But, in my eyes, the pros of flexibility and fun people to work with far outweigh the occasional cons. Overall, being a Brand Ambassador has been an absolute joy for my wife and I on the road. And, we’ve ranged $60-70k in annual combined income over the past few years — all by working fun events on our terms.
By the way, some agencies don’t do direct deposit (but that’s what you’ve got Escapees Mail Forwarding Service for, right?)
So, jump in some of those Facebook groups and take a gander at what’s happening in your area – you’ll be working as a Brand Ambassador before you know it!
If you’re working about 70 hours a month @$20/hr, you’re making less than $20,000 a year.
How are you making $60,000+, as you claim?
Hi Confused,
Thanks for the question – $20/hr is what I mentioned as entry/base pay. My wife and I have been doing this for a few years, so we now average $28+/hr. We often work gigs paying as high as $35/hr. now too because we take on ‘manager’ roles. Also bear in mind that’s 70 hours/month EACH. Since my wife and I almost always work together, the hours double in a sense.
It took us about 1.5 years to start averaging the $28/hr rate, but our first year in the industry was part-time.
Also, in the article I mention that you can often get ‘per diem’ – meaning they pay you an extra $40-65/day for food and incidentals. My wife and I now mainly work gigs like that. Since we don’t spend near that much on food, we bank the extra which adds up to quite a bit.
We also always try to work one super long event per year where we basically work one whole month – this gives an extra bump to our income that gets us up there income-wise.
If you’re flying solo – my wife worked in this industry on her own for 4-5 years before meeting me and consistently averaged $35-40k/year by leveraging the above (bonuses, Per Diem, etc.)
Let me know if that clears it up and feel free to email me at Josh@outofnorm.al if you’d like more detail!
There are also opportunities for bonuses and commissions with some roles that add up.
Awesome information Josh! My hubby and I have both done this kind of work in the past… don’t know why we didn’t think of doing it on the road! Big hugs for writing this article!
Thanks Kathy!
Thanks for the info, Josh!
Are there opportunities for more mature aged ( Ol farts) to do this type of work, besides just big box store type of food presentation? On the websites it looks like they want to promote the pretty faces. Our life experiences should be of value to advertisers and customers, alike?!
Hi Russ,
Great question! Yes there are, but you’re right that it will be a challenge. I don’t agree with this, but the vast majority of brands want younger faces.
That said, many do not have this restriction – especially in areas that are more “commercial”. For example, my wife and I worked an RV show where many of the BA’s were over 50.
The key would be to focus on an area where you have a special skill or life experience and trying to work in that arena. Brands may overlook age if you can demonstrate a specialized component you bring to the table.
I won’t lie, being “mature aged” does make it tougher, but not impossible!
Hi that is me as Joe Gibbs Bobble Head very cool! 😎
Haha – nice Edward!
Hello Josh,
Hi my name is Nikia and I’ve been doing what you said do but it seems like I’m not getting notice. I apply and apply but have of the time I’m not getting an response. I am outgoing hard-working reliable dependable love having fun and just enjoying life and I want companies to know that but for some reason I’m not getting looked at do you have any suggestions. I understand companies have the people they go to all the time but I want to be one of those people also. Can u give me some suggestions
Thank you
Hi Nikia,
“Not getting a response” comes with the territory. Agencies and brands are generally overworked, so they don’t tend to respond all the time. Don’t let it sway you – just keep applying. You will get something and then from there you can build off networking on top of applying.
It took me a couple of months to really get the ball rolling, so this is not something you should depend on full steam right away. Instead, just keep on plugging at those applications, follow up with each one (politely) 2-3 times and it’ll move.
Lastly, make sure any written communication you have with them is free of errors. I know we’re just doing blog comments here, but you used “u” instead of “you” and missed some punctuation in your comment. Make sure not to do that when you reach out to brands or agencies – when they have lots of people reaching out any grammatical errors can get you pushed aside.
Josh,
Superb insight into this specialized area. Thanks.
Thank you Michael!