Unemployed – a 10 letter word that has big meaning when it becomes personal to your family. There’s no doubt 2020 raised a lot of havoc on families who have lost their livelihood unexpectedly. Thousands of families are stuck trying to figure out how to make money when unemployed.
Our heart goes out to so many who have worked so hard only to find that their jobs were eliminated due to Covid.
Our friend Amy, was one of the unfortunate ones who lost her job in the restaurant business when everything closed down due to the pandemic.
She went from working full-time to being completely unemployed in one day. Not a position we wish on anyone.
But wait for it! We have some really great news. Amy has been telling her husband for the past several years that she knew she could make a living flipping items for profit.
She believed she could do it!
Well, guess what? Amy went from just talking about it to actually doing it – and she has been averaging $2,000 a month homeschooling her 7 year old son and working from home flipping items.
Amy answered her own question on how to make money when unemployed – She’s been flipping items part-time and you can too!
Welcome Amy! Tell us a little bit about yourself
My name is Amy. I love running when I have time, and also enjoy reading and the beach. I’m a mom and a wife of a fireman.
I grew up in a very small, rural town in PA where my graduating class was 69 students if you can believe that! There were very limited opportunities in that town so I moved away to a larger city to go to college. I was the first person in my family to ever go to college.
There I met and later married my husband. We’ve been married for 5 years and currently live in Delaware.
My husband is a full time fireman and has a very hectic schedule to say the least. It changes frequently and with no notice. Because of this fact, I really needed to have a job that was very flexible.
My son, who is 7, from a prior relationship, lives with us most of the time.
My little boy is my inspiration and reason I knew I had to do better and more in my life
I have a master degree in Exercise Science and I have worked with some amazing companies through the years. I’ve had some great opportunities like working with Orlando Magic, Former Olympians, and within our national government.
I enjoyed helping people get fit and live healthier lives
This is something I still am very passionate about, but it wasn’t a job that paid the bills.
I switched jobs and started bartending full-time because the money was great. I had a flexible schedule and had a ton of fun.
But when I had my son the bartending lifestyle and hours became less and less conducive to being a present parent. I moved into the restaurant business because the schedule was more flexible.
My job went from being one I loved to a job that was becoming a hostile environment and a lot less lucrative.
This started my search for a job where I could make money but still have a very flexible job to support my husband’s schedule and my son’s school schedule.
How Did You Get Started Flipping Items?
I’ve been buying items from yard sales ever since I was a kid. My mom would also sell our clothes and items to our neighbors when we were done with them to make a little extra money.
Buying used was a great way to save money. But all that changed when I went to college. There was a time when I started to buy everything and anything I wanted. I spent a lot of money buying everything brand new and spending like crazy.
I spent a lot of my money unnecessarily
At some point, I realized it was such a waste of money, and I was working to pay for college and for all this stuff and had no free time. I found myself working 3-4 jobs while going to school just to keep up with my spending habits.
After college, when FB became a thing I would throw something up there to sell when I was done using it and let it sit until it sold. When I lived in areas that had flea markets as an adult I would take stuff about once a quarter just to get it out of my house and hopefully get it to a new home, and make some cash.
The rule was that whatever didn’t sell was donated. That really motivated me to make a deal and sell. Ever since, I’ve been using FBMP as my go-to for selling my unwanted items.
Then my husband and I got married and joined two houses full of stuff. I spent the last five years telling my husband that I could flip things. Then, I started to look at stuff around my house and thinking I could really make some good money flipping it.
Life got busy and I just kept moving forward not pursuing flipping. I always had it in the back of my mind that I could flip and make money.
How did you find us at Flea Market Flipper?
I found Flea Market Flipper while searching around the internet for flexible jobs where I could make money. At that time, you were offering a free challenge called “Flip It For Christmas.”
I decided I’d been talking about flipping for years, so why not take the challenge?
There was no cost and I had already been selling stuff on FBMP. I thought the training would help me figure out how to sell more and to sell on Ebay.
That month, I sold a decent amount of stuff on FBMP. I didn’t meet my $250 goal that month for Flip It For Christmas Challenge, being short by only $13.00. I participated in the weekly live training and found myself listing more and more, and selling more.
At the end of the challenge, I decided to enroll in Flipper U to see if I might be able to learn how to do more online selling. I continued to stay away from Ebay, though, because of fear. I thought it was too hard, too much, not possible.
Then my whole world changed when COVID-19 happened
Everything closed down including my own job. This is when I realized I had no more excuses. I had already bought the Flipper U Course and it was time to get to work.
I had said I could flip items and make money for years, and now was my opportunity to do it!
Since taking Flipper U, what has changed for you?
I’ll be completely transparent- I still have some of the course to finish! I still continue to work on it, but also wanted to stop finding reasons to procrastinate and just go for it!
Flipper U changed everything for me. It gave me the confidence to start listing on Ebay. I went from thinking it was impossible to it being totally possible!
Flipper U gave me the skill set to not be afraid to list, especially on eBay. It also gave me the availability of continuing to review the Flipper U materials, which I do often.
I went from never even considering eBay to listing on eBay and selling!
I’ve learned to be more efficient with my listings (which can be daunting for me and takes me a long time).
I’d much rather source because I love that. I don’t always love the listing part. But since I have been practicing it and making listing a priority, I have gotten much better at it and have been able to make the process faster. I’ve been growing my eBay inventory and in the growth, I’ve been increasing my sales.
I love the support of the Flipper U Facebook Group
I can ask any questions – big or small – about an item, Ebay, sourcing, packing, shipping and get real thoughtful, helpful answers.
That alone was worth the price of admission for me. The Facebook Group is the most supportive I have ever been a part of, truly! I WOULD NOT be where I am with Flipping without this support.
I’ve learned so many tips and tricks from everyone
I also learned how to take a chance, to keep trying even when I make mistakes, and move past my fears. The list of benefits is endless.
I went from someone who was kind of making a little bit of extra cash and eliminating items from our home, to someone who has made big, crazy goals for one year.
I am diligently working towards those goals on a daily basis with friends and family who support me. I plan to make a full-time income from this business and I’m no longer afraid!
I’m someone who has finally become a business owner!
I’m no longer someone who spent 5 years just saying I could do it. I am someone who IS doing it! I am someone who is working hard to not have to go back to a restaurant, planning my life around my work schedule.
Instead, I am creating, with the help of Flipper U, a schedule that works for me and my family and I love it!
How has flipping helped you grow personally?
The personal benefits of flipping are plentiful. I have learned a new skill set. I have grown as a person. I am growing as a new business owner. I am learning every single day.
I’ve been able to create something that will allow me to dictate my schedule and time. I am reducing the amount of excess stuff in our home.
My flipping business has also been able to help friends. When my friend’s mother passed away, I was able to help liquidate her estate. I’ve been able to be a help to that family, while providing an income for my family when my job shut down.
With the skills I’ve learned from you and Melissa, I’ve been able to create several partnerships with companies that have allowed me to increase my sales and availability of products.
I have grown so much in every way possible
I have gone from someone who was stuck in a job to someone who has an amazing business and an amazing schedule. The best part is I now get to do something I enjoy with people that I enjoy being with.
I used to come home stressed out every day because of my hostile co-workers who had made the work environment less and less enjoyable, while my income was dwindling. I now am someone who is excited to work, enjoys their work again, and is providing a better life for my family and reaching towards my crazy goals!
So you’ve been able to learn some great flipping skills. What have been some of your favorite flips?
That’s the thing about flipping that I love. There are so many interesting things to sell!
I still think the craziest thing I have sold so far was a Vintage Basal Temperature Thermometer in the box. It determines someone’s ovulation! Not only did it sell quickly for $29.99, but the buyer sent me great feedback as soon as they received the item and were very excited!
I honestly didn’t think it would sell or if it did it would go to a doctor’s office for decor, not someone who was going to use it! That’s my most unique and craziest so far!
I also sold a mid modern century chess set with a display box. This was sitting in a pile to go to the trash!
I immediately knew it was a chess set, and that I could sell it. What I did not expect was for it to sell so fast or for as much money as it did. I sold it super fast for $900!
I also sold a discontinued book that I found on my son’s book shelf. The value of discontinued items is one thing I’ve learned from the Flipping for Profit group. I had it sitting on his shelf collecting dust and I sold the book for $400 in a day!
Have you focused on a specific niche for items that you sell?
I would say for me, it’s a bit all over the place. Currently, I am still trying to downsize our home. So that’s a mixed bag of items that I sell. I will probably always have items from my home to sell as we no longer use them, so this will always be a mixed bag part of my business. It’s low risk and didn’t cost me any extra money to sell my own things, it was the perfect way for me to start selling.
Honestly, I will sell what will make a profit, and what I can source
And there is no shortage of great items to flip. I am trying to expand my knowledge and step out of my comfort zone too.
I think I will at some point try to figure out a niche or what I want my business model to truly be, which is ever evolving. My thought right now is I don’t have time to be picky. I need to work, learn, and grow both myself and my business. As I continue to do that, I think it will just fall into place from there.
I do tend to, however, have a fond appreciation for older, vintage items. Many of my listings are vintage. I also dabble in electronics, which I have been learning quite a bit about in the flipping for profit group. There are definitely some experts there who share their wealth of information to help me get better at finding and selling them.
My best month flipping so far was $6K and I average about $2K per month. Failure isn’t an option. No one is coming to save me ,so everyday I have to get up and do the work!
FURTHER RESOURCES
Download These 47 Household Items To Resell TODAY!
FREE Workshop How To Turn Your Passion of Flipping Items Into A Profitable Reselling Business
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