Personal shoppers aren't just for the rich and famous anymore. With less and less time to spare, more business professionals are turning to personal shoppers as a way to maximize their days and get a little time to spare to spend with their families. And it's easy to make money from this lucrative business.

A personal shopper goes out for the client and buys anything that they might need. They make money by charging the client for the time that they spend looking for the item as well as transporting it back to the client. Shopping can range from clothing to furniture, food to toiletries. You might find yourself shopping for an elderly gentleman that doesn't feel safe leaving his home or for the stock broker that doesn't have time to choose a new suit for her upcoming business trip.

What you need

Personal shoppers have the smallest initial investment of all of the various ways to make money. All they need is a phone to be reached and a car to travel in. And while you will need to keep up the maintenance on that car as well as pay for gas, these expenses are easily covered by the money that you will make in this business.

You might want to start your personal shopping business by advertising in various business magazines or in the business section of the local paper. Try to figure out who might need your services in order to make money from that select group.

You will also want to learn about all of the local stores in town as well as when sales and other clearances are happening. To make money, you'll need to know exactly where you can find a particular item so that you don't spend all of your time looking for something. Learn the best value stores as well as the easiest routes to drive when you're out shopping.

All you will need is a PDA or some other listing system that will allow you to keep track of what you bought and how long it took you to shop for. In order to make money, you can charge by the hour or a by a percentage of the item's total cost.

Growing over time

As you get to know the stores in the area as well as your clients, you can make even more money by choosing gifts that they might need for special occasions. You can hold onto their birthday or holiday shopping lists and find things to purchases throughout the year. As you and your client get to know each other, you will learn about their tastes and what they want you to buy.

Your client base will increase as you continue to provide the best service to your current clients and get positive referrals. Don't be afraid to make money personal shopping for simple items too. The weekly trip to the grocery story might be more than a single mom can handle with going to school and working at a job.

Try to think about ways that you can lighten someone's burden and you'll make money being a personal shopper. It's not about shopping necessarily; it's about creating that free time and one less thing for your client to do.