Tilling Gardens and Manure Tea

Years ago, after I had built my house, the ex and I decided to start a garden. I had helped mom and dad when I was younger, and ex had been putting out a garden at her home for several years before we married. She had a old front tine tiller. It looked a hundred years old.  Rusty, and dented up, it worked, but it beat you to death. Hard to start, hard to run, after a year of fighting with it, I decided I had enough. I needed a new tiller. After talking to a couple of people, I was told it would be worth it to purchase a rear tine tiller. I had never used a rear tine, but I had been told a rear tine tiller would be a major upgrade, and worth the money.
I would be shocked at the difference.

I worked with a guy who one day asked if I knew of anyone who might be interested in purchasing a used troy-built rear tine tiller.  Sure I replied, me. He fed me a story about how it had originally belonged to his dad, and had been given to him. He was recently divorced and was hurting for cash. Troy-built makes a top of the line tiller. I figured I could get a deal, so I told him I would come over and look at it.
I drove to his house, and looked the tiller over. It was in his basement, which immediately made me think it was a little hot, but the price was right, so I purchased it anyway.
The stories I had been told about rear tine tillers were correct. I could guide this tiller with one finger. I no longer had to go 15 rounds whenever I started it up.
What it did to the ground was amazing. It impressed me, and I still get excited every time I use it.

Then it occurred to me. Why not put a ad in the paper and advertise tilling up gardens. Every year I had seen ads in the paper for this.  Ex was against the idea of course, but I went ahead and put an ad in anyway. I had horses then, so for a additional fee, I advertised that I could bring a truck load of horse manure (with lime included) to spread over a garden, along with the tilling if so desired.
Obviously this is a seasonal job. I received a few calls, went out and tilled up some gardens, and made a little money. After 2 years of this I moved on, and have never advertised tilling gardens since.

With horses, I had a steady supply of manure. Every year I would spread it over my garden, and till it in. I also put it in flower beds, and around different trees in the yard. Wherever I thought a little fertilizer might be needed, I spread horse manure.  Friends of the family, and in-laws would drive over every spring, and load their trucks up with it.  I was happy to give it away, always joking that you couldn't take just one truck load, because there was a two truck load minimum.

I came across a web site recently where a lady sells manure in small bags that look like large tea bags. She advertises seeping the bags in a gallon of water as fertilizer for your plants. Pictures on the website show crazy blooms and plant growth.  These manure bags are advertised as being cheaper than commercial fertilizers, and better for your plants too.  A big selling point is how natural her manure is.
The article I read said she had cattle and horses, so she started this tea bag business as a way to get rid of some of her manure. You have your choice, a horse manure tea bag, or a cow manure tea bag. She didn't plan for it to take off, but it did.  Her manure business is going to do hundreds of thousands of dollars this year.

I checked on Ebay, and there are several sellers offering dried tea bag manure. amazing.

I was surprised when I read the article about manure tea bags, but I guess I shouldn't have been.
The lady found a niche,
there wasn't a lot of competition.

She filled a need, and her business took off.
Gardening and fertilizer are big business. She found a unique way to package and sell fertilizer.

I'm just mad I didn't think of it 15 years ago.....

Can you supply a service? like tilling gardens?  All I had to do was put a ad in the paper, and I was in business. Is there anything you could add-on to your service?  Fertililzer? Mowing the lawn?

Think outside the box like the manure tea bag lady......

Mystery Shopping

I get emails from several Internet gurus. I've learned a lot from them about marketing, and business. One guy specializes in how you can make a few bucks fast. He recently tried mystery shopping, and made 200 dollars in  a week. He then sat down and wrote a Ebook about his experience. It sells for twenty seven dollars. I'm sure the guy has made a lot of money from his book. (and no, I didn't buy the book).

   I looked at mystery shopping a few years ago, but I live in a rural area, and have always assumed mystery shopping was reserved for the major metropolitan areas. Well this guru, as a teaser to buy his book, set up a web page where you can enter your zip code, and see the mystery shopping opportunities available.  I entered my zip code, and surprise, there were over 50 mystery shop jobs available within 30 miles.

  I sent the guru a email. I asked him if his book covered mystery shopping with just one company.  He sent me a email back saying no, that to be a good mystery shopper, you should sign up with about 4-6 companys.

 OK, time to do my research.
I googled "mystery shopping".
In a forum, I read that some mystery shopping companys are slow or skip paying their shoppers. This made me leery to sign up with just any company I found on the Internet. Also I didn't want to give some fly-by night company my personal information.
 I then discovered a mystery shopping association. They have a job page. Member companys list jobs that need to be done. I figured members of this association must be legit. To double check the companys, I googled the company name and "scam", to see what came up. Then from the association job page, I copy/pasted member web site URLs. I signed up to be a mystery shopper at 4 of the sites.

   I always expected mystery shopping involved restaurants, and not much else. Within 24 hrs, I had my first job. Mystery shop a bank in my local town. The company gave me 4 days to do the job. We normally go to town about once or twice a week. Its a 20 mile drive one way. I told my wife, we can combine the mystery shop job with our normal shopping trip. We can use mystery shopping to pay for our trip into town.

The job isn't that tough.

You do have to remember what is said. Sometimes the instructions will ask for quotes. You also have to have good observation skills. I had printed out everything about this banking mystery shop job and brought the information with me. I reviewed the guidelines several times, and nervously walked in the bank. After spending about 10-15 minutes talking with the banker, I left. When I got in the car, I filled all the forms out. I then picked up my wife from her shopping, and we went home. The instructions said I had 12 hours from the time I did the job to submit my paperwork. You have to follow the instructions to the letter or you don't get paid. The next day the company after review, approved my report.
The next week, another bank. 15 dollars for about 15 minutes work.

This week my wife wants to go Christmas shopping. I checked for available jobs with my companys. There is a fast food restaurant in town needing mystery shopped. I signed up, and was approved to do this job. When we go to town later this week, I will get a free meal, and also earn 20 dollars while my wife Christmas shops.

Will I get rich mystery shopping?  No.
But can I earn a few bucks, and maybe cover the cost of my gas to drive to and from town? Sure.

I don't make special trips to mystery shop. I line them up to coincide with other trips we have to make.  I asked my wife, Is it worth it to drive into town to mystery shop? For fifteen dollars? I decided my time is more important. However, when I do have to make the occasional journey to the city, I might as well earn gas money for the trek.
Can I earn $200.00 a week mystery shopping? Maybe if I lived in a larger metro area, and do 2 or 3 jobs a day. But its not possible in smaller towns and rural areas. Plus you have to consider the cost of gasoline.

Google MSPA, mystery shoppers providers association. Remember: You should never pay to get a job. Also don't buy into the idea you need to upgrade your status. Pay some cash and we'll make you a silver member. Cardinal rule number 1, never, never pay your employer! 
   

home inspector

Well, it finally happened.  I sold my house. I had put a "for sale by owner" sign in the front yard a couple of years ago. I never really expected anything to become of it, and after 2 years, it was basically forgotten.  One day out of the blue, a guy stops at the front door, and asks to view the house.
OK, I've played this game before, you know, the prospect looks the property over, and you never hear from him again.  But he liked the house, and we talked numbers. A couple of months later, the sale was finalized.

When we realized the house was going to sell, we started looking at homes and found one we liked.  The real estate agent suggested we have the house inspected. It had been setting empty for about a year. I agreed.

The inspector discovered a hole in the roof, plus several housing code violations. We were able to negotiate thousands of dollars off the selling price. It made me wonder, how tough is it to become a home inspector? I had seen advertisements for home inspector training all over the web. This guy made $300 dollars for about 4-6 hours work. 
I went to Ebay and Amazon to start my search. I looked at home inspector books and manuals. Finding a interesting book listed on Ebay, I bid and won a auction. When it arrived, it wasn't just a book, it was a complete home study course.  It contained 16 Cd's, and a 300 page manual. A complete training program.
I googled "home inspector" for my area.  There were 2 listings. I then found 2 more in the counties east and west of me. In the county south of me, there were no inspectors listed!  I wondered, why wasn't there more home inspectors available? Is this a profitable business?  How tough is the learning process and certification? Are there home buyers begging for inspectors? Are the local inspectors backed-up and run over with business? Or is this a one day a month part-time job? Are there no inspectors because there is no available work?

I started looking and reading information on inspector training web sites.  To get certified in Indiana, you had better know your stuff.  50% of the people who take the state test flunk it. I browsed through the course manual I had purchased and watched the first DVD.
In Indiana there are 2 state organizations for home inspectors. As a home inspector, you should probably join one of them.
Before you take the state exam you have to prove you have taken 60 hours of study from a board approved course provider. The state exam cost? $450.00, not something you would want to fail, and have to retake,(and pay) again.
I checked different websites offering online courses to certify an inspector. I found the cost of a approved course will run about $500.00. My home study course will give me the knowledge, but the state of Indiana will not recognize it as a approved course. The total cost to become a home inspector? Roughly about one thousand dollars.

I was my own general contractor when I built my last house. I did most of the construction myself. I feel I have a all around general knowledge of home repairs, defects, and construction. I talked to my wife about taking a approved course, and beginning the process to become a inspector. She replied that my plate was already full and to wait until I retired.
I'm 54 years old, and looking into the possibility of retiring next year. I'll put this on the back burner for a year, and take another look at it next summer.

One thousand dollars for the training, and then getting three hundred dollars per job, which is about 4 hours work.
If you have a all-around general knowledge of home construction and repairs, this could be a great career to get started in. Take the time to do the course work, and get certified. The next step would be to make contact with every real estate agent in your area, and let them know you're in business. This could be a great part-time,and possibly full-time job.

For more information, google "home inspector training".