Ideas For Remote Work: COVID-19 Workaround Thread

@AZwolfman wrote:

@ColoKate63 wrote:

#6 - Online resale: it’s an oldie but a goodie, there are so many platforms now, like eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, ThredUp... everyone will be at home and shopping out of boredom. Good time to sell!

But with so many jobs cancelled, will those bored people have money to buy non-essential items?

I’m still working for pay (from home) and so is my husband.
My son is a military pilot, he’s still going to work daily. My DIL is a CPA and has always worked from home.

15-20% of working Americans lost work last week, but over 80% are still employed and getting paid.

There are still buyers for stuff, probably more now because we’re all bored and malls are closing.

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This is mostly just an all-in-one-place summary of jobs that can be done at home without contact with other people. Add to the bottom of this list if you know of others.

Work-from-home Jobs During Pandemic
1. Writing articles for blogs
2. Virtual Assistant jobs
3. SEO
4. Online resale
5. Sell drop ship products online.
6. Teach online
7. Write DIY articles and sell online.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

@AZwolfman wrote:

@ColoKate63 wrote:

#6 - Online resale: it’s an oldie but a goodie, there are so many platforms now, like eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, ThredUp... everyone will be at home and shopping out of boredom. Good time to sell!

But with so many jobs cancelled, will those bored people have money to buy non-essential items?

I’m still working for pay (from home) and so is my husband.
My son is a military pilot, he’s still going to work daily. My DIL is a CPA and has always worked from home.

15-20% of working Americans lost work last week, but over 80% are still employed and getting paid.

There are still buyers for stuff, probably more now because we’re all bored and malls are closing.

I hope there are buyers, because I intend to try and unload some stuff on ebay. I've even considered going back to dropshipping with Doba or similar. I doubt those employment stats you gave. Do you have their source? I doubt applying for a job as a military pilot would work for most mystery shoppers who just need an income to get through this pandemic. Your son and DIA are lucky to have a good-paying job that they are qualified for. I don't expect this pandemic to last long enough to go to school and become certified as a CPA or airplane pilot. A job as a pilot has age and physical restrictions that I think the majority of us who depend on mystery shopping for income could not qualify for. I believe the unemployment rate will unfortunately go much higher than the 20% estimated by government officials. My state is completely shut down by governor order, except for essential business. I would estimatethat the unemployment rate in this city is already over 50%.

"but over 80% are still employed and getting paid." Where did you get that statistic?

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

@LisaSTL wrote:

"but over 80% are still employed and getting paid." Where did you get that statistic?

From my state Department of Labor, which estimated an 18% unemployment rate due to the COVID19 shutdown. Unemployment claims made since last week appear to confirm this.

On a local Denver station, they then stated that Colorado economy was running right about average for the rest of the USA.

The Trump Administration has specifically requested that NO states release their unemployment numbers, so who knows really. I am selling on Poshmark and Etsy, and items are moving fast, can only speak for me and my family.

I don't think we can rely on unemployment claims regardless. 1099 workers are not eligible so while they are not working and don't have an income, they will not be counted. Things are also changing rapidly with more shelter in place orders occurring every day. Ours goes into effect at 6 pm today which will effectively shut down the remaining non-essential businesses that have stayed open. Virtually all of the personal services businesses, such as hair and nail salons and day spas, have remained open. With few exceptions those are 1099 workers.

Restaurants here have been trying to keep going with take out only but if it is not enough to keep them open in NYC I anticipate fewer and fewer will be able to maintain it for long. Our state didn't do them any favors after the city and county agreed to waive regulations regarding selling alcohol to go only to have the state shut it down three days later. And then there is the simple, sad fact of some workers not understanding they can and should be filing for unemployment.

Agreed.

I lost my job in the last recession, had to apply to literally HUNDREDS of places to find a job working in a crappy charter school with students who were in foster homes, in the justice system, or homeless. I had no nest egg back then, but have definitely learned my lesson there.

This is different and terrifying. I have seen estimates that between 500,000 and 2,000,000 people in the USA might die from COVID19. It depends on how successful “shelter in place” will be; I am very worried that no one is listening.

I started this thread so that people who got thrown out of work could get ahead of the curve and make some money moves. Hopefully a few have picked up some good tips.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

@LisaSTL wrote:

"but over 80% are still employed and getting paid." Where did you get that statistic?

From my state Department of Labor, which estimated an 18% unemployment rate due to the COVID19 shutdown. Unemployment claims made since last week appear to confirm this.

On a local Denver station, they then stated that Colorado economy was running right about average for the rest of the USA.

The Trump Administration has specifically requested that NO states release their unemployment numbers, so who knows really. I am selling on Poshmark and Etsy, and items are moving fast, can only speak for me and my family.

If the other states feel what Colorado, Cali, etc. is feeling, the number's going to skyrocket. Plus, unemployment doesn't account for cut hours, while most people not surprisingly do not realize they qualify for unemployment if their hours are cut significantly, so the unemployment numbers are skewed even more.

This week alone, Colorado received unique 180,000 unemployment attempts, which crashed the website for a short while, when Colorado implemented an 8 week ban on dine-in restaurant, and more recently, a reduction of business activity to only "essential" businesses....

180,000 potentially unemployed from week 1 of the shut down / 3,093,740 total estimated work force in Colorado = 5.8%, but not that's simply based on just one freakin' week since the shutdowns began... The next 7 weeks may get a bit spookier out here and worse....

"Colorado’s unemployment site slammed by 180,000 filing attempts in a single week"
Source: [coloradosun.com]

Source: [demography.dola.colorado.gov]

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/2020 08:10PM by Tarantado.

People will buy anything on eBay. This week I sold games, books, vintage items and shaving cream.
I’m hoping it stays steady. I’m working every day, but at some point, I’ll need the money. My husbands hours were just cut back. I am anticipating another layoff. Both kids are not working right now either.

Thank you.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

.... I started this thread so that people who got thrown out of work could get ahead of the curve and make some money moves. Hopefully a few have picked up some good tips.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao-Tzu

@Tarantado wrote:

There are many remote jobs that focus on SEO, but for the large search engines such as Google. The positions pay $12-15 an hour last I recall. It requires lots of learning to properly rate queries and ads, but if you have lots of extra time to fill in, you pay for what you work and it's remote.

Lionbridge and Leapforce were the major players back in the day: [www.outsidethatcubicle.com]

Just some clarification: These companies usually pay UP TO $12-$15/hour, depending on your speed. And your hours are limited to part-time work.

Can anyone explain in layman's terms just exactly what is involved in SEO work?? Is any sort of IT certification needed? TIA

Making Youtube videos. I did that 10 years ago. I made a couple videos and made a few bucks back then. I used to write a lot of articles on ehow (later purchased by Demand Studios). I was making roughly $200 to $300 every month. Unfortunately, Demand Studios later bought ehow and they offered me a lump sum amount to purchase all my articles. Either that or I could have taken ownership of my articles and posted them elsewhere sans the money. It seemed wiser to take the hefty offer.

If you have any fitness equipment, it’s a hot seller on next door and Facebook right now.

I just applied for UI in my state and they said that since I am self-employed so sorry but nope and here I thought Trump said that we would be covered. Guss the Government screwed me again.

Most states, afaik, have not received guidelines as to how to proceed with the IC unemployment yet. I started to apply but quickly realized it wasn't right and exited out. There was no choice for selecting IC as a job. I did not want to go through being denied and having to set up an appointment or whatever to appeal the decision. I'll wait until they have their stuff together before applying. It is retroactive. Check your state's site for notices. I'm somewhat relieved to read about them not being ready yet as I thought I just didn't know how to apply or where to look for the info. There is hope. Don't give up.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

I've seen this on Rat Race Rebellion. Seems like a perfect match for the mystery shopping crowd.

[yardirentsurvey.wordpress.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2020 09:54PM by q5dn6v.

One of my daughter's friends is working delivering marijuana. She works for one company only so she does not have to run around doing pick up from various different stores. In my state it is legal for them to stay open and there are other states that allow only medical marijuana. But many customers, esp those with conditions they need the medical version for, do not want to venture out so it is a thriving business right now. Since she mainly is in her car or leaving a package at a door when it is opened for it she does not feel it is very high risk.
If you don't mind driving you might check into this in your state.

Sold all the fitness stuff including an exercise bike.

EBAY is steady and costs me nothing but time, since listing my first 450 items is free in April. Sold lots of games, books, and collectibles.

@Mum wrote:

Making Youtube videos. I did that 10 years ago. I made a couple videos and made a few bucks back then. I used to write a lot of articles on ehow (later purchased by Demand Studios). I was making roughly $200 to $300 every month. Unfortunately, Demand Studios later bought ehow and they offered me a lump sum amount to purchase all my articles. Either that or I could have taken ownership of my articles and posted them elsewhere sans the money. It seemed wiser to take the hefty offer.

Not sure if you mind sharing, Mum, but I'd be interested in knowing what category of vids you do?

My sister and I had previously considered doing educational videos about 10 years ago. She was going to be my assistant, while I did lectures. We were excited. I think we planned/rehearsed once or twice with a big dry erase board. Then, we discovered Khan Academy. It felt like my ideas were already extant in a highly subscribed and viewed format already. Never continued the idea, but have thought about it again recently.

I did mostly "How to" videos that were meant to support my ehow articles. I used to link those videos to my articles. The "How to" videos were around recipes, cleaning and some offbeat humor. I was not comfortable with revealing myself so I mostly used background music, captions and the camera focusing on my hands

The US census is hiring temporary workers. Most years, they pay people to walk around the neighborhoods knocking on doors asking people the questions. In 2020 there are nine questions. Just how many people and how old they are. What race, etc. It is the law to fill it out, but a lot of people don't realize it is mandatory.

________________________________________
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.

@Mum wrote:

I did mostly "How to" videos that were meant to support my ehow articles. I used to link those videos to my articles. The "How to" videos were around recipes, cleaning and some offbeat humor. I was not comfortable with revealing myself so I mostly used background music, captions and the camera focusing on my hands

Interesting. I can definitely see those being searched for.

Mukbangs (food eating shows) are very popular nowadays. But, I cannot eat the giant meals people do that tend to get the most views.

Amazon is hiring by the way. Not sure I'd want to work their warehouse even if they paid well.

I’m starting up a specialized cleaning company.
I worked for over 10 years in a laboratory, was certified to handle hazmat, radioactive, and biological waste.

All those smaller offices and retail that are re-opening this summer are going to need regular virucidal treatment. Can make decent money and do a good service for my community as well.

Ordered my chemical supplies, waiting on the UV-C lights and PPE. Getting myself bonded and insured this week and forming a LLC with my $1200 stimulus check.

Onward! Upward! Forward!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2020 03:47PM by ColoKate63.

Right now the Census is on a temporary hold, too.

@kattyk wrote:

The US census is hiring temporary workers. Most years, they pay people to walk around the neighborhoods knocking on doors asking people the questions. In 2020 there are nine questions. Just how many people and how old they are. What race, etc. It is the law to fill it out, but a lot of people don't realize it is mandatory.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

I'm an essential civil servant. The difference now is the work coming to me is considered urgent related due to the virus, instead of the usual work we had before. I feel good to support the COVID effort. Ideas I have for others is to join frugality groups for tips. In times like this sometimes saving money can yield greater results.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2020 09:29PM by BarefootBliss.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

I'm an essential civil servant. The difference now is the work coming to me is considered urgent related due to the virus, instead of the usual work we had before. I feel good to support the COVID effort. Ideas I have for others is to join frugality groups for tips. In times like this sometimes saving money can yield greater results.

Frugality can only take you so far. A sudden shakeup on someone income can still financially ruin someone.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

If you have a sewing machine that is collecting dust, you might want to list it on Facebook. I literally started a riot. I have never sold anything that quickly. I had to decline somebody coming over right now for it (at midnight!)

Missouri will allow a person to provide care for up to 6 children (counting their own children and any children related to them) without having a license.

They say that the unemployment rate is 17.5 % that would line up with 80% still working, but I think that they are wrong because that is just the ones on record. Other people will fall through the cracks because they always do.

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Ideas For Remote Work: COVID-19 Workaround Thread

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