Photo scanning as an income

[songbird62870]

So, I have really been thinking about how I can make a virtual income while my fiance works his full time job.&nbsp; We only have one car and I don't want to have to be moving the RV everyday.&nbsp; This is what I came up with:<br /><br />Offering a service that will scan and transfer people's photos and documents to CD's for permanent storage or to a USB device.&nbsp; Most people want to do stuff like this but don't necessarily have the time.&nbsp; There are services that will do it but they are very expensive, if I only charge 50% of what they charge I might be able to make some good money.<br /><br />I am also very good with computers (not repairs) and thought about also offering to type documents for people - maybe family recipes into a cookbook, I can write legal briefs and other various documents.<br /><br />Another thing I was thinking of is that I could transfer people's home movies to DVD.&nbsp; Walmart charges $22 to tranfer a 2 hour tape to DVD without any special graphics, I could do it for half of that.&nbsp; The benefit would be that it could run while I am out of the RV doing other things, like maybe workcamping.&nbsp; It doesn't take alot of equipment - I would already have the laptop for other things, just need a flat-bed slim line scanner (which I will also need for personal use) and something to play the video tapes on to transfer to the DVD burner.<br /><br />I can also offer virutal bookkeeping services as I was a company comptroller and am familiar with most types of accounting software.&nbsp; I also have experience with transitioning a company from manual accounting to computerized and most of this can be done with remote hookup (although I am not sure how many people are still manual, this could be a dead avenue).<br /><br />What do you all think?&nbsp; Does anyone have any other suggestions for something that will keep me close to the RV and not need a car?<br /><br />

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Sounds like a really good idea. I hate to do things like that and have had other people do it for me.<br />Have you worked out how they will entrust you with old photos etc and get them to you yet?<br /><strong><span style="color: #ff00ff;">Dragonfly</span></strong>

 

[songbird62870]

Well I thought that maybe I could get a P.O. Box near my fiance's job.&nbsp; The package could be mailed to me, job done, and then mailed back to the owner.&nbsp;<br /><br />Since we will be fairly stationary, and staying local when we do have to move, it wouldn't be impossible to do.<br /><br />I have a friend who does web design, so he might be able to set something up for me.&nbsp; If not, I could go the craigslist route, but I am wary of doing that without putting some protections in place.&nbsp; I would get a&nbsp;seperate cell number and maybe set up a different e-mail account to communicate with clients.

 

[travelingchic]

Sounds expensive for the mailing and I don't think people would be likely to trust someone over the net with their photos. &nbsp;I think these are all good ideas but either you need to be a whiz at SEO and marketing to get noticed online or be stationary to get flyers out and your service noticed in a town. &nbsp;<br /><br />Doesn't hurt to try though and see how it goes. &nbsp;