a believer

Income in a Zero-Rate World

Re your second strategy:

"In the ‘worst’ case, the stock price rises to the point where the option holder will exercise and Joe will have to sell his $500 shares at $35/share."

No, no, NO.

"In the ‘worst’ case, the stock price falls to the point where it is worth pennies on the dollar, and, not having developed an exit strategy that allows you to consistently make money using covered calls, you lose most of your initial investment."