Real life Side Hustles

Real life Side Hustles

I’m a big believer in side hustles and have pretty much had them all throughout my life. I got my first one starting in 3rd grade and haven’t stopped! I love a good side hustle because not only does it allow you to earn a little extra cash but it also allows you to try and learn new things! I’ve talked a lot about side hustles in other posts and so in this article, I thought I’d share some of the side hustles I’ve had in the past. The line between an entrepreneurial endeavor and a side hustle does get a little blurred, but I define these endeavors as not my primary source of income and things I did outside of my regular job. 

Side Hustle #1: Yarn Stars

My side hustle drive started in 3rd grade for me. I can’t even really remember how or why, but I learned how to make yarn stars using popsicle sticks and yarn. You glue two popsicle sticks together in a cross and then wind yarn around it, starting close to the center and then going outward. Somehow I figured out the kids in my class were interested in them, and were interested enough to buy them. So, with the support of my Mom (yay Mom), I bought some supplies from Walmart, made the yarn stars, brought them to school and then sold them for $0.10 a piece. Business was good and this went on for about a week, until my teacher asked ‘whoever’ (she didn’t know, I obviously kept a low profile in my business as I was selling in class) was bringing them in to stop. Turns out my classmates were unwinding them (no idea why) and then chewing on the yarn. LOL. Oh to be in 3rd grade again! 

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Lesson learned – figure out a gap in supply where there is demand. Kids wanted yarn to chew on and yarn stars were a way to give them what they wanted. 

Side Hustle #2: Tech Decks

Back when I was in middle school, skateboarding was pretty popular, at least in my school. I was never any good (I could ollie though!) but that didn’t keep me from trying to skate, or at least trying to look cool. We couldn’t get enough of skating, and when we learned about Tech Decks, the pocket finger sized skateboards, we couldn’t get enough of them. We’d play with them in class, at lunch, or really any other time we couldn’t actually skate. Now at this time in my life, my family lived overseas, in a country where Tech Decks were not reaily available. A few of us had parents that would travel for work and would bring us back from Tech Decks. With this limited supply, prices were quite a lot, and what sold for $4 in the US easily sold for $8-$12 overseas in my middle school. As fate would have it, my Dad (yay Dad) was one of those traveling parents at the time, and was making a few trips to the US. So, with some extra room in his suitcase, I asked him to bring me a few Tech Decks. I’d take orders from friends, and then resell them once my Dad brought them back to me. I cleaned up, at least for as long as Tech Decks were popular which let’s be real, it was middle school, so wasn’t super long. 

Lesson Learned – my Dad could only bring a few back each time, and wasn’t going that often so that kep supply low while demand was high, which allowed me to charge more of a premium for the Tech Decks. 

Side Hustle #3: Tutoring 

Still in middle school, still overseas, but the Tech Deck fad had faded. So naturally, I was on the lookout for another side hustle. I was (suppose still am) pretty smart in middle school, maybe even a little too smart and a bit nerdy. I spoke English, which not all of the kids in school spoke perfectly. I remember seeing a flyer in our neighborhood of a parent asking for a tutor for their elementary school kid. I had some time on my hands and needed some money so I reached out! The parent took me up on it! I think I tutored like once or twice a week and the money was good. My clientele grew as I saw and responded to more flyers, and as parents gave me a good recommendation to their friends. I ended up doing this for a few years and even continued it a bit in high school! 

Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

Lesson learned – Not all side hustles are super fun, and this one was definitely work! It wasn’t the worst though and I was pretty good at it so I kept it up for as long as I did! 

Side Hustle #4: Recycling 

In high school, I lived on a beach on North Carolina. Summers were awesome and I had the chance to work a number of fun summer jobs (pool monitor was my favorite – not a lifeguard, not a cleaner, just check people in and out. I took the job so seriously that I actually turned the local mayor away one time as he wasn’t a guest haha!) In our community, we didn’t have curbside recycling and had to take anything we wanted to recycle to the local recycling center. I started looking into offering a curbside service when I learned from a recycler a few communities over that North Carolina was actually requiring bars and restaurants to recycle their glass. There was no service in place to do this, so I ordered a car magnet, printed up some flyers and went restaurant to restaurant offering to do pickups weekly for $45/month. I had no idea how much business or glass I’d get but wanted to give it a shot. I ended up getting up 8 clients and had a fun summer picking up their recyclables! I tried to sell the business at the end of the summer but it was tough to get someone to pay for the business when I didn’t have equipment, anything special and 8 clients but I did have one or two seriously inquiries though! 

Lesson learned – don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and get creative! This side hustle definitely had the hustle – those bottles weren’t light! 

Side Hustle #5: Beertending 

Out of college, I had a good full time job but still had some time on my hands. So, when a fun opportunity came my way, I was always down to look into it! So, a bit of a funny story here but there was a local brewery that was opening up in my area of town. I knew of the founders from church, and ironically enough the founders met in a morning Bible study and realized they all liked beer and brewing it and started from there. As they opened a large brewery with a tasting room, they were looking for some help. For their first opening day, they offered free admission (normally $10) if you ‘volunteered’ and helped pour beer for patrons. I was so cheap at the time that I signed up to volunteer all to save $10. I had fun, made a little money and decided to give it a go. I side hustled there for a few years, working twice a month. Making some extra pocket change was awesome and I made a ton of good friends while there! 

Lesson learned – as a young professional with a full time job, it was important to me to have a side hustle that was fun and didn’t feel like work. Over time as their business grew, there were more rules and policies, and that was around the time I bowed out. I work hard enough at my real job 40+ hours/week and didn’t want my side hustle to feel like another job. 

Side Hustle #6: This site 

I’ve been blogging for coming up on 7 years, which is so insane! Every week for the last 7 years (I think I’ve missed a week only twice), I’ve gotten a post up about personal finances for young professionals. I started this site not really knowing how it’d go, how many people would read it or how long I could keep coming up with articles. It’s truly been a labor of love, and I’ve loved getting what I hope are helpful articles out. In the first few years I dabbled with advertising which didn’t really pan out. I was ok with that as I got a lot of enjoyment out of writing. In the past year or two, I’ve gotten the chance for more sponsored posts, which I always maintain editorial control over, don’t post things that go against the YMF philosophy and always call them out as sponsored. With those in mind, I’ve gotten a sponsored post every now and again, which has been nice to help pay for the hosting fees for the site and a little extra for a fun thing here or there (mostly helping to pay a bit fir trips). So, as someone once told me, I’ve made it ‘big time’ in the blogging world being able to cover my hosting fees! 

Lesson learned – find something you love doing, and if you can make a little money from it, even better! 

There you have it! Hopefully you enjoyed hearing about the wide variety of side hustles I’ve had throughout the years. Perhaps they’ll inspire you to find your own side hustle. Remember; a side hustle shouldn’t feel like another job, it doesn’t have to be super fun but shouldn’t be super boring either. Ideally you’re making money from it, and this money should help you achieve a specific goal; whether paying off a specific debt, saving for a goal (down payment on a house) or for something fun – like for your next vacation or a nice dinner somewhere special. Happy hustling!

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