this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2024
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What side hustles have you personally seen work pretty well? (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 hours ago by ericbomb@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
50 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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?

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 1 points 10 minutes ago* (last edited 9 minutes ago)

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!"

[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 1 points 26 minutes ago

organising violence against the state.

I've already said too much.

[–] sosodev@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

The only one I’ve heard of working really well was 3D printing copyrighted material that is usually way overpriced. Board game pieces, figurines, etc.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

A little bit of legally dubious action to pay the bills and siphon money from billion dollar companies never hurt nobody!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FW99X9Z?psc=1

$50 dollars for THREE, UNASSEMBLED, and UNPAINTED minis? Yeah man, I ain't gonna question why the texture of your warhammer minis are different. Game on.

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I haven't known anyone to do this but I always thought managing social media accounts for small businesses would be a good side hustle. A steakhouse restaurant nearby went out of business in a year. They spent a ton of money on remodeling and a billboard with a logo but weren't even listed on Google Maps. I'll wager some businesses would be willing to barter in order to keep things simple

[–] trashgirlfriend@lemmy.world 2 points 14 minutes ago

^ has never worked in the google ads hell pit

[–] Sequentialsilence@lemmy.world 4 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] etchinghillside@reddthat.com 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Good excuse to buy a drone.

[–] IMongoose@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

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.

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 7 points 4 hours ago

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!

[–] _bcron_@lemmy.world 8 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

If I ever picked up a side hustle, it'd be basic editing. ChatGPT has displaced the ghost writer but it can't polish its own turd.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 9 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Editing ChatGPT generated content sounds soul crushing tbh.

[–] _bcron_@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

I think the thing that would keep me sane is that I'm fascinated in trying to figure out how a single AI-generated paragraph can be accurately detected.

But yeah, the common permutation of multiple pargraphs, the first starting with reaffirm/validate/reiterate is downright obnoxious.

'I'm sorry to hear you're having such difficulties with editing ChatGPT-generated content. It can be challenging and even frustrating at times, but with' lol

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

My Etsy shop hit a very niche market and was pulling around $3k a year. I didn't put any effort into advertising, it kinda did that on its own

I'm also a performer which is a great side hustle for my creative fulfillment, but pays nearly nothing

[–] etchinghillside@reddthat.com 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

You don’t have to confirm/deny - but I’m going to pretend this niche is selling tiefling horns/ears.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 hours ago

Flaming nipple tassels

You read that right πŸ˜‚

[–] MrVilliam@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

By "performer" do you mean musician? Playing bars or coffee shops here and there? I've done that for a free drink or two here and there. I think that would be one of my retirement activities if I had loads of free time, but it takes a lot of energy to set it all up and be "on" regularly while also working full time.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I'm a fire and sideshow performer weirdly enough, we're a dying breed. I mostly do shows at bars and host my own, but every now and then I get a nicer gig that pays a bit more, like at a faire.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Oh man I loved when Evermore (RIP) had fire dancers. But it was funny because for their major events they would hire super skilled pros, then their daily shows they would have a staff member that they had taught or was a hobbyist before being hired. They were fun and skilled, but the difference was very obvious in variety of tricks and number of failed tricks.

Which makes sense considering their financial troubles, but imagine being that fire dancer on staff being like "Super hyped for tonight's show!" and them just being like "Ahh, did no one tell you? We hired someone for five times your nightly wage to do tonight's show cause they're a lot better"

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Stay at home mom watching another kid (legally dubious depending on state/situation. But I ain't no narc.)

Wtf is u talking about?

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

So a baby sitter baby sitting and the home of the child is completely legally fine. If you are doing it at your own home, or watching unrelated children, it can be iffy.

https://childcare.gov/consumer-education/informal-in-home-child-care#%3A%7E%3Atext=Your+state+or+territory+may%2Cto+ensure+the+children%27s+safety.

That's why I said it depends on state/situation.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

the fact pattern you provided mother watching another child with her own... i don't think that would quality anywhere but i did not check all the rules.

if they are running something resembling a commercial operation that would be a different story.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

It fully depends on if you're doing it at your house, or the house of the child you are watching, and the state.

But the rules don't matter as long as no one is a narc!

β€œFor instance, most states and territories do not require an in-home child care provider to be licensed if they provide care on an occasional basis, provide care in your home, or are related to the children in their care.”

Which my thing "might" break.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Running illegal home daycares is a thing

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

why would a person watching a child or two be considered a day care?

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Getting paid for it crosses a threshold I'll bet

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

do baby sitters register? i never heard of this.

Are y'all spit balling here or do you have an actual example to substitute this claim?

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

https://childcare.gov/consumer-education/informal-in-home-child-care#%3A%7E%3Atext=Your+state+or+territory+may%2Cto+ensure+the+children%27s+safety.

"For instance, most states and territories do not require an in-home child care provider to be licensed if they provide care on an occasional basis, provide care in your home, or are related to the children in their care."

That is why I gave the "it depends"

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Try googling it. It my state day cares must be registered and it looks like there's lots of regulations. If there is any government funding you can bet your britches there are inspections.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

we are talking about a specific fact pattern here. OP made unsubstantiated allegation, you are not willing to produce any evidence either...

day care business is heavily regulated, you are stretching applicability of these laws to a mother baby sitting another child.

people do nany share all the time with out having to check with in daddy government lol

also... wtf are you talking about "government funding", is this government funding in the room with us right now?

when does government "fund" child care? at best they give you few grand of pre-tax income to be used for it in the world where it starts at 20K🀑

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

My state will subsidize child care for parents under a certain income. Nobody is saying anyone will get in trouble for babysitting family members. You could simply Google it and save yourself some typing and a whole lot of embarrassment

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

subsidize child care for parents under a certain income

"funded"

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

What do you think subsidies are?

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 1 hour ago

these 3 people getting some money from a state if they check 69 boxes is not "funded"

you are white washing facts. vats majority of people don't get any "funded"

[–] iii@mander.xyz 14 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

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.

[–] UnrepentantAlgebra@lemmy.world 6 points 4 hours ago

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.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

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.

[–] Nemo 13 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

My wife does the furniture flipping thing. I don't think we make any money on it β€” 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.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 5 points 3 hours ago

Well getting nice furniture from a hobby sounds pretty chill regardless!

Every now and then my eyes pop at the cost of new furniture.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 4 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Furnace/water heater replacement.

[–] Oka@sopuli.xyz 4 points 4 hours ago (6 children)

Can low water pressure in the whole house be attributed to a bad water heater?

[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 1 points 6 minutes ago* (last edited 6 minutes ago)

Bad PRV (Pressure Reducing Valve). They only last so long. If you have high water pressure (over 120psi) coming in they last a few years tops. If that’s the case, get one with 2 diagrams and it’ll last you 10 years at a minimum.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

No.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 1 points 6 minutes ago

Ours was exactly that, the oulet and inlet pipes in the tank corroded badly. Cold pressure fine, hot pressure was flow restricted

[–] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 6 points 3 hours ago

Only if you have good pressure on cold water but weak pressure on hot.

Whole house suggests an issue with the supply line, for example an old galvanized pipe which is filling with rust deposits.

[–] iii@mander.xyz 9 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Low water pressure is usually a sign of low water pressure.

[–] 7dev7random7@suppo.fi 2 points 2 hours ago

European here without education for a plumber, just barely scratched the profession for a few years.

Low water pressure occurs in bigger complexes with a pipe to small for the consumers. The water pressure in suburbans and cities comes directly from the local water station.

If you have issues with this, there are special armatures for low water pressure.

The cheapest improvement is replacing the water disperser with a current one.

Other then that, one could install a pump to improve the water pressure, but these things are expensive and have high maintainability costs due to pumping drinking water, not water in a heater pipe.

[–] halykthered@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 hours ago

Perhaps your pipes are too wide.