Side Hustle Ideas Needed

[Four22]

I think im leaning towards making small woodworking things and throw them on Facebook to see what happens. Cutting boards are definitely in the mix too. Here’s a few things I’ve made over the past few years.

I can do it all from home and not miss too much with my kids.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Our 3 kids are adopted. We funded through a variety of means: overtime, picking up extra shifts, overnight shift diff, working holidays (x2 pay rate), employer-sponsored adoption grants, renting out a room in our house, aggressive budgeting, eating nearly all meals at home, and home renovations to boost our property value (did the work myself).

We also put out info on social media, local mom’s groups, church, and to immediate and extended family. Our family income is about x2 that of the local average but we had zero issue asking for donations since adoption is a noble cause and it’s crazy expensive…98% of couples take on debt to fund adoptions and we didn’t want to do that. We never asked for money directly, but we did ask for baby/kid items. Tons of people have that kind of stuff in storage they no longer need/use, and are happy to part with it. Any donates items we couldn’t use we sold. A lot of people gave us cash as well. If you have a lot of social capital GoFundMe is also an option. Don’t feel like you have to carry this one entirely on your own shoulders. It takes a village.

Lastly, adoption expenses for an incomplete adoption may still be claimed as a tax credit to the IRS. Some states allow a credit towards local taxes as well. We actually recouped the most total $$ for adoption expenses through tax credits.

 

[Boarmaster]

Around here a good handyman is hard to find. Where you live it might be different but here nobody does anything for themselves and here in Florida there are many older people that need things done and dont have family around to con into helping. The best handymen here pull a trailer with their tools in it. When I had the big house and big job I was busy running my business and no time or desire to fool with things on my time off. I kept a list and called my handyman when
i had a half or a days worth of work for him. I had this arrangement until his wife got transfered to another state and he moved away. Its a job that you can take on what you want , when you want.
Good luck and sorry the adoption didnt work out the way you wanted.

 

[NMGuy]

If there is demand in your area, you could look into starting a sharpening business doing scissors and clipper blades. Up front cost isn't terrible (~$3-4k last I checked). I did it for about 10 years and based on my prices it came out to $40-70 per hour depending on what the order consisted of. Business can be somewhat cyclical for dog groomers, which were my main customers. There are folks who offer in-person training, or you can find training videos on the ole' Youtube and learn it that way.

 

[steveshuntn1]

Get with some contractors and see if they have any work for you to do in your spare time. My nephew has been making good money cleaning up new home construction sites. You could also do small home repairs if you have the skills. Replacing garbage disposal’s, ceiling fans or lights, bad receptacles, etc. There a lot of homeowners who don’t know how to fix things like that.
Sorry the adoption didn’t work out for your family.

 

[Redmt]

Amazon Flex Drivers make stupid money.
Light welding repair nets about $100.00 per hr.
You can always sue someone like seems to be the fad.
Growing weed appears to be lucrative.

 

[LuketheDog]

I think im leaning towards making small woodworking things and throw them on Facebook to see what happens. Cutting boards are definitely in the mix too. Here’s a few things I’ve made over the past few years.

I can do it all from home and not miss too much with my kids.

Maybe see if there's a cabinet shop or finish carpenter close by who needs a little extra help, since you like the woodworking part...

 

[Jamen]

I process deer in the fall, I cater small events, I spray weeds and mosquitos, and i detail cars. Easiest one for me to start was the deer processing, but car detailing is a relatively cheap start up. I could be as busy as i want that, i only pick and choose how many i do now.

If youre a handy man and enjoy it i would stick with that. I know in our local area i see posts all the time people looking for odds and ends jobs to be done and no one to do it. One thing i do see common is that the customer looks for a licensed and insured person to do the work. I know people who repurpose old furniture in their spare time. Pick up free or dirt-cheap stuff and normally refinish and then sell it. They do the same with couches and chairs. Bought an upholstery cleaner, buy or pick up free furniture and clean it and turn around and sell it.

 

[Redmt]

Thinking about this,,, you mentioned your looking to replenish 40k to savings. What do you figure your hourly rate to do it would be? If you do construction cleanup I'll guess your in the $20.00 per hr range. While welding repair is around $100. per hr. My semi retired tractor rates are well over that. The more money per hr your looking to net , the more your investment is going to be.

 

[Ben Lamb]

If you want to enjoy yourself while turning a few bucks, take your woodworking to a farmers market/local art fair.

Kids get to be a part of it too, and they can learn how to run a cash register while calculating tax. Fun for the whole family.

 

[gouch]

I knew a plumber who retired. To keep busy he started making bird houses and selling them at flea markets. After a while of doing that, he said that if he had known how much he could make with bird houses he never would have become a plumber.

 

[longbow51]

We have a pretty small lawn (most of the back yard is a huge deck, then a flagstone patio) and it's $50 a week. Probably takes 30 minutes. Any sort of handyman work is $50/hr even if it takes 20 minutes, it's charged at an hour's worth. As you can see I ascribe to Randy's advice on handywork around the home.

This will make way more than crafts.

 

[Tradewind]

My neighbor started mowing lawns to help out the old ladies in the neighborhood. It turned into almost a full time after work job. then snow removal.
Making birdhouses is easier, physically tho.

 

[Steiny77]

The demand for craft workers and skilled trades is at an all time high.
Pick up some after hours or weekend side work with a local contractor or two and immediately start making bank.

The home woodworker thing might be fun, but it's the long game for actually making any decent $$.

 

[Falcon75]

See what you can do with woodworking. My cousin makes lots of things from free pallets. He also got know by few associates that sell the fancy swingsets out of redwood. He brings them lunch and when they sell a swingset they give his business card out he also advertises on craigslist/facebook that he assembles them. $350 to $450 and as much as $800 in an evening and once you do it two times and buy a special bit, driver or two it is really easy.