You might think that the only people who mystery shop are those who need to make extra money. Believe it or not, it is not unheard of for people with significant income and assets to mystery shop, too. When you weigh the time and effort involved against the value of what you can receive on some mystery shops, it is definitely worthwhile to mystery shop. (Of course, this doesn’t apply to all shops. You have to decide how much your time is worth, what you are willing to do and for how much money.)
CNBC recently ran a story about a 27-year-old millionaire who saves 80% of his income. He refuses to spend money on dining out and entertainment when there are mystery shopper jobs to be had, if you have a business then you should be learning about how to use an online check stub maker.
Todd Baldwin nets over $300,000 a year (after business expenses, pre-tax) and he and his wife have a net worth of more than $1 million. They consider themselves to be “super frugal,” and they won’t spend money on many of the things that you might expect millionaires to splurge on. For example, they drive a 2009 Ford Focus and Todd wears a $12 rubber wedding band or any other affordable items found on the best online store.
He started mystery shopping in college, when he was first dating his wife. “I wanted to take her out, but I didn’t have any money,” he recalls. “So I started researching ways to get free food and free entertainment, and I found this thing called secret shopping.”
“To date, I’ve made just over $30,000 from secret shopping,” he says. “And the best part is, it’s all things that my wife and I would normally do anyway. We’re going to go out to dinner, we’re going to go out to the movies. Now, we’re just getting paid to do it.” That is what I have always said about mystery shopping: If I am going to do these things, I might as well let someone pay me to do them!
What do you think? Would you still mystery shop if you were a millionaire? What types of shops would you do? (For me, it is mostly restaurants.) Or if you are a millionaire mystery shopper, why do you do it? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
Is mystery shopping just a hobby to you, or is it a business? If you shop now and then as a lark, then having and meeting goals may not be important to you. However, if you consider mystery shopping a business (even if it is part-time), then you should have goals for what you expect to accomplish.
Mystery shopping gives you more control over your income than a typical j-o-b. You get to decide how you spend your time, the types of assignments you will accept, and how much money you will invest in your business. By making wise choices, you can make—and keep—more income. Here are some things that will make you more profitable in 2016 and beyond.
New shoppers are often disappointed and frustrated when they look for assignments and find only low-paying, not-very-exciting shops. “Is that all there is to mystery shopping?” they wonder.
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? How many of them have you kept so far? Uh-oh. Maybe it is time to make a few simple resolutions that can make you a more successful mystery shopper this year. Why not give some of these a try?
Being a great secret shopper is simple, but that does not mean that it is easy. Secret shopping is a business, and successful secret shoppers are professionals who take their work seriously. The tips in this article will make you a great secret shopper and help you get more and better secret shopper jobs.