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Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

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Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#21

Post by rsynnott »

wprapido wrote: post #3
dmje wrote: post #2

Web guy here (more PM than developer). The two things I've done to keep the (unavoidable) feast/famine cycle at bay are: 1) keep two work bank accounts, one for daily use, one savings, and syphon off more than needed from daily > savings when invoices are paid. Example: client pays us £5k. We know we need to put aside corporation tax (we're UK based) of 20% on profit, but instead we put aside 25%. After a while of do…

Nicely put. Retainers are indeed a great revenue stream. Yet, I was thinking more in terms of daily cash stream generated by regular quick cash transactions. That's why I mentioned by buddy running a bar as his side hustle.

Do you mean _literal_ cash? Why do you want that? It's extra work and cost to deal with, generally.

Though increasingly bars are shifting towards contactless electronic payment, anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#22

Post by voisin »

A more reliable side hustle than a bar would be to own some residential real estate and rent it out to respectful people. There’s a lot less work involved than running an operating business, and if the property cash flows (rent exceeds costs), you have a little bit of cash every month. There are also tax advantages via mortgage interest and other expense deductibility, and some “forced savings” as the mortgage pays down. The flip side is that real estate has been absurdly overpriced in most markets for the last decade (thanks Fed!) but the still-unfolding economic consequences of Covid19 may lead to an excellent entry point.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#23

Post by laurentdc »

Topgamer7 wrote: post #10

I run a game server hosting company that loses me about $300 a month.

I used to do that in Counter-Strike Source days and it wasn't even worth it back then. I was losing about $100/mo but still did it for the fun. Also got booted off multiple providers for the inevitable DDoS attacks you get as retailation because some mad kid lost a match and wants to ruin the fun for everyone.

Learned a lot about Linux administration though, and UDP flood mitigation :)

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#24

Post by btgeekboy »

voisin wrote: post #22

A more reliable side hustle than a bar would be to own some residential real estate and rent it out to respectful people. There’s a lot less work involved than running an operating business, and if the property cash flows (rent exceeds costs), you have a little bit of cash every month. There are also tax advantages via mortgage interest and other expense deductibility, and some “forced savings” as the mortgage pays d…

COVID has also brought huge percentages of people out of work, and a coming eviction crisis. I considered getting into the landlord game last year, and I’m quite thankful now that I sidestepped that nonsense.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#25

Post by quickthrower2 »

If it were me I’d focus on how to charge more money and how to get it sooner. Negotiation, marketing, contracts etc.

And as others have mentioned: budgeting.

You shouldn’t need a side hustle to buy your milk and pasta. A side hustle is more like a bet or lottery ticket.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#26

Post by nawgz »

What is the purpose of a "daily cash stream" to you?

To me, it just sounds like a savings account. I have money in the bank because I have good financial management.

Why would I need to augment that with a risky side hustle?

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#27

Post by bovermyer »

rsynnott wrote: post #12

> His reasoning behind running a bar is that the bar serves as a daily cash stream Of course the downside is that if things go wrong it acts as a daily cash sink, instead. Most businesses, especially retail/catering businesses, fail. Don't get into that unless you know what you're doing. I have a daily cash stream; it's called a job.

This is true. I've worked as a bartender, and I am all too familiar with the emotional rollercoaster that is bar finances.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#28

Post by madhadron »

Topgamer7 wrote: post #20
vidar wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a plan to fix that?

I can pair down a machine if I migrate some users, however its a competitive market, and hard to sign up (and more so to maintain paying users)

That sounds like a good business not to have, then.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#29

Post by voisin »

btgeekboy wrote: post #24
voisin wrote: post #22

A more reliable side hustle than a bar would be to own some residential real estate and rent it out to respectful people. There’s a lot less work involved than running an operating business, and if the property cash flows (rent exceeds costs), you have a little bit of cash every month. There are also tax advantages via mortgage interest and other expense deductibility, and some “forced savings” as the mortgage pays d…

COVID has also brought huge percentages of people out of work, and a coming eviction crisis. I considered getting into the landlord game last year, and I’m quite thankful now that I sidestepped that nonsense.

Last year was a new peak for housing exuberance. I agree with your decision not to buy then. For those willing and able to hold for a while, buying when the eviction crisis hits its apex is probably going to yield some once in a decade buying opportunities.

I know several people who made out like bandits buying in Florida and Arizona in 2010 and only held for 3-4 years.

Re: Ask HN: Do you have a daily cash stream?

#30

Post by graeme »

Daily is not really the frequency at which you should need cash. I have an online business which generates a lot of passive revenue. But I have no idea if it makes cash every day. Pretty sure there are many days with zero sales.

But it reliably generates revenue. That’s the important bit. Needing daily cash is actually likely a sign of poor personal cashflow management. You ought to aim to have a buffer such that you could survive with zero cash for a while.

Now, a recurring revenue stream: it’s great! Highly recommended. But daily is not a good requirement.

And something like a bar has downsides:

* takes personal labour to make money

* High operating costs

* requires presence in a location

* currently, subject to pandemic restrictions

Now bars can be a great business! But for a software developer looking to develop a revenue stream, your best bet is....software. Basically zero cost to start. A bar would be a thing to do if you enjoyed it.

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