Take Five

Some people on fiverr.com will do almost anything for money.

“I will create a video positively reviewing your site or business for $5.” So goes the pitch by Diana Santos on fiverr.com, a site where everyone can be an entrepreneur—as long as they charge only five bucks. Multitudes of sellers use the 18-month-old site, offering to do everything from proofreading 750-word reports to posing as a significant other on Facebook for a week, to this gem: “I will scream any name or website over and over again like a delusional psychopath for 20 seconds for $5.” Santos, an Orlando resident, isn’t quite that edgy, instead offering services like custom avatars, three-minute voiceovers and the video reviews, which account for most of her moolah (the testimonials are fabricated). The 21-year-old says she brings in about $250 a week with the Web-based gig (payment is through PayPal). And she’s so happy that she even quit her day job as a jewelry consultant. “I took a massive pay cut, but I don’t regret it for a moment,’’ Santos says. “I enjoy my life a lot more now, and I’ll take happiness over extra income any day of the week.”

—Chloe Perez