The recipe for an encore hustle - Hustler Daily Thumbs Up - July 19

Hello fellow Encore Hustlers

Many of us have fond childhood memories of enjoying the taste of a special family signature recipe.  For me, it's my grandmother's Yorkshire pudding and homemade gravy.

For North Carolina resident, Robert Long, the taste of childhood was his mother's homemade jams and spreads.  When he started making them himself to give out as Christmas presents, the positive feedback he received convinced Long that he have the makings of an encore hustle, Esther Lee's Premium Homemade Spreads.  Currently he offers three products: Triple Berry Blend, Strawberry, and Sweet Pepper and if you are interesting in trying them, they are available on Amazon.

Long, a career U.S. Air Force veteran, pharmaceutical rep and financial adviser, displays a trait common amongst Encore Hustlers, the feeling that sitting back and doing nothing in retirement is not an achievement but a waste.

Cheers,
Mr. EH

Job Spotter App - Mr EH Microhustles

If you Google or Bing "apps that pay money" it is likely you will get a hit for Job Spotter.

This app, available for free download from the Apple Store or Google Play, was developed by Indeed, one of the largest job-search and recruiting sites on the web.  The premise is that when you use your phone to take pictures of local help wanted signs Job Spotter rewards you with points that can redeemed for Amazon eGift cards.  As behoves a global recruiting company, Indeed has made Job Spotter available to the US, Canada, UK and Australia.

For the past year Mr. EH has been using the Job Spotter app to make the digital equivalent of finding loose change on the pavement and has racked up almost $600 in Amazon loot.

The app is very easy to use.  If you see a HELP WANTED or WE ARE HIRING sign on a storefront simply activate the Job Spotter app and take a photo of the hiring sign and a photo of the store front that clearly identifies the business.  Click submit for the photos, the whole process takes about 30 seconds in total, and you are done.  Within a few minutes the submission will be evaluated through the Job Spotter algorithm and you will have point credits awarded to your digital Wallet.

Each point is equivalent to one US cent ($0.01).  The amount of points awarded will range from 5 to 150, and will depend on the type of business that is doing the hiring.  The maximum amount will be paid for small, independent shops that have handmade hiring signs.  Much smaller amounts will be paid for corporate chains that have hundreds of stores across the country.  I regularly get rewards of over 100 points, with the most being 135 points for an Asian cafe in Pittsburgh.  I also get plenty of "nickels" for spotting hiring decals at Starbucks.

If you live in an urban setting with lots of retail storefronts it is easy to rack up hundreds of points in a short time.  I have made over 3000 points ($30.00) in about an hour walking along Forbes Avenue, which borders the University of Pittsburgh, since almost every fast-food joint or sport apparel store on the street was advertising for help.  I have also found that walking around a mall near Christmas or a resort town in summer is quick, easy money and it gets me a bit of exercise as well.

Job Spotter also runs a monthly competition to reward power users of the app.  The person who accumulates the most points in a month will receive a $300 bonus gift card (also $150 for second place and $50 for third).  Checking the history of completion on the app I see, for January, someone who goes by the handle of Longy win with179542 ($1795.42) points and second place went to phil1210 with 119800 points ($1190.00) which is pretty impressive for what is essentially a microhustle.

There are a few ways to hack how much you can make using Job Spotter.  You are permitted to resubmit hiring signs every 30 days, which is great when you find businesses that have perennial hiring signs.  Also the Job Spotter algorithm for recognizing hiring signs has its limits, so the app has a Verify feature that prompts you to confirm hiring signs from other submitters.  Usually these are poorly lighted signs or signs that are at oblique angles.  For each series of verifications you receive 10 points and the limit is ten verifications daily for 100 points.  Sure this only translates to a dollar but it only takes a few minutes and I usually do this while watching TV.

You can empty your digital Wallet, with no minimum limit, any time you want and within a couple of days you will receive an email with a redemption code for an Amazon eGift card.  When I disclosed to the EH family that I was using the Job Spotter I took a bit of ribbing, especially when I would look for opportunities to run errands to places where I knew there would be lots of hiring signs.  However, this changed when I announced that what I banked on our Amazon account using Job Spotter would be distributed as Christmas gifts for their Wish Lists.

I would highly recommend you to try this easy to use app to make some pocket change.   I would love to hear about your experience with Job Spotter.  It would also be great to hear about other money making apps you might be using.

Cheers!

The Hustle High Five - Hustler News of the Week - February 1

Much of the country is indoors taking shelter from the polar vortex.  It's a good time to read this selection of curated stories related to Encore Hustles.

1)   Chris Farrell has written extensively on retirement and encore careers.  He has a new book Purpose and a Paycheck coming out on February 5th.  Here is an exert from his first chapter.  I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book.








2)   In Australia seniors are turning to Airtasker, which is similar to the American TaskRabbit, to earn extra money by performing a variety of tasks that others want outsourced: gardening, baking, handyman work and IT help.  Check out this story from Yahoo Finance of an Australian senior who has made $20K over three years by being an Airtasker.

3)   Read and watch this story of a 71 year old Nashville retiree who funds his bucket list goal of visiting every National Park by working 4 months of the year Amazon.

4)   It is a big decision when to retire, assuming you are not forced into it by layoffs or poor health.  Read this article from Canada, where 1 in 4 retirees regret retiring and want to go back to work.

5)   One of the reasons people consider an encore career is to pursue a passion.  Here is a story from NextAvenue of an aerospace executive, who at age 60, left corporate life to become a high school tennis coach in Chicago.

Mr EH's First eBay Listing - He Shoots, He Scores

Dear Readers

As you will recall from an earlier post, Swedes have a word for it, I recommended listing and selling on eBay as an Encore Hustle.

Well I have a confession to make, until last week I was an eBay virgin, having never listed anything on eBay myself.  Now what sort of Encore Hustler would I be if I did not take my own advice?

While checking my stash of airline club passes for an upcoming flight in December I noticed that I had two passes that were expiring at the end of November.  My first thought was regret that I would not be using the passes and that they would be going to waste.  Then I thought could I sell these passes and what would they be worth to someone else?   What would be a fair price for the opportunity to escape the chaos of an airport terminal during the Thanksgiving rush and to kick back and relax in a comfortable chair with unlimited snacks and beverages

Searching eBay I found over a 150 sellers listing United Club passes with prices ranging from  $20 to over $50 and with various expiration dates.  I clicked on the tab to start a sellers account and after a few steps I had created an account under EncoreHustle and had listed the passes for $20 (+ $3 for shipping and handling) hoping for a quick sale.

Within 24 hours I had an offer and $23 in my PayPal account, success!!  I had turned an item that I paid nothing for and was soon to be less than worthless into pure profit.

Now I am wondering what will be next item to be listed on the eBay EncoreHustle store.  I think this will a great opportunity to prune my bookshelf for a start.

And speaking of bookshelves please note that I have added Amazon links for books that you might want to add to your shelf.

Santa Inc is Hiring

Last weekend while driving the backroads near Snoqualmie Falls, I noticed, amidst the signs advertising U-Pick pumpkin patches, a billboard announcing "SANTA INC IS HIRING".

I thought WOW, competition for seasonal jobs is gearing up and even the big guy is having to advertise this year.  Retailers are planning to hire 100,000's of temporary workers and with the US unemployment near 4.4%, a 16-year low, they are having to offer perks such as retention bonuses and employee discounts lure workers.  And it not just the big box retailers hiring, with the rise of e-commerence and over-night delivery the big demand is for warehouse workers and delivery personnel.

UPS
Holiday Hiring: 95,000
Pay: Starting $10.20/hour for package handlers and driver helps.
Perks: Some locations offer a retention bonus of $100 to $200/week, plus UPS requires extra workers through to January to handle holiday returns.

Target:
Holiday Hiring: 104,500
Pay: $11/hour
Perks: 10% merchandise discount, 20% discount on healthy items like fruit and vegetables.

Radail
Holiday Hiring: 27,000
Pay: Up to $16/hour
Redial provides e-commerce services for companies like GameStop and DSW, including fulfillment and customer service centers.

Walmart
Holiday Hiring: 1000's of warehouse positions
Pay: about $13.50/hour

Williams-Sonoma
Holiday Hiring: 4,000
Pay: $10-$11.50/hour
Perks: 40% employee discount
Williams-Sonoma includes Pottery Barn and West Elm.  Hiring includes stores, distribution centers and work-from-home customer service.

FedEx
Holiday Hiring: 50,000
Pay: $12-$14/hour for package handlers and $16/hour for drivers

Toys 'R' Us
Holiday Hiring: 13,000
Pay: $9/hour for sales associates and $12/hour for warehouse positions.  They will also be hiring for about 1,000 work-from-home call center positions.

Macy's/Bloomingdale's
Holiday Hiring: 80,000 (mostly in sales positions, but includes 18,000 warehouse and 1,000 on-line and over-the-phone customer service jobs).
Pay:  $9/hour for sales and $10/hour for warehouse
Perks: 20% employee discount

J.C. Penny
Holiday Hiring: 40,000
Pay: estimated $9/hour
Perks: 25% employee discount

Amazon
Holiday Hiring: 120,000
Pay: $10-$13/hour for warehouse positions and $10/hour for at-home customer service positions

The Bon-Ton Stores (includes Bon-Ton, Boston Store, Bergner's, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers)
Holiday Hiring: 10,000 sales positions and 500 positions for distribution and e-commerence

Nordstrom
Holiday Hiring: 13,650 part-time and full-time sales positions, 2,200 warehouse positions

XPO Logistics:
Holiday Hiring: 6,000 positions in e-commerence warehouse, distribution and logistics

Joann:
Holiday Hiring: 12,000

1-800-Flowers (including Harry & David, Cheryl's Cookies and The Popcorn Factory)
Holiday Hiring: 8,000 positions mainly in production, retail, distribution and customer service

Gap Inc (including Banana Republic, Athlete and Old Navy)
Perks: 50% employee discount

Kohl's
Holiday Hiring: 67,000 (an average of 50 positions for each of its 1,163 stores) and including 9,300 positions at their distribution centers

Michaels
Holiday Hiring: 15,000
Perks: 30% employe discount

What could Santa Inc offer to compete I wondered? Unlimited shortbread cookies and eggnog fountains?

Plus were would I fit the Santa organization?

Management? I do have belly that shakes like a bowl full of jelly and I definitely have a twinkle in my eye, but sadly I lack a snowy white beard and my ho-ho-ho's need work.

Care and feeding of Dancer, Prancer et al? Sorry, I'm allergic to reindeer.

I guess that leaves a back office position?  Working shoulder to shoulder, so to speak, with the elves on wish fulfillment or loading the sleigh.

Imagine my disappointment when I Googled Santa Inc and found out that it was a excavation and haulage contractor based in Redmond, WA.

Bah Humbug!!

Swedes have a word for it....

OK everyone, time to fess up!  Hands up if your cars never get parked in the garage because the garage is full of stuff.  Hands up again if you rent storage space because you no longer have room left in the garage.  How many of you bought a copy of Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" but can't find it under the pile of books beside your bed?

Our generation has spent a significant amount of our income buying, housing, maintaining and storing our stuff.  For many of us our basements, attics and garages are full of stuff that we paid credit card interest to acquire.  On top of that many of us have inherited even more stuff from our parents.

Also as recent events, the devastating hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and fires in northern California, have shown, a lifetime of processions can wind up a water soaked mess or a pile of ashes in a blink of an eye.

If anyone is hanging on to this stuff to pass on to their children, well brace yourselves, your kids don't want it.  They don't want your china and crystal (sorry Martha Stewart but who does formal entertaining these days).  They don't want your hobby collections (sorry Tom Hanks but your kids don't want your collection of 200 typewriters).  They don't want your books (that what Kindles are for).  Give up any illusions of passing on your cherished belongings to your children.  The bulk of this stuff will wind up being donated, in the dumpster or being listed on eBay.

There is even a National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) whose members will orchestrate the decluttering of your home and will arrange the sale of your belongings when seniors begin the process of downsizing.  Their services don't come cheap and can range from $40 to $200 an hour depending on the location.

Perhaps the better alternative would be to follow the Swedish example as described in the recent book "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning" by Margareta Magnusson.  The 80+ year old author motivates the reader to declutter so as not to burden their families when the eventual happens. Swedes even have a word fulskap meaning the "cupboard full of gifts you can't stand to look at, and which are impossible to regift."

As an Encore Hustler you should be looking at the stuff that has accumulated as a resource rather than a burden. Rather than paying someone to declutter your life make it a DYI project and put all the profits in your pocket.  Take the challenge and start looking for items to sell.  I know from experience that getting rid of processions can be difficult but you can start with baby steps.  Take a 360 around your home and find something that is low hanging fruit ripe for sale.  Thanks to the internet you should have multiple platforms available to list items for sale:

• eBay for clothing
• Amazon or Swappa for electronics
• BookScouter for books
• Craigslist or Kijiji for furniture
• Facebook for everything else

When you have cleaned out your closets, emptied your garage and cancelled your storage unit contract you should be a seasoned seller.  Now you should consider how this experience can be levered into an Encore Hustle:

• Visit garage sales and estate sales looking for undervalued items that can be flipped for a profit, especially if you can focus on items that you might have specialized knowledge or interest.
• List items for others on the internet on a consignment basis.  This would appeal to people who do not have the time, skills or interest in listing themselves and as the consignor you can typically charge 40% of the sales price.
• Consider joining NASMM and becoming a Senior Move Manager yourself.

I would love to hear your flipping tips.  Please contact me at Mr. EH@encorehustle.com