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Unusual
Ways Newsletter
(Subscriber Access Only)
(Subscriber Access Only)
Would you like a job or business that doesn't keep you tied to one place? That is what this week's newsletter covers. Some of them are unusual, of course.
Many years ago I read a book on "wildcrafting." That was the authors' word for a life lived working outdoors, traveling from place to place, following the seasons for different natural products. They picked apples when they were in season in Washington state, harvested balsam fir boughs in Wisconsin for Christmas wreath making, and then moved south for the winter, working in the orange groves of Florida or collecting sea shells to sell along the shores of the Gulf Of Mexico.
Of course, not all jobs that let you move around are outdoors. There are jobs delivering recreational vehicles, for example. I haven't looked into these in recent years, but you used to be able to take a day or two for yourself en route to a cross-country destination. Another job that will keep you moving is being a geologist for some oil companies. If you want the most travel opportunities, look for a company with the most widely spread projects and properties.
Then there are those jobs and businesses which give you the option to move when you like, but not the necessity. Jobs that do this include those that can be easily replaced almost anywhere, like cooking, bartending and waiting tables in a restaurant. Having casino skills like dealing blackjack can also open up possibilities to move where you like now, because of the many casinos that are in almost very state. Most don't go long without hiring.
Of course, the problem with that approach is that you will have your income interrupted, and you won't get to grow that income as you can when you stay at one place of employment. The better idea here, if you want the option to take your income source wherever you move, is a business.
Movable Businesses
Power Washing
You may recall, from a previous newsletter, the idea for a business washing RVs (recreational vehicles). Put a good power washer on a trailer behind your vehicle, though, and there are many other opportunities. Truckers will pay up to $50 for a good washing of the trailer and tractor (underside as well). Store owners will pay up to $40 for power washing their sidewalks out front.
You can post a flyer on bulletin boards of mobile home parks ($50 per unit), RV parks, and other places when you arrive in town. Just include your cell phone number. There are no guarantees on how much income you can produce in a given town, but if necessary, you can offer really low prices to generate enough business to finance your next move.
Magazine Writer
This isn't an easy field to break into, but once you have regular clients, being a free-lance writer can mean moving when you want to. It is easy to submit your articles over the internet. The rest can be handled by phone. Checks can be deposited directly into your checking account, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world with a debit card. If you find this a difficult business to start, consider the following one as an alternative.
Internet Publishing
As mentioned before, I essentially write about all the things that interest me and make a great living doing it. No editor can refuse my work, since I simply put it on my own websites. The revenue comes from advertising, commissions on affiliate products, and my own ebooks that I sell.
My wife and I started this internet business in Michigan, but we wanted a change. We moved to Tucson, Arizona for a year or two, taking the business with us. All it required was plugging in the computer, getting internet service, and in a few days we were back to work. In the meantime the money had been continuing to come in as we drove across the country.
Now here is an amazing point: Because we ship nothing, and never have to talk to suppliers or customers directly, we can put our entire business onto a key-chain usb memory plug-in, and carry it anywhere in the world. In fact, we did just that last fall when we went to South America for a month. We just plugged in at any internet cafe (they are numerous in the rest of the world, unlike here in the U.S.), and went to work for an hour or two.
Some of what we do is covered in my ebook, "Writing Articles - An Internet Marketing Strategy." You can get that one free, a chapter at a time by email, at http://www.999articles.com.
Flea Marketing
There are flea markets and swap meets all over the country. If you have the right product and/or service, you can make a living going from one to another. Years ago, when we used to set up our stand at flea markets in Michigan, we met people who moved from there to Florida seasonally. (We sold everything from stuffed animals to my own hand-carved walking sticks.) There are very large flea markets in the southeast and in Texas as well.
Tanque Verde Swap Meet in Tucson, Arizona, was a fun place to go shopping on a weekend when we lived near there. They had room for over 400 vendors. They were open Thursday through Sunday, and it was only $12 to rent a simple space for eight hours. In Michigan we heard repeatedly that it was more difficult than ever to make money at a flea market, but some of the vendors at Tanque Verde had been there every weekend for ten years, so it works for some, at least if you go to the larger venues.
Note: This is part of the "Unusual Ways"
Newsletter.
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