06/26/24

The scary thing about being a contractor is that it’s very easy for a client to decide they don’t need you anymore. And when you’re down to one client, we call that “putting all your eggs in one basket.” Diversifying our income streams is therefore a very good idea — we need a few more baskets! Now Dallas ISD does love me and is not ready to fire me, but we did get the news that they don’t need remote contractors over the summer. This means I have no work until August 5 and we need to get cracking on that diversification of income. Nothing like a swift kick in the ass to get you started!

I don’t need a new job, but I do need some temporary gigs. What kind of gig work is available to a remote worker in Mexico?

First I tried a few job sites, like Indeed and FlexJobs. Applied for a few positions, but I’m pretty sure I was one of a million or so other job applicants, so I wasn’t surprised when those searches came up empty.

Then I stumbled upon a company called BabyQuip. Similar business model to AirBnb– they provide the platform and invite contractors to do the work, they take 20%. And the work here is renting baby equipment to families who are on vacation and don’t want to lug their baby gear on a plane. It is apparently doing pretty well in popular vacation spots in Mexico- I spoke to ladies who were doing this in Cancun and Sayulita, and they seemed to enjoy it. I went through the interview process, the training, and the background check, and I’ve been approved to be a Quality Provider (their term for a contractor) to rent and clean baby gear.

Pros: BabyQuip seems like something I could do during what I call my “forced vacations,” when I can’t work my regular job. I don’t mind the cleaning part; my work as a Special Ed teacher prepared me to deal with all kinds of poop and vomit. Also, I know how to talk to parents.

Cons: I own zero baby gear and would have to buy it all myself. Also, it’s low season here and the Sayulita lady says she gets maybe 2 orders a week during the summer months.

Since we have no income right now, I have agreed to wait until I’m back at work before I try to take on rentals. For now, the plan is to advertise the cleaning service and see if I get any hits on that. The ladies advised that the rental side is much more profitable, so in August I’ll buy some basic gear like a crib and a stroller and a car seat, maybe some beach toys. It’s not like we have a lot of room to store the stuff but we do have the trailer. And when I get tired of it, I can sell the gear.

Money-Making Idea #3: You’re looking at it. I’ve been documenting Lurko’s and my progress almost every week since November. Almost like running a blog. So hey, what would it take to turn this into an actual blog and make some money?? It’s not so far-fetched; there are people doing it VERY successfully. Three ladies in particular I’ve been following: one who is just a regular Jill but has made MILLIONS with her blog; one author who had a very successful travel blog here in Mexico and now writes novels; and another blogger who lives with her husband in La Peñita (5 towns north of us) and is on her third book about what it’s like to be retired in Mexico, living with Parkinson’s, and trying to stay healthy. I’ll write more about these bloggers later; all three are inspiring to me for different reasons. The common thread is that they all seem like fairly nice, normal, down-to-earth people, and if they can be successful bloggers so can I.

Imagine, making money from writing. My bachelor’s is actually in journalism, but I gave that up shortly after graduation because 28-Year-Old-Me decided there wasn’t any money in it. I will happily eat that crow if I can make a blog work.

Lurko also writes, so this will be a joint venture and you’ll be seeing his posts as well. And now we gotta sign off, because we’ll be spending the next week getting the blog ready for prime time. Watch this space, because on July 1 we’re going live! We’ll reveal the name of the website and how to continue getting our Mexico updates. Don’t worry, we’re not going to make you pay to read our stuff. There are much more insidious ways of making money on the internet.🙂 Love y’all and see you next week.