Corporations taking over side hustles seems to be screwing over people, since they take such a large cut and flood the market for that hustle.
But the ones I’ve personally seen people do that work pretty well (in USA) are:
Stay at home mom watching another kid (legally dubious depending on state/situation. But I ain’t no narc.)
A neighbor of my mom’s sends out a menu saying what she plans on cooking each night for that week, and for $X will deliver you some as well (Legal in Utah due to special laws, other states could be dubious. )
People who go pick up free furniture that is pretty trashed, and then refurbishes it and sells it. Or people with trucks who are like “Will deliver furniture for $30 in X area” is also pretty life saver for people without cars/trucks. Was able to get a super cheap/nice coach because of this.
People who just flip free stuff or stuff from thrift stores without doing any improvements annoy me greatly though. We broke and you’re just driving up the price!
None of these generate a ton of cash, but I like that they take very little up front cost, aren’t disruptive, and mostly take labor.
So what side hustles have you seen work out?
A close friend sells a product on eBay. A product most households have & my friend collects when it’s no longer wanted which is cleaned, sorted & resold. Has now left 9-5 job to run it as a business.
This friend is exceptional at exploiting niches & will likely become amongst leading sellers of this type (is well on the way already having done it before with a particular collectible). Interestingly, reading through the suggestions here, previously collected & sold scrap before pivoting.
I’m very proud of them!
Churning. The art of spending money in a circle using accounts that offer rewards.
I knew a guy who had like 50 credit cards and 25 bank accounts. He could move money in circles all month, and get like $100k/year in cash back rewards on top of his $100k/year job. His credit report said he spent $8M a year on credit cards. His credit score was 845.
He also pretty much flew for free, and he flew all the time. There were a few mileage programs in his little scheme.
As far as I can tell, 100% legal. The banks just make frequent changes to their offerings to make it hard to do.
Bahaha that is pretty awesome.
I’ve “debated” doing that, since I’m debt free aside from mortgage and have a good credit score, so I could probably open enough cards to get the cycle moving. But the research to find the best hidden gems of reward programs is probably hard.
Other thing I’ve seen people with great credit scores do is basically put EVERYTHING on 0% intro credit cards, pay minimums, save all the money in a HYSA or a mutual fund, then pay off the balance right before the 0% ends, and then open a new 0% card and repeat. Which seems finicky, but basically gives yourself a 4-8% raise if you set it up to just take care of itself automatically.
Knife sharpening. Not hard to learn how to do it decently, and hard to find someone who can do it decently. The equipment is not too expensive either. 40$ for a good coarse stone (you will need one!!!) And 40$ for a decent combo stone of medium and fine. You probably want a good flattening stone too.
DONT use amazon, all of the stones there are scams. A good coarse stone is a Naniwa lobster 220. A good combo stone is the KING KDS 1000/6000.
I use stones now, but when I was learning to sharpen my knives, I used a Lansky Sharpening Kit. I learned the angles and what the stones do from the kit, and bought some good stones from Japan.
For my American friends, don’t bother with the stones at Harbor Freight. That’s the one tool that I have found that is just going to cause more frustration trying to use it, rather than just buying a good one.
Huh, I never considered that one. But I guess if a neighbor advertised “10$ to bring over your knives and I’ll make them like new” I probably would at least try it since I have some pretty nice knives that I’ve been struggling with that are really old.
I am sad to report I have tried to sharpen my own knives… using a thing I bought off amazon. It dud not work out.
Tech support for elderly.
I don’t want to start it yet because of the obligation and enjoyment of free time. Once it starts reputation is everything, especially with the demographic.
You need patience, kindness, and a general enjoyment in helping others.
Have seen the need. And will increase as time goes on.
Support extending to personal traxjing sessions as well as just fixing basic shit.
One day.
Honestly just convincing old folks that “Hey whenever something stressful happens on your computer, please for the love of god just call me.”
Is worth its weight in gold to prevent scams. A big thing scammer prey on is shame, blaming the individual. If there is someone they have paid to help them and trust to help them with any issue without judgement, I would hope they would lean on that person when scared by a scammer. So as long as it’s for the right reasons I can see how cool that could be!
I do like the computer literacy classes that get ran for older folks, and the ones about avoiding scams. So I can see how this can be good!
Very good point. Eliminating shame gets them to be interested and ask good questions.
I have been side by side when someone got scammed. They’re fucking scum.
She had the windows support scare ware. Called the number. They walked her through putting the remote desktop software. 10 downloads on the queue so they were patient.
Called while i was looking to see damage. Blocked number. They called again from a private line still in character as Microsoft support.
She had 2 factor because her daughter got her to do that so she was safe.
Shit is scary.
Super glad she had the support system to prevent that! People can end up homeless from one little mistake.
I usually try not to say “youtubers are making the world better”, but the youtubers who are all about educating about scams and talking about how common they are and how anyone can fall for them I think does help. Everyone would like to imagine “I am too smart to fall for a scam, I’ll know right away!”
But that’s how they get ya!
The thing about IT for older folks is you have to be up for conversation too. Most of the customers I have only get out for church, so if I come out to see them it might be the first conversation they’ve had in days.
Geat point. Yes. It’s a customer service job first. The it aspect is secondary to being able to connect with them.
Side hustles should be hobbies and done with no need to monetize them.
What the fuck, your job should be enough to support you and live, which includes free time to enjoy your life and hobbies.
But I understand, and more than once in my life I had to look for side hustles.
Yea, everyone keeps telling me I should be selling my 3D prints. I don’t want to have to deal with logistics and customers. I just want to 3D print cool shit.
Also, knowledge and sharing has been critical for advancement of human civilization. Imagine if scientists where to sell their research instead of publishing it(*) where would be today?
- = I mean, you might have to pay to read those publications, but they are literally free and can ask the authors for a copy free in most cases…
Some people enjoy making it a little low-pressure business.
Nothing wrong with that!
Just saying that not necessarily everything should be about money.
Graphic design of print on demand products. I started it in 2017 when I was between jobs, put in serious effort for about two years, I still make around $200 a month passively from it. Doesn’t pay all the bills but it does give me a decent chunk of beer money.
I’m now exploring choice mushroom growing, as there is a shit ton of money to be made in oysters and lions mane rn.
Ooh I tried growing some mushrooms before! I got 2 good harvests and that was cool, but didn’t seem worth the effort beyond the fun factor in such small amounts. But with some of them costing $10 a pound and being able to be grown in doors if well ventilated, I bet if you get things going you should be able to make decent money without a ton of effort.
What did you grow?
Photographer seems like a good one. I’ve a friend who works four days a week, and occasionally fills in the extra day or weekend with a quick professional photo shoot.
Edits in the evenings while rewatching movies.
It’s pretty chill. That one day off actually earned them more than if they worked five days a week, even if they only work it once in a while.
Oh yeah if you like photography as a hobby and already have decent gear, I remember my mom would occasionally do that from time to time! A couple weddings, engagement photos, senior pictures, stuff like that. Someone who understands the basic of how cameras react lighting and is willing to put thought into composition of the photo makes a world of difference compared to folks who don’t.
Scrap metal. I always leave my scrap metal out on trash day next to the trash can. A guy in a pickup will come around and get it. I would have to save it up for years for it to be worth a single trip, but he’s getting a full load or two every day. I’m sure I’ve lost out on a few hundred bucks over the years.
I’m sure if you started an electronics recycling company or a clean out business you could get people to pay you to take their stuff.
Ex con neighbor started a junk hauling business after he couldn’t get hired.
Dude was making it but was definitely busting his ass daily. Ended up needing to expand and get another trailer.
That’s awesome to hear!
I had to hire a junk hauler after I had to kick the guy living in my basement out because he decided he didn’t need to pay for 6 months (It was a full basement apartment with own bathroom/master bedroom/kitchen and I charged $600 flat) , and I realized that instead of taking ANY trash out for the last year, he simply stuffed all the trash into one of the rooms and it looked like a landfill. Including bags of used cat litter. He also broke basically every appliance including the washer and dryer and never told me (I was able to fix those pretty easily luckily), and left a broken down truck in the driveway. He of course also left a bunch of like really gross/broken furniture.
Then blocked me and my gf on all phones/social media… oops this is accidentally a rant of how me trying to help a guy with a negative credit score backfired terribly. I guess sometimes credit score is accurate and not BS.
Anyway, I was gonna have a mental break down realizing that my basement was a literal landfill, with like 20 weeks worth of garbage I would need to some how get out of my house and a bunch of junk that wouldn’t fit in a car. But then $400 dollars later the brave junk haulers made my problems go away (they had to call a second truck). They worked so fast, were super nice and open about price/time and what items they were going to try to sell. It’s an incredibly helpful business and I’m glad he found success by working for just normal people in a rough spot. I do in fact hope I never have to hire any of them again though.
Also, yes, the house had lots of bugs. Whenever I asked him if he had any idea where they were coming from or if he had any issues he assured me that, no, he didn’t. Luckily once all the trash was out of the basement, tons of normal traps, bug bombs, and a few weeks of only having packaged food made all the bugs go away. If I had to have it fumigated I probably would have had another break down.
That’s actually super cool business and one I’ve wondered if it would work, but never seen done!
I do also know there are folks around me that sell glassware made from cutting wine bottles/jars/containers, and I think that’s super cool. Also some folks who turn trash forks/spoons into rings. So I imagine they probably just let their communities know “Hey if you have a lot let me know and I’ll come get them, or put them out in a box for me on x day and I’ll catch em”
People who make money off of recycling is just super cool to me.
There’s quite a few different YouTube channels dedicated to finding scrap metal or even a guy who owns a scrap metal business who pays for scrap metal, processes it, then sells it to various foundries to be melted down into something new.
I personally like to buy used items and resell them on eBay. Sometimes at thrift stores, but also garage sales and estate auctions. You can find auctions nearby on a site called hibid. I also sell my old unused items on eBay as well or even parts from broken items. Just look up the item on eBay and filter by sold.
There’s a dude in our town that has a lot where everyone dumps their scrap metal and he takes it to recycle. It’s pretty rad since our local trash service won’t take it (even though they dump everything together, including recyclables, at the transfer station to be hauled off to the dump out of town).
Based man.
“Hey, as a favor to YOU, bring stuff to me that I’m going to sell for a profit.”
But really, my love for people who make money through scrapping/recycling are legends. On a global scale one person doesn’t make a difference, but on a local scale it clearly does.
Hell yeah. I save all of our scrap copper over 6awg, and use it at the end of the year towards my employees’ bonuses.
I wish I had some good ones but I’ll be watching this thread.
What I can say is that anyone on youtube that’s got a channel dedicated to a particular hustle is no longer making their money doing that hustle. They are an influencer now.
Oh yeah all the influencer side hustles are straight trash.
My friend if you actually made $1000 a day working 2 hour, you wouldn’t be uploading here my dude!
Buddy of mine picked up old washers and dryers for free or close enough. Fixed and flipped 'em on eBay marketplace. Made several hundred a week.
The genius is that those appliances are easy to work on and usually have compatible parts. I went over to get a part from him and there were only 2 that fit all American washers.
I used to pick up vacuum cleaners on my paper route. Got stoned at night and cleaned them, maybe added a new belt and bag, perfect. Sold for $20 a pop. (This was in the 90s).
Another friend used to go out with her husband early on trash days and pick up free stuff by the road. Had a garage sale every Saturday, 6-7 hours tops, made $300-$400. “We take our neighbor’s trash and sell it back to them!”
Scalpers = bad
Fixing expensive things and selling them cheaper than new = based
They get money, buyer gets a cheaper appliance, OG person got what they thought was junk hauled away. 10/10 business.
Saving perfectly good things from the dump = based
Seriously, just post on marketplace “Free thing sitting out on corner of XYZ, no holds, I’ll let you know if it’s there or not” So much really good stuff ends up at the dump out of laziness.
I just do love side hustles that actually make a positive impact on their community, and I think all those do for sure do.
organising violence against the state.
I’ve already said too much.
If you’re willing to do that for the US state, there’s certainly money to be made.
Dog hotel. I’ve a dog. I take in other dogs when their owners are on holiday. Walking 2 dogs isn’t much more work than walking 1.
Taking on one extra dog for a few days seems like the easiest, most chill way to make a little money on the side if you are careful about which dogs you take. Those people who sit 4+ dogs at a time are insane but must pull in a good bit of money.
That makes sense! If they are similar to my dog, I probably wouldn’t notice that much, and if they provided the food and stuff, I wouldn’t need to charge much.
Only fans. /s
Why /s? I feel like this is the perfect example if you can get away with only doing it part time. I have an aunt who does foot stuff on there and seems to do pretty well
For ugly people like me.
Fair. I mean same, it’s not for everyone.
What kind of shape are your feet in tho?
Found the wikifeet mod
My wife does the furniture flipping thing. I don’t think we make any money on it — but we have much nicer furniture than we could afford otherwise and between reselling the items we get rid of the low prices we pay for the incoming, we’re certainly not spending money on it, either, and that’s counting the cost of renting trucks to move it around.
Well getting nice furniture from a hobby sounds pretty chill regardless!
Every now and then my eyes pop at the cost of new furniture.
how is nobody afraid of bedbugs?
With any upholstered furniture we’ve bought (Since we’ve bought some for personal use), we keep it in the garage and treat it for like a week before it comes inside. We don’t do it often and have yet to have a problem, but anytime we buy something soft we are very concerned we are inviting demons into the house.
We don’t fick with upholstered furniture for exactly that reason. Tables, dressers, cabinets.
I’m not saying all stories about inviting demons/vampires into your house are inspired by bed bugs. I have 0 evidence to support that.
BUT, if tomorrow it is said that evidence that supports that theory is found, I’ll just nod and be like “Yeah that tracks”
Once you’ve invited bed bugs in, they own that house now. You don’t wanna live with them anymore? Don’t like them sucking your blood? You move.
Also all your stuff belongs to them now. You invited them in, it’s your fault.
Maybe if you live in an area with mostly SFHs so bugs can’t spread as aggressively? I’d never take furniture off the street. I’d rather sleep on bare floor than deal with bed bugs.
My side hustle is real estate photography. Very flexible timing and I already had all the equipment. If I didn’t already own the equipment I wouldn’t have done it.
Good excuse to buy a drone.
You have to have a license to do that in the US. It’s not super hard to get but not as easy as just buying a drone.
I know here in Canada if a drone is 250g or under, you don’t need a license. I’m pretty sure that maby of the camera-drone manufactuers make variants that are just under 250g to make them more accessible.
The license is for commercial purposes:
What you can do with your pictures and video is limited without it. You can’t even donate such pictures to a school or non-profit or something. Basically if someone could make money doing it, you can’t without a license.
The weight of the drone has nothing to do with selling the media.
The DJI Mini Series comes to mind. They are great little drones.
