In not so distant years, I might have been called the village idiot. Way too laidback (spoiler alert: masking high anxiety), always ready with a quick joke, seeming to stumble through life at the mercy of luck and chance. This is the constant struggle of the neurodivergent or neurodiverse. I prefer divergent myself because whatever you’re doing, I’m off doing the opposite; and no, not rebellion, a blanket mentality where competition can lead to similar results so I want to diverge and really test those possibilities. It’s become a lifelong project to find why methods don’t work for some and to find the ones that put us on equal or better footing so that we can strive to choose our own way in the world where others have failed.
A lengthy intro but stick with me. The reason I open that way is because of my foray into the world of product testing. Unlike most jobs, I don’t actually make money doing it. I stumbled, in my jesterly way, onto product research and testing sites, brands looking for more visibly through valid reviews. Instead of payment, they send a product I get to keep (in rare cases or studies, the product is an unreleased prototype that gets sent back in exchange for gift codes or some other compensation. Because some aren’t on the market, I am careful not to share any information concerning either the brand or product, even when I’m not expressly asked to keep it secret. Reviewing is my public commitment. If I sell or give away anything outside of the household, this can be terminated. But I’ve gotten amazing things I could never afford otherwise, so why not keep and enjoy them and not risk it? Resell is a nightmare of people wanting pennies on the dollar anyway.
And I’m not talking candy and tampons. In the beginning, I got simple things but then I started getting full sized ‘samples’ of increasing retail value. Robot vacuums, luxury bed sets, ceiling fans, a chef’s grade kitchen faucet, shoes, and even a top of the line TV. Some programs release sample opportunities infrequently but some release several a week. I’ve gotten offers from some companies that I’ve reviewed for before to participate in later studies and research. It’s surreal and…
I can honestly say I have no idea how it started. People think I’m being facetious but see the village idiot intro. Late at night when I can’t sleep, I spent some time just peeling through free stuff sites, usually just looking for a printable calendar or some other fun samples to occupy my time. If you’ve read previous blog posts, I was sick for years and didn’t know it. I was circuit training with my old friend Joe and we were nailing it, then I hit a burnout that sent me into a slump. The pandemic made it worse but when I attempted to get back in gear, my sister was dropping weight but I was struggling, losing mobility and energy and gaining weight even with carefully controlled water and electrolyte fasts. Exercise was getting harder and more painful in my abdomen. Before this turns into a post about that experience that I’ve detailed before, I labored to find work from home but my options got more and more limited. I missed writing so when I got back my first hit on an invitation to test products and write reviews, I was mildly curious. I was expecting canned tuna salads and little paper perfume cards you use and dispose, but what else did I have to do?
Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to share much of where I get this. Fight Club rules and all that, but my major one was invitation only so if you stumble on the sign up for these which is often closed, you are extremely lucky. If you get that email to join, do NOT pass it up. Even once you’re in, you often compete with other members, so I have my email set to notify my phone and FitBit (the FitBit was a gift from my sister, btw; not everything I own is ‘samples’) for when the samples are released for selecting. Some of my opportunities are, again, with companies who are keeping knowledge of testing limited. Some are great products that need reviews to boost visibility in the market. Some aren’t doing so well and they want a glimpse at why. My reviews are expected to be honest and I write in thorough detail so the seller and potential customer are aware. Manufacturers sometimes want to know what needs to be changed.
It’s very possible my long history of writing detailed reviews for Amazon worked in my favor. I definitely expect they might research candidates before selecting and I certainly have an extensive public visibility that I manage responsibly. Personal social media presence is kept private; I do have public profiles available for character and work history but no one is entitled to profiles you maintain for friends and family. No company can insist to have access to those any more than they can read your diary. They will have to trust my integrity that I do not and will not betray that trust. In truth, I haven’t released any specifics in order to not accidentally do so. I love the purpose doing this gives me; years of bug reporting and honest reviews all made me perfectly aligned for this and I would never cross a line that severs that.
In the future, I may release my saved lists of products I’ve reviewed but this will only be if I no longer do this or feel it can’t violate any original agreements. I write about this now to confirm that this IS a thing and you can very well rack up gift codes and really nice products that might be outside of your affordability with a little resourcefulness.
That being said, I keep the lists because I have considered making a résumé unique to my product testing experience and pursuing opportunities that might yield regular stable income and work from home flexibility. Work from home is the future of efficiency no matter what the billionaires say, trying to keep us in those horrid boxes with dividers between your neighbor’s bodily odor and obnoxious laughter. I look forward to continuing carving out my own hustle because you know most of my generation is in the work hustle for life. Not going to lie, no despair here; being productive is important to me even when I’m not feeling well. I WANT that feeling that my contribution has meaning and impact. Even if I could retire, I’d be the type to hate it and look for an excuse to work.
Although I can’t share most of my sources, I can give you some fun legit places to start. Influenster is hard to get into but also offers luxury products. They choose you rather than you getting to pick, just take those surveys until you’re chosen. Since getting and completing my first, I have steadily gotten samples. Like I said, I don’t half-ass and I aim for reviews to be thorough but to the point. Getting that first foot in tends to send me in full steam ahead.
Another valid one is Hatch by C Space. Use that whole name in an App Store or Google Play search because just ‘hatch’ gets you a bunch of not-the-right-one. It’s an orange and white logo when you see it. Sign up, set notifications to alert you to the weekly qualifier and look for the monetary ones. I have gotten food samples but mostly short surveys that let you choose a gift code option a few weeks later. Sometimes you get nothing for a while but I’ve gotten hundreds in gift codes around holidays for those shopping sprees that lighten that blow to the wallet. You won’t take surveys for several minutes just to see you don’t qualify. If you see the topic questions, finishing will get you the reward. Sometimes they have fun optional quizzes and raffles but they are not ever annoying frequent; I mostly wish I got a lot more activity from them but they do listen and improve over time.
So I’m not being stingy or hoarding the fortune; I love to share but I also take the responsibility of honoring the exchange. Be a time-wasting village idiot some time; it’s not the worst thing to be!
How else am I resourceful? I did write books but I’m kind of cornered in branding myself, so I’m shelfing that until I can organize a return to finishing my second series. You may have seen the dolls I have made based on characters in a book I have partially drafted but stopped working on. I set up my cheap writing laptop and have my notes together but I will need a refresher on the previous books; if not before continuing then I’ll need to edit continuity errors later. I crochet but solely to gift or create patterns to sell rather than making to order or selling. I have boxes of unsold stuff that will likely be donated because it’s hard to sell what you make, even harder to do custom if you don’t keep an expensive hoard to prepare for any crazy request. My patterns are doing surprisingly well for a little surprise income. I tend to throw that back into the Etsy landscape and support other artists and start my own crafts. I have been designing cards that I would eventually like to test and clean up to sell on Cricut Design Space. I’ve become a real fan of the pleasant surprise of passive income. I don’t ever make enough in a year for it to be taxable so it’s not living wage but I enjoy increasing my selections and hoping it might lead to that in the future.
So yeah; you don’t need to follow beaten paths just to be disappointed again and again that you just aren’t getting why you fail. Accept that these systems often work not for the hard working or the intelligent or the talented; many are wrought of wealth and connections and give far less gifted people much more opportunity to pretend they are better than the rest of us. Be resourceful and find your confidence. Learn to shrug off the critics and prove that there are other ways to navigate this crazy world. Be selfish and selfless in the ways you can live with. Value your intuition and conscience instead of trying to kill them to be the cold hard boss. I think the real revelation came when I finally stepped into a managerial position and learned it only makes the bigger sharks smell blood. They seethe when you laugh with the CEO when they quiver and drone and kiss ass.
Being your own boss was another pain in the ass pursuit. Customers will haggle and dodge and drag and insult when they can’t name your servitude. I missed the buffer of getting my boss when the insufferable plagued me, but didn’t enjoy the hierarchy over all. Being your own boss was the extreme hard turn from the alternative, but I started looking at the median of passive income and have found some very interesting diversions to help me fortify my future pursuits.
The surgery was a huge step up. I’m finally able to start exercising. My stomach is still big but it went from Santa Claus after all the cookies to having to hold my boobs and look over them to find it. I can squat and bend and my hormones are regulating. I love my new lease in life and I hope the universe has much more time to pursue life before my end. My mom was so calm and open about death and I don’t want to fear it. I don’t want to fear pain and risk and what others think; I just want to inspire and share and find those secret gardens.
So I leave you with the first secret garden I was given.
