Side Gigs (1 Viewer)

[Isaac]

What are some of the most lucrative, rewarding, interesting, great or awful "side gigs" - something you did that generated incoming money for you which was not your primary career - you've had or tried?
Don't be shy to share, even if it has nothing to do with Access or programming.

Something that was notable for any reason.
I'm curious to learn more about what people have done.

I'll start with a couple thoughts of my own.

• Profitable and rewarding: Side gig doing Microsoft programming (Access, Excel, VBScript, SQL) for small businesses
• Weirdest: Selling BLM face masks during covid/rioting
• Most immediate & total failure: Selling used cars
• Most Short Lived: Crypto investing
• Most proud of: Many years ago, at a time when doing so was necessary for my family to survive well, I collected cardboard boxes from Walmarts during the night and sold them as moving boxes to those who were planning a move. A few in my area were trying this, but I seemed to get most of the boxes each night! Making friends with the employees was a big part of it. So well it turned out, I continued it for about 2 years.

 

[conception_native_0123]

Most Short Lived: doing programming work for people in foreign countries. (ok ok, it may be caused by my microsoft subscription being cancelled, but that's only part of the reason)

 

[CJ_London]

property development when work is slow - just about completed one during covid. Hard work and physically demanding. But I enjoy building/making things whether it be software, furniture, a house or developing a business.

 

[conception_native_0123]

developing a business

speaking of dev'ing a business, soon I will be looking up one email at a time for a art festival promoter! LOL

 

[AccessBlaster]

In the early '90s, I started a mobile cleaning service we cleaned everything from mini blinds to recycling centers. I had a truck with a custom-built trailer that held a pressure washer, deionized water wash racks, and a hundred feet of high-pressure hose. I had a full-time job as a class A truck driver 5 days a week and did mobile cleaning on the weekends. I also built my first database from Microsoft Works to keep track of clients and cold calls. I used to make cold calls straight out of the white pages. That gig lasted 2 years.

 

[conception_native_0123]

Hey ab, how did you go from making phone calls straight out of the White pages to programming access databases for people?

 

[AccessBlaster]

Hey ab, how did you go from making phone calls straight out of the White pages to programming access databases for people?

Around 2002 I went to work for a local school district and noticed the need for an Access Database to track drivers and deliveries and I volunteered myself. At that time they were using a spreadsheet and not using the network at all. I don't recommend volunteering if you are not a seasoned developer.

 

[conception_native_0123]

Well guess what? I am NOT a seasoned developer. I just happened to be really good at reading documentation and understanding what the creators mean to say when they write certain things. And that turns into a great ability to explain it to lesser minds. Or should I say, different minds?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

During my college days, I was a musician on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Used to play the kind of music that the "house dancers" would shake their booties. Some of the better ones actually kept time with the music. Once I actually GOT a day job, that ended the night job.

 

[conception_native_0123]

What instrument did you play Richard? I played trumpet

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I had a portable organ keyboard for "out" gigs, but the night club where I played most often had a Hammond B3 with a Leslie cabinet (don't recall the model number of the Leslie) as its auxiliary speaker. That organ could crank real well. Now at home, I play a Technics F5.

 

[conception_native_0123]

So.....piano then.

 

[GinaWhipp]

Still doing today - Internal Auditor (ISO)

A lot of paper work, which is not my strong suit, but I do find it interesting.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

So.....piano then.

Nope. Organ. Not piano. There is a HUGE difference. Just so you can be sure what I'm talking about, the link isn't me playing, but the artist is playing the same model that I have at home.

 

[NauticalGent]

Still doing today - Internal Auditor (ISO)

ISO 9000?

 

[NauticalGent]

I took a side gig doing Amazon Flex deliveries. The work is extremely flexible (If I dont want to make deliveries, I simply dont accept any). I can usually finish in just over half the time allotted which drives my hourly "wage" up to about $35 an hour - AND - it gets me out of the HOUSE!

Like CJL, I do a LOT of home improvements, mostly landscaping but I am most proud of the swing-set I made for my granddaughters. Missy and I have also got on a sort of semi-homesteading kick where we try to make things we would normally buy (shaving cream, butter and bacon). I have even started making my own ethanol-free petrol for my gardening equipment.

I gotta say, when I look back on this "pandemic" years form now, I will be able to say there were some rewarding dividends that came of it.

 

[NauticalGent]

I had a full-time job as a class A truck driver

Did that for 3 years under my own authority. Glad I did it but even more grateful that I no longer do it!

 

[NauticalGent]

During my college days, I was a musician on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

I played the trombone in HS. I wasn't bad but I wasn't that good either. I sold my horn to a freshman when I graduated and did not touch one for 20 years. My Shriners club Band needed a Trombone player and I answered the call - I was shocked at how much I remembered and just as shocked about my lack of "wind". Mostly parades but it was a LOT of fun!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I was shocked at how much I remembered and just as shocked about my lack of "wind".

I also played trumpet in Junior High but never professionally. My long-suffering wife does not, however, believe that I have a lack of wind. She does sometimes ask where I hid the tuba.

 

[AccessBlaster]

I gotta say, when I look back on this "pandemic" years form now, I will be able to say there were some rewarding dividends that came of it.

That's "plandemic" son!