My first ever side hustle was in the resell game. It is simply the most practical opportunity for entrepreneurs of any age. It allows you to learn basic economic concepts such as supply and demand, as well as how to sell, which is a critical skill in life.
I owe a lot to the resell game because of everything that it taught me. I got into this side hustle because of my love for sneakers. I had this problem when I was in middle school. I loved all the Air Jordan and LeBron sneakers, but I could barely afford a single pair.
I wanted these sneakers so badly, and needed a way to afford more of them. So, knowing that these shoes had greater value in the after market, I decided to borrow money from my parents to buy a pair of the new Yeezy shoes. I got this pair for $200, and later sold them unworn for $1,000. I immediately became hooked.
I used those profits to pay back my parents, and I continued to do this on upcoming shoe releases. The funny thing is that I got so hooked to the resell aspect of the industry, that I rarely held on to the sneakers I was buying. The flip life was way cooler!
As of recently, Gary Vaynerchuk has made the flip life more mainstream than it has ever been. It’s now one of the most practical side hustles out there, because of the low risk involved. It can be applied to any product, any market, and any industry.
Now, there is a lot to know about this opportunity before you get right into it. It is easier to start or focus on a niche or a product that you love because then you will have a better understanding on the current and potential value, like I did with sneakers.
The best part is that you don’t need a lot of money, because once you get one item to flip for a good profit, you can just use that profit to buy the next product and that transaction becomes risk free. Then, just rinse and repeat.
The sneaker reselling game definitely took a nosedive since I started a few years ago, but there is definitely still some potential. Another great niche to look at is the tech industry. I have had some success with buying and reselling items such as limited edition game consoles, limited edition game bundles, first drop of the new iPhones, Black Friday deals, and so much more. It works, you just have to get in the trenches and do the work.
This side hustle is definitely more hands on than the others, but the potential is there and the barrier to entry is very minimum. If you are willing to dive deep and stay very attentive to what is going on in specific markets, paying close attention to things like upcoming releases, upcoming special edition products, and so on, then there is a boatload of potential.
The upside here is that you can start with a small investment and then compound that over time. It is great because once you start to make a few successful flips, you will be playing with risk free money that you have earned from the previous flips.
There are tons of other options outside of tech and sneakers. I have had experience with other things such as limited edition clothing, comic books and so on. Also, there are a lot of people who do garage sales. This is simply where you go to garage sales and you buy things that you think have a lot of value.
Gary Vaynerchuk is famous for doing this recently. People who have done this claim that you can make close to $500 a week, if it is done consistently. This is definitely more intuitive and hands on because you need to travel to different garage sales to find these items.
Another great option, that is basically the same as a garage sale are the apps OfferUp, Craigslist, and even eBay. These are apps that are market places to buy and sell various products. A lot of times, you can find a ton of items that are listed for a price that is way undervalued.
On Craigslist, there are a ton of items that are listed for free that can have a ton of value and obviously this is risk free since they are free items that people just want to get rid of. If you spend the time searching for these deals, you will have no problem finding them.
The only risk I have encountered with this is when the product I bought has no resale value, or less than projected. You simply don’t lose money, but it can be a pain to return things and have to ship things back without making a profit.
If you’re a young entrepreneur in high school or college with little to no experience in business or with little to no money in your bank account, this is a real opportunity for you. Go give it a try. Make it fun! Challenge your friends and see who can flip for the most profit in 30 days. Just get started and see where it goes!