PTM 016 – Working Multiple Part-Time Jobs with Joan Concilio and Adaptu

Part Time Money PodcastToday’s podcast is brought to you by Adaptu, the free, online money management tool and community. They were kind enough to find someone in their community, Joan Concilio Otto, to be on the podcast. Joan is the online and community news editor at the York Daily Record. However, Joan has several part-time businesses and jobs. Not just one or two…five plus.

Joan was a pleasure to interview. She really shared some great entrepreneurial insights, and explains why it might make sense to hold down multiple money-making opportunities. Her list of gigs includes:

  • Freelance Project Manager and Virtual Assistant (which she does for Baker at Man vs. Debt)
  • Weight Watchers Leader and Receptionist
  • Amazon Used Book Seller
  • Mary Kay Independent Senior Beauty Consultant
  • Freelance Web Design

Chris and Joan’s Story: Getting Serious About Debt

$89,000 worth of credit card debt—that’s the amount that was burdening Joan Otto and her husband, Chris. How did they acquire that much debt? Medical bills, college tuition and books, a home that needed improvements, and some prior debt that existed before the two got married are just a few of the ways it stacked up over time.

Several times, Joan and Chris told themselves they were going to get serious about paying down their debt, but it never really came to pass. But after realizing their daughter was in middle school with college looming right around the corner, the two decided it was time to do something to make more money. If you are planning for college, read this post about the 529 College Savings Plan.

Joan and Chris both worked jobs they loved at the local newspaper in their town. She worked as the paper’s online editor; he was the sports editor. Joan started looking around at what she was already doing and how to supplement their income by leveraging those things.

Finding Extra Ways to Make Money

Just by evaluating where she was spending her time already, she ended up with 5 additional part-time jobs:

  1. Weight Watchers Leader Employment with Weight Watchers is open to people who are Weight Watchers members, who have lost weight and reached their weight goal. Joan was already attending WW meetings and had lost 50 pounds. As a leader, she got paid to attend meetings, discounts on products, and new products as they are released. A meeting takes about 2-2.5 hours of her time, and an average meeting can make her $35-40, after taxes. She can make $75 at a really good meeting. Depending on how many people attend a meeting, how many products are sold, how membership renewals, the pay could increase.

2. Mary Kay Sales Joan was already using Mary Kay products, but if she became a consultant, she could get a discount. Joan said that the potential to make more money on direct sales is always there if she were to put the time into it. However, with her 50% profit, she makes about $200 a month on reordering products for her friends and clients.

3. Freelance Project Manager Joan had been reading Adam Baker’s blog, Man vs. Debt, for a while. She had participated in conversations and was a regular on the site. So when Baker posted a need for part-time help, Joan applied for the job. Her online job at the paper and strong organizational skills made her a good candidate.

4. Freelance Web Design Further using her online skills from work, Joan also picked up jobs designing blog-based sites for local small businesses, churches, and non-profits. She would meet with her client, evaluate their needs, and give them a quote for their project. She would also give them her hourly rate to let them know if they needed work beyond the basic site, she would be available to make any tweaks or additions. To learn more about starting a web design business, read this post.

5. Re-Selling Old Books As journalists, Joan and her husband were avid readers and had amassed a large collection of books. Selling their used books on Amazon soon turned into scouring old book sales for discounted books that they knew they could sell for more online. They paid $500 for a U-haul truck full of books and made $8,000 after re-selling them all. Find out more about Amazon Retail arbitrage in this post.

When all is said and done, we’ll have paid off $89,000 in consumer debt, which is a ton, and so scary when I think about it. When that happens, that is $2,400 a month in payments that I don’t have to make.

ResourcePart-time job search engine

Listen to the Podcast

Some of the things Joan and I discuss include:

  • Why hold down multiple part-time gigs?
  • Her financial battles and how she’s overcoming them.
  • How to become a Mary Kay consultant.
  • How to turn $500 worth of books into $8,000
  • How she makes time for all of this and her family.

Read the full transcript by clicking show

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3 Comments

  1. Avatar Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager says:

    Thanks Philip and Joan for a great podcast!

  2. Thanks, PT! It was really a pleasure to talk with you!

    1. Philip Taylor Philip Taylor says:

      Joan, it was great having you on. You were the perfect guest…a true part-time hustler living the life you love and improving your finances.

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