What are yall side hustles?

[AVXL]

Mystery shopping (fast food, groceries) and sell parts I scoop from my job on ebay. If i really hustle I can make 300 a month just off that.

Just got into the mystery shopping game by accident. At first I thought this shyt was bogus or maybe even a scam but them dudes just sent me a check worth a couple thousand Next side hustle is B2B insurance (selling directly to employers who offer insurance to employees) and if that doesn't work real estate

 

[Truefan31]

Just got into the mystery shopping game by accident. At first I thought this shyt was bogus or maybe even a scam but them dudes just sent me a check worth a couple thousand Next side hustle is B2B insurance (selling directly to employers who offer insurance to employees) and if that doesn't work real estate

how i get into that mystery shopping?

 

[Scott Larock]

Just got into the mystery shopping game by accident. At first I thought this shyt was bogus or maybe even a scam but them dudes just sent me a check worth a couple thousand Next side hustle is B2B insurance (selling directly to employers who offer insurance to employees) and if that doesn't work real estate

how you get into mystery shopping? let's get a "how to" thread popping.

 

[AVXL]

how i get into that mystery shopping?

how you get into mystery shopping? let's get a "how to" thread popping.

Actually got approached from a local contact of mine on LinkedIn about it. I'll be honest I thought it was a scam when I first got asked about it but I followed up and here we are. I'm new to this but they advanced me the check with money for the assignment and my salary. Company is Lagom Int

 

[OneTimeforTheMind]

Just got into the mystery shopping game by accident. At first I thought this shyt was bogus or maybe even a scam but them dudes just sent me a check worth a couple thousand Next side hustle is B2B insurance (selling directly to employers who offer insurance to employees) and if that doesn't work real estate

Good ish. They only in Europe though...

 

[AVXL]

Good ish. They only in Europe though...

I'm in Atlanta and just left the bank

They might be based there but they doin business here breh

 

[WheresWallace]

Like 10-30 minutes per $15-35 online survey depending on how distracted I get online. The Jackson Associates live studies have to be at least $1 per minute or I consider it a waste of my time lol.

Are there pre-requisites to signing up? Do they pay immediately?

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

My side hustle (which can hopefully be a main hustle in a year or less) is a food manufacturing business. I won't get too detailed since the industry is pretty tight knit and being one of the only Blacks will give me away but I will drop it is a fermented product.

Getting started in food manufacturing can be a firehose type experience. You have to not only learn how to make the product good (duh) but maintain this quality as you scale the production. In addition you have local, state, and federal (FDA) guidelines you have to follow and spot inspections where they ask everything about safety, sanitization, refrigeration, etc.

I started out in a shared kitchen which is a commercial kitchen set up where you can rent time in a place that is already approved by the health department. This was invaluable as I could pay for flex time when my business was young and didn't have to buy all the kitchen stuff (3 bay sink, hand wash sink, chemicals, etc.) A lot of hot sauce guys do this.

The only issue with food production though is depending on the type of food, it is pretty capital intensive. Luckily with fermentation (as opposed to baking, etc.) I was able to build a lot of my own equipment or buy used stuff that saved tens of thousands of dollars. Then once the operation is up you have to sell, sell, sell. Luckily I have some store and distribution accounts as well as Amazon to push product.

I got my own place about a year ago and the rent is a killer but I am finally making it over the hump and I think I will soon be able to pay down a good portion of the debt and hit prime time knock on wood.

Since this post how have you fared during these past two years? Like what were your biggest mistakes n what obstacles did you face. Also, have you grown your business since?

Go into depth.

 

[DrBanneker]

Since this post how have you fared during these past two years? Like what were your biggest mistakes n what obstacles did you face. Also, have you grown your business since?

Go into depth.

I am growing strong now (past 6 months). For a couple of years I was stagnant due to product mix and some missteps about how to grow my customer base but I have several new large customers in the past few months and some other groups that have contacted me via word of mouth due to my rising presence in the industry. Debt is in a better place too now.

As far as the biggest mistakes made, the first is I underestimated the capital needed to run the business. For this type of business (manufacturing) there are two main requirements -- capital investment for machines, building up etc. and working capital to finance inventories and pay suppliers. I got the first one right but underestimated working capital needs.

There is an express called the cash to cash conversion cycle (CCC). CCC = Average Days Customers Pay You + Average Days Inventory Sits Before It Sells - Average Days You Pay Suppliers. CCC basically tells you how many days it takes to earn back a dollar you spend on product to sell. CCC for me is almost 90 days so since that is about 1/4 of a year I need about 1/4 of my annual cost of goods sold in working capital just to balance everything out, pay suppliers, etc.

Thing is banks don't loan as much to smaller businesses now but paying down some debt and refinancing as well as getting some loans from friends and fam helped out.

Whatever money you think you need for the business you will need 3-5X.

Also give yourself more time than you need to deliver. I promised lead times that were too short and that makes me look bad when I can't ship.

I also learn leads take time to develop. Some of these customers took over a year to cultivate before placing orders. That's just the way it is sometime. Knock on wood I have been delayed but 2020 is looking good.

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

I am growing strong now (past 6 months). For a couple of years I was stagnant due to product mix and some missteps about how to grow my customer base but I have several new large customers in the past few months and some other groups that have contacted me via word of mouth due to my rising presence in the industry. Debt is in a better place too now.

As far as the biggest mistakes made, the first is I underestimated the capital needed to run the business. For this type of business (manufacturing) there are two main requirements -- capital investment for machines, building up etc. and working capital to finance inventories and pay suppliers. I got the first one right but underestimated working capital needs.

There is an express called the cash to cash conversion cycle (CCC). CCC = Average Days Customers Pay You + Average Days Inventory Sits Before It Sells - Average Days You Pay Suppliers. CCC basically tells you how many days it takes to earn back a dollar you spend on product to sell. CCC for me is almost 90 days so since that is about 1/4 of a year I need about 1/4 of my annual cost of goods sold in working capital just to balance everything out, pay suppliers, etc.

Thing is banks don't loan as much to smaller businesses now but paying down some debt and refinancing as well as getting some loans from friends and fam helped out.

Whatever money you think you need for the business you will need 3-5X.

Also give yourself more time than you need to deliver. I promised lead times that were too short and that makes me look bad when I can't ship.

I also learn leads take time to develop. Some of these customers took over a year to cultivate before placing orders. That's just the way it is sometime. Knock on wood I have been delayed but 2020 is looking good.

So how much capital did it take to go from zero to launching the product mix and to keeping afloat for the 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year (every cost combined for each year separately)



I have family and friends that work in finance for a living so I'm sure I can get some tips but can you expound upon your underestimating your capital needs?



You're a Godsend.

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

@DrBanneker, also what books did you read before jumping straight into starting your business, or did you just wing it to the point of success by following tips from various sources and then knuckling down when you wanted to grow your business and learn the marketplace properly?

 

[DrBanneker]

So how much capital did it take to go from zero to launching the product mix and to keeping afloat for the 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year (every cost combined for each year separately)



I have family and friends that work in finance for a living so I'm sure I can get some tips but can you expound upon your underestimating your capital needs?



You're a Godsend.

Well I started with about $5k from Lending Club (it's good to have good credit). That got me started but at the time I was sub-leasing from a shared kitchen (a commercial kitchen that rents out space by the hour) so my overhead was low and I used refurbished equipment to keep expenses down. When I finally got my own place I had to put down about $10k in new equipment, furniture, and first/last month to the landlord.

Honestly it depends on the type of business. If you are a reseller on Amazon or a distributor, most of your money is going to be in inventory, little capital investment. If you are retail, it will be inventory plus expensive ass rent. If service, it will be IT & marketing. What are you looking at?

If you are doing something capital intensive, there are like two stages, first you spend a lot up front to get the equipment--that's one layer of investment that had to come from equity or debt and then you have to have cash or a credit line to balance working capital as sales ramp up. Overall, you should look at the debt / equity ratio in your industry to balance how much money you invest yourself or from family versus borrow.

Once you are around a few years EVERYONE wants to loan you money; don't fall for it. Keep your debt low and manageable.

 

[DrBanneker]

@DrBanneker, also what books did you read before jumping straight into starting your business, or did you just wing it to the point of success by following tips from various sources and then knuckling down when you wanted to grow your business and learn the marketplace properly?

I studied business in school so a lot of the accounting, marketing, operations type stuff I already knew. I would recommend at least one book on accounting, one on marketing, one on sales, and one on supply chain/operations (The Goal is good) so you know the nuts and bolts. Also a book on taxes is a must since this can ruin you if you get it messed up.

There are some books like Dale Carnegie How to Make Friends and Influence People, and you should read a book about negotiations like 'Getting to Yes' or the Karass Negotiations books.

Besides that read magazines like Fast Company or Inc just to get ideas. Financial Samurai is another good blog that chronicles the business adventures of its owner. One thing you should read (that most people don't) is that you should buy books both about your industry and especially the history of your industry. History tells you a lot about why things are the way they are and where they are likely to go. You should also join the industry association (if it is not a rip off, they can be EXPENSIVE) and go to conferences if possible to network and learn from others.

Finally a public speaking class like Toastmasters since sales and pitching business is all about speaking.

I honestly didn't read any of the huge gimmicky books on business. Maybe I should have but the best advice is to start doing it. Your direction will change and opportunities you didn't know existed will come about once you are in the thick of things.

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

Well I started with about $5k from Lending Club (it's good to have good credit). That got me started but at the time I was sub-leasing from a shared kitchen (a commercial kitchen that rents out space by the hour) so my overhead was low and I used refurbished equipment to keep expenses down. When I finally got my own place I had to put down about $10k in new equipment, furniture, and first/last month to the landlord.

Honestly it depends on the type of business. If you are a reseller on Amazon or a distributor, most of your money is going to be in inventory, little capital investment. If you are retail, it will be inventory plus expensive ass rent. If service, it will be IT & marketing. What are you looking at?

If you are doing something capital intensive, there are like two stages, first you spend a lot up front to get the equipment--that's one layer of investment that had to come from equity or debt and then you have to have cash or a credit line to balance working capital as sales ramp up. Overall, you should look at the debt / equity ratio in your industry to balance how much money you invest yourself or from family versus borrow.

Once you are around a few years EVERYONE wants to loan you money; don't fall for it. Keep your debt low and manageable.

I've got a lot of homework to do -- but I'm ready.

My business idea is almost 1:1 like yours just selling a different product.

The money won't be an issue.

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

I studied business in school so a lot of the accounting, marketing, operations type stuff I already knew. I would recommend at least one book on accounting, one on marketing, one on sales, and one on supply chain/operations (The Goal is good) so you know the nuts and bolts. Also a book on taxes is a must since this can ruin you if you get it messed up.

There are some books like Dale Carnegie How to Make Friends and Influence People, and you should read a book about negotiations like 'Getting to Yes' or the Karass Negotiations books.

Besides that read magazines like Fast Company or Inc just to get ideas. Financial Samurai is another good blog that chronicles the business adventures of its owner. One thing you should read (that most people don't) is that you should buy books both about your industry and especially the history of your industry. History tells you a lot about why things are the way they are and where they are likely to go. You should also join the industry association (if it is not a rip off, they can be EXPENSIVE) and go to conferences if possible to network and learn from others.

Finally a public speaking class like Toastmasters since sales and pitching business is all about speaking.

I honestly didn't read any of the huge gimmicky books on business. Maybe I should have but the best advice is to start doing it. Your direction will change and opportunities you didn't know existed will come about once you are in the thick of things.

This is perfectly what I need.

Please know that you've gotten me amped up.