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Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

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Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#201

Post by anotheryou »

mtbkrdave wrote: post #64

Built a site where you can custom-tailor a writing pad to your handwriting/style... https://www.blankslatepaper.com/ So far it's been slow; like @memset, I've got the product done but struggle with driving traffic/sales.

The sampler link from the (?) in the customizing UI is broken.

Have you tracked how many people ordered the sampler and than also ordered a real one after that?

I don't want to bother with the customize UI too much so I think you can do two things:

1. push the sampler as the main tool to find out what fits (so have it as the primary sales target)

2. make it easy to order what you like on a sample.

In general the wizard could be easier by doing:

- a step by step guide

1. choose pattern (only one possible, maybe link to the old UI for "experts")

2. choose distance

3. choose color (maybe go with a nice color picker directly)

4. done or tweak expert settings (with bug UI)

- and always showing roughly original size-zoom and full page

edit: and I agreed shipping, general pricing and payment methods would be great upfront.

And for the paper + cart steps: Keep it consistent, I accidentally skipped to the empty basked instead of putting something in the basket. I'd even make those steps part of the step-by-step guide I suggested instead of the current hierarchy.

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#202

Post by b3b0p »

I'd like to do something constructive, maybe tutoring the local college and high school students, but since people are mentioning index funds: I bought a couple Vanguard funds about 8 years ago and have been maintaining an average return of 10-12% which is almost enough to pay rent. I used some of the returns to help pay the down payment for my condo. Now, my rent won't go up anymore. My mortgage isn't much more than my old rent and less actually then one of my previous places. It's also about double the size and arguably in a better location. If I ever get another job some where else and because of it's location I can rent it out extremely easy.

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#204

Post by ryandrake »

MrFoof wrote: post #84

I buy cars, repair them and recondition them to my level of satisfaction, and send them back out the door, typically targeting 55-65 year olds. I focus mostly on entry level luxury crossovers around 7 to 10 years old, though starting to also do hybrids since there’s more profit in it since everyone is seemingly allergic to batteries and pack replacement/rebuilds. Parts are cheap, I listen to music or a podcast, I do…

As an amateur shade tree mechanic myself I have so many questions! Feel free to ignore if you feel you'd be giving away your secret sauce.

1. Where do you find buyers? I'd be concerned about inventory either piling up or taking too long to sell at a price that even breaks even when you are spending time/money on fixing.

2. Do you feel your value-add is more on the sales side as a broker or is it in the repairs? I know people who just flip cars and do extremely minimal "freshing up" and are also profitable/successful.

3. How do you keep up with the increasingly locked down and opaque ECUs and other systems? More and more diagnostics require factory wizardry these days.

4. You implied that you do paint and body work. Where/how did you learn and become proficient? Most auto repairs are pretty much "follow the steps" work anyone can learn from YouTube, but body work is artistry.

5. Do you worry about liability? I'm OK fixing my own car since if I screw up it's my ass on the line. I'd be less confident in sending the car off to grandma, even if I knew what I was doing.

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#205

Post by eps »

muzani wrote: post #2

I did a coffee kiosk once. It went well, but required a large amount of energy and focus. We did a little twist on the business model. Starbucks sells nice places to sit down. We sold drugs. The model, from logo design to promotions, was designed to create a habit loop where people would get their morning coffee from us. It was so profitable that I seriously considered making it my full time career, expanding cafes a…

Italian coffee shops want their business model back :)

That's exactly how they operate - you walk in, ask for an espresso, get it in 30 seconds, down it, slam down a coin, walk out.

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#206

Post by mrccc »

memset wrote: post #183
mrccc wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey, taking a look at the picture on the site I saw that you only offer a format of 8.5" x 11". If you'd like to grow to Europe, other formats like A4 would be very interesting and probably needed. I'd also be happy about one in A5! :)

I actually really really want to do this! It's a chicken and egg thing: do I try to get this 1 product profitable, and then use those profits to invest in new product lines? Or do I try to do multiple versions of the product at first (which comes at higher cost, since I'd start with a small production first?) Also need to figure out how to ship to Europe more cheaply, since right now I'm sending everything from my li…

Maybe printing in Europe might already help? – See www.wir-machen-druck.de, probably the most inexpensive German printery (try Google Translator). I can imagine using Amazon and its FBA service might be an option here – not sure if that's something you'd like to consider.

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#207

Post by akeck »

puttycat wrote: post #39

I design and sell T-shirts for ML/Data Science geeks [1][2]. I use Redbubble as a storefront which works pretty well. [1] https://www.redbubble.com/people/nurikolan/works/34221227-i-... [2] https://www.redbubble.com/people/nurikolan/works/34221296-i-...

I used to do POD stuff, but bailed on my former platform a few years ago. How do you find Red Bubble's quality? I have a few designs requested by family that I'd like to get onto shirts (and also sell).

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#208

Post by asciident »

Not really a productive venture, but it was profitable. I used a 3% cashback credit card on a financial company's money sending service with no fees, and sent my sister $3,500 every two days. She'd then eventually pay me back through bank ACH (also free). Then I'd pay off my credit card every week so my credit balance remained low. Made about $1,500 a month for a year, before they stopped giving cashback for transfers.

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#209

Post by gulleyd »

grecy wrote: post #105
tyingq wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd look into little parts for classic cars. Almost no price sensitivity, and if you find some unmet need for a popular one... Could even be something silly, like a plastic fuse extractor tool that people will pay $50 for if it looks OEM.

This. A friend buys and restores old Porsche 911s. He will pay anything for custom made parts that are rare as hens teeth. As an example there is a housing around the main cooling fan that seems to be titanium or aluminum or something very exotic. [1] A company does sell a replacement, which he paid a fortune for, which had garbage tolerances and we spent weeks modifying it until it fit more or less well enough. I su…

I would actually like to hear a little more about why the tolerances were poor. Were the major diameters the issue here? I could see a lot of adjustment happening on a car-to-car basis to get concentricity between the alternator fan and the shroud just right. I have very little experience with Porsches, but am a coordinate metrologist for a major aerospace parts manufacturer. I don't see something like this being a huge issue, at least compared to what I deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Edit: I actually looked into it a little more- it looks like the part is probably machined from casting given that there appear to be four stators which also locate the center mounting point. That's where the concentricity would be set; not by the casting, but by the machining of the center flange. So assuming that the fan's mounting points are within spec, I would say that your friend's part could just be chalked up to machining process that leaves something to be desired. This is actually a trickier part if machined from casting (without the appropriate tooling), but actually pretty simple (and wildly expensive) if machined from billet.

Re: Ask HN: What is your money-making side project outside programming?

#210

Post by aiisjustanif »

abakker wrote: post #175
0x00000000 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't that illegal everywhere in the US without a dealer license?

You are certainly allowed to buy a car, fix it, and sell it.

Not at a profit, iirc correctly. Taxes and dealer license comes into play.
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