SweetGigs Newsletter: December 28, 2005
http://www.SweetGigs.com
A SweetGigs Publication

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SweetGigs- Your Ultimate Resource for finding Paying Work or Making Extra Cash without being stuck in the 9-to-5 grind!

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Letter from the Editor:

Welcome to the first edition of the SweetGigs newsletter. Before we get started, I might as well tell you a little about myself and about SweetGigs.

I??™ve always been a ???freelancer??? of sorts, always on the lookout for better ways to make money without having to be stuck in a boring 9-to-5 job. Sometimes I think I got it from my father, who has made forays into everything from selling Christmas trees to dealing poker and everything in between. Other times, I credit Mom with the gene for searching out fun opportunities to make a bit of cash. After all, it was her idea to get us all started in Mystery Shopping. I recall many an evening ???helping??? fill out the mystery shop form on a pizza delivery by a family vote on whether the pizza crust was ???too thin???, ???too thick??? or ???just right???.

As I grew up, I discovered my own ways to make extra cash. A friend in college introduced me to the world of freelance writing. (He paid his way through college on the paychecks he got from magazines across the country and taught me how to do the same.) Others introduced me to seasonal work, the world of being a movie extra and the art of crafting. And all this was before the Internet opened up hundreds more possibilities for making spare cash, or even a living, without a job.

In the next few months, SweetGigs will introduce you to some of the opportunities I??™ve discovered over the years, and some of the new possibilities that have developed and are developing today out of the worlds of science and technology.

Some of you might find your true calling here. I personally know individuals who have successfully developed their own freelance careers pursuing a ???nontraditional??? way of working, such as Mystery Shopping or Affiliate Marketing.

Others may prefer to dabble here and there, taking on a few mystery shops to get some free stuff or taking advantage of a new way to make some extra spending cash so you can take that vacation you??™ve always dreamt of, or establishing multiple streams of income so you don??™t have to worry about money anymore.

Whatever your reason for being here, I hope you learn something useful. Feel free to drop me a line at newsletter@sweetgigs.com telling me about your successes with any of our programs or ideas, or with any questions you might have.

Meanwhile, here is the first issue of SweetGigs newsletter! Enjoy!

Your Editor,

Colleen Buckley

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Main Article: The Secrets of Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping is one of the easiest ??“ and most fun- ways to make extra cash. But what exactly is it?

Mystery shopping, also known as secret shopping, is exactly what it sounds like - getting paid to shop while secretly taking notes on the experience, acting as a private investigator for major companies. What makes it ???secret??? is that the employees at the local store don??™t know you??™re really reporting back to the company about your experience.

The main reason companies hire mystery shoppers is to make sure their customers are getting the kind of service they deserve. Companies know that employees treat customers better when a manager is watching, so they use mystery shoppers to get an idea of the true level of customer service. Another reason companies use mystery shoppers is to make sure their stores are all following company procedures. Customers prefer the familiarity of knowing that a pizza from Pizza Hut will taste the same whether they are in in New York or Arizona, or that they can find the same type of copy paper for their business at an Office Depot in Cincinnati or Seattle.

Mystery shopping doesn??™t require any special talents. The best shoppers are people who normally shop at the store since they know what customers want in terms of products and services.

The most important thing to mystery shopping companies when they??™re hiring new mystery shoppers is dependability. If you??™re frequently available for assignments and turn in your completed assignments on time, most shop coordinators will be willing to give you as many shops as you can handle. Other than prizing dependability as a trait, these companies are just looking for normal people- people who can pass themselves off as an everyday customer.

Of course, your next question is probably ???how much does it pay???? The answer, as in most things, is ???It depends.???

Most mystery shoppers don??™t make thousands of dollars, at least not at first. Beginner shoppers are usually given small assignments, for fast food restaurants, discount stores, and retailers in their local mall. These shops usually pay between $5 - $20, plus a reimbursement for things like food or products you have to buy to complete the shop. Professional shoppers who??™ve been mystery shopping for a while can get better assignments, including full service restaurants and hotel shops that can pay or reimburse hundreds of dollars.

The bottom line is, the more mystery shopping you do, the more money you will make- it??™s all up to you!

So how do you get involved? The first step to becoming a mystery shopper is signing up with mystery shop companies. These companies work with many different businesses to provide mystery shopping services. In general, these are the companies who will send your instructions and forms as well as pay you for completed shops. Most companies have applications online, and many are converting to online-only scheduling and reporting of shops.

Remember, however, that reputable companies do NOT charge you to become a shopper for them. They are paying YOU to shop, not the other way around. If you see a company that does require a fee to shop for them, avoid them at all costs!

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Love to Shop? Want to Get Paid for It? Our Mystery Shopping Packet can get you started! Click here to get information on over 200 mystery shopping companies ready to hire you to shop for them:

http://sweetgigs.com/shop.html

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Book Review: So You??™ve Got a Great Idea by Steve Fiffer

So You??™ve Got a Great Idea by Steve Fiffer lays out everything you need to start turning your own great idea into cash. The book includes two different sections, plus a short resource guide at the end.

 The first half of the book gives case studies of people who started from scratch with nothing more than an idea and developed it into something much bigger. Instead of being merely motivational, however, these stories also include details on challenges the inventors overcame and lessons they learned. These successful businesspeople share tips on things like how to do market research, the importance of long-term thinking and how to educate the public about your new product or service. Some of the success stories come from people who created businesses or products as diverse as the Snugli baby carrier, the Maid to Order maid service company and the Crate & Barrel chain.

There??™s even a chapter on developing a successful nonprofit organization.

The second half of the book is more practical. It details the steps you??™ll need to take to develop your own idea, from evaluating your idea realistically to the actual startup of your new business. It covers things like whether or not you need a patent, where to find financing for your idea, and how to determine whether you should develop your business yourself or sell it to an existing company.

Overall, this book is a great startup guide for anyone with a creative idea but no clue how to take it from thought to reality. Once you get started, you??™ll probably find that you need more information about certain aspects of developing your business, but this book can definitely set you on the path to cashing in on your ideas.

Buy the book from our bookstore:

http://sweetgigs.com/bookstore.htm

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Ads:

From PowWeb Hosting.

Contact:  newsletter@sweetgigs.com for information on advertising your products or services in this newsletter.

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Tip of the Week

If you have a great idea, but your friends and family keep telling you ???it??™s just a fad,??? don??™t despair. Some of the best moneymakers in history have been ???merely??? fads- Look at the Pet Rock and the Chia Pet!

If your idea depends on a current fad, just make sure to prioritize speed in your implementation. With the Internet, it??™s easy to get your product in the public eye before the fad fades away.

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Improve Your Life/ Improve Yourself

Are gas prices putting a dent in your budget? Do you breathe a sigh of relief because gas dropped to $2.00 a gallon for one day?

Gas prices are one of the biggest budget busters in modern life, and it seems like there??™s no way to get around it. Fortunately, some innovative websites have come to the rescue.

These sites work on the premise that gas prices vary, even within the same city. Prices in some parts of town can be up to 50 cents lower than in others. Gas price sites keep track of these price differences and post them online so that anyone can compare prices and choose the lowest price gas close to their home. They rely on a network of helpful individuals who post the prices at gas stations in their area, so it??™s a nice gesture to ???give back??? information to the sites if you use them frequently. It isn??™t generally required, however, so there??™s no obligation if you just want to use the site to check out your local gas prices. Some services also send you the latest gas prices by email or alerts on when the price of gas is about to go up or down so that you can get filled up when they??™re at their lowest.

Here are some of the sites for you to check out:

Gas Price Watch: http://www.gaspricewatch.com

Fuel Me Up: http://www.fuelmeup.com

Gas Price Alert: http://www.gaspricealert.com

Gas Price Watch Alert Service: http://www.gaspricewatch.com/new/trend.asp

Gas Buddy: http://www.gasbuddy.com/

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Contest of the Week

Win Coffee For Life (or $51,000 cash)- Write 250 Words telling the lengths you've gone for Dunkin Donut's Coffee. (Through 1/29/05)

Enter the Contest at:

https://www.dunkindonuts.com/contests/

Also check out our other contest and sweepstakes listings at:

http://www.sweetgigs.com/sweepstakes.html

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