The True Side Hustle!

[Bradley Ward]

This is my first post in the Forums however I wanted to begin with something that I felt could benefit anyone else looking for a side hustle to help fund their journey into real-estate.

When anyone searches the web for ''side hustle ideas'' there is so much garbage that is listed and it astounds me. My definition of a side hustle is basically a small, small business. Something which you can benefit from with minimal time invested. I realized I wanted to invest in real-estate and then the issue of funding came into play. I am old fashioned and wanted to fund the deals myself, I was not interested in raising capital from other entities like most beginners. So there came my search for a TRUE side hustle.

I looked and looked and unfortunately my career in law enforcement rarely has a steady schedule to allow a part time job, which I initially thought would be the easiest option. I continued looking and eventually found a niche that I believed would allow me to make a decent amount on the side as well as work with my crazy schedule.

Concrete Statuary,

Making concrete statues for gardens and landscaping was my solution to this problem. This side hustle came with an initial investment of $2,000.00 and I saw an income of $6,000.00 my first year. I was able to begin this journey in my single car garage and with Facebook marketing and traveling to local craft shows, I quickly established myself in my local town of 25,000. I call this a true side hustle for the following reasons. This is not taking surveys, this is not online which I have no skill set for. This is a true physical ''Hobby'' which I was able to put in work on my own time and see a financial gain from. The profit margin on concrete is very large and with making small to medium sized statues I make a huge profit for any investment. This was the perfect fit as it let me work at anytime of the day weather it be an overnight or an afternoon. It also allow me to build an inventory before taking my products to a craft show, which I found to be the best way to sell a large amount of product in a short amount of time. 

I saved my money from this over the course of 3 years which has led me to my first BRRR which I am in the process of at this point. After is is completed I intend to continue my concrete work as I have a small business established from it now as well as a customer base which has been a very fun thing to build and watch grow!