As always I come to the dope when I’ve something on my mind.
Sorry Dopers, that’s just the way it is.
Things have changed for me recently (My car was written off, and in an attack if excited ill-thinking I signed up to a two year car finance deal to get a new car) So I have had money on the brain, and for the first time in my life I’m trying to plan for the future.
One of the things that keeps cropping up in my thoughts are - how can I make some extra money on the side of my job. My thoughts haven’t settled on anything specific, but I think something that allows me to be creative, and enjoy doing it, and which creates a trickle of money coming in.
Assume that I am willing to put in the effort if effort is required.
How do all those smart rich people get so rich? How do those people who go on-and-on about how they started with nothing and got rich through hard work, get rich (what kind of things, specifically, do they do?)
I tutor kids in math. My normal job is a second grade teacher assistant in a K-8 school. I’m involved in the community and am able to get good recommendations from the math teachers. Because it is an affluent area, I’m able to charge forty dollars an hour, normally this lets me pick up an extra $160 a week, sometimes less, sometimes more. If you have any area of expertise, I’d try calling local school systems and seeing if you could be put on the tutor list. Community colleges would also be a good place to get your name out; IME four year universities generally like to keep students on their list of tutors rather than people not affiliated with the university, but you could try a local college as well. Of course, this only works if you know a subject area well and are able to explain it in a couple of different ways.
Rich people who got there through hard work usually didn’t get there just by doing something that made them a little on the side. They devoted their lives to working to implementing their idea and then after some period of time (a few months or decades), got rich: took it public or sold to a conglomerate. Something like that. I’ll give you an example: my boss read an article one day about a certain random thing (an unusual piece of land) that gave him an idea. He wanted to buy this land and develop his idea but didn’t have enough money. He tried to get the money through traditional means and everyone laughed at his idea. Said it would never work. So he borrowed $8,000 from a few friends and bought the land. Started putting his idea into place. Persuaded a few business contacts to contract with his new venture and use its services. Eventually those people told other people. Amazingly his idea did turn out to have merit. He kept building the company until it became the largest of its kind in the world: the absolute pre-eminent leader in the industry, and the cause of many copycats. After 25 years he decided to take it public. He made almost $200 million from it at initial IPO; from stock splits, his stock is now worth over $500 million. Nobody laughs upon hearing the story of his original idea anymore.
I think that’s different from what you want to do at least in the near-term. Although there are people you read about sometimes who were discovered upon death to be millionaires just from regular jobs: they simply rarely spent money or had some secret investment that they never took money out of.
I realize that making money on the side, and getting filthy rich are not connected. (But I decided to ask the question as it’s part of my thoughts lately - how do rich people get rich).
I wonder if I’ll spend the rest of my life earning a wage, or will I one day make the switch to earning money in other ways.
I’ve recently started creating videos for Youtube-like sites (but not actually Youtube) that pay you if you manage to garner a lot of views - my first one was a hit and has earned $130 in six weeks. That looks like beginner’s luck, however, as my others are floundering a bit…
I’m also thinking about making my Spin Art machine into a paid-for venture for school fetes and kids parties, etc.
I restore vintage and near dilapidated furniture back to health. Like a chair i’ll refinish the wood and restuff and reupholster with a modern fresh fabric. I use a lot of Marimekko of Finland. I’ll also do basic refinishing jobs. Basically I’ll do my best to bring things back from the dead.
It started when I couldn’t stop adopting junk store furniture. It was just so cheap and a lot of it had nice wood it was just otherwise hideous or broken. It’s not rocket science but a lot of people won’t take the time and don’t have the supplies to do it. I love it so I do it for pay now on the side. It just snowballs. Someone liked something in my house and then I made them something and then got a reference there.
My favorite new service I do is I can un-ikea things. This is really popular in my age group. People can’t afford anything nice but don’t want their homes to look like ikea show rooms. I’ll paint and recover the shit out of it until it feels unique.
I earned money on the side in college tutoring gen chem and calc 1 and algebra. I did a little bit recently with one of the caretakers at work but he ended up dropping the class (chem) I was disappointed.
I do free-lance graphic design, because I can do it after the kids are in bed and I don’t have to find childcare. It’s creative, somewhat fulfilling, and I can pick and choose which jobs I take.
And part of that money pays for the babysitter a few times a month, so my husband and I can go out alone. A nice college student is going to pick up a few hundred a month, for playing games with three little kids.
I do some work with an education foundation that creates English-language examinations for Japanese students. Most of that involves creating test problems/questions and short writing. Sometimes I do checking and editing. It pays enough to take a nice vacation once a year.
I do freelance Web design on the side when I’m not doing my job as a Real Web Designer. I do little one-off sites for something like $25/hr for people who aren’t about to pay my company our $90/hr fee. I also occasionally do some computer fixing for people for a couple of bucks. All in all, it’s only about a couple thousand dollars a year.
You also have to keep in mind that people who make money and continue to have money are people who don’t spend money until it’s the right time. I’ve noticed a trend with you over the past year, Lobsang - you really like to spend money. That is not the road to wealth.
I do translating jobs (Korean/English). Most of the people teaching at the community colleges have a day job somewhere else and do teaching on the side.
I think, in order to earn a little money on the side, you need some sort of skill/talent “on the side” as well. Something that you’re good at/enjoy doing, but don’t like enough/aren’t talented enough at to cultivate into a career.
Translating Japanese-> English and French->English
Proofreading (usually connected to the above translations)
English tutoring
Math/science tutoring
TV extra
Voice talent
Wedding ceremony performance (as minister)
None of them are things that would make me rich, but they paid the rent when I was between jobs, and knowing they’re out there makes instabilities in the job market a lot less threatening
At the risk of sounding like I want to steal your customers – I don’t, by the way – I was wondering if you could give me some tips on how you find your customers. I’m guessing you don’t steal them from your own company… or do you?
Like, where to advertise/how to advertise? I don’t really have a portfolio to showcase; most of my web design has been for friends and family, though I like to keep up to date with the latest, even if I’m not putting it to use. I suppose if needed I could throw one together, but then again, where to advertise?
MissMossie, how would someone who is not currently working in education become a tutor in their spare time, especially in a subject that is not as “difficult” as math?
I would love to earn a little extra $$$ to put towards a vacation next year or something but I don’t have any connections to the world of education (insurance agents rarely do I suppose) and I would be best suited to tutor in history or english or something like that. Would a local high school even listen to me if I contacted them to offer my tutoring services or would they be afraid I was a pedophile or something?
Actually it’s all word-of-mouth. People find out that I “do Web sites” or “know about computers” and they hire me to do stuff. Like the photographer at my brother’s wedding wanted me to add a Flash portfolio to his site, so I set him up with SlideShow Pro. And one of my friends was helping with a local mayoral race so I did a site for her, then one of her friends ran for another mayoral race so I did hers, and one of her friends is running for senate and I’ll be doing his.
My company has existed for 7 years now on word-of-mouth, too (it’s just me and another person). That’s a whole other ball of wax, though. But if someone approaches me with a project it’s pretty easy for me to tell if it’s going to be something that I should take on for $500 as a weekend project or something that’ll be worth running through the company.
Like ZipperJJ, I also do full-time web development and also web-development on the side. My full-time gig is through an insurance company, and my side stuff comes through a variety of sources. I also teach classes at a local college about web design/development. It’s okay, but man, do I get sick of web stuff after a while.
I recently stumbled across all the stuff you have on your website, and this isn’t related to the thread, but man, do I enjoy what you have up there. You crack me up!
Thanks - This is all part of my mid-life crisis, you know - I turned 40 last year and I’ve just decided to start doing some of the things that were on my list.
I have a truck, and hated waiting for the plow guy to come and plow my driveway. So, I bought a plow for my truck, and word got around. I picked who I wanted to plow, and don’t deviate from my clients (other than the one time plow for the occasional sob story / family member /combination of both.) Now that the plow has been paid for, I make quite a bit during the snow season.
In the summer I do landscaping work with my tractor – again, I only do work for those whom I want to, and only when I want to. I generally do enough work each month to make a payment or two on my tractor.
This winter, plowing has been so profitable (read: lots ‘o’ storms) I made enough to pay for needed repairs on my truck, registering my truck, gas, a used backhoe for my tractor, and still have money left over (and the season isn’t over yet). Then again, I go without sleep, I’m out when its dark and cold, and generally out smack dab middle of the worst storms (but I like that ).
In the summer, I do much fewer jobs with the tractor as I want to enjoy my summer. Working for 3-4 hours on a job after my day job is fine, but on Saturdays I want to be in the pool or upta camp.
So, I don’t make a lot of money from my business, but I make enough to buy the things I wanted, and the business makes the payments on them. It’s a win-win for me.
– I was wondering if you could give me some tips on how you find your customers. I’m guessing you don’t steal them from your own company… or do you?