My wife and I were travelers at heart long before we met each other. With an empty nest we committed to use our time to explore the world as best we could.
But while we loved exploring 500-year-old Spanish Colonial churches in Quito and sandy beaches along Cartegena, it comes at a cost. Earning extra money doing microgigs has been a lifesaver for us, allowing us to travel to our hearts’ content while giving us a steady income to keep the wheels turning.
So what are micro jobs or microgigs?
Microgigs are short (often quirky) tasks you offer to do and can complete fairly quickly.
Singing, painting, voice impressions, graphic art, whistling, creating custom Valentines… you name it, are all popular microgigs. And they can be done from just about anywhere.
Lisa and I are both teachers and our skillsets complement each other wonderfully. She’s a 30+ year English teacher while I have a more varied background in army/business/history/social studies and writing. Most of our gigs revolve around writing and editing skills – Lisa editing letters and brochures while I write product descriptions and blog posts.
The key to it all is the ease we can work it into our normal activities. Travel and microgigs are made for each other. I’ll stop off at a Starbucks or Sweet and Coffee (the South American clone) to have some java and check on gigs ordered by our clients. I’ve popped off gigs at a bus terminal in Cuenca, Ecuador and along the sands of Miami Beach.
To be honest, my most productive gigging time is while shopping. My wife is a dedicated shopper and can spend hours in an artisan market in Colombia. Heck, she can spend three hours in Wal-Mart! My shopping urge runs out in about 20 minutes. So when I reach my limit, we exchange smiles and I retreat for a coffee and some time on my laptop to do a few more gigs.
Right now, I’m in a coffeehouse in Las Vegas, banging out a couple of quickie assignments before heading out. This trip was all paid for by our microgig lifestyle.
