How To Make An Extra $1000 Per Month? (From Latin America - Suggestions Appreciated)

[jf4389a]

Greetings everyone, this is my first post in this forum.

I'm a graduate of international relations from Washington, DC in his mid-twenties who is doing internships throughout Latin America, looking at going into graduate school soon.

My question is what would be a good source of monthly income in addition to the $500 allowance I still have? My target monthly income for the next year is only $1000-$1500 more or less, and I'm wondering if E-Bay or Amazon would be good options (with dropshipping). Or how about owning internet domains? Or dropshipping from Latin American sources? (How would one even find out about these?) Or what kind of mutual funds, stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. would be good to invest in?

Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. I'm currently in Mexico City and my next stop is Managua and Panama for three months, but it would be nice to have a higher income for these travels... (Without having to become employed full-time to fund them, thus giving up the travel time...)

[kamakiri]

Welcome to the board.

Your post kind of jumped all over the place. You might want to sit down an start up a plan. Goals and dream are two completely different things. You can dream all you want, but with out a plan you are pretty much not going to achieve them. You can't be lost if you don't know where you are going.

Here is a great description from Michale Masterson (I am a fan of his writing)
Goals are different from dreams in four ways. They are specific, actionable, time-oriented, and realistic.

Specific: Being rich is a dream. Developing a $4 million net worth is a goal.

Actionable: Winning the lottery is a dream. Winning a foot race is a goal.

Time-Oriented: Developing a $4 million net worth is a goal. But developing a $4 million net worth in five years is a better goal.

Realistic: Developing a $4 million net worth in five years is probably reasonable. Developing a $4 million net worth in four months is not.


I can assure you that if making an extra $1,000 a month was that easy, we would all be $12,000 a year richer. There is no magical place to 'pass go' once a month and collect a thousand dollar bill. It takes a lot of work to set up that kind of passive income, but once done it is like an annuity, it just keeps coming.

It is also a gigantic jump from selling on ebay to investing in mutual funds. You will not find much stock info here. Did you happen to have a quarter million or so to invest? That is the only way you could make an extra $12,000 a year from that.

Your chances of setting up something while traveling are slim to none. I am sure people have done it, but the time for setting that up is before you leave. At this point, I would say get a job at a local restaurant, meet the locals and have some fun. Worry about money later when you aren't on the road.

[jf4389a]

Thanks for your reply. The good thing about the places I'm staying at is that they're free (as it is with friends from school who are from those countries or relatives who live abroad). So that's one expense less.

Would you (or anyone else) have an idea if one could make at least $100 to $500 a month from any of the non-investment sources I mentioned? Like owning website domains (or if Amazon and E-bay are good sources of income if one dropships products). I do want to get started on making a profit, even if to start with it should be slight (and I don't mind the working two hours a day on it or more; I have plenty of time).

[jf4389a]

By the way, if I did want to run a dropshipping business, what sources would you recommend (for finding wholesalers)? I've seen the sites that advertise lists for $300 more or less; are there any free lists (or wholesaler companies that are recommendable)? Any outside of the US?

[kamakiri]

Trying to set up a drop ship business from outside of the US will be a challenge for you. Why bother? Do you want to even attempt all of this with services and products you haven't even touched? You might be taking the advice of 4HWW too literally. You might be able to eke out some sales, but the costs associated will surely eat up any and all profits you might see.

Here is an idea that might work. A buddy of mine actually did this for a few months as his sole source of income between jobs. You carry a digital camera wherever you go and just look for products to sell on ebay.

Pick a place where you will be spending two weeks, then start sourcing products. I mean anything you think will sell at all. Toy's R Us is a great source actually. The ones in Japan stock a ton of great toys they don't have in the US, and you don't have to worry (that much) about them going out of stock in the item before your auction ends. The equivalent of the dollar shop (100 Yen shop in Japan) is also a good place.

I once saw some bamboo seat covers at the 100 Yen shop, and then saw the exact same ones for sale for $19.99 at a furniture dealer in Sonoma Valley. They even had the 100 Yen shop logo still on them, and they were being sold as place mats.

You may also find that local international shipping might be cheaper than shipping within the continental US. Here in Japan, it is cheaper for me to send out 1000 postcards to Japan from mainland China than it is to send them form Japan to Japan.

[jf4389a]

Thanks for the sourcing idea. I'll look into it. (I'm not too business savvy yet. Would I have to pay for the products first and then sell them? Or sell them and then buy them? I guess either way would work, right? Especially if the supply were abundant...)

What would be the expensive part about dropshipping from out of country? I have an address back there that I can use and of course Skype is helpful for having a US number to use from anywhere. I wasn't aware that most dropship business owners saw the products in person first. This just seemed like the simplest and most hassle-free idea (because of the lack of need to actually make the wholesale purchases first). I was also looking at companies that offer dropship services in China and a few other countries. Is the expensive part the international mailing?

Thanks again for the tips...

[kamakiri]

Would I have to pay for the products first and then sell them? Or sell them and then buy them? I guess either way would work, right? Especially if the supply were abundant..

Usually that is the way things work. You buy something, then sell it. With the internet, that business model is changing, and in your case, the object is to only concentrate on selling things that are abundant in your area, so you can sell them, then go buy it and ship it. You look very bad when selling something then not delivering it.



What would be the expensive part about dropshipping from out of country?

I might have been a bit unclear here. It is in many cases cheaper to ship to the US from outside of the US than it is to ship with in the US, so that is not the expensive part at all. Even if it were, the customer is paying shipping and handling costs, so as far as an expense standpoint, that is not something you really need be very concerned about.

'simplest and most hassle-free idea' is also another way of saying cheapest, and easiest way to get into the market. If it was that easy, then we would all be making quite a bit more every month than we do. In order to actually have an effective muse, you need something that is no so easily copied, and a market that is not filled to the brim with competitors selling the same products.

The process here is very important though. Even if you fail miserably, if you get up brush off the dust and test another muse, you will eventually hit it. Failure is a good thing (unless you repeat the same mistakes over and over again). Just research Thomas Edison and Col Sanders. It is harder than heck to make it on your first attempt, and the thing there is that when people fail, the tend to keep it to them selves, so the numbers look artificially skewed toward the ones who succeed, and make it look easy in the process.

[Thor]

i haven't got much to add except complementing kamakiri on hanging in there to go into a lot of depth and helping people like this bloke out.
good on ya mate. :)

[jf4389a]

Sorry I didn't get back sooner (I've been on the road), but thanks for the advice, and I'll let you know if I have any more questions...

[Mike Rhodes]

Mate,

What fires you up? What are you passionate about?

It's clear you're not passionate about eBay- just the moeny it would bring

Why not start with a simple blog about your travels, or how to travel in Latin Amaerica. Or how to get an intership there, tips for budget travellers.

Write about what you know & love. 2 things will happen

You'll enjoy your time more. And after a few months you'll start to see all sorts of ways to monetise your new hobby. Seling advertising on your blog, or if the info is valuable enough selling monthly subscriptions to other people that need to read about what you know.
143 people somewhere in the world paying $7 a month would get you your goal. Write great stuff (I'm a fan of using video & audio) & you'll build an audience

Content first.

And don't do it for the money

Mike