The more time I spend alone at my house, the more its really beginning to sink in that I won’t have a place to live in a few weeks. I’ve had some ideas (offering free house sitting, for example, couchsurfing.com) of how to have a place to stay without paying anyting, but none have seemed super great. My latest one I’ve decided to roll with though and see if it pans out…
It only took me an hour to think of the idea and write a quick ad, so if it works, and it gets me a room, great. If not, well, I guess I wasted an hour.
or you can see it here…
The Ad
Me: small business search engine marketing expert
You: Small business and home owner with extra room.
To make a long story short, I run a small start-up business in Seattle, and I’m poor. I have a small office where I work, but at the end of this month, no place to live!
More about me: Poor yet talented entrepreneur
I provide you or your business with 15 hours a month of search engine marketing (SEM) and web-promotion consulting. I will help you understand how you can use the web to grow your business in an effective and cost-efficient manner. Many SEM consultants charge in upwards of $100/hr.
I can….
*Install Google analytics on your existing website and show you how to use it to track and analyze your web traffic
*Help you install and setup a free blog on your existing website
*Show you how to get more local visitors to find your service/product on the web
*Help you start a basic webpage with its own domain (www.yourseattlecompany.com)
*Show you the best keywords to target with a PPC (pay per click) campaign within Google/Yahoo/MSN
*Manage a PPC campaign for your small business
In other words, I can help your small business get more business from the web.
More about you: small business owner with an extra room in their Seattle home
Do you have an extra room in your home? Want to host a non-smoking, non-drinking, hard working young entrepreneur? Then lets make a deal! You need more exposure on the web…I need a place to sleep at night. (I have a small office, so during the week I would only be around the room from 8pm-10am).
I’m a very easy going, no drama, Christian young man (23). I’m creative (see this post), flexible, and am OK with pets, old people, young people, any people! E-mail me and let’s chat…I can talk with you about your business and see if this arrangement would work for you and I.
Oh, I’ll even throw in free lawn mowing twice a month! (I used to run a lawn mowing business when I was in grade school. I still enjoy mowing lawns!)
Preferred Neighborhoods:
wallingford
freemont
ballard
queen anne
downtown
magnolia
greenwood
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
How novel! This strikes me as a great solution to your problem. Good luck!
I am not sure that posting any ad will get you a room in exchange for consulting… but I think you could increase the odds if you tighten things up and focus on the essentials. You primary goal is to get someone to contact you–you can tell them more once you’re in touch. I would also suggest setting a time limit (such as June-September) in the ad itself, so that they don’t think you’re planning on living with them forever.
Here is a suggested revision:
I would like to provide 15 hours/month of search engine marketing and web-promotion consulting in exchange for a room from June-September. I would also be willing to help out with any yardwork. I’m an easygoing, flexible 23-year-old man, and I do not smoke or drink. The consulting and yardwork would have to take place on evenings/weekends, since I have an office job that keeps me busy during the day. Please contact me if you are interested in this exchange, or would like to know more about the kind of consulting I can provide.
That’s it! I think if you say too much more than that, people may not contact you because they don’t like what you have to say, or they’ve read more into it than you expected.
I hope it works, though if I was reading the ad I’d think “if he is so poor” is any good at this stuff? Or why can’t he sell this service to someone else and then pay the rent for the room?
I heartily recommend Craigslist for roomies. I’ve never really had a problem with it even in Singapore. I think you’re idea of bartering is interesting…!
It looks like a very good ad. The only thing I would remove is “Poor yet talented entrepreneur”
What a great concept and ad! I’m sure you will find someone to take you in. I live in Orange County and I would take you up on your offer and I have no lawn to mow. Good luck to you! Keep us posted…
Catriona! That’s great. I’ll try that revision, I agree with you on your suggestions…
Moom,
I thought about that myself. Then I remembered that my business does bring in almost 8K a month now….it’s just still not enough. I just need a few months to save more cash, thus this idea.
Plus, working on someone else’s projects would be a nice break for me. I don’t think it would feel as much like work to be helping someone else with their business, rather than working on my own all the time. Your point is very valid though.
I just want to say how much I admire your dedication and your just-do-it mentality. I read Casey Serin’s blog occasionally, as a time-waster, and it really does seem to me that he is sort of your evil twin in this respect. Anyway, keep up the great work.