When a felon is released from prison, it is the happiest day of his/her life. They are now free to mingle along with the rest of society. No more cafeteria fights and nightly check-ups by the prisoner guards. They are now free to roam the streets and pick up where they have left off.....but then, reality sets in. Who is going to hire this convicted felon with a checkered past? This is the reality that many felons have to face.
New mental and health laws have made it harder to expunge or seal personal background records. Most employers won't even bother scanning through an application or resume if the applicant checked 'yes' for the question, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" I personally have a few family members who have a felony on their record, and since then, they have been trying to no avail to clean their life up and get things back on track. Here are seven methods for making money if you happen to have a felony on your record or know someone who does:
Reselling Products: This method doesn't have any requirements but to have a desire to sell. This method involves buying a bunch of stuff wholesale or at discounted prices and reselling them for a profit using ebay or other free auction sites like Ebid or AuctionFire. The best places to find cheap products and goods is in thrift store. My favorite is the 'Goodwill' thrift shop. Some people like Salvation Army, but I find that even though Goodwill prices are a little higher, they often carry a higher quality of clothing. I found name brand clothing for like, 'Baby Phat' and Abrecombrie & Fitch for $7-$10. The trick is in knowing exactly what to sell. Clothes don't sell well in person, but they can be sold very easily online. To advertise your online store, use classified ads such as, Craigslist or Kijiji. The more ads you post, the better chances of selling. If you don't want to sell online, I would really look into renting a booth at a flea market. They go for like $5/day. Now, for the flea market method, you may need a sales tax id.
General Hard Labor: People are willing to pay others to do labor work for them. That is a proven fact Why not take advantage of this? Some of the most popular labor jobs include yard/lawn labor. This can be anything from mowing laws, cleaning out gutters, shoveling snow, cleaning the windows of homes, scrubbing boat decks, moving services. The possibilities are endless with this methods.
TeleMarketing: Telemarketing companies are known for accepting felons. One of the reasons is because most people hate telemarketing and it can be a stressful job. A lot of these companies pay like $100-$200 a week, but some income beats no income. The hours are pretty short most of the time as well, so if you could find two part-time telemarketing positions to stay afloat until you find something better, this could be a good option. The trick to getting employed is to find a small company or one that is not attached to a big name. Telemarketing and customer service jobs with companies like 'State Farm' or 'Progressive' would be almost impossible to get because they have enough capital to be choosy about who they hire. I found the best telemarketing jobs that were easy to hired in were found in offices that often rent out to small business owners or those who are self employed. Tip: Go to the website for YellowPages and search for your city/town. Type in the words, Telemarketing Services, and scan through the list. Apply with companies that have a suite number...for example: Rooky Loone Telemarketing Services, 888888 Lucky Barne,
Suite #688.....this means more than likely, it is a private company.
Become a Truck Driver: Most truck driving companies will accept applicants with a felony. It is important to have a GED/high school diploma before calling around for truck driving schools. Truck Drivers also make very good money, especially if they travel out of state and work over-time.
Goodwill: Considered one of the biggest thrift stores in the world, 'Goodwill's" slogan is, "We Put People To Work". They are known for hiring felons. After speaking to a good friend of mine, who has a son with a felony on his record, she said she spoke to a man who worked there with three felonies on his record! Apparently they put applicants through a program before officially hiring them if they have a felony on their record. I'm not for sure what the pay rate is per hour, but working here can lead to a manager position if you play your cards right:)
Start Your Own Business: Obviously, this method can be the most intimidating, but the secret to making this work is to start online, rather than to go about it the traditional way. Back before I started one of my most profitable businesses, I use to work as an online writer. I simply put up a website using Blogger, and paid for the host gator domain services for like $10 a year for a domain. I then chose a free blogger template and used the free widgets on blogger to design my site. It was pretty simple and you don't need a lot of technical knowledge to do this. Back when I had my own writing services, I was making about $500 a week. I could have made more if I directed more of my energy towards getting extra traffic to my site, but I had other things going on. You could also sell digital goods like e-books and photography.
Affiliate Marketing: This actually ties in with the above method of starting your own business. The only difference is that you don't have to worry about inventory, buying from a wholesale distributor, getting sales tax ids, etc. You simply sign up with an affiliate program and start promoting the links. Most of the time, you will need a website to do this, so I would suggest creating a blog on a topic that interest you. After gaining a few original posts on your blog, then hunt for affiliate programs. My favorite is Amazon because they are not an affiliate network and they don't shave a percentage of your earnings. It is really simple to sign up. They pay around the 27th of each month, but your first check must be sent by mail and I think it can take an extra month to get your check when you first sign up and start making sales. I would suggest getting tips on how to get traffic to your website by browsing/joining webmaster forums like Digital Point and Blackhat World. I learned a lot from these guys. Most of the members make over six figures a year by affiliate marketing! Don't believe me.....just ask John Chow.
EXTRA TIPS AND WARNINGS:
Most of the methods that I have listed means that you are making money 'under the table' or as an independent contractor...with the exception of the telemarketing method. Because of this, I suggest opening a Roth IRA account because it can benefit the self employed tremendously. If you are selling items without a business license, more than likely you are going to be paying a hefty fee for sales tax (depending on your state). For every amount you make per day, take out at least 35% and put it into a roth account. IRA's are tax deductible, so you won't end up owing the government a ton of money at the end of the year. Also, make sure to set aside money for health insurance.. There are a ton of companies that will allow people who are self employed to purchase their own health insurance at a reasonable price. You need insurance! ;) Also, after 7 years, you are able to file for past felonies to be expunged from your record. It is best to consult with an attorney about this. If you cannot afford an attorney, there are also independent paralegals or document preparers who may be able to assist you. There may also be a such thing as sealing your records. Again, consult with correct professionals to go about doing this.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, there are a ton of ways you or a loved one can make money with a past felony. All it takes is a little determination and organization. Remember to use free classified ads if you will offer your services to the public (Craigslist and Kijiji are two good ones), search for small or privately owned companies for a better chance of getting hired and save your money using a good IRA account. There are tons of people who have a felony on their record who are now enjoying the fruits of their labor...remember, "Ain't nothing going on but the rent!" lol