How to make $50,000 a year, and work your own hours

[samstephens]

Yes, that's right, you too can be your own boss, work your own hours, and get out into the fresh air and meet new people, and then pull in a healthy $50,000 per year.

This homeless man tells you how:

Sydney homeless man makes $50,000 a year begging | The Australian

[activetrader]

Originally Posted by samstephens

Yes, that's right, you too can be your own boss, work your own hours, and get out into the fresh air and meet new people, and then pull in a healthy $50,000 per year.

This homeless man tells you how:

Sydney homeless man makes $50,000 a year begging | The Australian

Sam,

LOL! I think we are in the wrong business!

[scrofford]

LOL! Yeah I know that a lot of homeless people around here actually make a killing by holding a cardboard sign at the freeway entrances and exits saying that they need help etc. I know that some of them are very legit, but most are just not wanting to go to work.

[Tyler Horn]

And my first thought was "I wonder if he has split-tested his copy" .... Attention grabbing headline, personal story -- LOL

[dave147]

"Asked what he used the money for, he told The Sunday Telegraph he did not smoke, drink nor take drugs, but was raising money to help the friend who needs a liver transplant"

a great act of generosity perhaps?

[Cutthroat]

Yeah right, he spends it on beer, cigars and high priced hookers

[WealthWinners]

Wow!...now that his story is out though, I wonder if that will help or hurt business?

[acedalright]

I'm gonna beg him for some sweet cash.

What The?

[mywebwork]

I am hoping to spend a month or so in Sydney this December & January and am currently planning some Internet Marketing projects to finance it. Thank you for pointing out an alternative option!

Bill

[kf]

Sam - Can this work for me even if I don't live in AUstralia? Is there somewhere I can download a pdf or watch a video with step-by-step instructions to show me how to do this in another country?

[samstephens]

Originally Posted by kf

Sam - Can this work for me even if I don't live in AUstralia? Is there somewhere I can download a pdf or watch a video with step-by-step instructions to show me how to do this in another country?

I'm pretty sure he's going global with this shortly - keep an eye on the WSO forum for his launch!



PS. If he really IS doing this to help his friend who need a new liver, then good on him, very generous. But you have to admit, it is kind of facinating that he earns more than a lot of full time employed people.

[Hesaidblissfully]

My aunt told me about a guy like that once. She would see him and say hello to him at the subway station sometimes when she was on the way to work, and sometimes she'd give him change. Then he disappeared for a few weeks, and when she saw him again one morning, she asked where he'd been. He told her that he'd gone away on vacation. She stopped giving him money after that.

[Vikuna2009+]

Originally Posted by Hesaidblissfully

My aunt told me about a guy like that once. She would see him and say hello to him at the subway station sometimes when she was on the way to work, and sometimes she'd give him change. Then he disappeared for a few weeks, and when she saw him again one morning, she asked where he'd been. He told her that he'd gone away on vacation. She stopped giving him money after that.

VACATION?!???????

I should pick my favorite corner.................

[Lawrh]

This goes back a long ways. Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "The Man With The Twisted Lip", written in 1891, is about this very subject. A man who makes a huge living disguised as a beggar (very good story, the Jeremy Brett version is terrific).

[samstephens]

He told her that he'd gone away on vacation.

HAHA! Where would a homeless person go for vacation? And do you think they'd stay in a hotel?


I was just thinking about this story last night, having a little chuckle, but then realised: this was an Australian story. We have free health care.

If the guy's friend needed a liver transplant, then it'd be covered by medicare. This gentleman claims he's homeless because he can't afford to pay rent AND save money for his friend's liver transplant, BUT, if his friend applied for government assistance, he'd have cheap housing, dole money, and a liver transplant courtesy of the tax payers.


There's something VERY strange about that story....it doesn't quite add up...

[Darth Executor]

That gives me an idea. maybe I should put up dummies covered in rags "sleeping" at some intersections with a box and a sign next to them and collect the cash at the end of the day.

[Doublejm]

Thats funny. There was a story a few years back of a guy in San Francisco who made almost 80k a year jumping out of bushes at tourists at Pier 39...

[Marhelper]

I am looking for my dirty trench coat and begging jar right now.

[Rachel Rofe]

That's pretty sweet.

My ex-boyfriend and I met a homeless guy on the beach in San Diego. The ex offered him a job which he seemed excited about, but then never followed through with. It makes sense as to why though - he said he usually made between $60-$100 a day, people bought him free meals all day long, and he got to hang out in the beautiful San Diego beach all day!

[sbucciarel]

Originally Posted by Tyler Horn

And my first thought was "I wonder if he has split-tested his copy" .... Attention grabbing headline, personal story -- LOL

Yeah ... I saw one in my town do some split testing.
First day ... just him and the sign begging for money/help
Second day ... him and an adorable white fluffy dog with sign begging for money/help

Wonder which was more successful?

[JWB]

Originally Posted by samstephens

Yes, that's right, you too can be your own boss, work your own hours, and get out into the fresh air and meet new people, and then pull in a healthy $50,000 per year.

This homeless man tells you how:

Sydney homeless man makes $50,000 a year begging | The Australian

I heard this once before...on a news show...

where the " average " beggar can earn about $25,000 a year..

I see someone at the end of the ramp when I pull off the freeway
all the time....with a sign asking for money...

But I think the hours are way long ...in relation to the income.

[Michael Mayo]

Lol...

True Story.
There was a guy that was always standing at the end of the off ramp
from the expressway holding a sign that stated he would work for food.

After seeing him there for such a long period of time I offered to take him
to breakfast on my way to work. His reply was no thank you I've eaten
already.

My job required me to visit dealerships in the area and check on the
service they were receiving from our company.

One day I visited a Cadillac dealership when low and behold there was the
man purchasing a Brand Spanking New Car. I walked up to him and asked
him how he was doing? He said that he was doing fine. I said to him so
you must have found a little luck getting a new job and his reply was not
really, I like the job I have now. I asked him what he does and he said I'm
a pan handler. I laughed and walked away.

Another True Story. Just recently on he news here in Kentucky there was
a Home less man that was befriended by a local woman. She had meet him
3 years ago and brought him food every day since they met.

He passed away a week or so ago. The woman found out the the
homeless man was indeed a millionaire and had left all his money to a
charity. Her reply was that he was the nicest person she had ever met
and she had no ideal that he was a millionaire.

Another person that knew the man was a millionaire stated that the man
loved being homeless because of the fact that it made his life simpler.

He didn't have any bills or problems that required fixing.

The person also said that when the big storm came through the area that
the man went to a local Sears and purchased a Refrigerator and donated it
to a family in the area. All he asked for was the box to be delivered to an
address he had chosen and it was. That is where he stayed during the
massive storm...

Makes you think a little doesn't it?

Have a Great Day!
Michael

[Carol666]

A few years ago I used to work in Central London and would travel in every day by tube train.

Most days I would see a girl with her toddler son begging on the train platform. They always looked in need of a good meal and a bath. I often put money in her cup.

Until one evening I saw the same girl "dressed to the nines" coming out of a house in a very expensive area.

A few days later I saw her at the station and told her what I had seen. I was shocked when she said she had purchased her house (for cash) entirely from her begging income and her husband "busking" on the tube. The little boy belonged to a friend. She had offered to babysit him for free while her friend worked.

She would not tell me how much she earned every day but it must have been a lot for her to be able to afford a house in that area.

Carol

[David McGimpsey]

Originally Posted by samstephens

We have free health care.

If the guy's friend needed a liver transplant, then it'd be covered by medicare.

There's something VERY strange about that story....it doesn't quite add up...

That was my first thought as well. There is something not right about this story.

[George Wright]

Originally Posted by scrofford

LOL! Yeah I know that a lot of homeless people around here actually make a killing by holding a cardboard sign at the freeway entrances and exits saying that they need help etc. I know that some of them are very legit, but most are just not wanting to go to work.

Depends on your definition of work. I was in McDonald's a few months back and a homeless man was working the crowd.

A customer asked him, "Why don't you get a Job?" The homeless man shouted back at him for all to hear. "THIS IS MY JOB."

George Wright

[Kevin Riley]

Cultural difference: I've only ever run into 2 beggars in my 13 years in Japan. It's just not done. We have lots of homeless people (mainly voluntary homeless who have decided to drop out of regular society and its stresses), but none of them beg.

They either collect cardboard and cans, refurbish old stuff and sell it in a street market, or they get the occasional one-day job.

Here, we often hire one-day workers for extra help, etc. When I was in construction, if I drove my van into the poor section of Osaka (Shinimamiya Station) I would get at least a dozen men coming up to me and asking if I had day work for them.

Nobody in Japan expects to get something for nothing.

[Amy Carczak]

What?!?! ...that's not the norm?

I attended an "Internet Marketing Seminar" and it seems like every speaker was homeless before making big on the net with just 1 secret that they were willing to share with me for a measly $1,000 or more.

I was actually working on spending all my money so I could live in the streets, drinking to excess and getting a chemical addiction since that seemed to be the only path to huge profits on the net.

Now you tell me there's another way?

ummm.. do they let you sell crack pipes on craigslist? Just wondering.

Amy

PS. I don't do crack ...I was kidding

[pheonix44]

I remember when I was 12 and my mom would not give me money to buy junk food from the store. I would go into the grocery store and just ask people for quarters. I would get a buck here or fifty cents there. I remember one time I had a box full of junk food, a women came in who could not speak english, she said some things to me and I agreed to everything not knowing what she was saying, she dropped everything and took me to the checkout counter, paid for all of my stuff, plus gave me money. I would never do it again, people will give you what you want if you ask enough, but now that I am an adult I would never do it again.

[kkrueger]

I always wondered how much they make a day! That's good money!

Around here they take shifts, give each other high signs about how well they're doing. It's pretty interesting watching them shift posts from the off ramps and on ramps! I see the same guys/gals everyday.

[RebeccaL]

Oh so those guys asking me for money at Central Station are only PRETENDING to be poor... now it all makes sense! LOL

[letsmak1]

Would this be a form of bum marketing lol , who would think he would make this much money

[TheNightOwl]

Originally Posted by Amy Carczak

What?!?! ...that's not the norm?

I attended an "Internet Marketing Seminar" and it seems like every speaker was homeless before making big on the net with just 1 secret that they were willing to share with me for a measly $1,000 or more.

ROTFLMAO! Too funny! Too funny!

As for the homeless guy in question... he's been begging on that block (not that exact corner; he used to be near the bus stop at the other end of that block - what's now the Mac store) for a looooong time.

As the other Australians in this thread have pointed out, we have a pretty good government medical scheme. And while sometimes there are long waiting lists for certain procedures, no one would have had to wait as long as this guy has been using that story for a liver transplant. I ain't buying that one. Or if they had had to wait this long, they'd be pushing up daisies by now.

In fact, his story has changed in that time. So he clearly has tested his copy. (And I often go past him in the morning and he's drawing up his sign for the day. Which, I guess, means he continues to test his copy.) His story used to be that there was a "bitter family legal battle" (which I notice still sometimes gets wheeled out in his sign-of-the-day). This then morphed into a family medical problem. Perhaps they're one and the same. How the Hell would I know?

Frankly, I doubt that he doesn't collect welfare; how would anyone know? And how would a journalist on a day-assignment know? That is, it's unlikely they're going to "follow him" for two weeks to see if he goes to the dole office - it's a throw-away piece on the economy so that people can rant away and vent their frustrations about being stuck in a day job they hate because they're too scared to take the leap and do their own thang.

Straight-up scapegoat journalism... and a little irresponsible, too, in my opinion. That guy sits at a very busy intersection (which was actually named in the story!) and the Sydney CBD ain't really all that big! Anyone who works in or around the CBD knows who that guy is.

How many times over the next few weeks do you think he's going to be (a) robbed, and (b) bashed by some prick who's angry about working a job he hates and earning less (plus paying tax on it!) than this homeless guy.

Sure, the guy could have said "No" to the request to do the story. Maybe he didn't think of the possible reprisals. Or maybe whatever amount the paper offered him for the story was worth the risk. Who knows? His decision, sure. But, sadly, I won't be surprised if I read a news story about him being in hospital as a result of a mugging or a beating by some angry thug office worker.

I wonder where the money really is going? Is it like one of the stories, above, in which he's saving it all up to buy a house or something? Or does he just take a vacation to Hawaii twice a year? Is it a mental health issue - where he's got hundreds of thousands in the bank for no apparent reason? Or is his story about medical care actually true?

He's been begging for a long time and he "takes home" about the same as I do. That is, he doesn't pay tax. I pay about $15-20Kp.a. in tax, which means he and I come out about the same. He doesn't have rent, bills, etc. and I don't imagine he goes out as much as I do, etc. Meaning he's bound to save a lot more than me each year!

Not that I'd trade my life for his simply because he banks more coin. I have no desire to sit on a street corner and read the paper all day, sleep rough behind some milk crates and suitcases on concrete in winter, put up with daily harrassment and the ocassional robbery, etc.

But given that I don't believe his story (nor his assertion that he doesn't collect welfare), what does he do with all that money?

**scratches head**

TheNightOwl

[Steven D Smith]

2 weeks ago I was in Nashville and my daughter and I went out for lunch to Taco Bell. A lady approached us and said she needed "money for 'lunch". She said she "hadn't had anything to eat in 3 days".

I told her to come on in with us and we'd buy her some lunch.

She then said to us "can you just give me the money, I like Burger King a lot better".

Needless to say we didn't give her anything. Beegars are getting much pickier these days I guess!

Steve

[Dennis-White]

Very interesting read mate! thanks for that but I think I'll stick to internet marketing myself haha dont have enough guts for that!

[Richard Tunnah]

Posted this a while ago. There was a guy that begged outside car parks in York (where I live) that got taken too court for fraud after it was revealed he drove to the car parks in a $80k bmw, got changed into rags and sat for a day. According to the local court he could make more than £1K ($1,600) a day! They also believe he had used the funds to purchase a £300k house.
The case changed the local rules for begging. It's now illegal but there are official collection boxes throughout the city and also a large homeless shelter.

Rich

[willbucks]

I remember about 15 years ago stopping at a Burger King in Sacramento with my family and watching 2 homeless guys with their cardboard signs folded up counting their money. One announced he made $458 dollars that day and it was 2 pm.

I was a young airman at the time and this guy was making as much as I made in a week.

A little while later I was approached while getting out of my work truck and this guy told me a sob story about using his last $8 to ride the bus on our base to take a test in order to get a job. He needed $8 to get back home. I gave him $2, a month later he gave me the same sob story... Fool me once...

I still wouldn't trade my service time for the money, but you have to shake your head at what people will do for a buck.

[Kevin Lam]

When I was going to college back in 2001-2002, I was giving like $1 to homeless people almost EVERYDAY after classes. One day, I was heading home early because the schedule was different. I caught a couple of "homeless" people begging for money walking across the field from their apartment with a lawn chair and a lunch box listening to music on their walkman.

It took me 8 years to finally give any money to anyone again. Heck, I just gave someone some money this morning saying he needed it for gas. Probably doesn't, but whatever. At least some of the other ones I've faced claimed to be mute and made these cross-thingies and selling them. I just gave them the money because I'm Buddhist.

[IM Headlines]

LOL, you know this gave me a great idea...

Soon I'll be launching the next big thing on clickbank:

HOW TO MAKE OVER $50,000 YEARLY OFFLINE! ABSOLUTELY NO WORK AT ALL! JUST SIT TIGHT & WATCH THE CASH ROLL IN!!!

Who knows? It might actually work folks lool

Cheers

[cheesy]

Woah, he's making more money than my parents, and they're actually working.
I know what i want to be when im older

[MichaelHiles]

I got hit up by a pan handler once.

He said he was hungry.

I happened to have just eaten my lunch and had 1/2 of a sandwich and some fries left over.

I handed it to him and said, "here, you can just eat this if you're hungry."

He growled a hearty "fu@k you", and tossed the leftovers on the ground after walking off.

True story.

He must not have liked roast beef.

[Kevin Lam]

Originally Posted by IM Headlines

HOW TO MAKE OVER $50,000 YEARLY OFFLINE! ABSOLUTELY NO WORK AT ALL! JUST SIT TIGHT & WATCH THE CASH ROLL IN!!!

*shrieking* OMG! Where can I get a copy of this! I wanna know! Can I pay you $1 for it?

[Glenny61]

I wonder if he has considered outsourcing his begging

[samstephens]

Originally Posted by Kevin Riley

Cultural difference: I've only ever run into 2 beggars in my 13 years in Japan. It's just not done. We have lots of homeless people (mainly voluntary homeless who have decided to drop out of regular society and its stresses), but none of them beg.

They either collect cardboard and cans, refurbish old stuff and sell it in a street market, or they get the occasional one-day job.

Here, we often hire one-day workers for extra help, etc. When I was in construction, if I drove my van into the poor section of Osaka (Shinimamiya Station) I would get at least a dozen men coming up to me and asking if I had day work for them.

Nobody in Japan expects to get something for nothing.

Hi Kevin!

You know I have a facination for Japanese culture, and this is one of the reasons. In Australia there is a certain minority that do pick "dole bludging" as a career (this has nothing to do with the begging, this is more about welfare fraud).

A country where people refuse to beg, but instead want to be paid for a honest days work?

I'm impressed!

cheers
Sam

[warriortx]

Whats he talking about a homeless guy that makes 50,000 a year?
Confused

[JAIDEEP2959]

Wow, I was not aware that Australians are so generous.

[samstephens]

Originally Posted by warriortx

Whats he talking about a homeless guy that makes 50,000 a year?
Confused

Yes, that's right - the homeless guy in the news story makes $50k a year, works his own hours, etc.

It was a bit of a tounge in cheek post, mixed with a "wow, I didn't know that begging actually nets you so much cash".

[samstephens]

PS. It's not a business model I'm recommeding, by any means.

[Diana Lane]

I wonder how the number of beggars claiming to be homeless, yet raking it in, compares to the number of people who are like Chris Gardner used to be in his early stockbroker days ('Pursuit of Happyness' fame), desperately trying to keep food in their bellies and maintain an image of respectability yet having no home and no real idea where they will sleep that night.

The other side of the coin, I suppose.

It reminds me of those stories of threadbare old ladies smelling of cat's wee who leave small fortunes to animal shelters when they die, or of the dreadful incident in the UK last year when an apparently wealthy man shot his wife, daughter and all their dogs and horses dead before setting light to his mansion and turning the gun on himself because his debts were more than he could handle. There's no reason to believe that anyone's circumstances are what they seem to be.

[Mark Coverdale]

Do you think this could be outsourced?

Probably too easily saturated anyway.............

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by Carol666

A few years ago I used to work in Central London and would travel in every day by tube train.

Most days I would see a girl with her toddler son begging on the train platform. They always looked in need of a good meal and a bath. I often put money in her cup.

Until one evening I saw the same girl "dressed to the nines" coming out of a house in a very expensive area.

A few days later I saw her at the station and told her what I had seen. I was shocked when she said she had purchased her house (for cash) entirely from her begging income and her husband "busking" on the tube. The little boy belonged to a friend. She had offered to babysit him for free while her friend worked.

She would not tell me how much she earned every day but it must have been a lot for her to be able to afford a house in that area.

Carol

hahahahah! LOL!