re: Successful side hustles?

I’ve been a hobby welder for about a decade. Recently bought an engine drive welder to build a shed on my property. I’ve picked up a couple of jobs fixing other peoples screw ups simply because I had the welder on my truck at the time. This last weekend I fixed a gate at a golf course. I don’t want to weld as a profession but I really enjoy fabrication and making things work so it’s nice to do it passively. I do a lot of bartering with welding also since money isn’t my primary reason for welding. A 10 minute job can land you $100-200 pretty easy though depending on what it is.

The downside to welding as a side gig is the equipment costs. But I’ve been able to save the equipment costs by doing my own work around my property. The pipe fence around my property alone almost justified the engine drive welder but I also have a mobile plasma setup and probably $2000 in random welding/metal working tools as well. Also, when you’re working on other peoples screw ups you sometimes open a can of worms that makes a simple job a little more complicated.