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Patti’s Saga of an RV Rookie: “How to Earn Money RVing: Chapter 1″Doing It Online”
January 21, 2011 by Patti F. · 7 Comments
So you want to earn money on your computer while running amuck in your RV? Consider this: how did you earn money before you joined the elastic-wearing, black water-dumping, tent-popping hordes? Your answer may reveal how to earn income from your RV. You’re an expert at something. What is it? Let’s explore approaches to earning income online:
- Let’s say you were a teacher. What does that qualify you to do from an RV? True, you (hopefully) no longer hold recalcitrant, desk bound children captive. However, you probably retain the knowledge, communication and organizational skills it took to work with the darlings. Those skills are marketable.
Online tutoring companies such as www.smarthinking.com or www.tutor.com or www.tutorvista.com value those skills. I enjoy tutoring online for Smarthinking.com on many levels; not the least of which is working from our RV!
- Or, maybe you’re a writer or “wanna be writer. ” Find, then study, blogs you like. Read about how to blog. Here’s a little something for those of you secretly wondering, “Just what is a blog?” http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/02/05/what-is-a-blog/
- Send a relevant “show-them-what-you’ve-got” blog to companies that embrace your interests or passions. Ask if they need a blogger. I recently sent a sample blog to a company whose vision I share. They hired me to blog for them. What do you have to lose by asking? At worst, they’ll ignore you. At best, you’ll get a gig!
- Stay open. Just last month I saw an internet ad dated 2006 ( a millennium ago by internet standards). An agency I admire was looking for a blogger. Rather than assume the ad was worthless because it was ancient, I sent a sample blog. I asked if they’d be interested in hiring me as a blogger. They were and they did. Anyone can do that! Why not you? The key is to focus fiercely on your passions and interests. The joy of blogging is directly proportional to the blogger’s love of the topic.
Ask yourself :
- What are my top 5 specific skills? Whether they’re a result of having been a full time homemaker, career professional, tradesman or a technician, skills are skills.
- Of those top 5 skills, which one(s) do I actually enjoy? If you hated doing something before you were RVing, you’ll hate it while you’re RVing.
- How can I transfer these skills to a computer? See comments about RV internet access on http://blog.goodsamcamping.com/2011/01/pattis-saga-of-an-rv-rookie-how-to-quit-your-job-and-work-from-your-rv/ .
If you’ve lived long enough to be RVing you’re skilled, talented, and experienced. Consider and research which of your skills might transfer to a computer.
I hope you check back next week for Chapter 2 in the “How to Make Money RVing” series for some ideas about non-computer work from an RV.
Happy Tales,
Patti
PS Check out Good Sam Club’s Forum on Full-Time RVing. Then, link to a thread started by Shabec, “Making Money While RVing.” http://www.goodsamclub.com/forums/default.aspx. Folks discuss several great money making ideas.
Last 5 posts by Patti F.
- Patti’s Saga of a Former RV Rookie :Give a Mother’s Day gift she’ll really like: an iPad docking station. - May 2nd, 2012
- Patti Faustini: How you can benefit from the Eastern Montana/North Dakota Bakken Oil Boom, Part 3: housing and cost of living - February 9th, 2012
- Patti Faustini: How you can benefit from the Eastern Montana/North Dakota Bakken Oil Boom: Part 2 (Two Sides to Every Coin). - February 5th, 2012
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Hi Patti,
This looks like a neat series. I’d love to see some numbers about what’s normal for different types of RV oriented work and something to help set peoples expectations. Do you have that kind of information? That would be worth its weight in gold!
Marlan
I work out of my coach by importing food and gifts from the UK. When the product arrives, I ship out the pallets and pallets for others. If a laptop, good internet connection, and e-fax, I could be any place. Being a solo, this gives me something to do and I enjoy working. Oh yeh, the income is welcome. Love my life style and wish that I had started years ago. This is what I did before I sold my business and retired.
Hi Marlan, and thank you for writing. I, too, am interested in statistics on people working from RV’s. I haven’t researched it yet, but my first thought is that the number may correlate closely with the number of people working from their homes. It’s really the same thing, if we think about it, because work that can be done from a home office most likely can be done from an RV “office.” You’ve posed a great question, and I’m going to do some research. I hope you check by and see if I’ve discovered any stats we might like!
Happy Tales, Patti
Hi Gary, and thank you for writing. Your UK business sounds quite interesting. Question: how do you deal with the physical products once they arrive? I understand how you handle the business end from the RV office , of course, but would like to hear more about how you handle the pallets, if you don’t mind sharing. Do the pallets arrrive, you get notification, then you send them via computer elsewhere?
Happy Tales, Patti
What a great gig. My wife and I are looking to go on the road full time in a year or two. We are both educators. We are anxious to read future posts!!
Hello Tim and Mary, and yes, teaching lends itself well to online work. There is a lot you can do from your RV with your qualifications. Stay tuned; I’ll write more about this in weeks to come.
Happy Tales, Patti
Hey Marlan, You may want to check out this blog: http://www.workshifting.com/2010/02/how-many-people-actually-telecommute.html
The writer makes the case that no one really knows how many people work ‘”from home.” That seems relevant to your question about the numbers of people working from RV’s, because in essence, working from an RV is really just working from “home,” wouldn’t you agree? Of course, the “home” gets to move, which we all love! I hope you check back with the series; I’ll be blogging about other jobs one can do from an RV.
Happy Tales, Patti