The Retirement Newsletter: Do it yourself (DIY) — hobby or side-hustle?
Issue Number: -44 — 10 ways to turn your love of DIY into a side-hustle?
Welcome
Welcome to issue -44: DIY — hobby or side-hustle? Can you make your love of DIY into a side-hustle? That is, turn your DIY skills into cash by doing it for someone else.
Last week, as I was working on issue -45: Thinking about side-hustles, a radiator sprung a small leak, and I had to stop writing the issue, and it occurred to me that DIY skills could be turned into a side-hustle.
DIY — hobby or side-hustle?
DIY — do it yourself — some people love it, some hate it. Some are good at it; others are not. Me? I am ambivalent about it. I think I am good (when I have the correct tools), but mostly, I am a ‘botcher’ as I don’t have the time.
DIY can take many forms — everything from gardening to major work on a house. But one thing is true in all cases; you need to know what you are doing, and you need the correct tools. And you mustn’t break any laws or put people at risk.
For example, I would replace my brake pads when I was younger (and cars were less complicated). I wouldn’t do the pads on another person’s car, as I was willing to drive a car I had worked on but would feel uncomfortable fixing the brakes on another person’s car. Now, I wouldn’t think of trying to do maintenance on my car. I opened the bonnet (hood) the other day on my hybrid and struggled to find where I had to put in the oil. Cars are now too complicated.
Likewise, I would never do any gas or electrical work around my house. I don’t have the training.
But if you have the training, the knowledge and the skill set, then why not turn your DIY skills into a side-hustle?
So, what are ten ways to turn your DIY skills into a side-hustle? Of course, not all of these will apply; it depends on your DIY superpower.
1. Do DIY tasks for neighbours (and get paid)
You could become your neighbourhood "Odd job man" — that is, you could take on small DIY tasks for a fee. For example, you could do somebody's gardening (see Issue Number: -67: Gardening during your retirement — hobby or side-hustle?), or you could do small DIY jobs around someone’s house (if you have the skills and the tools) such as painting, putting shelves, building self-assembly furniture etc. For more ideas, look at sites such as Taskrabbit (other sites are available), where people advertise for help with tasks.
2. Start a YouTube channel teaching your DIY skills
This is one of my standard suggestions for making money from a side-hustle. That is, start a YouTube channel in which you demonstrate your skills and expertise. Or a channel where you show your progress on a DIY project. With a DIY project channel, you could sell whatever you produce online (see suggestions 3, 6, 8 and 10 below).
The problem with a YouTube channel is that if you’re not selling a final product, you must hit 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 viewing hours per year to make money on the channel.
3. Create DIY kits and sell them online
This potential side-hustle depends on your DIY skills.
If your DIY skills were something in the hobby craft area, such as knitting, dressmaking, etc., or anything that needs a pattern/instructions or materials that can be easily shipped, then you could provide DIY kits to help people get started. You could tie this in with numbers 2 above and 4 below and market your kits through your YouTube channel or newsletter/blog.
You could sell your kits through sites such as Gumroad and Etsy.
4. Start a DIY newsletter or blog
This is another favourite suggestion — starting a newsletter or blog.
If you have skills and knowledge built up over the years, why not sell it? You could start a newsletter on sites like Substack or a blog over at WordPress (other newsletter platforms and blog sites are available).
You could also link your newsletter/blog with number 3 above.
5. Teach DIY (in person)
Number 5 is self-explanatory — you could teach your DIY skills at a local college as evening classes, host DIY classes or visit people in their homes and help them (and train them) with their DIY. You could consider this to be a tuition service for DIY.
6. Offer your DIY products a bespoke service
If you have a YouTube channel or newsletter/blog and your DIY is about making a final product, you could offer a bespoke service to make one-off orders. You could also offer your products (and services) on various websites such as fiverr and Etsy.
7. Teach DIY (online)
Teaching DIY online falls in with setting up a YouTube Channel (see number 2 above).
You could share your DIY skills and knowledge via YouTube or set up online courses on sites such as Skillshare and Udemy (other sites are available) — the choice is yours.
8. Create custom artwork and sell it online
You could use your DIY skills to create custom artwork to sell online. Of course, this all depends on your DIY skills, but if your DIY leads to a product such as artwork, you could sell it.
You could sell your art through sites such as Gumroad and Etsy.
9. Upcycle old furniture/turn trash into treasure
They make TV programmes about this in the UK, such as BBC: Money for Nothing.
The idea here is that you use your DIY skills to recycle old furniture or anything people have thrown out and sell it for a profit.
10. Sell DIY eBooks
Speaking of up-cycling, you could also consider recycling your newsletters or blog posts as a downloadable eBook to sell on Amazon or through sites such as Gumroad.
Or, you could write fresh material and sell through the above sites, and if your DIY involves any patterns, templates or instructions, you could also think about selling those.
Summary
In short, there are many ways you can sell, market and use your DIY skills as a side-hustle to make a bit of extra money. The choice is yours.
Next week
Next week, in issue -44 — Spring is here, and my thoughts turn to my health and pension pots — I will be pondering my health and looking at the impact of the recent UK budget on my pension pots and retirement plans.
Thanks
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Until next time,
Nick
PS, If you want to contribute something to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.