- Joined
- Feb 15, 2019
- Messages
- 8
Rep Bank
$290
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User Power: 88%
Purposes: Progress tracking of side hustle. Build accountability with this community. Place to store lessons learned.
Background: Read TMF from mid-January to mid-February 2019. Don't remember where I encountered it; likely in another PF thread or book I was reading. Re-read 4-Hour Workweek after that, then Unscripted . A lot to think about.
Current situation: Double-income, four kids. Both of us work for non-profits, both have above average income but not spectacular. Fairly recession-proof, great places to work.
Motivation: Several reasons. First is a "I'll show them" attitude towards family of origin. My family or clan is comprised of poor, uneducated Sidewalkers. Growing up, I was told that I'm too big for my britches, I'll be a logger just like dad, granddad, and uncles; and I shouldn't think that I'm any better than them. Years later, "Hillbilly Elegy" was like reading about my childhood. Out of 14 cousins, three of us finished college and did well. My father had an entrepreneurial bend and did OK as an independent trucker, then independent bookkeeper, and then went bankrupt as a trucking company owner. Lots of lessons there; especially around under-capitalization and human resource management.
Second, work is great but it hasn't always been that way. Leadership changes rocked the boat a few years ago and I became aware that I had no backup plan and I was mimicking my Sidewalk family in terms of spending + debt = income. Not cool. At that point we shifted into the Slowlane.
Third, I want more flexibility in terms of money and time. Doing what I want to do when I want to do it, and being able to help my favorite charitable orgs in a significant manner. Puttering in my garden and helping bring orphans home are two of my favorite things.
Mindset Thoughts: A significant challenge for me revolves around mindset. Challenges include overcoming "paralysis by analysis", and a tendency towards perfectionism. For two months (March-April 2019), I struggled with what I wanted to do. A thread here outlining the differences between building a company and building a side hustle was very helpful and it clarified the choice for me. Let's start with a side hustle and learn things.
Skillset: Information Technology / Accounting background with MBA and Lean Process training. Day job involves Project Management, IT Management, care and feeding of ERP system, maintenance of custom SQL code.
Objective: Develop a side hustle business that profits $10,000 per month no later than 2022 July. This business should not consume more than 15 hours per week.
Already completed: State registration, Federal EIN, re-arranging personal schedule to free up 10 hours per week. Calendar reminders are set to update this thread every week. Several books about side hustles and small business purchased, read and underlined, notes transcribed into notebook. One dropshipping video purchased and noted.
Next steps: Unclear. It appears that I should just do something and see what kind of gumball I get. Three options look interesting at this point:
1) Find something on AliBaba, see what value I can add, and open a storefront.
2) Pursue a product idea or two. Over the March - June 2019 timeframe, I've had a couple of "I wish someone...", "someone should" moments. One lies in sporting goods, one in RC vehicles, and the other in retail.
3) Purchase a multi-family rental unit. I've been a landlord before and it was a mostly positive experience. This would be the next step up. A couple of my realtor friends think this is a good idea; and in the long run I tend to agree. However, it doesn't match well with my Objective.
Personally, I'm leaning towards the RC vehicle option. What I have in mind doesn't appear to be offered in the marketplace. Not sure why; perhaps it is due to cost or a lack of market. But I think it would be cool, and I want one! Maybe other people would too.
Thanks for reading and comments.
Background: Read TMF from mid-January to mid-February 2019. Don't remember where I encountered it; likely in another PF thread or book I was reading. Re-read 4-Hour Workweek after that, then Unscripted . A lot to think about.
Current situation: Double-income, four kids. Both of us work for non-profits, both have above average income but not spectacular. Fairly recession-proof, great places to work.
Motivation: Several reasons. First is a "I'll show them" attitude towards family of origin. My family or clan is comprised of poor, uneducated Sidewalkers. Growing up, I was told that I'm too big for my britches, I'll be a logger just like dad, granddad, and uncles; and I shouldn't think that I'm any better than them. Years later, "Hillbilly Elegy" was like reading about my childhood. Out of 14 cousins, three of us finished college and did well. My father had an entrepreneurial bend and did OK as an independent trucker, then independent bookkeeper, and then went bankrupt as a trucking company owner. Lots of lessons there; especially around under-capitalization and human resource management.
Second, work is great but it hasn't always been that way. Leadership changes rocked the boat a few years ago and I became aware that I had no backup plan and I was mimicking my Sidewalk family in terms of spending + debt = income. Not cool. At that point we shifted into the Slowlane.
Third, I want more flexibility in terms of money and time. Doing what I want to do when I want to do it, and being able to help my favorite charitable orgs in a significant manner. Puttering in my garden and helping bring orphans home are two of my favorite things.
Mindset Thoughts: A significant challenge for me revolves around mindset. Challenges include overcoming "paralysis by analysis", and a tendency towards perfectionism. For two months (March-April 2019), I struggled with what I wanted to do. A thread here outlining the differences between building a company and building a side hustle was very helpful and it clarified the choice for me. Let's start with a side hustle and learn things.
Skillset: Information Technology / Accounting background with MBA and Lean Process training. Day job involves Project Management, IT Management, care and feeding of ERP system, maintenance of custom SQL code.
Objective: Develop a side hustle business that profits $10,000 per month no later than 2022 July. This business should not consume more than 15 hours per week.
Already completed: State registration, Federal EIN, re-arranging personal schedule to free up 10 hours per week. Calendar reminders are set to update this thread every week. Several books about side hustles and small business purchased, read and underlined, notes transcribed into notebook. One dropshipping video purchased and noted.
Next steps: Unclear. It appears that I should just do something and see what kind of gumball I get. Three options look interesting at this point:
1) Find something on AliBaba, see what value I can add, and open a storefront.
2) Pursue a product idea or two. Over the March - June 2019 timeframe, I've had a couple of "I wish someone...", "someone should" moments. One lies in sporting goods, one in RC vehicles, and the other in retail.
3) Purchase a multi-family rental unit. I've been a landlord before and it was a mostly positive experience. This would be the next step up. A couple of my realtor friends think this is a good idea; and in the long run I tend to agree. However, it doesn't match well with my Objective.
Personally, I'm leaning towards the RC vehicle option. What I have in mind doesn't appear to be offered in the marketplace. Not sure why; perhaps it is due to cost or a lack of market. But I think it would be cool, and I want one! Maybe other people would too.
Thanks for reading and comments.
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