To ask what your "side hustles" are and if there really worth the extra headache/stress?

[Puddinandpie]

So Im a crafter/sewist and can make really pretty things and i have have been thinking about this for some time but not sure a)where to start and b) if having a side hustle is worth the extra hours, money invested and of course stress to make it work, how long does it take to get going, make a profit, please tell me your side hustles and if in the long run it was worth all the headache?
I hope any of that makes sense sorry had covid really recently and today I feel not with it everything is a bit foggy so my writing skills have gone out the window unfortunately!!

We live in a reasonably touristy rural area. Each summer my daughter has a craft stall outside our side garden gate that makes a total of c.£800. Her materials have a cost and she puts a lot of time in. She gives half of her profits to charity and also has about £100 worth of thefts a year so it isn’t entirely without heartache. I reckon she could charge more online but our post office is only open two mornings a week so it would inevitably be me dealing with posting parcels during term-time, which I am not willing to do.

@TheShoeLady On the basic maths you have provided I think you should start at £450. With inflation at 7% you cannot be in a position where you are doing the work for less than minimum wage.

@switswooo this is not a job for OP though, it's additional so use of recreational time. Turning such things in to a profitable business take a lot of time and money. Rarely worth it short term, can be great if willing to work at it for years. Have a failing business or a paying fun hobby, which way of looking at it will keep you going longer?

I currently do IPTV. It's the only thing I've actually been able to make money on, but also to save money. I don't need to use any tv subscriptions anymore.

I sell antiques and vintage items. It started as a side hustle and now its my full time business. Originally I started out painting / upcycling furniture. I had a small amount of items waiting for me to paint and decided I might as well advertise them whilst they were waiting their turn to be transformed and quickly realised that although they sold for less, they went much more quickly and overall I was making more money selling these than working on them myself. Not sure what that says about my painting skills! I started buying better quality stock and gradually moved into antiques and vintage. Nowadays I don't deal very much in furniture - it needs too much storage space and can be difficult to ship. I mostly sell small items, glass, china, decorative items. I do a mix of online selling and antique fairs / brocantes. I get to own beautiful things for a short while and I get to go shopping for a living, I love it! My advice for some one thinking of doing something similar would be to start small and build up and to be alert to trends and react to them as soon as you spot them.

The best side hustle I ever did was matched betting. I made about £5k in the space of 6 months and I'd recommend it to anyone.

However, although some people do it for years, I viewed it as a one time hit. I did a lot of research over a couple of weeks then jumped in with £500.

For the first few weeks, it's literally like picking from a magic money tree. You cannot fail to make money and there's no risk (it's NOT gambling) as long as you understand the process and follow the rules. You have all the one time sign up offers at bookies, casinos and bingo sites and you pick them off one by one. I had a couple of lucky wins on casino slots too (risk free) which netted a few hundred extra.

But then after 3 months or so, the one time sign up offers are gone and it becomes more head work and a bit of a scramble. You get existing customer offers that keep you going for a bit. Then you start getting gubbed by bookies and it all gets a bit time consuming and stressful.

I jacked it in after I'd rinsed the hell out of it for 6 months. Great one time massive hit of cash but you need serious willpower and perseverance to do it long term which very few do.

Another matched bettor here. I’ve made 14K since I started four years ago. It’s such hard work now, I’m going to put the remainder of the money I’ve made in British Gas and will call it a day.

I sell vintage dresses on Ebay, Vinted and Depop. I go to kilo sales and each dress costs me around £3. I get them clean and fresh and do any mends. I sell them online for between £15-30 each.

This is the issue isnt it. I wouldn't want to underpay someone for their work but if I can get something that to me is similar value but costs a lot less I likely will. I wouldn't expect the craftsperson to match the price but I wouldnt necessarily buy from them or if I did it wouldn't be often.