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AIBU?

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Original poster

AIBU to think my friend can make £2k in a month?

160 replies

Peterbishopssarcasticsmile · 19/06/2020 18:00

This is unrelated to my other freelancing thread :)
My friend needs to make 2k in July due to unforeseen circumstances, won't go into details and not a begging thread.
I think as a one off, if she thinks about it now she could pull it off. She doesn't have kids so has lots of time (her words not mine!) and doesn't need to actually be paid for it in July, ideally in August.

I think she could do a combination of:
ebay/facebook marketplace selling
Making and selling face masks (she has a sewing machine and is very clever at stitching so would be easy for her)
Online surveys/e-moderation
Social media moderating
Transcribing

I wondered if Mumsnet thought it was possible and whether you've all got any other creative ideas? :)
Thank you in advance!

OP posts:
Floraflower3 · 19/06/2020 20:18

@Smallsteps88

My friend started a face mask business (her and her mum make the masks at home with help from another family member). In a month and a half of trading they have made a minimum of 9k turnover (cheapest mask 9 pounds, over 1000 sales). I don't think their costs are high as they work from home.

So 1000 masks in 6 weeks- £9 a mask/ 3 people= £3 a mask = £3000/person in 6 weeks which is £2000/person turnover in 4 weeks. So well below £2000 profit for one person a month.

The person that helps only helps ocassionaly so wouldn't have made 3 grand. The other two live together so I guess I counted it as a household.

I Will say I don't know the ins and outs of their business but materials are cheap (at least from my experience when I've been into fabric shops before) but who knows how much profit they're making! :)

Floraflower3 · 19/06/2020 20:19

Plus that was the absolute minimum, they have lots of sets for more (max 22 pounds)

BBCONEANDTWO · 19/06/2020 20:21

Transcribing - there's no way - even if you are a really fast typer can you make that sort of money.

DaisyDreaming · 19/06/2020 20:21

I would only do social medal moderating if utterly desperate, people end up with PTSD from looking at violent videos and child porn all day

ragged · 19/06/2020 20:25

I saw someone selling cute facemasks for £2 each, yesterday. So that's what... 1000 masks? Assuming zero cost for the materials. Am not convinced.

I do online surveys. I earn about £4/month from them.

Ebay: you have to have bought the stuff already & be willing to sell it for very cheap, I think?

TerrapinStation · 19/06/2020 20:27

@Merryoldgoat

turnover is vanity, profit is sanity!

I’m having this 👍🏽

You know that saying is as old as the hills, the poster didn't make it up Grin
Yorkshiremummyof1 · 19/06/2020 20:27

LNER are interested in people selling home made masks at a stall at their stations, well main stations anyway. York or KGX

Diverseduvet · 19/06/2020 20:28

If your friend finds a way to make £2000 in a month gross, in addition to her regular full time job please let me knowGrin

TerrapinStation · 19/06/2020 20:28

@Pipandmum

Hopefully she will declare her income like a good citizen. So she'd have to make closer to £3000.
That's going to depend on what other income, if any, she already gets, she might not have to pay any tax at all
SapphosRock · 19/06/2020 20:29

How about Flu Camp:

flucamp.com

My mate earned almost £3k doing it for a couple of weeks.

SpiderPlant1 · 19/06/2020 20:39

Do you think she's thinking of escorting?

TatianaBis · 19/06/2020 20:53

Absolutely not.

CorianderLord · 19/06/2020 20:54

If she's willing to get her kit off she could make a bit from OnlyFans

Pickles89 · 19/06/2020 20:58

You earn about £10 a month doing surveys, if you really dedicate time to it!

butterry · 19/06/2020 21:14

@twillow she’s selling around 400 masks a week, listed on a Fri/Sat and they are all sold out by Monday. I don’t know how she’s seeing that many as it’s definitely just her making them and she has 3 kids at home too! She sells them for £7.50 each and donates 50p to NHS each sale. Her Etsy business selling other hand sewn items was already well established many years ago so I guess she already had a customer base to advertise the masks

purpledagger · 19/06/2020 21:31

In pre-coronavirus times, I think it would have been possible for someone flexible, hardworking and willing to get their hands dirty to make £2000 in a month.

Now, I think it's more difficult. People are losing their jobs or are cutting back so things like selling on eBay may not bring in the money at the moment. Likewise, I used to do surveys and it took me 9 months to make £40.

There are people who will of course profit from coronavirus eg the people selling masks, but the mask ship has sailed.

RB68 · 19/06/2020 21:36

I think she could make a reasonable amount with facemasks if she is smart with fabric and elastic buying, a basic folded mask sells for around 4 to 5 quid but don't forget the costs and be smart about the price you pay for elastic and so on - if she is busy sewing who is selling. 8 a day isn't many I can get of the pleated ones around that an hour maybe more. Its about setting up routines and batch making. The fitted ones I think are probably easier. and certainly use less material. But she might be better having several ways of bringing money in so all her eggs are not in one basket so to speak.

She could also do something to jazz up her masks - funny faces or emojis or the fabric used etc but be careful around copyright etc. I would sell them in sets of say 3 or 5 as really you should have more than one to change regularly and mabe make a carry bag for them once used (all of which can just be flung in the washer when get home). She might make more if part of the funds go to charity - say £1 per mask and she charges £5 so £4 to cover materials and time for herself.

If a pack of three thing about doign them for a tenner or something so reducing cost but also you increase your Volume sold. If she can make them fast enough she should think about a market stall - I know our market is now open and there is the opportunity to just take a stall for the day etc

The other thing to remember is if she does thi sshe is effectively sstarting a business and that income above a certain level has to be declared - another reason to split the fundraising - up to 1k earnings (not profit) is disregarded at the moement by HMRC, so if she did that making sure to use materials she has recycled or had donated from friends and rellies then also does ebay selling, maybe some babysitting for people trying to work etc she might be onto something

PrimalLass · 19/06/2020 21:41

Team Casino

Smallsteps88 · 19/06/2020 21:42

she’s selling around 400 masks a week

Even if she is sewing 7 days a week that’s 57 masks a day!!

HellonHeels · 19/06/2020 22:37

@Smallsteps88

she’s selling around 400 masks a week

Even if she is sewing 7 days a week that’s 57 masks a day!!

Must have stockpiled them in advance?
Smallsteps88 · 19/06/2020 22:46

Surely she would have just sold them all when she had them made then? Why would she keep them to sell off 400 every Friday?

draughtycatflap · 19/06/2020 23:02

Does she have a big roll of kitchen foil going spare?
Can she levitate?
Does she bear an uncanny likeness to Uncle Fester?

Just sayin...

AIBU to think my friend can make £2k in a month?
SockYarn · 20/06/2020 10:01

I'm a freelance writer and can earn 2k or so in a month part time. But that is after years of networking and building an established client list. I think I earned about £200 a month for a while when I first started.

Couldn't agree more with this. I'm exactly the same. I have been freelancing as a writer for over a decade. I have some really good clients now but getting started is tough. You have to build up a reputation for well-written stuff, turned in on time. Most clients will start you off with a small £50 project to minimise their risk if it all goes wrong. Prove yourself, and the gigs get bigger.

If you're working through a platform like people per hour, fiverr or any of the others, they take fees. On PPH these are skewed for new clients and new freelancers and you pay a huge chunk of your earnings to them.

I also very much agree with the point about motivation. Being proactive is so important when looking for opportunities. A friend who gets someone else looking for ideas clearly doesn't have that or she'd be the one posting.

Remember also that this is possibly the worst time ever to be looking for any type of online work, with the world still recovering from lockdown and millions of people looking for something to keep them busy and earn cash.

Original poster
Peterbishopssarcasticsmile · 20/06/2020 11:09

Thanks for all your comments I was trying to help motivate her a bit as she's not got much enthusiasm for it, so your points about that are very valid
As a freelancer myself I'm used to having to hustle (hate that word) and basically have endless energy and motivation to contact people and think of ways to sell my skills although I have to admit I've severely lost momentum there. It is tough. And maybe she doesnt have the get up and go for it

OP posts:
Smallsteps88 · 20/06/2020 11:12

I was trying to help motivate her a bit as she's not got much enthusiasm for it

Then you’re on a hiding to nothing. She’ll never do it.