this post was submitted on 16 Nov 2024
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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 5 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours 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!"

[–] Pistcow@lemm.ee 4 points 2 hours ago

Higher education tripled my income, so that seemed to work, and I dont have to do anything but sit in an office 40 hours a week.

[–] metaStatic@kbin.earth 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

organising violence against the state.

I've already said too much.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 1 points 58 minutes ago

If you’re willing to do that for the US state, there’s certainly money to be made.

[–] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 24 points 7 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 6 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!

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

Good excuse to buy a drone.

[–] IMongoose@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours 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.

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 3 points 4 hours 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 4 points 2 hours ago

^ has never worked in the google ads hell pit

[–] sosodev@lemmy.world 3 points 4 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 4 hours 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?_encoding=UTF8&pf_rd_p=95590a51-8b9e-49a7-bb36-7db49ee510df&pf_rd_r=1H8PF6FSJNKSFTQ26RYQ&pd_rd_wg=M35DG&pd_rd_i=B08FW99X9Z&pd_rd_w=VCFKH&content-id=amzn1.sym.95590a51-8b9e-49a7-bb36-7db49ee510df&pd_rd_r=6e8f84dd-a9c2-4ec1-89b5-033d10379575&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.

[–] iii@mander.xyz 16 points 7 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.

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.

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[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 15 points 7 hours ago (2 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.

[–] leanleft@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

how is nobody afraid of bedbugs?

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 1 points 1 hour ago

We don't fick with upholstered furniture for exactly that reason. Tables, dressers, cabinets.

[–] daq@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 hour ago

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.

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 5 points 6 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.

[–] _bcron_@lemmy.world 7 points 6 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 10 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Editing ChatGPT generated content sounds soul crushing tbh.

[–] _bcron_@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 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 5 points 5 hours ago (4 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 3 points 4 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 4 hours ago

Flaming nipple tassels

You read that right πŸ˜‚

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[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 points 5 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 4 points 4 hours 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#:~:text=Your%20state%20or%20territory%20may,to%20ensure%20the%20children's%20safety.

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

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 points 4 hours 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 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours 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 4 hours ago (1 children)

Running illegal home daycares is a thing

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

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

[–] Hikermick@lemmy.world 5 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Getting paid for it crosses a threshold I'll bet

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 4 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?

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

subsidize child care for parents under a certain income

"funded"

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

What do you think subsidies are?

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 1 points 3 hours 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"

[–] ericbomb@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

https://childcare.gov/consumer-education/informal-in-home-child-care#:~:text=Your%20state%20or%20territory%20may,to%20ensure%20the%20children's%20safety.

"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"

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