New Ways to Make Money: Turn Talents, Hobbies and Skills into Cash

Five months ago after losing her job, 38 year old Amy was advised to try part-time consulting while searching for a full time job. But Amy, a successful and driven creative marketing executive, resisted for fear that consulting would tarnish her resume in the long run. What followed was four months of relentless job searching until she decided to pitch all her old clients.

Less than two months later, Amy was thriving. This comes as no surprise as the recession is forcing corporations to cut monies spent on white glove professional services and some are turning to independent contractors to fill the knowledge gap. Businesses can benefit by hiring contractors instead of employees as they avoid benefits costs and payroll taxes for free agent staff. Plus, it's a needs based payment relationship, so they do not have to incur full time salary expenses for individuals being utilized on a part time basis.

But opportunity does not just lie with big business. During these in-between times, individuals are finding new ways to turn their creative talents, personal hobbies and interpersonal skills into cash.

So we checked in with some of our readers to find out how they're surviving and here are five success stories we uncovered:

Linda, Seattle, Personal Organizer: After maternity leave, when single by choice mom Linda's full-time position was no longer permanent, she decided to put her project management skills to use. Now as a professional planner she is helping friends, neighbors and small businesses stay organized. "Being on time and on budget is what I am trained to do and now I have the freedom and flexibility to do it on my own terms."

Josh, New Jersey, Resume Writing Classes: I am a professional recruiter, and with business at a stand-still I started offering executive resume writing classes once a week to professionals in my area. The classes became so popular, I had to increase the schedule to 3 days a week. Next month I am going to start doing tele-seminars so that anyone can tap into the course via the Internet.

Sheila, Toronto, Partying for a Profit: I am lucky to still have a job, but when my bonus was slashed I needed to earn a few extra dollars a week. I knew about traditional Tupperware parties but those seemed passé, so I instead looked to organizations with similar business models. Now I am hosting passion parties and gold parties every month and earning commissions on sales generated at my place. The beauty of it is not the financial reward, but giving friends and colleagues something fun to do in these bleak times.

Brian, Los Angeles, Digital Ripping for Benefits: There are plenty of companies that will turn your cd collection into a digital library, so mine is not a novel idea. But rather than targeting individuals at the consumer level I targeted medical offices, clinics and fitness facilities when I started offering my similar services. Doing so gave me a niche within a very steady marketplace.

Melanie, North Carolina, Turn Crafts into Cash: I have been creating custom leather handbags for my friends for years. After recent divorce I decided to go back into the workforce, but on my own terms. I started selling handbags on-line through etsy.com and have finally saved up enough money to build my own marketing website.

Scary as it may be to take the first step, sometimes all it takes is a little bit of creative thinking and moxie to keep your cash reserves funded.