How do you make money?

[popcorn2007]

I want to be a remote campground host and if posible , live onsite in the off season.  Other option would be to build a green house  in slightly remote area and sell the produce to cover the cost of the lot/green house.

 

[bullfrog]

You are limited to the number of plants you can grow where it is legal I believe! LOL!!!

 

[willingtorelocate]

I a road-savvy contractor. I write software for a living. Being a contractor is sort of like being a temp, but it's a different class of project. When the job is done, I press a button to update my resume on indeed. Recruiters call me, I do a phone screen, and then a technical interview. Then just as my last or second to the last paycheck from the last job is coming in, I drive out to the next place, and get myself all set up. It's enjoyable.

I'm thinking seriously about buying or building an online business that can pull in another $2,000 a month or so without a lot of work. But so far, I haven't done it.

 

[IGBT]

I a road-savvy contractor. I write software for a living. Being a contractor is sort of like being a temp, but it's a different class of project. When the job is done, I press a button to update my resume on indeed. Recruiters call me, I do a phone screen, and then a technical interview. Then just as my last or second to the last paycheck from the last job is coming in, I drive out to the next place, and get myself all set up. It's enjoyable.

I'm thinking seriously about buying or building an online business that can pull in another $2,000 a month or so without a lot of work. But so far, I haven't done it.

To me, buying a business like that that doesn't require a lot of work would be similar to just investing in some companies you research that have good fundamentals but are oversold.   That is what I do and make easily over $2000 a month without much work (a couple of hours a month).   You do need some capital to start with though, maybe $100,000 to $150,000.

 

[lenny flank]

You do need some capital to start with though, maybe $100,000 to $150,000.

Hah, I could just live on that for ten years.

 

[IGBT]

Hah, I could just live on that for ten years.

Yeah but what would be the fun in that?      I took $100K in 2018 in E-trade and made a bit over $216k in profit on it.

I don't expect I will be able to repeat that type of gain every year though.  $24k would be pretty easy though.

 

[willingtorelocate]

To me, buying a business like that that doesn't require a lot of work would be similar to just investing in some companies you research that have good fundamentals but are oversold. That is what I do and make easily over $2000 a month without much work (a couple of hours a month).

If I did it right, I could use websites like Flippa to pick up affiliate websites that are established or doing decently for about five times earnings. The cool thing about that, is that they run by themselves and there's little overhead. Established dropshipping bizes are the same basic thing, but they require marketing money. I've played around with some of that, but the conclusion I came to is that it would take real work to scale any of it out. Another 2k a month in passive money would be nice, though.

You do need some capital to start with though, maybe $100,000 to $150,000.

Fascinating.
Oh yeah, for sure, if I had 150k today, I would invest it strategically in dividend stocks. You could even work it out in such a way that you're paid every month by a different company. It's passive, predictable, it's usually reliable. Ain't a bad way to go.

Is that what you're doing?

My dad's into day trading. I watch him lose his shirt on it every year. I used to tell people that he loses more money in the stock market than I made in year. But I make a lot more money than I used to. Either way though, day trading scares the hell out of me.

 

[[email protected]]

Oops reposted maki2 by mistake.
Here is the quote:
“Right now designing, cutting and selling tiny cardstock buildings as kits provides me with a fairly steady part time income. They are fanciful little things, the first ones were made as a Christmas party craft project for some girlfriends who love to make things for their dollhouses. Some photos of them got posted in forums and people started asking to buy them, no business plan, just one of those things that came along so I said why not? The fall is my busiest time of year for the cardstock building business as they often get used for holiday decorations. They also get used inside of tiny domes for necklaces. Last year I designed a castle to go with the 47 individual buildings that make up the village. Most years I add a new set of buildings to the village collection.”

Love your gig. Sounds like my idea of creative leisure. How much space in your rig do the materials and finished project occupy?

 

[Dingfelder]

If you were to take up coding, where would you start?

And when would you expect to be at the level where you could sustain a modest lifestyle?

Especially if you were studying on your own, without a college to degree you in it? though you might pass other testing ...?

 

[chick-a-gogo]

I happened to be surfing www.usajob.gov the other day.  I noticed that there are quite a lot of seasonal "Park Ranger" jobs available.  (To duplicate this search, just type "Park Ranger" into the keywords field.)  Many of these seem to pay relatively well (anywhere from $14/hr to $100K/yr), have government benefits and make one eligible for rehire the next season.  The jobs are in many different locations.  I wonder whether anyone reading has held one of these positions and could share their experience...?  Thanks.

 

[maki2]

Oops reposted maki2 by mistake.
Here is the quote:
“Right now designing, cutting and selling tiny cardstock buildings as kits provides me with a fairly steady part time income. They are fanciful little things, the first ones were made as a Christmas party craft project for some girlfriends who love to make things for their dollhouses. Some photos of them got posted in forums and people started asking to buy them, no business plan, just one of those things that came along so I said why not? The fall is my busiest time of year for the cardstock building business as they often get used for holiday decorations. They also get used inside of tiny domes for necklaces. Last year I designed a castle to go with the 47 individual buildings that make up the village. Most years I add a new set of buildings to the village collection.”

Love your gig. Sounds like my idea of creative leisure. How much space in your rig do the materials and finished project occupy?

The is an essential key to having a business on the road, you design the product so that it is made with easy to get materials be they from the office supply stores, a major craft store chain,  Home Depot, the internet. That way you don't have to stockpile and store a lot of materials.

 

[dellaterra]

I have held seasonal park aide, forestry tech, park ranger and fee collection positions in a few fed land mgmt agencies. Some kind of outdoor experience is required, but could be as minimal as gardening/landscaping. Some are really hard manual labor-trail crews. Some are doing animal and plant surveys. Some park/ NF jobs are just customer service. i.e collecting money in the entry booth. Some jobs are advertised as early as Dec for the following season. I would not go for any NPS positions unless you were very well qualified, too much competition. Housing is the hard part, but nomads have that covered The key when you do your USA jobs application (they call it 'resume') is to match the wording of the job description with some of your qualifications-don't lie, of course. A little bit of volunteer work at a NF can go a long way towards your qualifications. Have patience, it can be very bureaucratic and extended process, but worth it cuz once you get on, you get re-hire rights, if no issues for the following season.
Hope that helps. Feel free to pm me if you want more info.
DellaT

 

[gojo]

I been retired about three years and my wife will be retiring end of this year. I will make the RTR next year if everything goes as planned. Our  income will be our SS and what ever I make in the stock market. I probably won't be trading the markets as much, because I want to enjoy  traveling and meeting people. I been trading since 1988, so it's hard to go cold turkey. I'll start slow by living off of dividends and selling covered calls also.
Dividend stocks can be a risk if you want higher dividends. I do own a few, like Suburban Propane Partners LP, (SPH),  just got a div. of $0.60 per share, Feb. 12, which comes to 10.82% annually,   MFA Financial Inc. (MFA) next month I should be getting $0.20 per share March 29, which comes to 11% annually.    AT&T, (T) , just got $0.51 per share Jan. 31, which comes to 6.7% annually and it goes on and on. And I hope to meet a lot of people on this forum...……………...

 

[JD GUMBEE]

I cook meth out in the desert in my class A...in my underwear
Call me "Walter." LOL <<<<(BTW insanity in the past here causes me to feel the need to verify I AM kidding about this. Both the name...and the activity. )

On the "coding."
If you have to ask that question, you will be unable to compete in the marketplace without years of self-teaching and examples of your works. It is a fickle, ultra egg-head market.
In 1994, I could make huge money anywhere.
Multirelational dBases (Universe was my own specialty ATT) were the rage and speed was king.
What I presently do has less people than needed...and no non-US people are any good at it, due to the market in equipment/trucks/fleet management...etc. I am in the top 20 in the USA at present at what I do...and I could not hope to make close to 1994 income, even if reporting to a cubicle 50 hours a week killing myself in that Satanic environment.

You really have to LOVE staring at a terminal emulator and working round the clock to get anywhere now.
Years of experience in a specific language, along with (normally) a s&!^load of 'normal' IT experience with it.
Even then, the people who have now moved themselves into the management end are often not of USA upbringing and tend to "rule with iron fists." I do not suggest it.

Better off to grab contracts doing installs. Good pay and it would open the door for other work.

Physically fit people who like extreme sports should look up "Rope Partner." They hang 300-400 feet in the air, repairing the blades on windmills. Tons of travel and due to the OT pay, you work heavy for a bit, then take months off.
They always need sober people there...

 

[mpruet]

RE coding --

I was fortunate.  I entered the programing world through contacts at a time when most large companies had a development staff.  I was able to eventually transition into a software development company which was later acquired by IBM.  I'm now retired.

Most companies no longer develop their own applications.  They will either buy an existing system - possibly customize it a bit, or just contract the development to a software company.  It's a totally different world than it used to be.  The major companies (think Walmart or Amazon) do have their own development staff, but it's definitely a cubical city.  I was able to work mobile while at IBM, but that was only because I had a high position and they wanted to keep me.  It takes years of a high degree of productivity before anyone can reach that point.  Up until then - it's cubical city.  

The best chance that anyone has is to become a freelance contractor is to be very familiar with a system and then try to become a contractor for the installation/support of that system.  Oh you can become a coder for smart phone/iPad apps and if you should get really lucky, your app might take off.  But that world is very crowded, so I wouldn't count on it.  The key skill set currently is media/web development - and that is not so much coding skills but rather knowledge of the web/media tools used to develop those sites.

 

[mpruet]

Oh yes - if you should want to work as a coder you should:

1) Know the 'Lingua Franca' of the company - c++, Java, Ruby, Perl, or even Cobol... 

2) Understand the business requirements of the company - Medical Billing?, Inventory?, Weather?, Finance?

3) Be able to demonstrate that you can work on a team.  This can be difficult to prove for a nomad.

 

[maki2]

it is likely easier to break into website design. You do need to do some coding work. You also need to have an aesthetic appreciation for arrangement of the visual elements on a page. Plus it really helps if you are the kind of person who has paid attention to things such as what makes an appealing web page and what makes it easy to move around on the website.

Wordpress is now a popular one and there are lots of free tutorials on designing websites with wordpress. A good place to get started is to create your own free wordpress page. If you enjoy doing that then maybe there is a future in it for you.

 

[Kaylee]

it is likely easier to break into website design. You do need to do some coding work.

(bolding added by me)
That's odd. In what general niche have you found that?

I've rarely worked on a team where designers had any coding skills.
There's usually a clean divide between front end and back end stuff, strictly in my experience, which is a mix of corporate, small biz, and pure geek stuff.
The industry is majorly variable, so I'm sure there's areas where it's done differently.

+1 to self-learning, and pursuing only stuff you enjoy.

+1 to all of the above condemnations of the IT industry.
Before the dot-con boom, there were a lot more decent jobs. Once the money got insane, opportunists flooded in and quality&decency went way down.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Be able to demonstrate that you can work on a team.  This can be difficult to prove for a nomad.

True enough.

Another good portable trade you can easily break into is nursing.
Less than 4 years of school will give you an RN and in most cases, you can work anywhere you like.
They have a ton of travel nurse outfits.
Friends of Mrs G do this.
Work 4 months a year and still make 70K doing it.
They even deduct RV expenses and get full hookups paid for when on the job.

Some never worked a day on a med-surg floor after school.
Private care, vacation fill ins in care homes, even drug rehab and psych nursing.
Were I young again...nah, who the hell am I kidding?
I would likely snuff the life out of troublesome patients with a pillow in about three days.
(nosce te ipsum)


For the right person, it sure would be a good way to support yourself on the road though.

Another one is a company like "Thiro" used to be.
They did flood and hurricane power restoration.
Traveled around a lot during the season, but long periods of idle time and unemployment checks.
Experienced chainsaw/bobcat operators/riggers who truly knew their stuff used to make $80 an hour on the job.
Anyone who has worked in a marina/boat outfit also can do this storm-related/dewatering work. Big money contracts short term.


I started inspecting classic/muscle cars years ago and it turned into another sideline gig many here could easily handle themselves. One of my Middle East customers asked me to drive his wife, kids and mother in law from DC to Skyline Drive for a full day. They showed up with a male minder, who was impressed how I drove and treated the ladies.
A lot of people do not realize, being in a tourist area, how many people would hire them to taxi them around and act as a US guide. Many foreign folk think it is the wild wild west here and they are too afraid to drive themselves anywhere without a "fixer." Especially if you are a concealed carry permit holder with large physical presence.
(Watch out about the laws on this, however. Saying you are a body guard is an entirely different deal than casually mentioning you carry a gun when you chauffeur people. Make sure you know rules beforehand in whatever state you are working in.)

Having a few good jobs under your belt and the (Chinese and Middle Eastern people especially) will blow your phone lines up. Cash money, good tips and Deep pockets. Lots of them want to go where there is no bus-tour running.
One overnight from DC to a Waynesboro motel, then a day at the caverns/BRParkway or Skyline Drive/Monticello...etc
Easy money. LOTS of young people from China do not want to/cannot drive. To their parents, a local middle aged CDL holder (especially one with a legal gun on their hip) watching their kids really meant something. Once it started, there was more of it than I had time for.
With some flair and a knowledge of how to get your name out, sharp dressers with a smile and an understanding of the target cultures do's and do not's can make $500 a day pretty easily. Rent a vehicle to start off.
You will not make a dime working through an outfit though.
(There are clearing houses that try paying you peanuts and charging the clients huge $$$. This is something you have to do on your own...and for cash.)

 

[Dingfelder]

All that sounds pretty cool, JD. I'd go for that in a minute if I could get my poop together on it. Sometimes we have a pretty busy summer season here in Oregon. But we don't see a lot of Asians or Middle Easterners, and my area is more for people "in the know" about natural beauty hotspots.