Home | Email | AIM | Help | Make AOL My Homepage
 Saturday, 17 May 2008

Money

Small Business

| |
Powered by Google

Make money by selling your body!

- Search: Start a business
- Find business capital

There are lots of legal, decent and honest ways that you can make money out of your body. You don't need particular skills and, in most cases, you don't have to be a raving beauty either!

Police line-ups

It used to be that you could make about £15 quite regularly taking part in police line-ups. Now, though, thanks to technology, you just get a one-off fee of £10 for taking part in a 'video line-up'. Just go to your local police station and ask them about being videoed for identity parades.

Sell your hair

Extensions, wigs and hair-pieces are increasingly popular now, and many are made out of real hair. To make money, your hair needs to be at least six inches long. It must be clean and must have had no chemical treatments at all - no colouring, perming or tinting. According to Banbury Postiche, the main hair buyer, the fees are £3 per ounce if your hair is 6-12" long and £5 per ounce if it is more than 12" long.

Useful contact:
- Wigsuk.com (also known as Banbury Postiche) | www.wigsuk.com | 01295 750606

Psychological research

This is much less invasive than straight medical research, which although well-paid is potentially very dangerous. You can find work as a psychological research 'guinea pig' through ads in local papers, on student notice boards and on the internet. The experiments are usually pretty easy, and either involve brain scans or simple memory tests. You will be paid cash for your time and your travel expenses. It can be very easy money. For example, the Manchester-based School for Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences will pay up to £60 a session for brain scanning and imaging studies.

Useful contact:
- School of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Room G907, Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT

Life modelling

If you are good at sitting still for long periods then life modelling is good whatever you look like. Contact local art schools and adult education colleges for an application form or information about how you can offer your services. Life-modelling sessions usually last about three hours each, with breaks for rest. It may be for a school or institute class, an art society group or privately for a professional artist or sculptor. Most artists will need a few sessions to get the likeness they are after. In London, life models make between £7-8 per hour clothed and £10-11 unclothed. Outside London the pay is about 10 per cent less.

Useful contacts:
- Royal British Society of Sculptors | www.rbs.org.uk | 020 7373 8615
- Royal Academy | www.royalacademy.org.uk | 020 7300 8000

Hand-modelling

If you have lovely hands that you have kept nicely moisturised and manicured - whether you're male or female - you can make money out of them. Most of the work is in London, although some major cities such as Birmingham or Manchester will also have jobs. You can make anything from about £100 a week to a £1,000s a week if you get some adverts that take a long time to film.

Useful contact:
- Derek's Hands: www.derekshands.com | 020 7924 2484

Film/TV extra

Anyone can be a film extra or have a walk-on part. You don't need any acting ability or particular looks. Simply contact some extras agencies and get yourself on their books, although you should be careful who you sign up with. There are some rogue agencies that will charge you money to register with them and then do nothing for you.

You can earn up to £200 if you have to do an hour or two overtime, use your own uniform or special props, do a night shoot, or all sorts of other things. Most filming work is on weekdays - and it really helps if you have a car so that you can get to the more rural shoots.

Useful contact:
- Casting Collective | www.castingcollective.co.uk | 020 8962 0099

- Get a discount on Jasmine Birtles's 'A Bit on the Side' from Amazon

Jasmine Birtles is from Money Magpie - the website that gives you a richer life