Tips for Improving Your Time Management

I am a teacher and probably always will be!

From school teaching Maths and Physics; to being a Sailing and Climbing Instructor.

More recently as a First Aid Trainer.

And other skills working to train Army Cadets.

And now passing on knowledge of Internet based businesses.

Recently I undertook an Online Course to improve my Time Management. Part of the course gave me an Introduction to what is known as the Pomodoro Technique. I know this sounds very exotic but it is simple really – and it works.

Pomodoro is an Italian word for Tomato. Francesco Cirillo used a Tomato shaped Timer as he developed his ideas, hence the name.

It is probably one of the simplest Productivity Methods to implement.

  • Choose a task to be accomplished.
  • Set the Pomodoro Timer for 25 minutes.
  • Work on the task until the timer rings – no distractions!
  • Take a short break; tea, coffee, water, bathroom, gaze out of the window.
  • Every 4 ‘Pomodoros’ take a longer break.

For me, I find the 5 minute short breaks are good for a dozen reps on dumbbells or for squats.

Find out more about Francesco Cirillo here.

The Journey Continues!

The aim of this blog is to share my journey into the world of Online Businesses.

I have spent a lot of time and money to gain knowledge and I am willing to share most of it for free – I said MOST!!!

So for many of my posts I have been using

Canva,

Pixabay

and Pexels.

All free sites and great for design work.

The images today were created in Canva – Advice always accepted!

The Online Courses are on their way and I will write more this week.

Play and build your Bank Balance!

A game tester’s job is probably the most desirable of all jobs today. You play and you earn. What’s more desirable than that?

Did you know that you could play video games and earn?

Game development is a multibillion industry, we all know about that, and game developers do not want to take any risks. That is the reason audience feedback becomes important to them. Just as movie producers guesstimate their prospects through the rushes they get, game developers guesstimate the prospects of their upcoming games through the feedbacks of game testers. Also, they come to know if there are any bugs in the game that need to be fixed before it can be released.

Sounds scrumptious, doesn’t it?

 Well, a game tester’s job is really like that. There are both paid and free game testing sites, but it is highly advisable to go for the paid ones because there is big money involved there. You can choose your genre of gaming. Whenever there is a game coming up in that genre – which keeps happening all the time – you can apply for testing that. You will be then either given a download link for the game (it could be a demo) or you could be shipped a disk of the game. You play it and answer what they are looking for.

There is usually a questionnaire to be filled. Of course, there is a deadline which you need to strictly adhere to. Sometimes you will be playing under pressure, but who is complaining? It is a tough job to break into.

The following links will be useful to you if you are looking at an opening as an online game tester: –

This is a highly legal activity, with an organization built to govern its functioning. This is controlled by the International Game Developers Association, where you can also find a lot of information about the profession.

Everybody wants to do this job, so pay is not always great and can be minimum wage. My son did this for a while but gave up as the pay was so low.

A close up of a toy Description automatically generated

Brokering – A Route to Some Online Income

Brokering is a fine art. You need to find the right product and then you need to find the right market. It is not as bad as it is made out to be.

Everyone knows what brokering means – to arrange something such as a deal, agreement, etc. between two or more groups or countries.

 It is a bit like affiliate marketing but usually on a bigger scale. Think about an Estate Agent – they broker the deal between buyer and seller and take a commission for their work.

Think about brokering in the real world; on the Internet it means the same thing.

Essentially, you do not have a product of your own here, but you have a product that belongs to someone else which you promote. You find customers for it and you get paid commission for effectuating the sale. The seller pays you the commission, which could be moderated through a site.

There are many ways in which brokering happens.

The commonest route is through the middleperson approach. You do not own the product, but you just promote it and bring about the sale. Usually, when you are the middleperson, you earn commissions from the buyer and the seller both. But the main thing is that the sale must work out to the very end.

It must close. Failed sales do not pay you anything for your efforts.

Joint Venture (JV) partner brokering is another subset within this main theme.

Here you bring about joint venture collaborations between different marketers. These collaborations are the spine of most online businesses. People come together to make up for what they lack. If you become instrumental in getting the right people to partner with each other, there are various ways in which you can benefit. You can get paid for your services or you can get a share of the business that is to happen.

Another type of brokering is Service Brokering.

Here you find the right service people to carry out services for others who need them. You could find them through online freelance sites, or you could approach some people directly.

Here are some sites where you could learn more about brokering and even join into the opportunities.

There are many opportunities out there, but it is IMPORTANT to fully research before ever putting any money into a JV.  Always seek professional advice.

Brokering may not bring you a large amount of income. There is a lot of networking involved and you need to have some contacts, or at least put in the time to build contacts. However, it is a good opportunity – and a moneymaking one too – if you can devote the time and the effort for it.

Speak your Mind and get paid for it!

Not many people know that they can really earn money for calling a spade a spade. On the Internet where anything goes, this happens too! Increasingly there are much shorter ‘surveys’ that involve testing Websites and apps.

There has always been a lot of talk about online surveys being a veritable source of income. So how good are they?

The fact is that online surveys can bring in money, but they will not make you a millionaire.

If you are looking at a method of online income that can help pay some of your bills or pay for the groceries and some other utilities, then online surveys could be an interesting way to do it.

Why do surveys work in the first place?

These surveys are a parameter for the manufacturers to improve upon their products. By the opinions people put in these surveys, manufacturers come to know what they must do to improve the prospects of their products. They come to know how they can increase the business potential of their products.

And for that reason, they do not mind paying people who speak their mind out. It becomes almost a research subject for them, on their own product, and it helps them immensely for their product betterment. A company that conducts a lot of surveys also gets better credibility on the Internet because people speak favourably about the company. They get the impression that the company really cares for the preferences of its clients. It really helps in this world where viral marketing is slowly becoming the norm.

So, where do you get online survey sites?

The answer is – all over the Internet. Just do a casual search on the Internet and you will find a host of sites waiting for you.

Here are two of the more popular ones: –

There are two types of survey sites – paid and free.

The paid ones carry an assurance of better income and you can get surveys that better match up to your preferences and interests. However, to get into the mould, you could start off with a free site and see how it goes. Remember that this mode is not going to make you rich but will garner some income on the side.

What about Website and App testing?

There are an increasing number of sites that will pay you to test their website or app. Typically you will spend about 20 minutes testing, searching and commenting as you go through the site.  Most of the sites pay $10 per test, though some will pay at a higher rate.

Here are some testing sites, with quotes from the site: –

  • User Feel  “Become a tester and earn $10 per test Each test lasts 10-20 minutes and is completed with your home computer or smartphone. “
  • User Testing  “Get paid to share your opinions and experiences—make things you care about better.”
  • Try My Ui  “You will be paid $10 for each test you take. A typical test lasts approximately 20 minutes. Sign up now to start making the web a more user-friendly place!”
  • Userlytics  “Get paid via Paypal – once your test results have been approved, depending upon the user test project you can be paid $5, $10, $15, $20, or other amounts, some of our projects pay as much as $90 for having fun expressing opinions while navigating the web!”
  • Analysia “Share your experience! We want your opinion!
    Get paid surfing website while telling us what you think:
    $10 for 10-15 minutes!”

How InterNet Auctions can bring in the Money

Online auctions can be a good means to earn a good amount of online income, even residual income.

As the name suggests, net auctions are auctions that are conducted over the Internet. These auctions are places where you sell items to the highest bidder. It works just as a real auction. A product is showcased to the audience and its features and benefits are spelled out. Then a minimum bid is marked. People who are desirous of laying their hands on this product are supposed to bid at an amount higher than this minimum bid. The auction then sells over the product to the highest bidder when the bidding time is over.

That was just a description of eBay!

Where is the money?

You could very well become a member of an auction site and buy and sell products for a profit. The profit comes in as the bidders will bid for sums higher than what you bought the product for. Here you need to have a discerning eye. If you are discerning about the product you purchase, you will have bought a product that has a good selling potential, which means you will be able to turn it over for a good profit.

This is the way to make your money. Buy low and sell high. One way to do this is to buy in bulk then sell individual items at a profit. If taking this approach think carefully about storing your stock and posting things out.

It may be a good idea to buy things from one site and sell them on another. This means people who are regularly buying on eBay, for example, will not be aware of the same items popping up at higher prices.

Is this just an advert for eBay?

There are many online auction sites nowadays because this genre of home business has become popular.

Some other popular auction sites are: –

A picture containing stool Description automatically generated

Note that some of these sites cater to particular niches of products or are available only in a particular geographical area. Do some research on the sites before you decide which of them you want to go ahead with.

If you google search “online auction sites” you will get some great links, such as;

Charity Auction SItes

Small Business Trends

Best Auction Sites

Bear in mind, these sites are evolving and so may have changed by the time you click the links.

A note on transactions

The online auction sites are highly secure sites and they might need approval before allowing you to join as a member. But this is a good thing because you can be sure your interests will not be compromised on the site too. The payment is usually prompt, but some might pay at the end of the month for the products sold, subtracting their cut from the sale.

Network Marketing to generate an Income

Network marketing has been present since the pre-Internet times and it has received its share of bouquets and brickbats both. However, this is a moneymaking route as is clearly evidenced by the thousands of millionaires it has spawned at a global level.

The concept is too darned simple – you build a network of people and jointly you promote a product or service. At the same time, you try to bring more people into the network. For each person that joins the network, the upline members earn a commission. Direct sales bring in the money too, but the main commission is brought in through the commissions that the network building generates.

However, the implementation is not quite as simple. Building the network can be formidable to most people. Even so, there are many facilities you get so that you can build the network well. You get a website from the network marketing company that you join, you can attend physical seminars and webinars and you have access to a host of material, online and offline, where you can learn how to promote your network to the hilt.

You need to remember one thing – joining a network marketing opportunity could be a life-changing experience. You might begin seeing everything in a totally new light. But that is the way you can earn all those six figure incomes a month.

 Here are examples of two popular network marketing opportunities;

Herbalife

“When you sell Herbalife Nutrition products, you become part of a supportive community of like-minded people invested in helping others achieve their personal wellness goals. Together, we have built tools, training and resources to help you with your professional growth and personal development goals.

Control your own schedule on your own terms

Enjoy the flexibility to work your own schedule on your own terms, and have the freedom to spend more time doing what you want – like having fun with family and friends.”

Utility Warehouse

At the moment it is UK based.

“Making life simple

We’ll bundle all your home services into one, simple, bill. Because we believe that when you’re not worrying about price comparisons, lost passwords and piles of paperwork, you can get on with the things that really matter in life.

It’s not just Members who benefit from UW. We rely on a network of Partners who recommend UW to people in their community. In return, UW Partners get to be part of a British success story, earning money for every new Member they help switch to UW.”

There are many other network marketing companies such as

And many more.

If you want to go down this route choose something you are really passionate about and you are more likely to make money.

A note of caution.

The drawback here is that there are a lot of players in the network marketing (also called as multilevel marketing or simply MLM) world.

Make sure you research the company and its products before you sign up.

Some companies have a sign-up fee and annual membership fee.

A lot of them are scammers and these are the people who have given the industry a bad name.

You must particularly beware of pyramid schemes in which people earn only through building a network but do not have any product to sell. In most parts of the world, pyramid schemes are illegal, and the people involved in such an activity could be prosecuted by the law.