Intro
If you’ve been following me, you probably know I’m doing a bunch of side hustles to earn some extra income on the side.
Apart from my day job, I do Print on demand, Airbnb, YouTube automation, personal training, blogging, and more.
“That’s a lot!”, I hear you think.
Indeed, but I’m doing everything as efficient as possible, and I’m managing my time well. What can be automated, is automated. The only thing in which I’m putting a lot of time, is this Medium blog, but I mainly see it as some sort of “relaxation therapy”.
As you know from my previous posts, I’m tracking everything. Every dollar that comes in and that goes out, for the purpose of my “make 100k this year challenge”.
My 8 Sources of Income, that will Make me 100k – michielschuer.com
This Tool Helped me Save Hundreds of Dollars Every Month – michielschuer.com
So in this article I’ll break down the exact amount of money I made with these things last month, and how much time I put into it.
If you have any questions, just let me know in the comments and I’ll get back to you!
Here we go.
1. Airbnb: $480,72
I have a spare room in my apartment that I bought — I cleaned it up, decorated it nicely, made a bunch of professional-looking pictures and put it up on Airbnb as a “Private Room in Cosy, Shared Apartment”.
If you have the space / facilities, I would highly recommend you to do the same. If you’re interested, you can sign up to become an Airbnb Host here.
Another benefit that this has, is that my space is always clean.
I am obligated to clean, because I want my guests to have the best possible experience when staying at my place. A clean environment also helps me professionally. Less mess = less distractions = more productivity.
Also, should you decide doing this, then put yourself in the customer’s shoes: “what would I find important if I would rent a place somewhere?”
- Cleanliness (bathroom, kitchen, toilet, room…)
- Comfort
- Location
- Hospitality
- Attention to extra details
Remember:
Always treat others the way you would like to be treated.
How much time do I spend on this?
Barely anything. I have a cleaning lady (included in Airbnb price) who comes once a week, who takes care of everything.
In case I have multiple guests per week, I do the cleaning and the laundry etc. myself. Let’s say, 1 hour per week, at max.
2. Blogging: $553,85
This is crazy. It’s only my third month of being monetized on Medium, and I’m already earning a — in my eyes — insane amount of money!
All while I’m just writing my heart out, writing about things that I find interesting, or things that happen to me — like this article — and I’m being rewarded for it! How crazy is that?!
I would recommend ANYONE to start their own blog. It doesn’t even have to be public, because just writing stuff down can be so relaxing and relieving.
For example, last weekend I went out and met someone at a bar who proposed me an amazing job opportunity. I’ve written everything down: pro’s, con’s, consequences, plans… Writing down your thoughts often helps with analysing things better. After analysis, I decided I shouldn’t take the offer.
Either way, here’s a screenshot from my Medium earnings:
How much time do I spend on this?
Between 1–3 hours per day, even in weekends. Since this month, this time has increased because I am not only publishing on Medium anymore, but I’m also publishing my articles on https://vocal.media, https://simily.co and this blog website.
I feel like I’m contributing to people’s knowledge and answering lots of questions that I myself was struggling with for years, so yeah, it’s really rewarding.
3. Gym Small Group Training: $78
This month, I gave 2 Small Group trainings. For each training, I charge $39. It’s not much, but I also regularly train at that gym for free, so I guess it compensates a bit.
I don’t often teach gym classes anymore, because it takes a lot of time to prepare each training (it’s mostly specifically tailored to the audience that’s coming that hour). I spend too much time on it for too little reward.
Sure, I could up my price, but then they’d expect me to come more often instead of twice a month…
Either way, it’s a little extra + it allows me to train as well, so… why not?
How much time did I spend on this?
Around 4 hours this month, including the lesson preparations, driving there and teaching the classes.
4. Print on Demand: $863,98
Print on demand is my biggest earner. I’ve written multiple articles about it, you can find a list here.
Let’s break it down a bit:
- Redbubble: $144,31
- Teepublic: $83,52
- Society6: $8,00
- Amazon KDP: $26,89
- Etsy: $44,05
- Amazon + Printful: $102,40
- Displate: $454,81
Total: $863,98
How much time do I spend on this?
Around 2 hours per week. I have a design session once per week, in which I create around 10 designs. This takes me maybe an hour, maybe less. It depends on how smooth everything goes.
Next, I upload it. I usually do it whenever I have a bit of time in between my job, or during lunch breaks.
My process:
I first upload my design to Redbubble, next I copy/paste the title, description and all the tags to all the other sites. Takes me barely a few minutes.
Also, if I don’t have inspiration, I ask ChatGPT to write a “SEO-friendly title, description and 20 tags for a design that — describe your design here”. Just a small tip.
5. Rental income: $495
Thanks to my savings & investments I did over the years, I was able to purchase a very cheap student room, which I now rent out for $495 / month.
I have to pay back a loan and some extra costs for this, don’t forget that. So out of these $495, around $150 is profit.
Time spent:
None. If there are no issues, then it doesn’t require any time. In the summer I might have to replace a window though, that’s going to cost me some time & money.
6. YouTube Automation: $263,95
As you may or may not know, I was doing amazingly well with YouTube Automation in the beginning of 2022 — I earned +20k in just a few months time, but then all my channels (and the way I was monetizing them) got banned. Blocked. Deleted. Gone!
I had to start all over, which I did in December 2022. Now, my channel is gaining a little bit of traction — I earned $263,95 with it, but I’m spending $100 on video creation (outsourced), so I have nearly $164 profit.
As my audience & subscribers grow, my profit should grow as well. It’s going slowly, but I rather have steady, slow growth than the same thing happening all over again and losing my channels.
Time spent? None. Just have to pay and talk with the freelancer, so maybe a few minutes time.
In case you’re curious about YouTube Automation (aka YouTube Cash Cow), you can read more about it here.
Total (extra) earned this month: $2735,50
For the amount of time & effort I put into it, I think overall I did quite well this month. I mean, this comes on top of my 9–5 day job that I still have — I am extremely happy with it.
Most of this money is being re-invested into stocks, crypto and YouTube Automation. Stocks & crypto are really low right now, so for me it’s a good time to invest. It might go lower so don’t take my word for it — always do your own research and educate yourself well!
Anyway, here’s a brief overview of my Finance tracker Excel sheet that I keep:
But don’t forget…
Most of these numbers are the result of years of hard work, consistency and dedication. It just doesn’t happen overnight.
I’m sure that I could do better — sometimes I see POD guys and YouTube guys making hundreds of dollars per day… I don’t always know if it’s 100% legit but I’m just following my own path and I’ll see where it will bring me!
Either way… still a long way to go before I will have earned my 100k.
Let’s keep hustling!
Want more?!
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Did you know? I also write about different passive income streams like Print on Demand, YouTube Automation, investing tips, healthy habits and just keeping yourself motivated to keep going every day!
P.S. Don’t forget to get your Financial Improvement Tracker Worksheet here while it’s still CRAZILY DISCOUNTED (just $2 WTF)!