Single mom unemployed & trying to make some income...

[caranya]

Hi!

I have a question. Or SOME questions anyway....My husband and I recently separated (it's a LONG story but the short version is this: He ran off when my newborn son was 2 weeks old. He came back and said he decided what the children need is more important than what he wants. He is verbally abusive - frequently tells me to Shut the F up or curses me out etc. He's also got a violent temper. He's thrown a gallon of chocolate milk across the room, almost jerked me out of the car when I was 8 months pregnant etc. He says he could take or leave being married. His parents also both smoke pot & Have apparently been keeping some in the house. There are other drugs in the house as i've found out. He also lied to me before the new baby was born.

We have two children. A 20 month old daughter and a 3 month old son. I left in April but went back to see if things could be different. He was still the laziest SOB ever and so about 6-8 weeks ago i packed some stuff and left. I've been living with my dad who makes a great living but it's not fair to ask him to support us. He has to save money for retirement because when he and mom got divorced a few years ago she got the entire retirement fund...but anyway...for now we receive foodstamps (The kids and I) and WIC. I am unemployed but unless I find a job that pays at a certain level it won't pay me to work at a traditional job at all.

My aunt has offered me an opportunity to sell prepaid legal services & Identity theft protection to people. I think I may do that but I have my own business Idea where I won't really need to get a babysitter - i can keep the kids with me which REALLY excites me!

I want to be a personal bargain shopper. I want to do for others what I do for myself.

My question for you folks is - how much do you think is fair to charge for say one shopping trip?

The premise of my business will be that I'll come to the cst's house and consult with them on their order - find out brand preferences & acceptable substitutions (EX: They may prefer Prego spaghetti sauce but maybe it's not on sale but I have a coupon for ragu & an esaver coupon for them for ragu - Some customers may prefer I purchase ragu in that case and some may not - i need to know hwo set they are on their brands ya know?

But basically i'll consult with them then go shop for them at anywhere from 3-9 stores (basically shop for them while i'm shopping for myself) and then deliver the groceries to them at a pre-agreed upon time.

I was thinking of charging 20.00 per week for this service. In theory if someone normally spends 100.00 on groceries with no coupons & I buy extra inserts and use those coupons and extra printed coupons to get them their groceries - I should be able to save at least 20.00 for them and then the groceries are delivered to them for free but ideally they would realize a reduction in grocery costs and recommend me to their friends.

I've tried to teach couponing to people and they don't want to learn. THey usually say "This is too much work/i don't have the patience for this. I'd rather just pay someone to do this for me." I don't understand that mindset but okay...

I'm thinking of having subscription plans to the service which if the cstomer pays up front I will be obligated to shop for them for a specific number of trips....highest subscription plan would be 52 trips a year plus a few extras.

So how much would YOU charge someone to grocery shop for them or how much would you think was fair if someone was going to shop for you?

I just think this would be great if I could make a go of th is business so that I don't end up having to work for daycare costs only. I'm open to any and all advice/opinions. :)
:hectic1:

[shelleyf]

[meems]

First off..big hugs & many blessings to you..

As for personal shopping, every time I even considered doing something like that there was always something that just said no to me...for the amt of time, running, gas, ect. is $20 worth going to 3-9 stores? Would you keep your coupons savings amt., or would they? Not everyone gets "because it's free/cheap", and are not flexible on what they buy.

IMO, if you want to approach this from a couponers way of thinking..you would be further ahead stockpiling like crazy & reselling at a flea mkt or garage sale.

[wealthybarney]

While you are stuck at your Dad's home, taking care of small children, your best bet would be a small daycare.

[faeryedark]

First off..big hugs & many blessings to you..

As for personal shopping, every time I even considered doing something like that there was always something that just said no to me...for the amt of time, running, gas, ect. is $20 worth going to 3-9 stores? Would you keep your coupons savings amt., or would they? Not everyone gets "because it's free/cheap", and are not flexible on what they buy.

IMO, if you want to approach this from a couponers way of thinking..you would be further ahead stockpiling like crazy & reselling at a flea mkt or garage sale.

I agree, or perhaps networking at church or whatever. Let people know you have a stockpile (using your best judgement here ) and that you'd be willing to barter/trade or sell some of it.
I do both, I do some yardsales/fleamarkets and people sometimes come to me and ask to "shop" my stockpile.
I also donate some.

[caranya]

I have noticed people think that i'm weird when they find out i have a stockpile. Especially when they find out i have mens items....i'm like "HELLO I HAVE A DADDY AND A BROTHER!" lol. I think the weirdest thing in my stockpile is the KY Jelly LOL!!! it's just there because! Never know when you might need it - seriously - not for why you would think either!!! :) thanks for all of the input. to the person who was speaking about the ppl etc. see - i did amway like 10 years ago - that's how i know KNOW I will NOT be buying tapes etc. I am wise to the way of MLM. i wouldn't even sell PPL and hopefully i won't have to but um....m y aunt says she'll pay all of my start up fees...

[carisal]

I'd pay you $20 right now to do my shopping for the week LOL.... I'd need you to go get the freebies and dawn at cvs and to publix and bi-lo for sale stuff. I'd even provide the coupons.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

[crecian]

what if the store's were out of stock on something that several of your customers wanted? are you going to ask for several rc's then go back at no additional charge to get those items?
idk, I don't really see how that $20 is going to be easy to make.

Good luck to you and sorry to hear about the trouble you have had to deal with.

[meggers]

If I were going to do this, I would concentrate on those that can afford to pay full price, but just despise going grocery shopping. Those who are looking for bargains really cannot afford to pay a shopper & at the prices you're thinking about charging, you couldn't afford to do it.

So, find those who are willing to pay the store full price, then tell them you'll shop for them for a small weekly fee, but they pay full or sale price if it happens to be on sale & the coupon money is yours.

You would have to have a list of products that they can choose from. Stuff you get coupons for regularly. If they had a list of specialty items, you could always charge a fee of 5%, so a 5.00 item would be .25 extra.

If you made it cheap enough for them, you'd get quite a customer base & the profit would come from the oodles of coupons you use. They would care less cause they wouldn't be spending much more than they were.

[Ibicella]

What about offering general budget consulting services, and show people ways to cut down their bills (for example, show them how much they can save switching out phone lines for voice over IP, things like that), and also offer services that show them how to pick up various nice freebies, and coupons they can use at their grocery store (something customized to their actual shopping habits, for example, vegetarian friendly items if they are vegetarian).

Hmm... maybe you could even sell packets that show people how to sign up for lots of giveaways with free entry... generally, what everyone aims for in the business world is if you are able to make something that has value and keep selling it without it continuing to take a lot of your time after that intitial time investment. : )

Good luck! Times are tough, I know.