When you work from home, you have the freedom to decide how many businesses you have and how many hours you devote to them. Sometimes it makes sense to have only one business, especially if you can find enough work to keep your schedule full. Other times, it makes sense to have a second business or a business that is sort of a sideline.
One sideline that can fit well with a home – based professional lifestyle is mystery shopping. Companies want to know what it is like to be a customer in their business locations. How long do patrons at their restaurants have to wait for a table on a weekday at lunch time? Was the restroom clean when you visited the fast food establishment on a weekend in the evening? Did the clerk at the counter ring up your purchase correctly and give you the receipt? Questions like these are the stuff of mystery shopping.
One should never have to pay a fee to get access to mystery shopping jobs. You do have to register with one or more mystery shopping companies like BestMark or Secret Shopper, but registration is free. The amount of money that you can earn as well as whether you get any free food or other items varies with each assignment so be sure that you read the fine print before agreeing to do anything.
It is important to remember that mystery shopping is not a way to get rich quick. Many assignments pay between $6.00 and $15.00 per hour. Also, remember that you may need to use your own money to buy the food, gas, or other items requested in your assignment before you can be reimbursed for them. The time it will take to be reimbursed will depend on the assignment so be sure that you are able to part with that money for a while.
Photo by anitapatterson on morguefile.com.