How These Two Side Hustles Paid My Rent


Uncategorized / Tuesday, November 12th, 2019

**Guest Post By Cody Berman co-founder of Gold City Ventures – UPDATE: Cody built his love of blogging and Etsy digital products to a net worth of nearly $5 MILLION by age 27. See how he got started below**

Hey! I’m Cody and I’m a 23-year old Boston-based entrepreneur who’s obsessed with finding cool, new ways to earn money. I try to diversify my income streams as much as possible to give me flexibility and income security.

Oh yeah, and I love to travel and explore the world!

Ever since I read The 4-Hour Workweek at age 19, I’ve been addicted to finding side hustles to supplement my main source of income. Basically, a “side hustle” is any job, service, or task used to make money outside of your day job.

The thing is, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all side hustle. But, there are certainly some side hustles that are much better than others. I’ve tried almost every side hustle under the sun including delivering food via bicycle on Uber Eats, filling out online surveys, dropshipping, web design, podcasting, blogging, selling printables on Etsy, freelance writing, audio editing and more — but only a few have stood the test of time.

“Is Side Hustling Right for Me?”

One of the most common questions I receive is “Is side hustling right for me?”. My answer to this question is always “Yes!” every single time.

But why am I such a proponent of side hustling?

Well, from a financial standpoint, side hustling can help you

  • Eliminate debt quicker
  • Stop living paycheck to paycheck
  • Save your first $1,000
  • Build up an emergency fund
  • Invest in your future
  • Retire early

… or any other financial goals you’d like to achieve.

Even earning an extra $100 per month can help you over the long run. In fact, if you invested an extra $100 per month over the course of 10 years (assuming a 7% interest rate), you would have an extra $16,580!!!

If the monetary rewards don’t intrigue you, how about some of the other benefits of side hustling like

  • The ability to control your own schedule
  • More time with friends and family
  • Not taking orders from a boss
  • Expanding your current skillset
  • Working from anywhere in the world (if your side hustle is online)

If you’ve never tried to earn money outside of traditional employment, just try it.

Even earning as little as $5 with your side hustle can give you a rush of empowerment and excitement. I know it did for me.

The Best Types of Side Hustles

Some of the most common side hustles are things like driving for Uber/Lyft, bartending on the weekends, and picking up night shifts.

Delivering Uber Eats on a bike is great for exercise… not so much for money 🙁

But there’s one thing that these side hustles all have in common (and it’s not a good thing).

The fact of the matter is, none of the side hustles I just mentioned are scalable.

You could become the best Uber driver, bartender, or night shift worker in the world, but you’ll always be trading your time for money.

The best types of side hustles are those that are scalable and allow you to build a passive income stream.

Many people don’t understand this phenomenon and end up feeling burnt out with their side hustle due to all the time they’re spending on it.

Starting a Profitable Blog

Don’t let this title deceive you. Back when I started my blog, Fly to FI, in early 2018, I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. I definitely didn’t think I was going to make any real money from it.

I just wanted to share my story and everything I had been learning about side hustling and financial independence.

It wasn’t until months later when I realized that this little blog I created could turn into a serious income stream.

And the best part?

I soon realized that after I learned how to build a website, I could put in a bunch of work from the start — write articles, gain backlinks, optimize for SEO, etc. — and then ride out the fruits of my labor for months and years to come!

Since then, I’ve earned thousands of dollars through my blog without having to trade my time for money on a linear basis.

And to make it even better, I’ve made hundreds of friends during the process (like Jenny and Jimmy)!

I’m such a proponent of blogging that I actually created a Blogging for Profit Course to teach others how to get started.

The course features 100+ video and text lessons, expert interviews, in-depth tutorials, and basically everything I wish I knew from the beginning.

Selling Printables on Etsy

I honestly didn’t even know this was a side hustle until my friend Julie told me that she had earned over $5,000 last year.

Yup, that’s right.

I always thought Etsy was just a marketplace for handmade crafts and boutique items, but boy was I wrong.

Printables or digital downloads make up a huge portion of the Etsy market.

But unlike physical items, printables don’t require nearly as much work. You don’t have to make or ship each item.

Instead, you create printables once, and then sell an unlimited number of them… with no additional work needed.

Once you build out your Etsy shop with a bunch of different printable designs, you’ve created a passive income machine.

And to think, I didn’t even know that this side hustle existed until only a few months ago!

Now I’m focusing on adding new listings, optimizing my listings, and how to increase sales on Etsy.

I think it’s also important to note that I am not artistically inclined whatsoever… really though, I can barely draw a stick figure. I’m still able to earn a side hustle income with my Etsy designs though (with the help of cool graphic design tools and Etsy SEO research).

If this is a side hustle that interests you, I highly encourage you to check out my friend’s Julie Etsy Digital Products course, or get started making FREE DIGITAL PRODUCTS using Canva & Chat GPT here.

I’ve actually teamed up with her to start adding content to the course since I’m so excited about this new, passive side hustle.

How Much Money Can You Make?

Last month, the amount of money that I brought in from these two side hustles was over 1.5x my monthly rent payment in Boston, MA.

Of course, this probably won’t happen for you in month 1, but if you’re persistent and keep building up your passive side hustle income streams, you’ll be surprised how much you can make!

The key to this whole equation is to focus on side hustles that are scalable like blogging or selling printables on Etsy.

Once you can disassociate your time from your money, you’ll gain so much more flexibility in your life. All you have to do is get started.

Curious about where Cody Berman’s journey has taken him since he shared his side hustle successes?

Fast forward to today, and Cody’s entrepreneurial spirit has propelled him to incredible heights. With determination and savvy business acumen, Cody has amassed a net worth exceeding 4.5 million dollars. From his humble beginnings hustling to pay rent, Cody has evolved into a titan in the world of entrepreneurship. His story serves as a testament to the possibilities that await those who dare to dream and take action. Cody’s journey is a reminder that with passion, perseverance, and a willingness to embrace opportunities, financial success is within reach for anyone.

Interested in Starting a Side Hustle?

Check out the links below:

How We Made 20k on Mercari: Our Journey and Your Guide

How to Flip Furniture for Profit: My Ultimate Side Hustle

The Roadmap: Your Guide to Passive Income Online

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