Caregiving often comes with loss of income. Some caregivers find that they have extra expenses, including some that were unexpected. Others may end up needing to cut down on their hours at work or even leave their jobs altogether.
Making money online as a caregiver is one potential solution.
It’s one that I know a lot about personally, as I did work online when I was a caregiver. The idea can be a lifesaver in many senses – giving you the chance to earn money while still being near your loved one.
We’ve talked about the financial side of caregiving on this blog before, including the gig economy and also the idea of working online.
Today I want to talk about something different – the risks.
Why You Need To Be Ultra Careful
There truly are legitimate ways of making money online as a caregiver. I’m not just talking about a single technique either. There are probably dozens of individual approaches that work these days, not to mention all the variations on those ideas.
But, for every one approach that works, there is probably a hundred that don’t.
Here’s the thing…
The most common way that people make money online is to trick others into poor decisions. It just takes some clever marketing tricks and the right phrasing to make a horrible product seem really good.
Potential customers are also more vulnerable when they’re desperate for a solution.
These issues create a perfect store. At any one time there are thousands of different sites out there that promote products, services, and schemes that don’t work as advertised. Some of them are complete scams and will rip you off entirely.
Others are more devious. They provide you with an approach that involves much more work than they initially claimed and isn’t that powerful anyway. Some just repackage information that is freely available online and smack a hefty price tag on top.
Key Areas To Watch Out For
It simply isn’t possible to talk about all of the online tricks and scams – there are far too many of them. Instead, I’m going to highlight some of the common red flags to look out for, along with a few types of making money scheme that don’t work as they claim.
Key red flags include the following:
- Saying that making money will be fast and/or easy. Any legitimate method to earn will involve work or it simply won’t last. While some people do find surprising ways to earn money fast, you won’t find these promoted online.
- Vague information. Scam sites tend to rely on lots of hype and very little information. They’ll often suggest that they have this amazing way to make money, while also telling you next to nothing about it.
- Countdowns. Steer clear of any site that says you need to purchase within a certain timeframe. In fact, any counter is a cause for suspicion. If nothing else, try refreshing the site or using a different browser. You might find that the counter resets itself.
Surveys, Data Entry and Basic Tasks
Approaches like these (and many more) do earn you money – it’s just that you make hardly anything for the time involved. Most survey sites will give you a few dollars an hour at best and that’s only when they actually have surveys to offer you.
Mundane tasks are much the same and if the pay sounds too good to be true – then it almost certainly is.
Writing or Sending Emails
I’ve seen some sites say that you can earn hundreds of dollars by sending an email – or something similar. They’re often talking about building email lists to promote products.
If you get far enough through and make sales, then yes, earning is possible. Even so, the products you would be promoting are rarely any good and you’re not getting enough training to follow through on the idea.
Selling Products on Amazon/Amazon FBA
Selling items through Amazon (or similar places) is a legitimate way to make money. Doing so takes research and planning, along with a willingness to do the legwork.
However, too many companies promote this idea as a fast and easy way to earn.
They’ll sometimes claim to be able to source the perfect product for you, one that isn’t being sold on Amazon yet. If you can sell the product at the price they suggest, you should be able to turn a tidy profit.
Those claims are often entirely true. The catch is that you need to sell the product. That’s the tricky part – because having a decent product doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to sell it.
To make matters worse, the product often isn’t even that good. You might be getting an off-brand version of a product that’s already on the market or something that is a slight variation.
There’s another issue too, an even more serious one.
Most schemes like this require considerable investment. You need to pay for the system itself, along with training and possibly other tools. You’re then expected to buy the products in bulk. It’s easy to see how the whole thing could go south – and often does.
Network Marketing Companies
I get annoyed by network marketing companies (like Avon or Herbalife) because the amount of work often gets misrepresented. Making money with these companies is possible, but it’s complicated and often involves recruiting other people.
Some companies are particularly bad – such as those that require you to buy the products and resell them or those that force you to hit high sales targets every month.
Choosing a good company can lower any potential for issues, while also increasing your chances to earn.
Even so, I’d never suggest the idea for a caregiver. Being successful in network marketing requires too much time and energy outside of the home. You’re also dependent on the company and on your team members.
Actual Solutions For Making Money Online as a Caregiver
In all honesty, I wouldn’t recommend the online world as the first choice for a caregiver.
While it is possible to make money online, building an income stream takes time and patience. Some models require financial investment as well. You may find that it takes too long to get something effective up and running, or that the process is too stressful.
That being said, working online does suit some people very well.
If you are considering the field, my first recommendation would be to look at your skills. It’s always best to find work that matches your skills and/or your passions. Otherwise you’re at a disadvantage from the very beginning.
Beyond this, it’s a matter of finding a model that works for you.
My personal recommendations would be building a website or freelancing. I’m biased, of course, these are both fields that I have experience in. I also know that they can be effective.
Building a Website
Most methods of earning online involve a website at some time or another. Simply put, websites are powerful tools. They give you the chance to connect with a large audience.
There are also ways to directly earn money from a website.
This can be a way to make some money while talking about your own passions. This type of earning is also very flexible. You can choose the amount of time that you put into the project. You can even choose to sell the website at a later date if the process becomes too stressful.
The first way to earn with a site is affiliate marketing. We do some of this at Kapok Senior and Caregiver Resources.
The process involves earning commissions by promoting products and services from other companies. The commissions are often small, but they can add up over time. Affiliate marketing works well because you don’t need to create your own products.
The second approach is through ads. Companies like Google will pay based on the performance of ads on your website. While the income is typically smaller than affiliate marketing, the process doesn’t involve convincing people to buy anything. That aspect alone can make ads more appealing.
Many sites follow both approaches.
Just be aware that earning with a website takes time, especially if you’re a beginner. Most people find that it takes at least six months to earn any income at all and it may take years to get decent income. Some earn faster, of course. The speed of success depends on many factors, including what your site is about and who your audience is.
Freelancing
Freelancing is basically a way to sell services online. Freelance writing is one of the most common fields, but there are countless others as well.
This variety is one reason that freelancing can work well.
You get the chance to find work that matches your skill set. This is particularly powerful if you have skills that are less common or if you can find an interesting angle.
Freelancing is also inexpensive. There aren’t many outgoings for you to worry about. You don’t even need your own website (although you might want one in time).
Sites like Upwork.com and Freelancer.com can be useful places to find work. You could also advertise yourself on sites like Fiverr. I’ve even relied on physical business cards and Craigslist in the past, with a surprising amount of success.
That being said, it does take time to break into the field.
Take freelancing sites as an example. They have many different clients offering work at any one time, but actually getting selected for a job is another matter entirely. The competition can be intense. The pay tends to be very low when you first get started too.
It takes time and persistence to find clients that are reliable and to develop a reputation in the field.
