We put a call out to the 7,000 people on our list that tells them we are going to be at a particular event and we will have a booth or we will be handing out our bags at the door. We tell folks that we will be handing out a certain number of bags (we usually do between 100 to 500). We tell them to get their stuff in the bag for only $20 and we will hand it out to event attendees. Click here for a sample of the email blast that was sent to round up people for the bag. http://tinyurl.com/qwrnhx

1. You should try it out with an event where there will at least be 100 people or more. 
   
2. Make the color of the bags match your business colors – mine are gold with black and white labels (Go Pittsburgh Steelers!)  Here is where I get my bags. It’s also a great company to establish business credit. They give you the product and trust you to pay within 30 days. I get 500 bags for $39.00 http://www.uline.com/BL_5554/Die-Cut-Handle-Bags
    
3. Don’t pay extra money to get bags printed. Buy large white square labels and run them off on your printer. Uline sells labels too. I like the 4×6 white labels that come in packs of 400 for only $19 http://www.uline.com/BL_1230/Uline-White-Laser-Labels
    
4. Charge people at least $20. However, it really depends on your audience and their pockets of course. If you deal with small businesses make it affordable. If it is a high end event and you are dealing with high end advertisers charge more. 
    
5. A $100 sponsorship will cover 500 bags and labels. Put the sponsors logo on the bag and put their handout in the bag.
    
6. We had around 30 items in each bag. Each paid $20 and got their stuff out to 500 people (some people may not have had 500 cards or flyers, but we still charged them $20) – We made $600 on the bags.
    
7. The best part is that at the event, you have seriously branded your business as you walk around and see everyone with bags with your name on them — And sometimes I may not even be your event.
    
8. Come up with a catchy name for the bag – We call ours “Soul Bags” because we are called The Soul Pitt.
    
9. If you’re having an all white party for the summer, hand out all white bags.
    
10. Makes a great fundraiser for churches and youth groups.
     
11. Make sure you get enough folks together to have a bag stuffing pizza party. Use some of the money from your profits!

A smartphone is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities beyond a typical mobile phone.  You will be able to check your emails, send twitters, view webpages, update facebook (of course all done on your breaks or lunch hour) 

I am on a mission to trade in my T-Mobile Dash smartphone that I currently use for the new T-Mobile G1 phone with Google that you see pictured because of it’s nice web surfing capabilities.  If you don’t have T-Mobile, you can get this phone for under $100 at the link I have provided.  Otherwise, if you are a current customer, you’ll have to shell out over $300! 

That doesn’t seem fair to me — why treat the current customers this way - booooo!  But this smartphone has all the bells and whistles.  It will keep you connected with internet world while you’re at work, waiting at the doctors office, sitting under the hair dryer at the beauty salon, etc.  So while you’re somewhere where you can’t get on the internet, you won’t miss a beat in running your online business!

• Step 1 - Invest in a Smartphone - This has to be the best thing that I ever did since running a business online. I personally own a T-Mobile G1 phone and it keeps me more connected, organized and on top of a lot of things that I can’t do on my work PC. When I am on a break or at lunch in the café’ I can use my phone to check email, update Twitter and Facebook status, check my PayPal account and surf the web. This is a must have gadget for any webpreneur.
• Step 2 - Open a Gmail account - I strongly suggest Gmail because it can manage several of your emails from one place. Also with the T-Mobile G1 phone, which is created by Google, Gmail comes with it and works without a hitch!
• Step 3 - Use Google Calendar - This calendar also synch’s with the G1 phone’s calendar. This help me be more organized and I am reminded on events via email and pop ups on my phone. I have eliminated the need for my cumbersome leather planner.
• Step 4 - Use your vacation time wisely at work - Let’s say your online business has enabled you to become an expert in your field and gain you some “celebrity” status in your town. Eventually, you may be asked to speak from time to time at different events. Save your vacation days for opportunities that are too good to pass up like keynotes at conferences, speaking to potential clients, opportunities to sell that book you’ve written, etc.
• Step 5 - Use your lunch breaks wisely - If you’re lucky enough to get an hour break for lunch either at your desk, out of the office or in a company cafeteria, or even in your car, break out your Smartphone and use that time to check on anything you need to while eating your lunch. You can also sit there and call your online business clients, check your business voicemail, etc.
• Step 6 - Invest in a Virtual Assistant - Once your online business starts to pick up you may need some help a few hours a month. Consider hiring a VA to help you with your online tasks. They can update blogs, websites, manage shopping carts, clean out your email, act as online sales reps, etc. They can do all of the work for you while you are at work on your 9 to 5! Search online for Virtual Assistants in your area, it may be more convenient to have someone in your town that you can meet with from time to time.
• Step 7 - Use a mail center instead of a Post Office - I love the fact that the mail center I use to receive checks (for those that don’t want to pay online), receive packages or any other thing that may need sent to me via snail mail, is still open after I get off of work. I also have the key to get in after hours and can call them before I get off of work to let them know to sit any large packages that won’t fit in my box in a place where I can get to it. A mail center is perfect for someone that is using Ebay as their ways to make extra money online.
• Step 8 - Open up a PayPal - This way you can collect money online and even check it via your Smartphone on your breaks or lunch hour.
• Step 9 - Set up an office area at home - When you come home from work, you may have to work on your business if there’s work to do, but at least it’s not a part-time job at the mall that you don’t like, there’s no long commute and you can put on your PJ’s and do your work. You can also opt to work only on the weekends. Make sure you have a space in your home set up so you can comfortably work from. Fix it up so that it makes you motivated to take care of business!
  While these are just a few of my favorites, there are many other ways that people handle working for someone else and what I call a “virtual side hustle.” Either way, I feel that making extra money online is better than a part-time job anytime!

Final Tips:
There are a lot of Smartphones out there, look into one that will work best for you.
Do not work on your business during times you should be working.
Do not abuse your breaks or lunch hour.
If your business starts to grow and gets too overwhelming - hire a VA.

Though I needed to supplement my income to get things I wanted faster and to actually have some type of savings, and travel even, a part-time job at the mall was not an option for me.

Yes, I could work at some department store and get a discount on clothing…then that would defeat the purpose of trying to make extra money in the first place.  Also, after working a 9 to 5, who wants to go somewhere else?  I want to go home.  Even if it is to get on the computer to do some work.  It’s still a part-time job and it’s all done from the comfort of my home office.

I see so many benefits of trying to make extra money online vs. getting a part-time job:

• You can do it from home
• Saves on commuting
• Saves on gas
• The earning potential can eventually surpass that of a part-time job
• It could lead to an opportunity that will enable you to quit your 9 to 5 if you choose to
• You can enhance your skills online
• You have the opportunity to use your expertise on a subject and make money from it

Now it’s not for everyone.  It greatly helps if you are dedicated, motivated, organized and willing to put the work in.  I do a little each night after my 9 to 5 and then more on the weekend.    It’s nice when the 9 to 5 check money runs low that I can often look forward to a PayPal email that tells me I have received a payment.

I actually love my 9 to 5 and what I do.  I have been there for 10 years and I am not ready to let it go.  It’s not because I am scared to take a risk, it’s not the benefits (although as a diabetic I do need health insurance) — it’s because I don’t want to AND I don’t need to at this time.  I am managing both just fine and I am enjoying every minute of it.  Now if I had to go to some low paying part-time job for 20 hours each week, I’d probably be miserable.

Today, the stories of that tragedy, told in-depth by the Johnstown Flood National Memorial and the Johnstown Flood Museum, still are the “hooks” that draw visitors to Johnstown, a town of 24,000 that’s about 90 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh.

Part of Johnstown’s comeback — after the floods that earned it the moniker of “The Flood City” and its other major disaster, which was the closing of the Bethlehem Steel mills — is based on tourism.

So what if you are most famous for something negative? Whatever it is, how can you change this negative label that has been bestowed upon you into a positive? Maybe you could change your ways and write a book about it to help others – My life as a Slacker and How I Overcame it. Maybe if you were most famous for being in a gang, you could dedicate your life to teaching young kids how to not get involved with gangs. And fellas, if you were known as a player, how about blogging to teach single women how to avoid Mr. Wrong! Whatever negative label has been put on you, own up to it — if it’s true, make steps to change – if you want to change, and then flip the script and make it work for you in a positive way!