Just as a way of helping my readers find simple tasks that they can do and get paid for it.

But who would have thought that you can actually get paid to lose weight?

I mean, I have seen companies that will just pay you to use the internet, or even pay you for shopping.

So it should not have come as a surprise that there is in fact a company that will actually pay you to lose weight!

What a way to keep yourself accountable to your own weight loss goals. Right?!

Losing weight is already hard in itself.

When you have a best friend who moans to you all the time about her ups and downs, it really is hard to ignore that some people go through this struggle.

I understand that it is even harder to get the motivation to keep going when all odds seems stacked against you.

With a non-stop, crazy lifestyle, who has time to stay on top of their weight loss goals when the kids want attention, dinner needs to be cooked or the house needs to be cleaned.

It is somewhat easier when you have an accountability partner or if your will power is so strong, then keeping motivated may not be an issue for you. 

But if you do not have either, would you be willing to bet on yourself that you can lose the weight?

Here’s how two ladies did it.

Jennifer’s Story

They say that the best motivation is a financial incentive framed in a negative way.

What if you can bet $15 per month that you would lose 100 pounds within 10 months? If you win the bet you will get $4181 and well if you lose, you get nothing!!

Would that kick you in the backside to get shaking and really give it your all??

That is exactly what Jennifer from Richmond, Texas did.

And guess what?!

She made $2680 profit from winning the bet. You see Jennifer started her weight loss plan as one would usually expect.

She joined a fitness bootcamp and cut out certain foods from her diet.

But when she lost a cool 75 pounds and her weight plateaued, she did not make excuses and give up like most people would have.

She did not feel sorry for herself. She found a new incentive and got an extra kick of motivation by joining HealthyWage.

Jennifer bet $150 for 10 months that she could lose 100 pounds and when she crossed that goal by 2 pounds she earned $4180.60!

Tremendous right?!

Jennifer said “I knew if I were to put so much money into it, I would do exactly what it takes to reach my goal,”.

So said … so done.

According to Jennifer, after she plateaued, what helped her was remaining consistent and focusing primarily on her diet. After doing research she understood that she was not eating enough healthy fats. When this was added to the mix, the weight started coming off again.

Way to go Jennifer!

More Success Stories

Valerie, another HealthyWage participant, gave HealthyWage a try in order to keep her focus. After signing up, Valerie admits that it was easy for her not to take her weight loss challenge seriously but she said what gave her that push was the thought that she could lose the $300 that she bet on herself.

Valerie’s goal was to lose 45 pounds in 12 months and although there were times when the temptation would derail her, knowing that there was a prize for achieving her goal gave her more encouragement to keep going.

Valerie won $1000 from HealthyWage after she lost the 45 pounds as she promised she would.

What Is Healthy Wage?

When I learned that people were getting paid to lose weight in this unique approach I decided to look a bit deeper and do my own Sherlock Holmes investigation to see whether this was legit or a scam.

I came across an article from National Public Radio, a multimedia and news organisation, that featured Ben Carnes.

Ben Carnes is a school teacher and football coach who bet $60 a month on HealthyWage to lose over 100 pounds.

When he hit his goal he won about $1500. Read Ben’s story here.

Even NBC’s Today Show and Good Morning America featured HealthyWage which for me is a clear indication that I was working with something here. Check out the video below.

HealthyWage was founded in 2009 and was created in response to research which says that “people are more effective at losing weight and getting more active when their own money is at risk”.

I can see how this can be a HUGE motivator.

If I knew that I was to risk losing $700 over the fact that I did not push forward with a goal I wanted to achieve, then nothing would keep me from reaching that goal.

What other motivator do you need?

How Does HealthyWage Work?

If you need an extra burst of accountability then you start at the HealthyWage Calculator.

You can experiment here and enter variables such as the amount you want to bet, how much you want to lose and the duration of your challenge.

The Calculator will then update and tell you how much you can win if you achieve your weight loss goal.

You can enter as many variables as you want until you are satisfied with the right bet for you.

Once you are satisfied, it is time to sign up for the program and lock in your bet.

Now it is the fun part. Time to lose the weight.

In order to win the bet and the prize attached to it, you must reach or beat your weight loss goal by the last day of your wager.

If you lose the weight before the end date of the challenge then you must maintain your weight goal until the last day of the challenge.

If you do not lose the weight before the last day of the challenge, then you lose the bet, you do not win the prize and you forfeit the money that you bet on yourself.

Your challenge only starts when you verify your weight so even if you place a bet today, the timer will not start to countdown until your weight is verified by the HealthyWage Verified Weigh In.

We think this is an excellent and fun way to get paid to lose weight.

Ready To Get Started?

Enter your details on the HealthyWage Calculator and see how much you can win.

Join the HealthyWage Program by clicking here. 

Do you like this way to make a bit of extra money? Tell us in the comments what other fun, unique ways you have made money.

The post Get Paid To Lose Weight – Are You Serious? appeared first on I Am Dawn-Marie.

Let me tell you; any business is an investment. You must be able to put money into a business and yourself in order to see results.

If you cannot accept that concept then you need to ask yourself whether an online business is for you.

If however you are like me, business-minded and you have an idea that you envision will bring great results, then finding the start up cost is much easier than you think.

All it requires is thinking outside of the box and I share with you some ideas that you can act on to get the capital to invest in your very first online venture.

Now most businesses have no-start up costs, allowing you to earn an income then reinvest that income into your business to grow it.

There are other businesses that have start-up costs as low as $1 and can reach as high as $3000.

Whatever the starting point, I share with you the ways in which you can start your online business at no cost to you by getting the money from other sources.

1. Online Surveys

Do you have time to spare? People value your opinion and want to pay you for a review. Websites like SurveySavvy and Opinion Outpost will pay as little as $1 and as much as $15 for your opinion. You can quickly complete enough surveys in a short space of time to get the start up cash that you need to start your online business.

2. Sell Used Electronic Items

Electronic items are highly valued, especially if it is in a good condition and usable. Gazelle.com is a neat website that gives the potential value for your item. They also pay you for your used or broken devices, taking the selling out of the equation for you.

3. Trade In Your Un-Used Gift Cards

Maybe you won a gift card at work or someone gifted you it but you do not use it. You can sell your unwanted gift cards on Cardpool. You will not get the full monetary value but at least it is worth something instead of having them sit there unused.

4. Pawn Your Goods

Do you own any jewellery that you no longer use. You can have it pawned and get some quick cash. You will not get the retail price but something better than nothing to go towards your business investment.

5. Sell Your Junk

The number of times I have had a clear out and have sold unwanted items on Ebay or Craigslist. You may think that the item is absolute trash but give it a try. List it on either one of those sites and see what value you can eek out of it from people who actually want your junk. People buy all sorts on Ebay and Craigslist. This is the perfect opportunity to make some extra cash to invest in your business.

6. Sell Other People’s Items

How this works is that you buy low priced items and mark up the value of it and resell it. This is how one woman was able to buy a vintage vanity item worth $5, repair it and resale it for $125. Instant money in your pocket which you can now use to invest in your business.

7. Sell Your Hobby Ideas

Are you crafty? Etsy is the place to sell your craft ideas and turn them into cash. If making crafts is an ongoing hobby then this can be your cash source for anything business related.

8. Return Unnecessary Purchases

If you are on a tight budget and do not have that extra cash after you have spent a ton on those killer jeans you liked, then it is ok to return them. Ask for a refund. If you are serious about starting a business then sacrifices like this one will be worth it.

9. Volunteer For Overtime

Extra cash on the job is one of the best and most convenient places to earn your start up cost. Many people hate having to go to a job in the first place, but if starting a business is going to help you get out of that job, make the best of it now. Tell your supervisor that you are available for extra work and get paid. Let quitting your job be your motivation.

10. Employee Referral Programs

An ideal way to squeeze money out of your own employer is to take advantage of their employee referral program. Do they pay for your referrals? If yes, start referring your friends or family for job vacancies.

11. Babysitting

It is an easy job to do if you have a relative who needs an extra pair of hands at home after work. Babysitters earn on average $10 an hour. If you do 5 hours over 2 weekends you will have $100 in no time to invest in your online start-up.

12. Sell Your Photos On Shuttershock

With digital cameras easily accessible and pretty much everyone having access to a smartphone camera, you can take amazing shots and sell them to Shuttershock for a fee.

13. Part Time Jobs

Your local newspaper may have part-time jobs that require no particular skill. You can get paid to easily hand out flyers at a sports event or bar tend at an event. Always be on the look out for temporary jobs where you can make quick cash without needing prior experience. This will be a handy way to get your start up cost fairly quickly.

14. Turn Your Car Into A Billboard

If you do not mind using your car as advertising space, you can earn up to $400 per month to advertise commercial activity with Myfreecar.com.

15. Cleaning Houses

Some people leave house cleaning for so long that when it comes to it they just resent the idea and are willing to pay cash to clean their house. Put up your ad on a local bulletin board. You should be able to scrape together $100 to clean a couple houses.

16. Washing Cars

Car washes are big business. If you are looking for easy money for your next online venture, then offer to valet or simply wash a car at your local parking lot.

17. Pet Sitting

The best part about this type of job is that you do not actually need to stay with the pet for all hours. You can keep an eye on it ever so often and go about other tasks. You can also watch other pets at the same time and so get more jobs, thereby creating a bit extra income in a short space of time.

18. Proofreading And Editing

Websites like Upwork allow you to pitch your services for these simple jobs to professionals or business owners who do not want to do the work themselves. You can offer your service for as low as $5 an hour. Pick up many jobs on this job website and you will have your start up business cost in no time.

19. Write A Blog Post

Are there blogs that you have an interest in and have knowledge of the subject matter? Blog owners will actually pay you to write an article for them. You can earn up to $20 per blog post. Write five and you will have that $100 to invest in your online business.

20. Website Design

Is website designs your forte? Charge to design a website for the next person who knows little about the subject. If you offer a competitive rate you will see how many small business owners will use you as opposed to investing thousands in a top design company.

21. Cut Out The Luxury

Do you really need to watch cable TV? Is that Spotify membership absolutely necessary. Review some of your monthly expenses and see where you can cut to redirect that cash to your online business venture.

22. No More Branded Food Products

Instead of thinking brands, go for store brands which are a lot less cheaper. Can you cut your grocery bill in half? Sometimes we have to make sacrifices to fund our dreams and this is a surefire way where you have complete control to saving an extra $100 a month to fund your online business start up cost.

23. Create A Logo

With so many people starting their own online business, there is a high demand for creative logos. Learn Photoshop and advertise your skill on Fivrr.com. There are many businesses who will ask you to do a simple logo for them and they will be happy to pay you $5. Do as many logos to earn enough to pay towards your own business startup.

24. Participate In Medical Studies

Local hospitals offer money to people to volunteer their body for medical tests. If you are prepared to endure the possible symptoms of  medication and remain under a restrained environment for days or sometimes weeks, then this is a perfect way to earn some money for your startup. A local hospital offered $500 for persons with acne to participate medical trials.

25. Create Or Edit Videos

Are you skilled in video technology? Offer your services to businesses who are turning to video media, more than ever to market their business.

Thanks for reading,

P.S Have you tried any of these? Do you have any other suggestions which I may have missed?

Share them with me in the comments section below.

How did you start your online business when you did not have the money upfront?

The post 25 Ways To Start A Business Without Investment appeared first on I Am Dawn-Marie.