A young woman revealed how she earns £12,500 a month – and it’s a ‘dream job’ that anyone can get.
Amy Coulstonfrom Queensland, has quit her 9-5 administrative job to pursue ‘side hustle’ full-time.
The 24-year-old started trying different jobs during his studies to earn extra money, such as mystery shopping, doing odd jobs for other people, market research and proofreading.
‘Market research is definitely the most lucrative side business: I just call a researcher for an hour and I get paid between €60 and €85 for it. I recently spoke to a pet company about my dog’s diet and behavior,” Amy told FEMAIL.
‘Mystery shopping’ is a method used by market research firms and organizations that wish to assess their sales, service and work performance compared to competitors.’
Amy said being a mystery shopper suits her lifestyle better because she can travel as much as she wants and choose her own hours.
On a recent job, Amy went to five Aldi stores and had to buy something at each location.
Amy Coulston from Queensland has quit her 9-5 administrative job to pursue ‘side hustles’ full time
She picked up mangoes, garden gnomes, flowers and more. It took her two and a half hours to explore all the locations and she earned $100.
Amy uses the website ‘Mystery Management’ and has to book audit assignments a month in advance.
She also takes online surveys and participates in market research as a side job.
“Other things I do are odd jobs like picking things up from the post office and dropping them off at someone’s house, and affiliate marketing through my social media accounts.”
“Imagine a side job that not only pays you, but also treats you to incredible experiences – that’s the magic of mystery shopping,” Louise Heffernan, owner of Mystery Management, previously told FEMAIL.
The job involves people anonymously shopping in stores or eating at locations and writing reports about their experiences.
Each task is paid a certain amount and wages typically range from $20 to $300 depending on the nature of the work.
Amy said being a mystery store better suits her lifestyle because she can travel as much as she wants and choose her own hours
As companies struggle with how the average consumer views their service, mystery shopping is a great way to gauge how a company stacks up against its competitors.
Ms Heffernan revealed that mystery shopping is now so much more than seeing if a restaurant will serve you without checking your ID.
“We also have mystery shops for U-turn Fashion (thrift stores) – a big hit with Gen Z, who get paid to ‘thrift’,” she said.
A few Australians shared their experiences with mystery shopping online.
‘I did this for about a year or two and it turned out that to actually make enough profit you have to be willing to travel through a lot of Aldi stores. “It wasn’t worth it to me in the end,” one person said.
‘My sister was fired when she was seven months pregnant. She has taken up mystery shopping as a sideline to make ends meet. It’s not much, but it helps, she seems to enjoy it!’ another added.