Making Money with M.E.

[golden]

Has anyone got any ideas on how I can do this? £50-100 per week needed.

I definately have a good few hours a month which I can devote to making money but just never know when those hours will come.

All suggestions and guidance gratefully accepted

 

[Patrick*]

Did you work before you got sick? Often the best option is to translate whatever skill and work experience you had from your previous life into a scaled-down stay-at-home version. Some employers will let you work from home part time, but usually only if you have skill and experience in something.

I hope this doesn't sound negative, but "£50-100 per week needed" and "a few good hours per month which I can devote to money making," doesn't seem to add up. You may have to be willing compromise on your expectations, but good for you for trying. I wish you all the best.

 

[kurt]

Hmm, depends on what are your skills. Can you repair broken things? I sometimes find broken old TVs for example and repair them, and they can be sold (I worked in electronics many years ago and still can do this).

or how about this... become expert at some type of merchandise, then buy and sell on eBay for a profit. Do you have any business connections? Even buying items from China, then reselling them, can work for some people, particularly if you can easily send mail.

One that I tried for awhile was typing up transcriptions from interviews (medical). But that did not last long since my client needed rapid turn-around, and I needed more time. But if you found a less time-sensitive transcriptions and can type well enough, that pays.

 

[Misfit Toy]

Are you creative? If you have an artistic flair, you may be able to do something with that. I put my talents to use thinking it would just be for family and friends and people started to want to buy it. If you have some talent, use it. Social media is so big right now, that it's not as hard to sell things as one thinks. It's free advertising.

 

[SickOfSickness]

Like the others said, to make enough in a short time from home, you need to figure out what you're good at. It is hard when you can't predict what hours you will feel good, and it eliminates some options. Someone with writing talent, artistic talent, or technical skills may do ok.

 

[golden]

Did you work before you got sick? Often the best option is to translate whatever skill and work experience you had from your previous life into a scaled-down stay-at-home version. Some employers will let you work from home part time, but usually only if you have skill and experience in something.

I hope this doesn't sound negative, but "£50-100 per week needed" and "a few good hours per month which I can devote to money making," doesn't seem to add up. You may have to be willing compromise on your expectations, but good for you for trying. I wish you all the best.

I have skills and training that in the current market i can earn £40 per hour for but for a multitude of reasons I do not want to so this. edit: in fact I cant do this.

In fact this has helped me a great deal.

I want to learn NEW skills

Something completely fresh and something which I feel excited and energised by the mere thought of doing it

Ha ha - I know - I definately need to lower these expectations

 

[golden]

Hmm, depends on what are your skills. Can you repair broken things? I sometimes find broken old TVs for example and repair them, and they can be sold (I worked in electronics many years ago and still can do this).

or how about this... become expert at some type of merchandise, then buy and sell on eBay for a profit. Do you have any business connections? Even buying items from China, then reselling them, can work for some people, particularly if you can easily send mail.

One that I tried for awhile was typing up transcriptions from interviews (medical). But that did not last long since my client needed rapid turn-around, and I needed more time. But if you found a less time-sensitive transcriptions and can type well enough, that pays.

I have a natural fascination of fixing things. Electronics is such a good background to have I think.

I see quite a lot of O.A.Ps getting and fixing up bicycles which I think is nice.

I enjoyed woodwork and carving but its not good enough to sell and also these days - too noisy - i have what i think is a funny story here...

I had to wear ear defenders to do the hoovering which helped a lot...

but another problem occurred from this...

the pressure of the ear defenders on my skull felt really bad and I am sure they indented my skull!!!


But also, back to woodwork, I have to be careful if chemicals - a real problem for me.

The transcriptions I put into the category of a real possibility but like yourself they pose the following challenges:

Time pressure -
Cant tolerate any stress
Stupid Neurological problems means I make silly mistakes
I cant always catch these mistakes

So long as its not too important, eg. medical or law these may not be that important.

Putti.g this on my list. I would need to fix my laptop computer!!!

The screen stopped working. Challenge 1

 

[golden]

Are you creative? If you have an artistic flair, you may be able to do something with that. I put my talents to use thinking it would just be for family and friends and people started to want to buy it. If you have some talent, use it. Social media is so big right now, that it's not as hard to sell things as one thinks. It's free advertising.

I was in awe when I read of your creative jewellery business

I was thinking along these lines possibly.

Some time ago I wanted to make Dogs Coats and began learning sewing however this is not an option as it exaserbates pain in my right jaw neck face and shpulder and brings on exhaustion.

Its just as good knowing what I cant do as this helps focus my search.


I need to learn something useful

 

[golden]

,

Having a little quiet shop somewhere with a coal fire
a bed in the back for resting, a chemical and flourescent light free environment

a dog and a cat...

Hey and even the occasional customer sound good to me

I did actually see a solicitors office exactly like I envisioned my business to be

My osteopath has a business like this but tge problem is its very busy


I dont know if anyone follows ayreveda - I am a beginner but the Doctor I saw told me when I am in balance I would be pitta.
I wondered about incorporating this factor into my hunt for a new way of life

 

[caledonia]

The thing that works for me is to create a craft item first, then sell it. In other words, don't take orders for stuff you haven't already built. That way, no stress. Ebay or Etsy work well for this. Think of something that's small so it's easy to ship, but goes for at least $30-40, so it's worth your while.

The other thing I do is repair guitars. Somehow, broken guitars just seem to make their way to me. The people that I deal with often own several guitars, so if I have one of theirs for a month or two, it's not a problem.

Chemicals are also a problem for me. I've found safe materials I can work with. For glues, either hide glue (the kind you heat up), good old yellow carpenter's glue or UFO (user friendly odorless) super glue. For finishes, I almost exclusively use shellac. You can either buy Zinnser Sealcoat or Shellac; or even safer - make your own shellac from shellac flakes and pure grain alcohol.

You could literally eat both hide glue and DIY shellac and it wouldn't kill you. In fact, both are used in many food/supplement products.

=-=-=-=
Here's an idea for you, which is refurbishing and reselling old/antique electronics (tape decks, etc.). You can buy them as is on Ebay, then resell them for a higher price because they're guaranteed to work. I was doing the same with vintage guitars for awhile, but guitars are kind of a pain to ship. This is called arbitrage (with some extra value added in). I had a spreadsheet worked out so that I knew how much to bid on a guitar to make at least a $100 profit. Then I used sniping software to keep prices down and snag an item at the last second. Ideally, I tried to pick something that didn't need too much repair (maybe just some tuner knobs), or just needed some polishing up, better pictures and a better description.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Having a little quiet shop somewhere with a coal fire
a bed in the back for resting, a chemical and flourescent light free environment

{Begins singing}
All I want is a place somewhere
Far away from the cold night air
With one enormous chair
Oh, wouldn't it be loverly!

Lots of chocolate for me to eat
Lots of coal making lots of heat
Warm hands, warm face, warm feet
Oh, wouldn't it be loverly!
{I now return you to your regularly scheduled forum reading}

 

[golden]

Just seen its a Full Moon


I went to my health appointment on Monday. On a notice board in a sweet shop was an ad.

A lady looking for work. I was interested because she was a counsellor.

She was also offering cleaning services.

Yes, she will come to your home, listen to your problems AND do the ironing and cleaning at the same time!

Finally a useful counsellor.

That made me think all psychiatrists need some hard physical labour to do..
They would be less inclined to diagnose their made up mental health labels if they were breaking a sweat and hard at work digging over my back garden

 

[Misfit Toy]

That is something you can do...Caledonia hit on it. People sell stuff on amazon or ebay all of the time. Books..books. I have tons of books. It adds up. Seriously, you can sell anything on ebay. I know a woman who trash picks. Some of this "trash" is pretty great and then she cleans it and sells it on ebay making lots of money. She and her husband make so much money, he retired. For me and many, the computer is where it's at.

I don't even need a store. I just have a website and FB...Facebook makes things sell. People are nosey and t hey want t o know what others are up to; they go down a newsfeed (scroll down) and see my jewelry and voila. I have sold 3 things this week from FB and one was to Greece! Yippee.

But, I am beat and going back to bed. But the good news; I can do that if I want ; )

 

[Nanou]

I ve had chronic fatigue for 4 years or more....4 years for sure, that when I had to admit I could not live the same kind of life!
Worse is I do chinese medicine, acupuncture and chinese herbs, specializing in women issues. i graduated one year ago!!! In Chinese medicine, chronic fatigue is recognized but it is also one of the hardest to get rid of. Great! It s called taxation fatigue.

Anyway. I m passionate about what I do. Am getting more clients... But every single day I want to give it all up. It is such a struggle! I m really good at what I do, but I wonder every single minute why I am not staying home, in bed! Money!!! With an unemployed husband, 2 kids...it s hard to give up a job you like. But.... Is is really worth all the pain, the fatigue I m going thru. One client, I m ok, two, I m tired, 3 it takes me days to recover... So if someone has any answer for me, please you re welcome.

 

[SickOfSickness]

One client, I m ok, two, I m tired, 3 it takes me days to recover...

Can you do 2 clients per day maximum with a very long break between clients? When I worked but got sicker, I had daily limits so I would work 7 days a week to bring up the volume. And try to get clients that need less of your energy if that is possible in any way. My naturopath for example, did some massage but the massage is much more tiring than his other kind of work like acupuncture.

 

[Nanou]

I m also doing massage, which kills me. I don t have choice as I work for a clinic and they book my my clients, no choice either on what I do, massage or acu, or herbs.
I think I could do well with one or two a day, max. I though about working from home, which I was before with massage therapy, but I m not really legally allowed. And renting a place means working more to cover costs. I m going to have to decide....no choice. If I can guarantee one client a day, I ll definitely do home. Working in a clinic also makes you known, home based, Boone knows you exist....I feel torn between my passion and career and my body's huge limitation. And I only work 3 days a week at clinic!!!! The other days, I dedicate them to my recovery! What a life

 

[SickOfSickness]

Maybe a different clinic is possible, where you don't do massage?

 

[jeffrez]

You could try a little investing, too. It might not pay off right away, but in the long term it could really boost your income and net worth.

With all the brainpower we have in the ME/CFS community, it seems like if we all studied the stock market and pooled our ideas we would collectively be able to really do well, kind of like an ME/CFS investing group. : -)

 

[GracieJ]

This is such a tough one, or at least it has been for me.

I used to temp as a secretary, because it gave me a break every few weeks between jobs, and if I was ill, leaving early was not a problem. Neither was taking a day off. Just so much easier than a regular 9-5 job, so it worked for me for some time. I'd probably still be doing it, but trying to get 35-40 hours a week in for enough income was just tough going. Besides... honest truth? I hated being a secretary!! That, and as time went by, the cognitive side of it was rough. It took me two hours one day to fill out my time sheet for the previous two weeks.

Then I went to massage school, hoping to get some training that would allow me to open my own business and be in charge of my own hours and energy "expense." I can really relate to what Nanou has said here. I did get a business opened and up and running, and then some time later relocated to remarry, so closed it down. It was actually a great relief to do so, because I'd quickly discovered the truth that is taught in marketing: A J-O-B is someone else giving you a job, a self-owned business is you giving you a job, and it's only a matter of time before that job owns you. It was working into that with a brick-and-mortar business with set hours for clients, even as it was growing slowly. I would work on a client for 1-2 hours, take a break, then work on another. Adding a third -- again for income level -- seemed impossible. Adding any chair massages at businesses to build my business was a joke.

My colleague down the hall would watch me in between appointments in total alarm, and ask me why on earth I was working at all. Sad truth is, doing massages like that is far easier and much faster money than working at a desk.

I've looked into adding a sideline or replacement work, like medical transcription or an eBay store with hand-made items, and every time I think it all through, it comes down to keeping what I have and doing the best I can. Every attempt at retraining for something else has met with disaster, mostly because it means I'm trying to do two things at once.

Another aspect of this for me, which I am trying to get over and let go, is dealing with family's anger. Can't say how many times I've been confronted with my apparent loser status in life, and why don't I have health insurance, blah, blah blah... enough said for that piece. Once I recognized that I could separate the in-my-face reality of making it financially from the social pressure I was under to make it by someone else's rules (normal person rules, I suppose), I've had a lot easier time dealing with making it financially. I still do not have health insurance; that can be a waste if not used at all (only need catastrophic), and then if I have to drop it, the money was wasted, money that could have been used for other things like herbal medicine. It just seems like such a fickle little detail sometimes when there are far more pressing issues at hand -- like eating, keeping a roof over my head, you know, the little things.

It's a commentary on the social aspects of this illness that someone honestly pulling their own weight to the best of their ability would have to face any flak whatsoever about making an income.

I have been blessed the last 18 months to make enough of a recovery to go back to work doing massages 4-5 hours a day 5 days a week. Will keep it going as long as I can!!