Go getter engaged couple! Need advice!

**kelbachs91011** · 01-10-2011 04:31 PM

Hi everyone, GREAT website, I love reading the posts, so I thought I would post. We're new here. My fiance and I have been brain storming for months on how to make some residual income on the side of our fulltime jobs. We also raise our 5 year old. I work night shift 7p-7a and my fiance works 9a-6p and is also in school. We are paying for our own wedding 9-10-11. We are good with our money (no debt besides our home), but would like to do something on the side. Here's some ideas we've been thinking of:

Ebay Items- It all depends on what you sell. I have been looking into wholesale/drop ship companies, and there's a ton of scams out there and lot with little to no profit
ATM business- My fiance is a banker and deals with a lot of different customers. One of his customers recently intoduced him to the ATM business. Looks interesting. He would set us up, my concern is the usage...
UCI- this is a company thats new and focuses on energy. We went to a meeting and it would be good if we have the TIME!! We don't though and it wasn't hard to see that.
Online surveys- I make a little (very little) but on these.
Teach for the public- Right now I am an educator at the hospital I work at. I do a class once or twice a month. It's not bad money, but we would like to "own" something together.

Let me know if you have any advice. We're both outgoing and open to ideas. We're 26 and 24 years old =)

**college_entrepreneur** · 01-11-2011 12:08 AM

Start a blog, create a youtube channel related to your blog with videos of you both in a fast paced lifestyle (as you sound). Dropshipping as you said is always good, but it's hard to find a good deal.

It sounds like you both are working very hard, so getting anything solid could be difficult. For instance who would answer the phones or support when someone calls to your dropshipping business?

**kelbachs91011** · 01-11-2011 10:34 AM

Thank you! I would have to think of what to blog, there's nothing I think is too unique about us

**BrianAlleman** · 01-11-2011 11:05 AM

There is always something new about everyone every new day. You cant miss something to blog about.

**chanson** · 01-14-2011 09:31 AM

First off, welcome to YE!

Only one thing you listed stood out to me. ATM's. The thing with ATM's is having the locations to put them in. As long you got some cash on hand(or access to financing) to fill/purchase the machine your set. Give it time and the money will start to snowball. Be sure to contact someone experienced in the industry(sounds like you have) to give you advice on the machines security, what brand/warranties for the machine, and contracts with the location owners. I looked into ATM's myself, and they are very lucrative in comparison to the amount of time needed to run them.

OK now I have to be a debbie downer and give you the other side of my opinion. Don't take something on together. One of you should do it, and the other can pursue something else. Now this doesnt mean you shouldnt give each other a hand or support etc, but there is some "rules in business" that have been preached to me since I first got into the whole entrepreneur thing - Do NOT do business with your family or your spouse! All it takes is one situation either on the person side or the business side to send everything spiraling out of control. I am sure you have a great relationship, but adding a business partnership in there will change everything. This is my opinion and something I have been taught by mentors so please don't be offended by it.

REMEMBER if it is your first shot at a business of your own PROCRASTINATION is your worst enemy. Good luck and congrats on the upcoming marriage!

Chris

**kelbachs91011** · 01-14-2011 02:59 PM

Thank you Chris!! Actually the ATM thing is funny, my fiance meets a lot of different people at work and one of his clients, who has been a trusted client for many years told him to get into the ATM business. We had to think of locations. I thought of a place we take our son call Zero Gravity. They get booming business on the weekends and they only take cash/check. My fiance talked to the manager and shes VERY interested. He proposed this to his client and he was like, "Well thats a different approach, but I think it will work well" What he offered us is that they would part own it, and we would just stock it with the money and get 1/2 the transaction fee ($1 to them $1 to us). Then, if this is something we like the guy said he would let us buy the other half.

There is also another place my fiance and I were thinking of down the road (cash bar).

I like your downer. What's good is that the idea was both of ours. We are taking the money out of our accounts together, but my fiance will be the one "managing" the business. I will be along the sidelines, which works for me

I wish we could think of more ideas. This seems easy enough, where as other "at home" business opportunities require so much extra time, this won't.

Thanks again Chris!!

**coolguygraphics** · 01-16-2011 07:02 PM

I've done a lot of research on online businesses over the last few years and I'll tell you right now that blogs and youtube are hard to make money on. You need to really crank out some serious quality content and invest money into pushing it out there to a wider audience. I highly recommend you guys consider micro job websites like fiverr.com and uphype.com, I know I'm sounding like a broken record on here lately but I really do love these sites and want to help people hear about them.

You don't even have to use those, you can go to some other ones if you search google, but those two are the most active.

There is a lady on there who will write your message with alphabet soup and take a picture of it for $5. There are people who will say whatever you want them to say on video for $5. It's a pretty neat website. I finally broke down and even created a gig on there...
fiverr.com/users/coolguygraphics/gigs/apply-11-commercially-used-graphic-design-effects-to-any-1-image-you-choose-providing-you-back-with-11-different-image-designs

I think the key is to have multiple gigs, literally like 10 or so for you and 10 or so for your husband and see what works out. There's a guy on there who will write a message in the sand and take a photo of it for $5. There are also tons of people on there doing videos in different languages. So whatever you can offer people, it's a great website. Videos are hot, singing is great, funny stuff is great, the more creative and bizarre the better of course.

**kelbachs91011** · 01-17-2011 11:05 AM

Thats a cool little idea...I have to think of something, but i'm sure if we did, we could get some hits =) Thank you!!

**Amanda_1987** · 01-17-2011 12:23 PM

You want an idea you love, because if you don't love it finding motivation for it can be very difficult. You also want to properly plan how you are going to get everything done. A Virtual Assistant can be great for this. I actually just recently posted a blog on how to pick the right Virtual Assistant team for you, you might want to check it out. The Different Virtual Assistant Choices - The Cutting Edge

Outsourcing work especially while you are still working another job will probably be necessary if you want to become successful.