CNBC Business | Home economics

Home economics

Forget envelope-stuffing; microjobs can now be much more rewarding, discovers John Brandon

The economy might be leveling out but if you’re still looking for “gap” work, it may be just a click away. Micro-sized businesses – those that pay by the task, a flat rate per project, or for repetitive work – are becoming more common. These internet, temporary, or at-home jobs might pay a small amount, but the faster you work, the more you make. There are no performance reviews, talkative co-workers, or goofy team-building exercises. For variety, try combining several microjobs for a full and rewarding – and possibly highly lucrative – microcareer.

BLOG FOR BUCKS
Pay: €5 per post and up, plus ad revenue
Blogging can be fulfilling – you communicate ideas with a wide audience, share interesting links, and post news and gossip in exchange for ad revenue. Google offers a pay-per-click programme called Ad Words where you include textual or graphic advertising on your blog. The keys to success: post on similar blogs and create a dialogue to increase traffic, and post frequently. Rachel Segal, the content director at B5Media, a company that hosts blogs, says consistency and being able to type posts quickly are also important factors.

SECOND LIFE E-COMMERCE
Pay: Varies
The virtual world Second Life is alive and well, despite not getting much attention in the mass media lately. Industrious second lifers have set up vast e-commerce empires selling everything from rugs to coffee to custom soaps. Virtual items sell for a few pennies, but add up quickly when there is no manufacturing and no warehouse. You can also sell physical goods by including links to a website. You can also work as a greeter for companies, making sure visitors to the Cisco or IBM virtual campus are welcomed with open (virtual) arms.

BECOME A PRO SELLER ON EBAY
Pay: Varies
Nicole Williams, a career coach and author of the book Girl on Top, says eBay is a good short-term outlet for those looking for full-time work. “People are using the recession as a way to cleanse out all the excess,” she says. “Going through your closet and getting rid of all the clutter feels like a fresh start.” For pro sellers, using an “eBay tent” – a white linen background that folds away for storage – helps improve the quality of photos and leads to faster sales; niche products such as rare jewellery or antique books attract the highest bids, but almost any item can be a candidate for an auction.

JOIN A PAID FOCUS GROUP
Pay: €110 to €1,645 per group
Companies such as Mattel and Nokia hold focus groups for user input on prototypes, sometimes over the web. “This type of work, especially if you are in a desirable demographic, can lead to a nice, non-traditional income while you look for a job,” says Christine Durst, the CEO and co-founder of Staffcentrix, a company that specialises in home-based businesses. Sites such as Findfocusgroups.com post upcoming groups, but be aware – some opportunities only offer freebies and no pay.

OFFER YOUR EXPERT ADVICE
Pay: Pennies per answer
Sites in the US such as ChaCha.com, KGB. com, and Justanswer.com pay a few cents per expert response, but pro “agents” can answer hundreds of requests per hour and a few power users have made it a full-time job. Another idea: pick a subject that you know a lot about, and create a website for users to pay for expert advice on that topic. Full-time power users have created thriving small businesses for themselves simply by offering expert advice online.

TUTOR A STUDENT
Pay: €20 per hour or more
Kathryn Marion, a columnist for Examiner. com, says tutoring students is a great microbusiness because parents and schools are looking for paid help beyond what schools offer, and there are few start-up costs involved. Studentoffortune.com is a good site for generating ideas, but check with your local educational institution, friends and family, and companies that offer tutoring materials for the best leads.

DRIVE WITH ADVERTISING ON YOUR CAR
Pay: Varies
One business opportunity that doesn’t require learning any new skills: companies sometimes hire drivers who put decals on their car with advertising messages. For example, Milesofmarketing.com pays mums who are driving around town anyway to market products – usually geared toward other mums. In most cases, the decals are easy to remove, and you can claim the car as a business deduction.

TWEET FOR A LIVING
Pay: €5–€10 per article
Use sites such as Twitter.com, Digg.com, Facebook.com and other social networks to garner interest for online articles, which then raises ad revenue for those articles. Start by checking with some of the top websites, such as BBC.co.uk, and ask if they are looking for “microbloggers” to help build enthusiasm and traffic for news and feature articles.

BECOME A VIRTUAL PERSONAL ASSISTANT
Pay: €1,000–€2,000 per month
One way to thrive in a tough economy is to provide a service to businesses that cannot afford to hire a full-time employee for the task. As a virtual personal assistant, you can answer calls, handle faxing and document scanning, and even respond to emails for an executive. Asksunday.com is one option for those looking for an existing company, but you can also just offer the service yourself.

JOIN AN OVERSEAS VOLUNTEER GROUP
Pay: Free travel, room and board, plus a small stipend
Technically, its not a microjob, but one option for the unemployed is to join a volunteer organisation, such as Peace Corps (peacecorps.gov) in the US, Volunteer Service Overseas in the UK (vso.org.uk) or other humanitarian groups who provide travel, food, lodging, and petty cash in exchange for work overseas.

MICROJOBS TO AVOID
Some promise good pay as a start-up business or for doing menial tasks, but are actually a ploy to sell you training materials for how to start a company. For example, companies that teach you how to create ads for Google’s Ad Words programme are usually bogus. Before signing up for a service, research it thoroughly and ask for the membership terms and fees.