Money Challenge: Week Four Results

January 26, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain Leave a Comment

The good news is that week four of this 52 week make money challenge allowed me to knock off the largest amount on the chart. It’s always a good week when the highest number gets crossed off the chart. Much like in week three, I made more than the $51 from a last-minute pet sitting opportunity.

This was a quick two-night job that netted me $100 that was close to where I was, so it wasn’t a huge disruption of my normal routines. It also provided a wonderful view to look at while doing the job:

Even better news is that since people have found out that I’m willing to do shorter periods than previously, my calendar is beginning to fill up more than in the past. This is both a good and bad thing. It’s good in that it’s fairly easy money that doesn’t disrupt me much from the other things I want to do, but it’s also going to make my goal of decluttering a bit more difficult as I’ll be moving from place to place ,which doesn’t give me a solid base from which to sell the stuff that I have. I’m thinking that I may bring a few of the items along with me to try to sell while house sitting, but I’m not sure how well that will work out until I actually try it.

Another interesting potential money-maker fell into my lap this week. When I went to the bank, I asked for a couple of $100 bills. As I always do with all bills I get, I checked the serial number to see if it happened to be interesting since bills with unique serial numbers can often be sold for more than their face value. These are the ones that I received:

Both are “birthday” notes or “special occasion” notes for anyone that happened to have a birthday or special occasion such as an anniversary in 1997. While there are a few things that could make these bills stronger, they have a lot of good qualities. They are both in brand new condition so there are not creases or folds. The 1997 is at the beginning of the serial number, not in the middle. It’s actually a pretty good date for a birthday since the person would be turning 17 in 2014 and will be even better for next year when they turn 18. The serial numbers are consecutive, so both go well as a pair. Since they both have a lot going for them, I think that I should be able to sell them both fairly easily and make anywhere from $10 – $25 each if I can find the right person wanting them.

Week 4 Total: $51.00

$1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10
$11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20
$21 $22 $23 $24 $25 $26 $27 $28 $29 $30
$31 $32 $33 $34 $35 $36 $37 $38 $39 $40
$41 $42 $43 $44 $45 $46 $47 $48 $49 $50
$51 $52

Goals for Week 4

I’ve done quite a bit of sorting of the stuff that I have, and I’ll be able to place some of it up to sell this week. I don’t have any house sitting plans this week, so I should have the time and be around to do it. I haven’t done much selling on Craigslist, but I think I’ll give that a try first since it’s so much less expensive than listing on eBa,y and there is no shipping required. I have my fingers crossed that will work out well.

For those of you who are also doing this challenge, how did your current week go?

A few other posts which are related to this challenge:

2014 Challenge Start
Week One
Week Two
Week Three

52 Week Make Money Challenge Week Three Results

January 19, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 3 Comments

Week three of the 2014 make money challenge provided me the opportunity to earn some quick cash. I received an offer to house and pet sit for four days. In the past, I have refused these opportunities because it can be quite disruptive to my writing having to move my things there and back in such a short period of time. I’d much rather do these for a minimum of a week to two weeks, but this really is a good way to make extra money (and also save money) that doesn’t take a lot of time or effort. This is especially true for me since I spend the majority of my day on my computer and can work any place as long as I have an Internet connection.

One of the benefits of this job is that it’s a win-win for all involved. I charge the same amount as what it would cost to board a pet. If they have one pet, they break even. If they have more than one pet, they save money. For most pet owners, they would much rather have their pet at home than at a kennel while they’re gone. In addition, they have someone who is at their house which lessens the risk of theft. They also have someone there in case something unexpected happens. I’ve never advertised, but once I began doing it for friends and family, word quickly spread and now I have more opportunities than I can accept.

The price I charge depends on what the local animal boarding places charge, but I usually earn about $50 a day. This four-day stint put an extra $200 into my pocket which is well above the highest amount on the challenge chart, so that’s the one which gets crossed off.

In addition, I was also given some clothes that the people I was house sitting for no longer needed.

I will use some of these myself, but I’ll try to sell the ones that I don’t need. I’m not sure how much I can earn, but I think I can get at least a couple of dollars for each. If not, I can always donate them to charity. While accepting these is the opposite of decluttering which is one of my goals this year, I think that they’ll be pretty easy to get rid of at a garage sale.

Week 3 Total: $52.00

$1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10
$11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20
$21 $22 $23 $24 $25 $26 $27 $28 $29 $30
$31 $32 $33 $34 $35 $36 $37 $38 $39 $40
$41 $42 $43 $44 $45 $46 $47 $48 $49 $50
$51 $52

Goals for Week 4

I’m back to the same goal that I’ve had the last couple of weeks which is to get the items I own sorted and sold. I passed on doing that this week because I was pet sitting a couple of hours away from my place, which would have made it difficult to deliver anything that would have sold. While this goal ended up being delayed, I felt the other opportunity was worth it since it took less time and paid more. The decluttering and selling of my house is going to be a year-long project, so these early setbacks don’t have me too worried.

If you are participating in a money making challenge this year, how did this week go for you?

Other posts that are part of this challenge:

2014 Challenge Start
Week One
Week Two