What has been your most profitable sideline endeavor

[LWilliams]

I suspect most of us average working folks could use a few more bucks so I thought this might be a good way to share ideas. My question is, not counting our regular everyday jobs, what is the most profitable thing you have done as a part time, sideline, hobbie or private business? Let's keep it legal. And I'm not asking for $ amounts. Just things that have made good money for you. I have a hay business that I have been doing for about 10 years. I grow and bale hay on my property and sell it to cattle ranchers. Before I started it everyone told me there was no money in it and I would work myself to death for nothing. I have proved them wrong. It pays pretty well and I enjoy doing it. How about the rest of you. What do you do as a sideline?

 

[BV]

Side Jobs

Year round I like to tinker with lawn and garden equipment and during the Summer if there are any takers, I will take a week off the regular job and put on new roof or re-roof an old one.



This Spring I started mowing a couple of neighbors (1 is old the other is lazy) lawns for some easy money - It's the only way I know of legally driving while under the influence



Come to think of it - I will do almost anything for money to help pay for the bills

 

[TPCDrafting]

Three years ago I quit my full time drafting job and took a job with the state of Wyoming. It was quite a bit of fun, lots of travel and time at home as well. I started drafting houses and additions for a few contractors I knew on the side. It progressed to having several clients and before I knew it, I was working 40 hours a week at the state and 40+ hours drafting. My wife told me I had to choose one or the other. Needless to say, I went for the money over the 'fun'. Now I work for myself and am enjoying what I do. I'm looking into getting into the hay business myself.

 

[Whitmore]

started a backhoe business and developed it into concrete work , mostly removal and replace, built it up to around the 100 k per year and had 11 part timers like me , ran it for 5 years and got tired of the family growing up behind my back so I quit and sold off most of the equiptment. During this 5 year deal there were 2 other full time businesses like mine and they were both hurting bad , I was honest and committed and did what I said I would do and also was prompt, I never started a new job till the old one was done , people begged me to do jobs but I only had so much time to give. It was a great business and was profitable , hard work never killed anyone in my book but I did almost sweat to death a time or two:{

What ever you do as a side line Dont forget about your family!!!!!!

 

[Fireman Dave]

Firefighting

We get paid for fire calls and training. Up until last year, the most I made in a year was about $1,000. Why do I consider that profitable? I would do it for nothing, so anything is pure gravy! Getting paid to do something you love is the best. Not to mention all the great stuff about helping people and serving your community.



Now I'm also doing fire inspections. 3 of us split the duties and each get another $1500. on top of our regular call pay, so that's a nice chunk of change. I just do some inspections on my days off every now and then - making sure we cover all of the businesses in our district twice per year.

 

[BK]

custom security and alarms installations. . business and home.



until the 14. 95 - 19. 95/month crap/rip offs came along. Dont get me started on those garbage offers.



It paid well, I did a very honest and high end job, no shortcuts or garbage equipment, no half baked security scheme.





The other one that was real fun...

When I was younger and there was a lot more access to the shores and dirt roads that ended at the rivers...

used to hange, enjoy the night... wait for someone to come along and get stuck in the mud or sand and get ~50 bucks for pulling their sorry butts back on to the hard pack. Of course the beer we drank waiting put a dent into the profits.

 

[Doc Tinker]

My best sideline moneymaker was spending a bunch of $ on college tuition so Mrs Doc could go to work as an RN - It takes $ to make $



Doc

 

[illflem]

Not the most money but by far the easiest money. I was visiting a friend in Tucson right at the transition time from swamp coolers to heaters. Drain the cooler and cover it, check the furnace pilot/operation and change the filter. Her neighbor saw me doing it and offered $75 for my services. By the next day and for the following two weeks I was doing between 5-10 per day, half hour each and left town with more folks begging for it. All I needed was a borrowed ladder and a screwdriver.

 

[M Barnett]

When younger and in good shape, I enjoyed cutting firewood. Its hard work, but just being out in the woods makes it an outing with cooking and camping.

Michael

 

[Karl2500]

Clamming

Back in high school I had a comerical diggers permit and made some extra cash working the great south bay on long island. Hard work and only OK money but no boss and a good work enviroment.

 

[MDW]

Spare time? Who's got spare time?

My spare time job is male gigilo, been at it going on 20 years now and no takers yet, but I'm hopeful



P. S. Don't tell the wife

 

[RustyJC]

Pam! Hey, Pam!! Didja see what Michael said?? Oo.



Rusty

 

[Motorhead]

I do car work out of the house P/T. I've done it for about 20yrs and make some good $ at it. I started on old VW bugs,then Diesel VW's, then Diesel MBZ's, now... Dodge trucks... Cummins powered only. I also work on yard equip. , vintage motorcycles. I get $35 to $45 hr. When I retire from UPS in 5yrs, I hope to have a small shop built next to the house and find a few rich guys that have some old cars or bikes that they want restored. P. S. Hey illflem, exactly what kind of services was this woman willing to pay you for???

 

[Nordby]

A heads up to the hay growers/haulers and hot-shots. Colorado is in a tough spot for hay due to a drought that is worse than I've seen since I've been in the area (1973). Most Ranches grow enough hay to feed their herds, and sell some on the side to horse owners on the front range: between Pueblo and Ft. Collins on I-25. Ranchers obviously (and more importantly in my book) are in trouble, but so are the horse folks. I fall into the latter category - I do nerd work for a living and train young horses for my sanity.



I know a lot of folks like me that do something else for $$$'s and ride for a hobby. What that does to the hay market here is price the rancher's out in a drought, and only inconvenience the majority of the horse folks. Yeah, so I have to drive further to get 10 tons of hay, or pay more to have it delivered, it is not the immediate end of my livelihood (I know it is all connected, family farms/ranches have to prosper or we are all in trouble). So there are a couple immediate opportunities here as I see it, and many more I am not seeing.



Hay growers in neighboring states, grow horse quality grass hay, put it up in small balesale 65-75lbs, and keep it dry and out of the sun. You can sell it down here, delivered and dumped, for $6/bale all day long. Some folks are getting $7. 50 already and not stacking it.



Hotshots, haul or broker hay down here. If you can give a farmer $2 a bale, he is making a killing at least in many states. Pay yourself $2 a bale to drive it down here as wear on your truck and trailer. Profit $2 a bale selling it.



Most importantly, Philanthropists, figure out how to adopt a rancher and get cow hay to them (all the 1-2 year old stuff out in the weather will do). Some have plenty of $$$'s and really we shouldn't feel sorry for. Many have spent their life building herds and are having to sell off the ranch cows because there is no grazing. They are getting deflated prices for cows they never wanted to sell, and will take years to rebuild. Plus they have no path to profitablility this year now that they cannot raise a new generation of steers.



Sorry to ramble, seemed to fit in this topic at least partially!

jon.

 

[Koa Man]

While working for an airline as a ticket agent, I started doing lawn maintenance on my days off. I then started into tree service. When I started making two times the money on my days off compared to working the whole week for the airline, I turned in my resignation. I easily make 4 times the money the guys I used to work with are getting. In addition, no more dealing with the public... busy holidays were not fun on the ticket counter... believe me. Now I am doing something I like to do. Every job presents a new challenge and I get to see a lot of beautiful multimillion $ homes.

 

[Shrimpy]

Just getting started in this sideline biz but I build Solar Screens for homes. Here in Texas it can get awful hot and these screens help to keep the heat of the sun off of the glass windows. Most expensive part of building is the screeen material. What got me started was I had some built for my old home and noticed a tremendous reduction in heat in all the west facing rooms of the home. Like KOA I do it on my days off. Nice suppliment (sp) for the income, and like someone else said... ... ... don't report .....



A person who has spare time is crazy to not pickup extra work when possible. Everybody can do something good from building fishing lures to reapir golf clubs... . something.

 

[drawson]

I do pistolsmithing on the side and have done for 9 years now. i charge $40/hr. My best year was 10K+ but mostly 5-6K range a year. Keep me in Bullets, Primers, & powder.

 

[csevers]

odd jobs

I have had 2 jobs most of the last 10 years I have plowed snow for the local municipality worked on there equipment I have and still do some trucking, have worked for friend farming and now farm on the home farm for my self ( crops) I have to have something else to do to keep sanity from full time job and I don't have anything else to do but work. Some of the guys that I work with have side jobs to. If you want to work there is always some thing you can find if you try.

 

[EricBu12]

The Winter grille guards I made last winter