Let's Make Lots Of Money!!!

[motion]

I know we all like money. Money buys security, toys and freedom. This board has an incredible range of knowledge and experience, and I thought it would be cool if we all share the things we've collectively done to make money in the past, and ideas for the future. I've always been a big believer in doing things that you know and love, and I'm sure most of you are the same. So, let's share some ideas, Pelican brothers and sisters!

No need for obvious things, like getting a degree, working hard at your job, buying stocks, bonds, IRAs etc. Those are all obvious ways to slowly chip away at attaining a nest egg. I'd rather hear interesting things related to hobbies, fresh ideas, the changing world, etc.

On board?

Personally, I know a few things well: real estate, traveling, motorcycles, tech.

I've created a real estate-based online business that has been my bread and butter for many years. I plan on keeping that going as long as I can. Its made me a lot of money.

I also own rental properties. In the long run, I have faith that they'll return a good return on my investment, but they are a real pain in the a$$.

The traveling thing has only cost me money. Blah.

I'm working on some new motorcycle-related mobile apps that I believe will be lucrative. Time will tell.

I spend a good chunk of $$$ each year on acquiring new motorcycles. These are collectibles from the 80's and 80's and are mostly grey market, hard to find models. They've done quite well... I see somewhere around 20% a year in solid appreciation on my collection.

Let's hear some other ideas!

[red-beard]

Mi-Grid Hybrid Energy System

[doublestuff]

This is small potatoes and maybe not exactly what this thread was intended for, but on the subject of making money with hobbies ....

Over the last two or so years I've been dabbling with sewing stuff for cash (and occasionally trades). It's "go out for burgers" money, not real money.

My most consistent money maker has been a cover I make for a device for cleaning vinyl records (Record Doctor V). I've sent them all over the US, Canada and as far away as Australia. The machine doesn't come with a dust cover, and apparently vinyl record enthusiasts REALLY don't like dust!

This almost certainly won't ever be a real business, and my day job is too good to think about quitting, but it's nice to do something I enjoy and get a little spending money out of it. I have five sewing machines, and they've all paid for themselves - largely because part of the hobby for me is buying really cheap vintage machines.

I also run a YouTube channel that promotes the idea that sewing is a manly pursuit that is often overlooked, and is a useful skill for us guys (especially us car guys!) to possess. Anyone interested, check it out at https://www.youtube.com/user/thejasonofalltrades

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by motion

I know we all like money. Money buys security, toys and freedom. ....


Let's hear some other ideas!

I agree with the first part....BTDT.

....at a small fraction of what you're probably worth Motion

.....different strokes....I don't really even think about money all that much anymore....and haven't for some time.

"Making money you can't spend, ain't what being dead's about" - quote from a song

[Oh Haha]

I've been thinking about this for a awhile. Since I became a stay at home Dad I have time to think about what to do to make money and still be here. I really don't want to go back to work in a few years for someone else. I just don't know where to start.

I detail cars occasionally but not enough to make any difference. I have been playing drums for 40+ years and would really like to make money from it but not sure how.

[Rick Lee]

I've done ok with buying and flipping stuff, but not on a scale that could make me a living. I recently flipped a guitar for $1175 that I bought a month earlier for $375. And I got a $2200 amp for free after I flipped it on eBay, FedEx damaged it, paid me $2200 and returned it to me. The amp's designer is a friend of mine and repaired it for $200. Now I can sell another amp I don't need for $1000 and pocket that $$. Mrs. Lee does a lot of flipping too, but she has an encyclopedic knowledge of what handbags and shoes can sell for.

[Baz]

[fred cook]

About 7-8 years ago I designed a replacement ATO fuse panel for the 1989 and earlier 911 Porsche cars. Turns out there is a pretty high demand for this update of the original VW fuse panels the cars came with. I've done lots of standard panels with 24 vs 21 fuse positions, panels with 2 extra headlight relay, small reduced size panels for race cars and even a double panel for a rally car. Not a large profit margin, but enough to support my Porsche and other hobbies. Over the years, I have probably averaged doing about 2-3 panels a month. Latest addition is a small panel with 3 or 4 fuses for the engine compartment.

[wdfifteen]

My story is long, but in a nutshell:
I was an aerospace engineer going up the ladder good salary etc. I got an idea to start a magazine as a hobby with no vision of it making serious money. In two years I was having more fun and making more money at my hobby than at my job. So I quit.
28 years later I've got a $5,000,000 publishing/real estate portfolio of companies. From my experience getting rich takes courage, luck, and a whole lot of hard work. If the work doesn't feel like fun the $$ aren't going to be worth.

[motion]

Originally Posted by KC911

I agree with the first part....BTDT.

....at a small fraction of what you're probably worth Motion

.....different strokes....I don't really even think about money all that much anymore....and haven't for some time.

"Making money you can't spend, ain't what being dead's about" - quote from a song

Dude, if you don't even have to think about money, you're doing a lot better than I am!

I wish I didn't have to think about it, but that's life.

[motion]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I've done ok with buying and flipping stuff, but not on a scale that could make me a living. I recently flipped a guitar for $1175 that I bought a month earlier for $375. And I got a $2200 amp for free after I flipped it on eBay, FedEx damaged it, paid me $2200 and returned it to me. The amp's designer is a friend of mine and repaired it for $200. Now I can sell another amp I don't need for $1000 and pocket that $$. Mrs. Lee does a lot of flipping too, but she has an encyclopedic knowledge of what handbags and shoes can sell for.

I think selling on Ebay, Amazon, etc can be a great opportunity if you know what to sell and are intimately familiar with the marketplace.

I blowed up a Ducati Hypermotard 1100 and decided to part it on Ebay - my first MC partout. I'm barely 20% of the way into it, but its looking to be quite lucrative, if you're patient and allow the fish to bite at the right price. I could see making some pretty good $$$ if I had say, 5-6 bike partouts going at a time. But... its a very time consuming and messy way to make money. Not ideal.

[motion]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

My story is long, but in a nutshell:
I was an aerospace engineer going up the ladder good salary etc. I got an idea to start a magazine as a hobby with no vision of it making serious money. In two years I was having more fun and making more money at my hobby than at my job. So I quit.
28 years later I've got a $5,000,000 publishing/real estate portfolio of companies. From my experience getting rich takes courage, luck, and a whole lot of hard work. If the work doesn't feel like fun the $$ aren't going to be worth.

Very cool! I had no idea!

[Seahawk]

I have always been entrepreneurial. My Mother was a real estate broker and was very money savvy. My Dad was incredible bright but rather stolid with his investing...the miracle of compound interest. I learned a lot from both.

I worked all through HS in the summers and during the school year on weekends.

In college I was a white water rafting guide for a year and then decided, with two older teachers who were also guiding in the summer for the same company I was, to start our own small company.

This was in 1976. I was 19. We did very well since we decided to market heavily in the Bay Area in person - me - and Los Angeles. We also decided to focus on fun rather than wear people out about how cool we were. I was amazed at the few other companies at the time were all very serious about the whole experience, very whole earth, mother earth, etc. Which is fine, they had a good client base I am sure. We focused on the customers having fun. We also hired witty guides and funny, witty women guides. We discovered that nobody really cares how expert the guide is, just that they get down the river safely and enjoy the ride. Our repeat business, which we tracked, was excellent.

We also started a kayaking school that also did well. Remember, this was in the '70's before driving to the 7-11 became "extreme". Again, teach but have fun.

I sold my shares when I commissioned in the Navy and made, at the time, a bunch of money. I invested the proceeds and then I bought a house in Coronado, California when I was stationed there in 1984. I rode the real estate crest and sold before the market broke...luck on my part. I had orders to Maryland and didn't want to own/rent from across the country.

Also at that time I developed a toy with another guy. 'Top Gun' all the rage and we developed a few toys for kids bikes and cars that took advantage of it. It was called Top Gun Grip (we were not sued amazingly - I had no idea what I was doing) and was basically a replica of a fighter pilots control head on the jet...it replace the standard stick shift on a car and the rubber version replaced the steering bar grips on a bike. We also did a desk top version, all the button worked and made machine gun noises, bombs dropping, etc. You could grab it and "shoot down" your co-workers. Way too goofy for words.

It did well for a few years and then dropped off to zero. I Googled it and can't find any remnant of it. It was no hula hoop that's for sure. I think I have a few in the attic. The best part of the experience was going to a toy show in New York, meeting a whole lot of creative people and getting to know the toy world a little bit.

I continued to invest in real estate and then became a farmer and business owner while still in the Navy. My wife was also doing well as an engineer so the intent of the farming and horse businesses was to make money but also take advantage of tax laws and have significant write-offs.

So we did. I made O-6 in the Navy and stayed very busy. My wife did well, too.

After retirement I started a company that specializes in Unmanned Systems for DoD and commercial markets. As we progressed, we started two other companies, one to make a specific commercial UAS fixed wing aircraft and the other to do computational fluid dynamics analysis for commercial UAS. We are doing well and are on the cusp of making what we hope will be significant partnerships.

My point in writing all this is that, while hard, making money is a function of awareness and effort. There is no magic bean. I could have made much more money (at least to date) had I taken the offers when I retired for partnerships in companies that support DoD in what is commonly called 'Systems Engineering and Technical Support - a$$es in seats as they are called: Non DoD civil servants who support the military and other government agencies. I was really good at DoD acquisition but had grown to loathe the process. So I declined and took a risk doing something I really wanted to do that had less up front remuneration but was my own.

I had created a solid foundation from which to take those risks, but even while in the Navy I tried to create value from my off time.

Awareness and effort. In my UAS business I made some interesting mistakes but I was smart enough and worked hard enough to recognized my mistakes and work my way through them. That has also become another opportunity, one I hope to share in a few months.

Finally. I get asked about investing all the time. The basics are pretty easy but for some reason they are also easily forgotten. My goal is to create value, not necessarily just make money.

[scottmandue]

Rich guy wants to make more money... shocking!

[RF5BPilot]

Design a Star Trek universal translator--but for cars.

Own three different brands with voice controls?....Yep, they're all different.

Design an interface that will be standard (although some of that will probably come via Google Drive & Apple apps). Doesn't help with older cars that aren't compatible.

[RF5BPilot]

I designed a combination rechargeable flashlight and cordless phone.

Many senior citizens keep a flashlight by the side of their beds to help them get to the bathroom at night. But if they fall, they're not close to nor can they often reach a phone. A combo unit would add safety. May be purchased more by their adult children than the seniors.

Could be used by homeowners who are under the house, up in the attic, etc. Could help you talk to a pro about what you were seeing, get help, or just feel like you're still available to kids, etc.

Started showing it around, but the companies I talked to said they weren't interested if they couldn't patent it. I still think you could make a run at the market with it.

[HardDrive]

Sometimes I have to slap them around, but I'm doing pretty well off these girls.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Sometimes I have to slap them around, but I'm doing pretty well off these girls.

Classic "inside the box" thinking

[1990C4S]

I buy broken stuff online, fix and sell. I enjoy it, worst case I break even.

The trick is to lowball desperate sellers. They want stuff gone, I don't need to buy.

I also grab my neighbors 'junk' they throw out and sell it online. Lawnmowers, electrical panels, yard tools. It's amazing what people throw away.

I make enough money that I cover the cost of all my tools, and I'm getting a rather large tool collection.

As an aside, I save a lot of money by never renting tools. I buy used stuff and flip it when I'm done. If your knowledgeable you can even make a few bucks.

But real money? 1. Real estate. 2. Don't get married. 3. If you do get married, stay married.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

As a serial entrepreneur, I have more ideas than time, sense or money.

If I expanded my Porsche plating service to included vintage Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar, the numbers pencil out to make a lot of money. But I am only passionate about Porsches and will probably stay there. Working on a 911 bolt library now that details size and application as well as bolt manufacturer by year. You wouldn't want to use a Kamax when a Dera is proper.

Other projects in the works:

New style of 911 backdate

I've invented a new type of bra, will file a provisional patent when the time is right.

And all I can say are carbon fiber projects 1 and 2 that require me to know the right people before I can launch either one.

Food truck based on brisket