It is Saturday morning and I am about to participate in a focus group. I had contacted them about 9 months ago for another focus group opportunity and they had kept me in their database, so when they contacted me it was a little bit out of the blue-but that was ok! It was a two hour commitment that paid $100 dollars. I said YES!
Remember my side hustle premise?
- Fun and easy
- As short a time period as possible
- As much money as possible
- I have a minimum amount per hour that I like to make doing a side hustle and this met that threshold
This company was very organized. We were served lovely pastries and very good coffee at the location. The staff members also triple checked that everyone had a parking pass so that they could get out of the parking lot.
As I participated in the 1.5 hours that it took to do this group I noticed a couple of things:
- Some people cannot sit still. I’m talking 50-60 year old people
- Some people had been drinking the night before. The guy behind me…who was at least 50 years old was off-gasing an amazing amount of vodka and cigarettes.
- Some people don’t listen. The off-gasing guy and his…wife?? Were talking most of the session. The thing is we were instructed NOT to talk.
- Some people always have to “pipe up.”
What should you do to become a fantastic
focus group participant?
- Follow up as directed by the organization. If you’re supposed to call, call. If you’re supposed to email a confirmation, email the confirmation.
- Be early!! Arrive early to the focus group. Time is money.
- Listen. Why is it so hard for people to listen? Just listen to what you’re directed to do, do it, and get paid. Keep it simple
- Don’t drink the night before. I’m serious. It was awful smelling that amount of alcohol wafting up to me for almost 2 hours. If you think people won’t notice. They will.
- Be nice to everyone you deal with. You never know who is watching your behavior.
- Ask questions if you don’t understand.
- Have fun!
As for being a Brand Ambassador
- You will most likely wear one of the following boring colors: khaki, tan, or black bottoms. I don’t wear khaki/tan so I had to purchase these during an end of season sale at KMART.
- A neutral (usually white) polo top. I also didn’t own a top like this and had to purchase it as well ($5 Kmart).
- Comfortable walking shoes that will go with one of the boring neutral colors that you have to wear. Ahem, I may have had more than enough shoes to wear 🙂
- Be clean, fresh smelling, and don’t wear to much perfume/cologne
- A willingness to speak to strangers. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, you probably won’t be a good B.A.
- Mellow, things may change on the fly, so just go with the flow-they are paying you.
- Have fun! I handed out swag all day on Sunday. I did break my minimum amount rule because of the organization that we were working with, but that was fine! I got tons of free stuff, hung out with great people, and helped grow awareness of a great product.
I look forward to doing more of these focus groups and Brand Ambassador opportunities in the future and hope you have the opportunity to experience them too!
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I like your attitude! Especially, the part about listening is so true about many people nowadays. I don’t understand it either why it’s so hard for people to be quiet and listen. Some people start with it even at school that during lectures, they can’t be without talking to each other. Mainly, when you are getting paid for being there and listening, you should really do that! I’m glad that there are people who have the same opinion about it… Thank you for this post!
I can’t understand why people can’t manage to be quiet for 2 whole hours. Just two. I really enjoy doing focus groups, but, that day really got on my nerves.
I have participated in focus groups back in Montreal and I’m laughing at some of the characters you mentioned because I’ve seen a few of them too! It’s a very low stress way to make a decent amount/hour.
I really love focus groups because you usually make $100 bucks in 2 hours. That, I can do!
Dang, I’ve been trying to get in on the focus group thing, but no bites yet. Being a BA is one of my main side hustles. I love it. My core outfits are black or khaki pants, white or black shoes, white polo or branded shirt. You definitely need to be able to talk to people, stand on your feet, and also deal with circumstances on the fly. You are working an event, things change!
Focus groups are great…but…they really don’t like it if you do it often. So, I probably won’t do groups after September. I do enjoy working events: I like people, free swag, and usually enjoy the event too! I don’t love khaki, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do!
Great tips! I hate when people can’t freaking listen to instructions, especially instructions not to talk. Like, seriously – how hard is it to keep your mouth shut??? If you don’t mind, where do you find your focus group opportunities?
I was a little surprised to see so many people who couldn’t manage themselves. Jeez-you’re a grown up! I find my focus group opportunities primarily on Craigslist. The one thing is that they do like to see breaks in between focus groups (they don’t want you doing them all the time).