Many people who discover mystery shopping do so while searching for a part-time job that they can work on from home. There are many part-time jobs available for you to work on, but mystery shopping is one of the rare few jobs that you can do from home while still retaining complete control over your work hours. In fact, you can take several weeks off of work, then load up your schedule with new assignments very quickly if you want or need to! After spending some time working as a part-time mystery shopper, you may be wondering what it takes to start mystery shopping on a full-time basis. By following these tips, you can enjoy a smooth transition to full-time mystery shopping.
Review Your Schedule and Budget
As a first step, you should take time to review both your personal budget and your schedule. Consider how much money you would need to earn to support yourself with a full-time mystery shopping income. Then, consider how much time you would need to work on a weekly basis to earn this amount of money. This will vary from mystery shopper to mystery shopper based on your income goals, the going rate for assignments in your area and other factors.
Consider Your Providers
After you have determined how much time you would need to work on mystery shopping assignments each week, you should review your providers’ job boards more closely. Do your providers offer the number of jobs or the level of compensation necessary to support a full-time income as a mystery shopper? If your providers’ rates are very low or job opportunities are severely limited, you may need to stop working with that provider and spend your time working with another provider. In other cases, however, you may simply need to find a new provider or two that can provide additional assignments needed to supplement your current workload.
Find Steady Work
In most cases, a full-time mystery shopper is a professional who needs to maintain a rather steady level of income. In order to do this, you generally will need to work on at least several assignments per day on a very regular basis. Downtime now will mean a lull in your income a few weeks from now. Make an effort to review the job boards as well as your work schedule on a daily basis. This may be the first thing or the last thing that you do every day, but it should become a regular part of your workday routine. Rather than look for fun or exciting assignments, look for assignments to fill the holes in your work schedule. You may still pick up a few fun assignments here and there, but if you intend to work full-time as a mystery shopper, you will need to pick up a wider range of assignments.
Most mystery shoppers do have the ability to transition from a part-time to a full-time mystery shopper. By following these steps, you will lay the foundation for a lucrative, full-time job as a mystery shopper!