Odd-Job Expert Offers Tips
for Economic Survival
for Economic Survival
‘Queen of the Random Job’ Going Strong after 13 Years
Most adults of a certain age believe they’ve had some
colorful jobs. Chances are likely, however, that Bethany Mooradian has them
beat.
“I began finding random jobs after receiving my degree in
puppetry because I realized that most puppeteers don’t make that much money,”
says Mooradian, author of I Got Scammed So You Don’t Have To (www.QueenOfTheRandomJob.com), a how-to
book for finding legit work in an economy of scammers. “At one point, I was even
Ronald McDonald’s bodyguard.”
Beginning in 1999, in order to make ends meet while pursuing
her artistic passions, she looked for odd jobs. It wasn’t long before the search
for and execution of odd jobs became a lifestyle. She gave so much advice to her
friends on how not to be scammed, that she decided to write a book about it.
Mooradian came up with an acronym to help as a general
outline to avoid scams: SCRAM. S = scrutinize the source; C = check for
affiliate links and fees; R = research the heck out of every detail; A = ask for
more information; M = mouse over images and links to see what website you end on
before you click.
“I was scammed in a work-at-home gig from a magazine ad when
I was young and naïve,” she says. “It was before the internet was widely used,
so it wasn’t as easy to check it out, and I hadn’t yet developed my SCRAM
method.”
While the odd, random job or source of supplemental income
usually does not replace the income of a fulltime job, there are several ways of
making money people often overlook, or simply don’t know about.
Mooradian emphasizes that anyone can find extra ways to earn
income from what they already know how to do, “No one ever goes to college to
learn how to ‘work at home.’ It’s simply a matter of taking your skill set and
translating that into a home-office or flexible work environment instead of a
9-5 job.” Here are five income opportunities most people are not aware
of.
• Being a Virtual Assistant: If you have
computer and internet skills, you can work as a VA doing general secretarial
work, or processing orders for large-name corporations at home. Many companies
are seeing the benefit of “homesourcing” instead of “outsourcing” because
overhead is reduced, and customers get to speak to local operators who
understand the language and culture.
• Merchandising: Have you ever walked up to
someone shelving products in a store to ask for help and they reply, “I’m sorry,
I don’t work here?” Those are merchandisers. They’re hired to set up displays,
check prices on items, and shelve products like magazines, food items, and
greeting cards. Merchandisers have specific locations to service, but with
fairly flexible hours.
• Landlord (rent that extra space!): Many
people own property because they want their personal freedom. But for those
who’ve fallen on hard financial times, like millions of Americans, finding a
good, trustworthy person to rent your extra room, a storage space, garage, or a
parking space is a great option.
• Mystery shopper: Mooradian has created a
video and book training course on this topic titled “The Mystery Shopper
Training Program,” which can be found on her website, as well as through
Amazon.com and local bookstores. Mystery shoppers are paid to surreptitiously
check out the behavior of employees in retail shops, bars, restaurants,
apartment buildings, car dealerships, banks, and even on cruise ships and travel
resorts.
• Use your talent: You don’t have to have
movie-star aspirations to get work as an extra in movies, television shows or
industrial/training films. Many times you can call up your local film board to
find casting directors in the area to get on their “extra” list. Voiceover work
can also be done from the comfort of your home if you have a powerful enough
microphone, and you can also be a “standardized patient” acting out diseases to
help medical students with their board exams.
“The internet is full of information, but finding useful
leads for jobs or making extra money can be like searching for a needle in
the proverbial haystack, which is why I provide over 300 legitimate companies,
ideas, and resources for money-seekers,” she says.
About Bethany
Mooradian
For 13 years Bethany Mooradian has lived the random-job
lifestyle, including everything from being a puppeteer, dog walker and art
gallery owner to actor, sexual health resource clinic advisor and parade float
fabricator to elderly caregiver, phone book deliverer, mystery shopper, virtual
assistant and more. The “Queen of the Random Job” has written books, created
training programs, and teaches classes in both Seattle and online to assist
others looking for ways to make ends meet.
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