Moonlighting to Supplement Your Income

Because of the lack of available credit since the housing collapse, and the broader poor economy, more and more people are moonlighting to generate a second income to survive. Before the recent economic slump people mostly moonlighted to buy luxury items.

There are various forms of moonlighting. Ranging from having a second job, becoming self-employed, or being someone skilled at what they do and offer their service to anyone outside the normal hours of their day job.

The latter type of moonlighting may be a win-win situation for both the consumer and the moonlighter.

First, the consumer gets a professional job done at a fraction of the cost of hiring a company that the professional works for.

Secondly, the benefit to the moonlighter offering their service outside of normal work hours. Specifically, not having to take time off work, and receiving greater compensation for their time compared to doing the job through their company.

However, there are risks to consider for both the consumer and the moonlighter.

For the consumer wishing to use the services of a moonlighter it only makes sense to use someone highly recommended and who is insured for the work being performed.

The greatest risk is on the moonlighter

The moonlighter risks being let go if their employer finds out they are competing in the same field. The moonlighter would do well to review their employment agreement.

The moonlighter needs to have the correct liability insurance for their trade to cover accidents and omissions.

Another type of moonlighter is one who start their own online business, and there are more and more like this every day. The possibility of making a substantial second income online has a big draw.

Regardless of the type of moonlighter, the objective is to make money. This can’t be stressed enough, when you make money you must keep records. You must record all revenue and expenses in order to meet your tax obligations.

Resources:

• Online Income
• Record Keeping
• Business Ideas

There is some surprising business wisdom for work at home business owners hidden in the songs of the musical legend known as Johnny Cash
, or the “Man in Black”.

1 – Target Marketing via “Understand Your Man”

Yep! Think of your target market as a lady in Johnny’s song “Understand Your Man”. Do you know what she needs, wants, and her driving ambitions? Is your website talking to your target audience? No? Maybe it’s time to revise your website and marketing materials before your audience is “as gone as a wild goose in winter” as well!

2 – “A Boy Named Sue”

Sue’s father said to him, “This world is rough, and if you’re gonna make it, you’ve gotta be tough”.

Just as life isn’t easy for a boy named Sue, life isn’t easy for a work at home business owner either. You will run into those dream stealing, confidence killing, fun suckers… however you choose to label them. There will be people trying to convince you that your goals are unachievable and that what you’re doing won’t work. Don’t listen and don’t let them bring you down.

What are some ways you can get tough in your business?

3 – Branding 101 as the Man In Black

Johnny Cash’s all black suit was his trademark, he wore it for a reason.

What about your brand, are you working on it? How will you stand out in a world that’s full of Elvis Presleys or Jerry Lee Lewises? Also, you and your target market don’t have to be the like each other. “Folsom Prison Blues” was created before Johnny Cash was ever put in prison and that song connected with inmates.

4 – “The Legend of Jonh Henry’s Hammer”

There is actually two pieces of business wisdom in the song:

a – You will succeed when you learn your business

John Henry’s father said, “Learn to a turn a jack, learn to lay a track, learn to pick and shovel too”.

Have you learned all you can about marketing on and off the internet to succeed in your business? Do you reinvest in education, mentoring, or coaching, and software like John Henry?

b – Technology is great, but people are still irreplaceable

Johnny showed that people are more valuable than technology when steam engines were threatening to replace people. Learn to use the technology that’s available to help your business, but remember your customers and prospects are people, so put some of yourself into your marketing.

5 – “One Piece at a Time”

“One Piece at a Time” is a ballad about a man’s decision to build a Cadillac from the parts he steals from the manufacturer’s assembly line where he worked. However, it didn’t exactly come together like he thought it might “and it didn’t cost him a dime”.

Does your marketing material and web site look as though they were pieced together? Are you happy with your web site being hosted for free with the clutter of advertisements, not willing to spend the money for a domain name and hosting?

6 – “In the Jailhouse Now”

By doing the following you are throwing you hard work out the window. It’s not worth it and you might find yourself in the jailhouse. It’s far better to “Walk the Line” and stay out of trouble.

• Copying content from other sites
• Clicking your own AdSense ads AdSense ads
• Failing to keep records and not paying your taxes
• Taking pictures and graphics from other sites
• Spamming

7 – “Ring of Fire”

June Carter Cash expresses her attraction to Johnny in this song. Both June and Johnny were in a relationship with other people. Clearly they were meant for each other and grew old together making music for 40 years!

Realize when you have made a poor choice and started a business that isn’t right for you. After you have worked hard at it and decided that it isn’t profitable, don’t be afraid to scrap it all and start over.

I hope you and your business make wonderful music together!!

A few business resourced you might like:

1. Target marketing
2. Branding
3. Working with Google AdSense

“I have a 31-step process. I shampoo seats, do the dashboard with Q-tips, clean the trunk, dress the engine, etc. It takes 3 hours for what I do, and I charge $120. That’s detailed.”

This would be a typical response of someone who does Auto Detailing when asked what they can do for your car and how much they would charge you for it.

The age of upscale carwash is here. As we keep our cars longer (average length is 7.5 years) we take better care of them.

This is why the carwash business is booming with $8 billion in revenue, and so is auto detailing.

EXECTUIVE PARKING

Many auto detail services nest their business in executive parking lots. They get a permit from the city and from the business whose lot they use.

This is convenient for employees who otherwise may not have time to bring their cars to a shop that would take 3 hours to get detailing done.

In a mobile operation such as this, you will need a van or pickup truck and access to running water and preferably AC power.

In some cities, there are companies that convert and customize pickup trucks into mobile detail shops with its own reservoir and portable power generator.

140 MILLION CARS

Although many auto detailers will swear that a bulk of their business comes from car dealers, in reality the car dealer market is small and extremely competitive.

Most car dealers need cars detailed before a used car is offered in an auction or is displayed in the lot.

However, the biggest market of all is still on the road, individual car owners, representing all of 140 million passenger cars plus another 30 million pickup trucks on the road.

This market, with an average age of 7.5 years, is ripe for a detail job at least twice a year.

BUDGET DETAIL

The best way to build up a base in this business is to introduce a mid-priced service that offers extras that carwashes do not offer.

Detail jobs in the range of #30 to #49 will open up a new market that can provide a stream of customers. You can provide a written list of what you do and how you build up your rates from the basic price of $30 to the premium rate $49.

With 5 customers a day, at 1 hour each, you can average $200 a day.