Side Hustles
 

so, good news: market is up.

bad news: I still will never be able to afford to stop working. Like, ever.

and -- everyone needs a side hustle to make extra money. Multiple income streams and all that. I don't want to do dog walking or carpet cleaning or anything like that, but am looking for ideas.

How many of you actually do have a side hustle? Are you thinking of one, and if so, what?

I side-hustled for years as a bartender/waitress. I'm thinking of doing something again. My friend snatched up my consulting job at my old job (maybe since she left after I did she had dibs? Dunno.) But I sure could use some extra money.

I just have no IDEAS. So, great thread.

This summer I thought about checking out a greenhouse/gardening sales place, but I know nothing about plants. I'd be a great physical laborer (planting moving watering) but they probably want someone who actually knows something about plants.

If you have the stomach for it I always thought that crime scene clean up would be very profitable. Most insurance companies contribute to the cost so you would have to figure out how to negotiate the insurance minefield mess and learn about the appropriate chemicals, bio-hazards, bio-waste rules and regs. But with a little start-up money it could turn a profit and start a long term business that would last forever.

Oooh, did you ever see Sunshine Cleaning? It was about doing that!

Or I was thinking I could be a part-time hooker but really, how much market is there for an ugly and old hooker. :(

@Cloud - It's a bit more PC to call it "moonlighting" because
you can use it when talking with business people without scaring them away.

Anyhow, think about your current interests.
Customized calendars for social groups are easy to do now with digital images and all the copy/print shops around.

Almost anything can be a subject for one audience or another.
One of my neighbors hates dogs and has a real thing about poop in his yard.
Each year he wholesales an annual Poop of the Month calendar to shops around here and is pretty well known.

Now I have my CRB (did I mention that?) I'm going to be looking for prison work.
Public facing - ie working in a creche or canteen serving visitors.
They are most busy at weekends and pay well, and we have a nujmber of them in the region. Sadly my local one relies on volunteers. Booooo.

Otherwise it's back to bar work for me too.
Ah - have just reminded me I need to submit my name for census work. Going door to door to remind people to complete their census (legal requirement). That's good money too, if temporary.

Yea, it was pretty cool. And I know a dude that started a business just like it in a major city in the midwest. He is making a killing. No pun intended.:3eye:

Passive income is really better than stuff you have to spend a lot of time on. And no, I DO NOT have the stomach for crime scene clean up (shudder).

I do have things I'm thinking about. Like:

--oil and gas investment (since I already have income from this)
--writing non-fiction books. I have some experience putting book proposal together, and this would be something I could do
--legal indexing, legal documents, or something like that, which I'd rather not do (since I work in this field)
--selling either on a dedicated website or through ebay, etc.; either 1) local Tex Mex stuff like boots; cool alternative stuff that I like; body jewelry, or a combination

Lowes hires summer help for the Garden Center and no experience needed. I did it, I loved it.

would be nice if I could come up with something actually "politically correct" that is, in the areas of education, alternative energy, smart growth, etc. that we are supposed to be focusing our economy on, because there might be grants and other biz opportunities.

I don't think I'm smart enough for that though!

I've been wrestling with this for a while--not only a side hustle, but an actual "retirement career" that would let me do something else other than working in an office for someone else. No answers yet, though.

Don't know if you were responding to my use of the words "politically correct", I would call the areas you mentioned as "current fads" and everyone will be competing for funds, grants, etc.

Instead I have found from personal experience that taking what you are currently doing or enjoy, and moving it slightly off center can actually lead to reasonable and enjoyable second sources of income.
It won't happen overnight without a major input of $, but with a longer outlook, a reasonable retirement income is not out of question.

Side Hustles sound like some torture/exercise devised by an aerobics instructor.

What about creating a "coffee-table" book of body art?

Calenders!

Buy gigantic quantities of green and reflective yellow paint, stencils, and aluminum now.
The money will roll in before 2018

Join the National Guard. Only 2 days a month and 2 weeks in the summer. Pay is great with a pretty good retirement

When I was a kid there was a shaggy dog story about a hooker whose vagina was on her hip and she had to make all her money on the side, something 4th grader-ish like that.

That's all I got.

Cloud, if your grandbabies haven't spoiled you against all other miniature humans, you could register yourself with care.com or sittercity.com. The money's not great unless you've got a special skill (experience with multiples, special needs, adolescent tutoring, that sort of thing,) but half the time you'd just be sitting in the house watching TV after the kids have been put to bed anyway.

ugh. I dislike kids! except mine own, but even then I never babysit. Not one of my better skills, even as a mother. But good idea in general.

I'm more the intellectual property type-