Side Hustle Research

I have done some preliminary broad research on potential side hustles and have a couple options that I will research in more depth.

My research followed a particular path but led to interesting results. I found the Mad Fientist blog through a reread of Simple Path to Wealth. From there I found the Side Hustle Show podcast, which led me to two potential business ideas:

First, is options trading which I am researching through Option Alpha and through my Capital Markets course at school. I like this as a side hustle because I am already very interested in investing and naturally motivated to spend time researching, building models and strategizing. Since I am in an MBA program currently, I have more resources and support to learn than I would otherwise. I am also interested in treating this like an income generating business rather than speculation or long term savings. There is the potential here to generate consistent and somewhat predictable income. The downsides are there are some inherent risks in trading, there is a steep learning curve, and it requires significant capital to generate income. I can easily start with a model that will generate $100/mo but scaling that to $1000/mo requires 10x more capital. There is no multiple or exponential growth potential in this business.

Second, is selling products through Amazon FBA and potentially sourcing those products from foreign manufacturers. This space seems interesting but potentially crowded. Good news with that is there are many tools and guides to get started and be successful. I have mentioned in previous points that I like the idea of reselling or retail in niche. FBA and eBay seem to be good options if you can find consistent inventory. The most consistent and predictable way to source inventory seems to be by working with manufacturers to establish product lines, rather than retail arbitrage or online arbitrage. There are also interesting opportunities for consulting and wholesale since this has attracted many small businesses.

I am starting a new job so progress might be slow but the new job does present more compensation and potentially lucrative stock options. I will be able to increase my savings rate and investment rate of return.