Take the mystery out of home business or home based business and become a mystery shopper either as a way of earning supplemental income or as part of an existing business.
Sure the "mystery" woman interviewed in this video from Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert.com made just £500 (about $770) last tax year and only fits her mystery shopping in part-time around her lifestyle.
But she also saved a considerable amount in hotel bills and meals for which she was eventually reimbursed so there may be a business model here.
Mystery shopping was standard practice by the early 1940s as a way to measure employee integrity. Tools used for mystery shopping assessments range from simple questionnaires to complete audio and video recordings.
Starting a mystery shopping business could mean contracting out with businesses for your services on your own or registering through one of the many online mystery shopping companies.
But take care to avoid mystery shopper scams and pick only the most reputable sites, warns Janet Richard's. Check out Janet's MysteryShopping Reviews.com for more on how to tell the good opportunities from the bad.
I used to do mystery shopping a while back and I completely agree about watching out for the bad companies. I worked for a couple that were terrible when it came to paying me for the work I'd done. I'd have to chase them up and eventually they'd pay but it doesn't help when you have bills to pay each month. The best thing to do is to try and find recommendations and reviews online from forums where possible, to distinguish the reputable companies from the rest.
Posted by: Mystery Shopping | 09/09/2011 at 04:50 AM