Boost your income: Side hustles that paid off big time | Summer Series

Bryce: [00:00:26] Welcome back to Get Started Investing, where this summer we're taking a journey to financial freedom. Proudly supported by CommSec, the home of investing. Over six episodes, we'll be talking about the practical steps you can take today to set yourself up for that ultimate goal. FIRE. Financial independence. Retiring early. So if you're enjoying a summer break or dreading heading back to work, join us as we take the steps today to ensure that we can build the life we want into the future. My name is Bryce and as always, I'm joined by my equity buddy, Ren. How are you?

Alec: [00:00:59] I'm excited, Bryce. We're talking about boosting your income, not yours specifically. It's far too high already, but how we can all boost our income, how we can make a little bit of extra money. The best thing you can do to set yourself up for your financial future, to reach that financial independence call earlier, isn't spend hours scouring for the next speccy stock. It's finding ways to consistently generate more money. Save that money. Don't spend it. Put that money to work in the market. Bang! So that's what we're going to be talking about today. We're also going to be sharing some personal insights from our journey, of a side hustle that has become a main hustle. 

Bryce: [00:01:40] Yes. Cannot wait. Cracking episode coming up and having the right support on your journey is important, which is why we're proud to partner with CommSec for this series. We know that it can be daunting to get started. The feeling of investing those hard earned dollars can be scary. Starting small is a good way to ease the nerves and get going with CommSec. You can get started with as little as $50 in the Commbank app, and set up a regular investing to help build your portfolio over time. Visit commbank.com.au for more. 

Alec: [00:02:09] Now, before we get into it, we need to remind you that while we are licensed, we're not aware of your personal financial circumstances. And the information on this show is for education and entertainment purposes only. Any advice is general.

Bryce: [00:02:20] All right, Ren. With that said, what are we going to be unpacking in this episode? 

Alec: [00:02:23] Bryce, in our fifth episode, we're going to be talking about ways to boost our income. Can I have a pay rise?

Bryce: [00:02:31] Nice. No. 

Alec: [00:02:33] By the end of this episode, we'll have heard how many times we failed. Side hustle.

Bryce: [00:02:38] Yes. 

Alec: [00:02:39] Learnings from being absolute failures and, you know, maybe some successes. But more importantly, we'll know that we don't need to earn a lot for a side hustle to be valuable. And most importantly, we'll talk about some of the most common examples, both from the equity mates community and then from data that we found around Australia. And the most common side hustles across Australia. Really, by the end of this episode, we want to leave you with practical ideas that you can implement or that you can try to boost your income in 2024. We know that, like, different people are going to prefer to do different things. So it's got to be whatever is right for you. But whoever you are, we want to leave you at least a couple of ideas to get started.

Bryce: [00:03:23] Yes. 

Alec: [00:03:24] And it's important to stress that we're not going on this journey alone. There are thousands of people listening to get started investing who are trying to earn some extra income and get that invested on their own journey to financial independence. 

EM Community: [00:03:38] So some ways that I like to save money is doing online surveys like octopus. I love scouring Facebook Marketplace for things that people may be giving away for free or really cheap, that you might know the value of and you're able to resell. So just recently I bought some like a casserole dish set and sold that for a fair bit of money and things like, you know, gorgeous unique lamps and things that people may not know the value of. You can do a nice photo stage, a nice photo, and you're able to sell it for a bit of money. Hey, Cody mates, I just moved from Melbourne to London for work, and I'm currently saving money by taking a second job in a bookstore. Because London is the most expensive place in the world. And, and that's the only way that I am able to save at the moment. 

EM Community: [00:04:30] Hey, equity mates. So since the start of lockdown, I got into arbitrage betting, which has consistently made me around 10 to 20 k a year, on top of my usual salary, which is great. 

EM Community: [00:04:42] I've been making about 115 bucks a week, just picking up trash from the side of the road and listening in on Marketplace or Gumtree. Of course, it's got to be in good condition in working order. I test everything and give it a clean anyway, but with a cost base of zero, I don't need to sell it for much, I just want to move the stuff on. We're talking furniture, board games, pallets, figurines, video games, exercise equipment, Pokemon cards, whatever. I find there's a market for it. I'm going to rehome it. [00:05:10][28.5]

Bryce: [00:05:12] Now we should frame by wire. We're talking about side hustles, and it kind of goes back to the baby steps episode. And really it boils down to the fact that we don't need a lot of money to get started in the market, and putting small amounts of money in the market is the aim here. [00:05:29][17.8]

Alec: [00:05:30] Yeah. Well, I mean, like the $100 challenge that we've done throughout 2023 on Get Started Investing is a classic example of that $100 invested every month in a broad based market index, and getting the market's average rate of return over 40 years is $350,000. And so if you were earning $100 a month from a side hustle and putting that in the market, like it might not feel like a lot from a side hustle, 100 bucks a month, you know, 25 bucks a week. But over time it's really meaningful. Very meaning double that 200 bucks a month from your side hustle, 50 bucks a week from your side hustle. Then you're, you know, three quarters of $1 million. 

Bryce: [00:06:14] Yeah. How good. 

Alec: [00:06:15] Just shy of that. 

Bryce: [00:06:17] But that's why it's worth remembering that as we work through ways that you can, increase your income, through side through side hustles. Now, as we've been speaking about in the show many times, Commonwealth have a vast library of tools available to help you with this. We will include a link in the show notes to an article on dollar cost averaging, which is a great strategy to put your money to work from some of the side hustles Link in that show notes. Ren, our experiences with side hustles we teased at the top, we'd tell people how many times we failed. Failure is an interesting word to put there, but I guess, we have tried many times to create, to get some businesses off the ground. Or I should say, we've tried many times just to get a little bit of extra money in the pocket. 

Alec: [00:07:04] Yes.

Bryce: [00:07:05] Mine starts right back when I lived in Wagga, there was a guy across the road who would come during summer and mow the lawn of the woman across the road. So I strategically, every time he came, would go out the front with a table and sell cups of water.

Alec: [00:07:22] No way. What was it? Hey, what are you going? 

Bryce: [00:07:26] $0.50. Wow. And he was kind enough, I should say, to recognise what I was doing. And at the end of mowing the lawn would come across and buy a cup of water from me. Then I increased my product range. We used to have huge pebbles in our garden that dad hated, so he got rid of all of them. I kept some and I painted them as door stops and put them. They put these pebbles on the table next to the cups of water. And he kindly would buy a pebble. 

Alec: [00:07:58] Every time.

Bryce: [00:07:59] I, along with the cups of water. I think those are two bucks. Wow. Yeah, that lasted one summer. That was good for a very young, I think I was in primary school at that at that time. 

Alec: [00:08:14] But that lawnmower obviously inspired you? Your next adventure?

Bryce: [00:08:19] Yeah, as I got older.

Alec: [00:08:21] Certainly not a failure, this one.

Bryce: [00:08:22] As I got older, I launched Leske' lawns at high school with the intention of it being a discreet business that not many of my mates knew about, and that it would just be for the local area. Dropped, did a mail drop of my flyers. Locally, hoping that neighbours would say yes. Come along. I even think of one of them.

Alec: [00:08:42] Wagga is not that big a town like. 

Bryce: [00:08:43] It's a pretty big town. Anyway, somehow Rowan's getting a mention again. He got wind of this and found all the flyers and plastered them all over school. Yeah. 

Alec: [00:08:54] Did it drive any business for you?

Bryce: [00:08:55] Only his family. So I ended up marrying Rowan's lawns while he sat inside in the air conditioner and watched me do it. And obviously, I mowed a number of other lawns as well. So much so that that allowed me to pay for my school trip. I what? I would say that I didn't invest any of it. So lesson learnt. Only I hadn't even experienced investing in experience. Yes. Or as I say, learn to become financially independent. My parents were like, if you want to go to school, that's good. You got to pay for it. Yeah. And so that forced me into the side hustle route. So those were a couple of early day semi success stories. Many failures. How about you

Alec: [00:09:37] So I think of a couple of examples. When we were living together at uni. I knew all the food options closed at six or just around that time, but the libraries were open till midnight. That was our key insight. That was a window of time where there were heaps of students, but no food options, but nothing being sold. So we decided to fill that market. So far, great business ideas. And yet where the wheels fell off, we decided because it's cold in Canberra. We would make and sell soup. Yes. Not people's first choice, I would think. Anyway, it didn't go well. No, we never actually sold any. 

Bryce: [00:10:14] It never got off the stove.

Alec: [00:10:16] Yeah. Yeah, we ate a lot. 

Bryce: [00:10:17] Yeah, it was good.

Alec: [00:10:20] We also had an idea to import a shipping container full of second-hand clothes from the Netherlands. And we were going to put the shipping container in our backyard of our shared house and then sort through it and sell it. 

Bryce: [00:10:33] That had legs.

Alec: [00:10:34] I think it's a lot more common now. This would have been like, what, 2014, 2015? I also have tried to start a couple of, I might generously call the media businesses. The one that I'm still bullish on. Oh, there's a couple I'm so bullish on, but one that is a real debate.com Was the first website I tried to build. Okay. And then I was sick of the poor quality of debate around big issues, in like the media in, like in papers and stuff like that and TV news. And so I was like, let's try and get two experts on either side of the issue to each write out what their view was and why they held that view, and then send it to each of them and get them to respond to the other person in writing, and then publish all four pieces. Anyway, I built the website ready to go. Cold emailed all those experts. Zero replies. So I will never go back. Anyway, a few others, but a lot of failures.

Bryce: [00:11:31] Yes. Well, we've been lucky enough to have one side hustle that has eventuated into a, I guess, our full time jobs, which is equity mates and not to go through the full story, but we started in 2017 with no other intention than just using, the podcast as a means for us to become better investors and track our journey and talk to CEOs and hope that others would tune in as well. And one thing led to another. And, and here we are so very fortunate that that panned out. But, we should preface that it was never an intention. It was a scratch. Our own itch.

Alec: [00:12:09] Yeah. Yeah. I think, though, that there were a couple of key lessons from what we did building equity mates, some that were just complete lock and then some that were a little bit intentional that I think are really relevant for people. Whatever business you're trying to start or whatever side hustle you're trying to get into. The first one is to keep your job for as long as possible. I think that like, if this more than anything else, was the secret sauce for equity, mate. We started equity markets in 2017. We didn't quit our jobs until halfway through 2022. It was three and a half years of doing it on nights and weekends, and it takes the pressure off because it means that you don't have to make money and replace your salary from day one. There is no way equity mates would have succeeded if we had quit our jobs in 2017 and said, let's give it a crack. And I think a lot of people say, I'm going to quit my job. I'm going to go all in for a year and I'll see how I go. And after a year, if it hasn't worked, I'll quit. After the first year of equity, mate, we would have had literally hundreds of listeners and literally zero revenue. I think our first revenue was $500 in 2018, our first campaign. So if we had said we're going to give it a red hot crack for a year, it's just like we would have been nowhere. And I think there are so many people. In so many different walks of life and media and all different types of businesses that benefited from keeping their job. And building slowly over time, getting better over time and not trying to rush into it and give themselves a false automated. So I think for us, yeah, that was the only way to succeed. 

Bryce: [00:13:59] Definitely. So other learnings, there are plenty of online tools and platforms that are emerging every day now that make it easier. And, and, well, I guess just make it easier to, to start a business. Like if we think back to the time where if you wanted to start an app, you, you literally had to be able to code. And if you wanted to do e-commerce, you know, it wasn't as simple as it is now with shops like Shopify, online platforms like Shopify, and the way you can sell through social media these days, like, don't feel limited that you don't know enough, because I'm sure there are tools and AI platforms out there that can really help you, fast track getting something off the ground. 

Alec: [00:14:39] So another big learning for us that I think can be applicable for a lot of people is, be early on something. We were early on podcasting, and we often talk that if we tried to start equity markets in 2023, it just wouldn't have worked like the quality of the industry has moved so quickly. And now there's all the big media plays in space. We started in 2017 with poor audio quality. Poor microphone technique was a bit more forgivable. And I think, you know, since we've done that, a generation of people have started side hustles on TikTok. And those that were early on TikTok once again could get away with not being great on camera, not knowing how to film properly, not having good quality equipment. But they were early and they built an audience and they could improve as the platform grew. And I think that's been such a big lesson. And so if you're interested in media or really any sort of, anything that requires technology or a platform like keep an eye out and be early. I've even got a thesis for 2024. Bold, bold prediction. Maybe there's going to be some big influencers. I'm starting to say a few come through. I keep half an eye on it because we've got an equity mates threads account. 

Bryce: [00:15:58] Never look at it.

Alec: [00:16:00] I know. People do, like some of the follower numbers. Amassing a. Compelling. 

Bryce: [00:16:05] That's where they go. If you're looking to start something, maybe look at threads. I think, one from May run is actually consistency where a lot of people fall down is starting something but not, persevering with it. And it kind of ties back to the first one. We were able to persevere because we didn't have the pressure of trying to make money from it because we had our full time jobs, but we still showed up every week and did a podcast every week, if not multiple times of week, awake year after year. Until we were fortunate enough that it was big enough for us to be able to quit our jobs. But we wouldn't have got to that point if at some stage we just said, you know what this is? We don't enjoy this anymore. That's fair enough. But, you know, I'm too tired this week or I've got other things on or, you know, this isn't a priority. So I think, consistency. And that just ties right back into the habit of investing as well. You will love yourself when you look back in three, on the last 3 or 4 years and just be like, God, I'm glad I was consistent with that. 

Alec: [00:17:02] Yeah, yeah. A final one for me. You don't have to do it alone. I think so many people think about side hustles, and starting a business is something that is a solo exercise. I can't imagine how lonely it would be doing it solo. Like there would be so many points in this journey where it would just be like, that's too hard. Or, you know, it's too overwhelming. Finding someone to do it with and finding someone who compliments your skills well is like my ultimate advice for anyone who wants to start a business. Yeah. 

Bryce: [00:17:33] Hard to do to be honest. 

Alec: [00:17:34] Incredibly hard. So many people ask me, has it ruined your friendship? I say we were never friends to begin with.

Bryce: [00:17:41] Great response. 

Alec: [00:17:43] But yeah like, isn't this. There's some saying that, like, never start a business with family or friends or. 

Bryce: [00:17:49] Yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah. Never going to never go to business with family and friends. 

Alec: [00:17:53] Yeah. But when you get it right, it makes it so much easier. 

Bryce: [00:17:58] Yeah.

Alec: [00:17:58] Because you do all the work.

Bryce: [00:18:01] Now, before we unpack what Australians are doing to make a bit of extra money, we want to say a big thank you to CommSec. There is no reason to go it alone on your investing journey, and CommSec offers the support and information to build your confidence and make the right money moves. Start small and invest with as little as $50 through the Commbank app. Visit commbank.com.au for more. CommSec T&Cs and other fees and charges apply. 

EM: [00:18:32] Hey equity mates. This year I try to make a little bit of extra cash by renting out all of my dresses that I would otherwise be wearing to weddings or special events, in the hope of just getting a little bit of extra cash. And it has been, you know, a nice little win, particularly in the spring and summer and early autumn when there's been a bit of demand for them. So I'll probably take that forward into 2024 actually.

Simon: [00:18:58] Hey Equity Mates. My name is Simon and my idea is to rent out your car parking space, so if you have a spare parking spot, you can actually turn it into a monthly income stream. There's a few apps out there now which offer this service. Parkcan.com, space.com. Probably the two biggest can be particularly lucrative if you live near a transportation hub or near a stadium. So, yeah, something to look into if you've got a spare parking spot. Go check out those websites, or have a bit of a Google and start bringing in an extra monthly income stream. Cheers. 

Alec: [00:19:33] All right, so some fascinating ones there, some that I do love renting. The car park is one that stands out for me.

Bryce: [00:19:41] If you've got one. 

Alec: [00:19:42] Yeah, yeah, I like just monetising an asset that is underutilised. 

Bryce: [00:19:46] Yeah I thought about that with my bike at the moment. but anyway 

Alec: [00:19:48] I guess that same also applies to the renting of dresses like monetising an asset that is underutilised. 

Bryce: [00:19:55] Yes absolutely. 

Alec: [00:19:57] Unfortunately I just don't have many assets. 

Bryce: [00:20:00] Should rent your shoes out for you. Ones with the holes in them. 

Alec: [00:20:03] No, I'll put them in a museum. 

Bryce: [00:20:05] Anyway, we jumped online to see where Australians are turning to make a bit of extra money in 2023, and it sort of came back in four categories. So the first category is like service based work. That's stuff like freelance, where you might have a skill set in video editing, audio editing, being able to help people with graphic design, whatever it may be. There are platforms where you can go in and contribute your service and get paid for it in return. Things like delivery pet care is a big one now. Dog walking, dog washing, those sorts of things.

Alec: [00:20:41] Dog Sitting. 

Bryce: [00:20:41] Dog sitting. 

Alec: [00:20:43] We've got friends that are travelling around the States and they're staying at places where the only criteria is like, look after the dog. 

Bryce: [00:20:51] Yeah, yeah, you get the house. Yeah, yeah, well, yeah, house sitting is another one.

Alec: [00:20:55] That doesn't actually boost your income, unfortunately, but pretty good save money guys. 

Bryce: [00:20:59] Yes. Yeah.

Alec: [00:21:00] So I'll ask them if they're going to invest what they say. 

Bryce: [00:21:04] So that you don't get paid. You just get free accom. 

Alec: [00:21:06] Yeah. 

Bryce: [00:21:07] And then babysitting, childcare. So you know, things that you can offer your time for with skills that you already have. You are the asset in that situation. Then there's the product base stuff. So this is turning to online. We've spoken about the drop shipping on the $100 Challenge. Etsy's a good platform where you can make arts and crafts handmade goods. But I think digital products as well are what people are using to make a bit of extra money. The sharing economy, Ren Uber driving, renting out unused space, your extra spare bedroom or your car park or whatever it may be. Being a rideshare driver, as I said, I think Airtasker is a good one as well, which is, an app here in Australia where people go on and say, I need a service to be done, or I need help with X, Y, and Z, and it connects you with people who are able to do that. And then digital nomads you spoke about. I did you say ratfueds.com at the start? We spoke about the website, creating blogs, vlogging online surveys. So these are all ways that Australians, looking to make money or are turning to make an additional buck or two, some harder than others. 

Alec: [00:22:21] Yeah.

Bryce: [00:22:22] I think to close here, these are examples of like there's a difference between a side hustle that you deem as this is a business that I want to build, and it becoming something larger and just hustling on the side to get extra money. And so it might mean that you take the odd airtasker jobs on weekends, that you're free to get an extra couple hundred bucks or so. You're not out there saying, I want to be an Airtasker. Yeah, or it's saying that I'm going to sign up to Uber so that on the odd occasion I'm available and have a free weekend, I'm going to go out and do a couple of hours of overdriving. So there's kind of different ways to think about side hustles. There's like hustling on the side to get that extra income, and there's just genuinely trying to build some sort of a long term business. So I think a lot of these examples are more the format. Just how can I, how can I just get a little bit of extra money here, here and there, which is then important because that can then go into the stock market. 

Alec: [00:23:20] Yeah. So I guess listening to this conversation, part of me, you know, as we were talking, I was listening to you talk about all these different side hustles is. Whenever I find time. Yeah. Cause, like. Yeah, it can be pretty daunting. Like everyone's exhausted after work. Everyone's trying to live their lives. There's this idea that, like, the only thing standing between you and financial independence is finding an extra six hours a week to do another job is a hurdle, too. It's like it's too much for some people. It feels like too much for me right now. So what do you have to say to me? [00:24:01][41.0]

Bryce: [00:24:02] I think it's fine to feel like that. And then you don't have to. You don't have to have a side hustle to get to being a millionaire next door. Like most of the discussion we have in this series is that there are ways to, you know, budget effectively and get into the market with low dollar value that don't require you to go and do it. This is just a discussion around if you want to boost your income and get more into the market. So it's not like you have to do this. It's the only way. So firstly, don't panic. Don't worry about it. If it's my sister's classic example. Actually, she had a side hustle as a dance business. Just got a full time job. Messaged me last night saying I'm finding it hard to find time and it's like, that's fine, you've got a full time job that has a salary and like, just focus on that. You know, so it's that's what I would say. Like just do what's manageable. If it's, if it's one, if it's just one hot hustle a month, that's more than enough. If it's none, don't panic. 

Alec: [00:25:04] I also think the highest leverage thing you can do to boost your income isn't a side hustle. It's, increase your salary. And so if you think about, you know, the time, like getting it right at your job. And if your job isn't right, find the next job. And, you know, being able to improve. You know, get paid an extra 5 or $10,000 a year by negotiating or a better salary when you move jobs or asking for a raise in negotiating a raise. Like, think about how many airtasker jobs you need to do to hit that every year. So I think focusing on boosting your income in whatever way works for you and thinking about the relative payoff, like the effort to reward, like the best case scenario is to find a job that's perfect. Negotiate a raise every year and make money on the side, doing a side hustle that you love and gives you energy and you're passionate about. And if a perfect world is achievable, then do what you can. Now, as we close out the fifth episode in this six part series, we want to say a massive thank you to CommSec for supporting it. Hopefully, together we can show a path to how you can tap into the world of investing to build wealth over the long term. CommSec provides all the support, information and resources you need to build your confidence and make the right money moves. Sign up today to get $0 brokerage on your first ten trades for Australian markets, and invest with as little as $50 through the Commbank app. Visit commbank.com.au for more. CommSec T&Cs and other fees and charges apply. 

Bryce: [00:26:44] Now stick with us as the next episode we wrap it up. The journey comes to somewhat of an end in our sixth episode.