There was another thread on this page earlier in the year where someone asked sort of a survey for people here, that I can't find:

If you are also doing something else on the side other than landlording for income, but are still self-employed successfully... what is it? Does it tie into rentals or is it completely unrelated.

If anybody knows the name of the post, I'll look it up, or answer here if you like, I was just interested in knowing what else people are doing! thanks

I mow the yard at my house and lift heavy things when asked. Sometimes I do the laundry but only if it is towels or my clothes.

I have a full time job in completely unrelated field.

Sometimes I do miss the second income and the benefit package.

But man am I happier not dealing with it.

What are you doing is the question!

I have my rentals, but they are not my primary source of income by a long stretch. They are just extras.

My main job is running an MSP (Managed Services Provider) that does business-to-business IT services. This is attached to a larger company that does taxes, accounting, payroll, and financial services -- and I am a partner. This is my more-than-full-time day job. And I like it.

I do have another small side business of sorts. It does not generate a lot of income (mostly by choice), but I help a musician with a bunch of his "side projects" (including helping with his charity, his artwork, and so on). He is a member of a very popular band from the 80s. (They have sold over 100,000,000 records.) I do most of this for near nothing, but the perks are worth it. (My wife has always loved the band as it was her first concert ever in the mid-80s and we always have full access at the shows.)

So, there's my quick summary for you. :)

I substitute teach. Not for the income, but I like being part of a team, and I like interacting with the kids, and I like seeing where my kids go to school and what they learn and being familiar to the other students who they spend their days with. We're a small community, so everyone knows everyone. I like working when I have spare time (ie, during the winter, when the weather doesn't let me do a lot of outdoor work) and not-working when the rental biz can't spare me. I started mostly to keep myself looking good on paper, in case I ever returned to the W2 world, because I also used to be a librarian/museum curator, and teaching jobs are more plentiful than library or museum jobs around here. The pay as a substitute is based on how much education you have, so I make roughly $120/day.

I'm not doing it yet, but I'm signing up to pursue the first module of a stenographer's certification after Christmas, just to see if I have an aptitude for it.

Court reporters are in super-high demand. It's also a certification with a test, rather than requiring a specific degree. It should usually run about $7-$15k for the actual modules. If you have an aptitude for it, the program can be completed in about 18 months, but you also need to be fluent enough to complete the certification test with 95%+ accuracy. So, you need to learn shorthand and how to use a stenographer machine, although some entities allow voice writing, and some people are old-school and go with the traditional pen and paper.

In Texas, the average court reporter is in their 50's, and they retire faster than they can be replaced. There are times when they can't hold court in the rural areas (ie, an emergency juvie hearing), because they can't get ahold of a court reporter. One of the other reasons that they're not easily available is because private sector stenographers make even more than court reporters.

The difficulty is, you need to always be on your A-game, and it probably takes 3-5 years before you can really be fluent.

But the other thing is--- it's super-easy to part-time. If you just want to be available for one or two depositions a week, or fill in for someone else when they're unavailable, you can totally limit your commitment. My understanding is that what a court reporter types belongs to them--- so if you do court reporting on a certain case, and they decide to appeal it, everyone involved in the appeal needs to buy their transcript of the original case from the reporter, not from the court. So that's another income stream from a limited amount of work.

So--- it's not something anyone can do overnight-- but even part-time, it's something that would bring in equivalent income to seven, eight, nine of my houses. If I did it full-time, it would be income equivalent to maybe 15 of my houses--- and no toilets, no HVAC calls, no turnover, no roaches.

Jason: They are touring right now on their summer tour in the USA/Canada. With some other bands, but they are the headliner. :)

I had a tax client who specialized in commercial real estate sales who did quite well with it. I've thought about looking into doing that or getting involved with commercial lending. Either one would be a vantage point to develop contacts to drive my own investing and leave my time commitment flexible.

Having been self employed a long time prior to getting into real estate, I'm not interested in a job where I have to show up somewhere everyday. What works best for me is income diversity where I'm not overly reliant on one source. That can relieve pressure when the inevitable challenges arise.

6x6: Def Leppard was on tour last year with Motley Crue, not this year...

--Having been self employed a long time prior to getting into real estate, I'm not interested in a job where I have to show up somewhere everyday--

I am all about this, and of course my family has no mercy whatsoever. Though I would like to figure out something to do for additional income.

Whenever I have money trouble making ends meet, problems with tenants, or am backlogged with work involving vacancies or property damage... their eyes glaze over, I get the cow chewing cud expression and "Why don't you just go get a job then?"

First of all: You don't just "go get a job" like you run out and pick one up at a 7 Eleven. Someone has to hire you.

Most decent jobs require they be looking for someone, and then you have to compete with a crowd of people for it. At least the jobs that don't pay dirt.

And say I get a dirt job. Why would I want to deal with all the hassle of leasing to people AND work at a minimum wager, having all the politics and stress of being on a timeclock reporting to someone? Thats working two jobs to make the same amount of money I would make if I just quit leasing and worked full time at a decent job right.

But, they don't get it.

Ideally you would need something self employ that allows you to manage your own time, so you can also have time when rental emergencies come up.

Like this week when I had a tenant suddenly inform me at 7pm on Sunday that her deck stairs were collapsing and she needed them rebuilt, or the apartment is unliveable.

Then after I spent two long days drenched in sweat repairing her deck, being informed "What took you so long I've been telling you about this". Even though I looked at my messages over the past year from them and didn't see one.

That kind of thing (rolling eyes)

Duplexer,

6x6: Current AI is often out of date. It has to be "trained" on existing data -- so it is always behind. Sometime when you ask it it questions like who the President is or what movie is in theaters, for example, and it will sometimes give you an idea of how out of date it is. ChatGPT has gotten better at this -- they feed it updates.

That being said, I just asked ChatGPT who Def Leppard is touring with this year and it said Journey along with Steve Miller, Heart and Cheap Trick depending on the date. (Heart ended up backing out due to health issues.)

I am looking for a second business

Have been kinda looking to be a silent partner of something...just started looking

Thought about opening my own business, but i dont want to be tied down