Hustle/Action time! Income stream ideas

[Schonox]

I am going to use this post to explain my current situation a bit further and to try to stimulate and motivate!!! other people who are in the same predicament as I am currently in. And foremost, I would love for you guys to give me some advice.

So, I quit my job at the end of 2017 after my girlfriend coerced me to do so. My dad had just passed away and I felt like going nowhere.
I started ordering ridiculous amounts of entrepreneurial books. I have read about half of them by now and can now safely say that only a couple have real value for me personally (like Unscripted and TML - Thanks MJ!!!).
Then I started investing like I used to in the past. Stocks, crypto, commodities,P2P, crowdfunding,... Some investments were better than others. I decided to try and make a living out of this.

Then my girlfriend also coerced me to buy a nice caravan on a 5* camping site. We have rent it out the last two years and it was almost always fully booked.
However, the financial rewards as opposed to the work we put in is become more tedious by the hour for me personally. Say that we pay about 3000 euros a year and earn about 5500-6000 a year. To me that sounds like a bad trade certainly since we put in quite a bit of time. So I want to let go of this property currently.

Then, I bought a house at an auction. It was derelict and we renovated it fully (55000 payment, 50000 renovation costs, worth 160000ish). It is now rented out at a rate of 700 euros/month.

I also bought a plot of land in Hungary that sits idle and costs me 125 euros for someone to mow the grass 4 times a year.

I think like a lot of people that we might be heading for a kind of systemic crash of a lot of assets, certainly in north-western Europe where I live.

So, I am getting a kind of angst currently. A fear of my hard work being wiped away by a series of unknowns, and I really - REALLY - need and want to bring in more money ASAP.
Currently we have about 4500-5000 euros/month income and 963 euros of mortgage on my own house.

I had a business where i bred invertebrates, but I quit because there also my time wasn't worth the gains.

Now I want to open credit lines to buy more properties/invest at a higher ROI (cfr. 3.69% loan, 10-19.99% gains yearly)

I also want to hustle and take action now, find a business model i can sculpt to fruition here in the sparsely populated area of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen.
When will I learn? Can someone relate or give me some advice?

 

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[NursingTn]

Tell me five different ways you can help people right now.

 

[Schonox]

Tell me five different ways you can help people right now.

Here goes :

- I am good with elderly people. My mum is in a nursing home and I'd love to be able to help people have a great old age experience,... Which is a rarity :-(
- I have extensive knowledge concerning plants and animals. I have bred invertebrates and I sell some of the produce I have from my garden (saplings from schrubberies, herbs etc)
- Building self-confidence. I was once very insecure and nowadays I still sometimes am. However I've learned to not take things as personally as I used to and to evaluate peoples'opinions differently. One of my kids has the same insecurities, and dancing helps him currently so it seems.
- Building bridges - through social contacts both on- and offline I am able to network and bring people together, which i find a lot of fun to do. Hasn't brought me any profit so far though. Not in the know concerning marketing as a whole.
- Keen eyes - through my extensive experiences in the safety & security branch, i often see vulnerabilities at a company or a private property rather fast. My degrees concerning this are not eligible in the Netherlands where i live, but they are in Belgium. The branch is very much saturated though, and if I'd want any good money from there it'd need to be something very special indeed.

Thank you for your contribution!!

 

[NursingTn]

Here goes :

- I am good with elderly people. My mum is in a nursing home and I'd love to be able to help people have a great old age experience,... Which is a rarity :-(

Start an agency caring for the elderly/disabled. Even better if you can specialize for certain population, e.g. memory care for dementia, care for patients with spinal cord injuries, etc.

- I have extensive knowledge concerning plants and animals. I have bred invertebrates and I sell some of the produce I have from my garden (saplings from schrubberies, herbs etc)

What is this extensive knowledge? Are we talking about naturopathic or veterinary level? Ranching? Eh, regardless, make a YouTube channel and start talking about one topic per video. Capitalize on a particular value skew for your channel, e.g. get to know our animals and their lives, each video is no more than 5 minutes long and entertaining, see the kind of produce you can grow yourself that's easy!, Etc...

- Building self-confidence. I was once very insecure and nowadays I still sometimes am. However I've learned to not take things as personally as I used to and to evaluate peoples'opinions differently. One of my kids has the same insecurities, and dancing helps him currently so it seems.

Start a company that specialize in one fun activity that helps people become more confident, lean, and so on. I don't know, boot camp, martial art, overcoming social anxiety by forcing people to talk to others, football, etc.

- Building bridges - through social contacts both on- and offline I am able to network and bring people together, which i find a lot of fun to do. Hasn't brought me any profit so far though. Not in the know concerning marketing as a whole.

Start a company that helps people have fun events within a community monthly or so. Present these events as potential marketing for businesses and as fun time for families.

- Keen eyes - through my extensive experiences in the safety & security branch, i often see vulnerabilities at a company or a private property rather fast. My degrees concerning this are not eligible in the Netherlands where i live, but they are in Belgium. The branch is very much saturated though, and if I'd want any good money from there it'd need to be something very special indeed.

Thank you for your contribution!!

Start a company helping people stay safe. Bodyguard, security camera, reinforcing housing integrity, whatever you decide is best and let the market tell you you're right or wrong.

You got 5 possible ideas capitalizing on your strengths. Test them out and let the market tell you.

 

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[Schonox]

Start an agency caring for the elderly/disabled. Even better if you can specialize for certain population, e.g. memory care for dementia, care for patients with spinal cord injuries, etc.



What is this extensive knowledge? Are we talking about naturopathic or veterinary level? Ranching? Eh, regardless, make a YouTube channel and start talking about one topic per video. Capitalize on a particular value skew for your channel, e.g. get to know our animals and their lives, each video is no more than 5 minutes long and entertaining, see the kind of produce you can grow yourself that's easy!, Etc...



Start a company that specialize in one fun activity that helps people become more confident, lean, and so on. I don't know, boot camp, martial art, overcoming social anxiety by forcing people to talk to others, football, etc.



Start a company that helps people have fun events within a community monthly or so. Present these events as potential marketing for businesses and as fun time for families.



Start a company helping people stay safe. Bodyguard, security camera, reinforcing housing integrity, whatever you decide is best and let the market tell you you're right or wrong.

You got 5 possible ideas capitalizing on your strengths. Test them out and let the market tell you.

I am thinking about two possibilities currently that come from your replies to my post, for which i am very grateful. I am going to calculate what would make healthy, profitable business and will act upon that. I hope I won't forget to reply on here to keep you up to speed.
Important to me is that they don't infringe on the CENTS rule I've read about in MJs books. So hope I can make the idea work out as well.
How weird is that. I often asked myself the exact same question you asked me, yet when someone else asks me it's like a kick in the nuts or something, i get more invigorated and passioned about my answers. Or, it's maybe because I now write them down?
Who knows. Anyway this looks promising indeed.

 

[Bertram]

I am thinking about two possibilities currently that come from your replies to my post, for which i am very grateful. I am going to calculate what would make healthy, profitable business and will act upon that. I hope I won't forget to reply on here to keep you up to speed.
Important to me is that they don't infringe on the CENTS rule I've read about in MJs books. So hope I can make the idea work out as well.
How weird is that. I often asked myself the exact same question you asked me, yet when someone else asks me it's like a kick in the nuts or something, i get more invigorated and passioned about my answers. Or, it's maybe because I now write them down?
Who knows. Anyway this looks promising indeed.

[Edited] You sound like you don't quite think things through sometimes and you don't consider the worst case scenarios. You buy hordes of books without having any chance of reading them. You buy a rental without realizing the workload and your realistic tolerance for ongoing, boring effort. Then you buy a real estate investment which doesn't do a good job earning you money but you console yourself with the irrelevant market value - that high appraisal is not earning money for you so do yourself a favor and face facts.

You sound like the proven, logical, boring smart moves are displeasing and even triggering to you. You need to risk screwing things up again and again by adding a clever twist or overthinking every endeavor.
This could all because, as it sounds here, you have a poverty mindset.
Even in your first post you approach the problem of needing money immediately in such short-sighted, unrealistic, best-case-scenarios: let's open some credit lines!
We'll tell everyone it's about real estate investing.
You know that's not quite true.
And your real estate knowledge so far has made you cash poor.
Some suggestions:
Never do deals on your own again without good advice. Join an investment group.
Do like those who are unquestionably more successful than you and who are also less imaginative and fun than you - who are not financially aimless.
Want to make money or lose money? If you want to make money, what do you need to stop doing when you evaluate deals and take action?
Never blame anyone else for making a bad financial move. What's the reason for this?
Poverty mindset.
Get feedback, find role models.
Do nothing that is uniquely your own style or your own delightful way of thinking, where money is concerned. You have sabotaged your money system so far.
As for giving to others in the elder care field, once again we read how you became interestsd in something that so far looks very good on paper and now you're ready to create your own business plan. Your own words. But that's almost no information to go by. Don't. Get 50 times more info and then copy a success story. No more stress and risk.
You know nothing of your tolerance or level of interest and also how you would maintain it. Another train wreck soon. Your response not to take even this proposal at face value but to apply your cleverness suggests to me that you would greatly benefict from a career coach. Please look into it before your next move:
Diving head first into debt.

This response might sound harsh in tone. I absolutely apologize for my rudeness. I had a couple of beers and now got bitten by a brown recluse spider so this was by no means my finest hour.

 

[Schonox]

From your three posts you sound like you don't quite think things through and !eave out the worst case scenarios. You buy hordes of books without having the energy to study and appreciate them. You buy a rental without realizing the workload and your low tolerance for ongoing effort. Then you buy a real estate investment which doesn't do a good job earning you money but you console yourself with the irrelevant market value - that high appraisal is not earning money for you so do yourself a favor and face facts. You sound like the proven, logical, boring smart moves are displeasing and even triggering to you. You need to risk screwing things up again and again by adding a clever twist or overthinking every endeavor.
This is all because, as it sounds here, you have a poverty mindset.
Even in your first post you approach the problem of needing money immediately in such short-sighted, unrealistic, best-case-scenarios: let's open some credit lines! We'll tell everyone it's about real estate
You know that's not quite true.
And your real estate knowledge so far has made you cash poor
Some suggestions:
Never do real estate deals on your own without getting advice. Join a real estate investment group. Do like those who are more successful than you and who also less imaginative and who are not financially aimless.
Want to make money or lose money? If you want to make money, what do you need to stop doing when you evaluate deals and take action?
Never blame anyone else for making a bad financial move. What's the reason for this?
Poverty mindset.
Same with investments, get feedback, find role models. Do nothing that is uniquely your own style or your own delightful way of thinking where money is concerned. You have sabotaged your money system so far.
As for giving to others in the elder care field, once again we read that you became interestsd in something that so far looks very good on paper. Your own words. But that's almost no information to go by.
You know nothing of your tolerance or level of interest and also how you would maintain it. Another train wreck soon. Your response not to take even this proposal at face value but to apply your cleverness suggests to me that you would greatly benefict from a career coach. Please look into it before your next move:
Diving head first into debt.

This response might sound harsh in tone. I absolutely apologize for my rudeness. I just had a couple of beers and now got bitten by a brown recluse spider so this is by no means my finest hour.

Haha no problem ;-) And in part there is some truth to your answer as well, I must admit.
I'd rather say I take calculated risks --> assymmetrical risk taking. I'm rather confident I'll never get into heavy debt problems as I'll never lend more than I can pay off directly, with the exclusion of a mortgage that is. Dad always used to say that i should never lend for anything except a house and maybe a car - i kind of differ with that opinion as i'd only lend for something that would generate me income!
Thank you for your contribution, I really appreciate it.

 

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[Schonox]

Update time

The credit line I was about to acquire didn't go through!
The agreed upon rate of 3.90 was suddenly changed by the lendors to 5,5 which i didn't agree to, as those weren't the conditions we agreed upon. They later changed it to 4.3 which I also declined. I don't like being treated that way, the deal was supposed to be a win-win but they got too greedy in my eyes.
So the way it currently stands I won't be setting up a credit line, although I might consider getting a credit card again, for some online purchases. Haven't had one in a while and I kind of miss it.

In the mean time I have a bit larger income stream due to trading going well, as well as enlarging the amount I've put into p2p/crowdfunding programs. Concerning that I prioritize those that give me monthly recurrent income.

I have put the caravan up for sale, and we have one sincerely interested couple.
They should be getting real value for money there. Our income there was negligible compared to the time we invested in it. Should bag about 30-35000 euros, which I hope to spend to further enlargen my income streams (ideas are welcome ofcourse).

The person renting our 2nd house is paying every month, and only has some minor issues now and then (it's like brand new). She's on a 2 year contract which ends in about 1,5 years from now. After that we both have the option of making it indefinite.

I really long to be really self employed again, to have an undertaking of the sorts...
Currently I am looking at Flippa and thinking about whether i'd buy into a running online business, or try developing one on my own. I'd really like some insights on that, if anyone might provide these I'd be most grateful.

Thanks beforehand for any tips and suggestions!

 

[Tourmaline]

When you say you were coerced by your girlfriend, how exactly?

 

[Schonox]

When you say you were coerced by your girlfriend, how exactly?

Well, she supports me in my crazy ideas but only so far. She provides counterweight and looks at things differently. Like at the end of 2017 I guess she thought I need a break after my dad passed away, I kind of think she was right too. If i didn't do that I'm sure i wasn't able to do the stuff i did in-between then and now. On the other hand, what would the financial difference have been? I have no idea really. For me it was a wild jump in the dark getting without my steady income.

Concerning the caravan she thought about the income side (which in my view was flawed, and from TML perspective too i think), but more so about the time we could spend there, having leisure time. I'm not really a camping enthousiast and I think she kind of underestimated the way shed like that as well. In the end when we are there, we're always working as well so...

 

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[Tourmaline]

Where's the coercion?

When your story says coerce, to me it says you are absolving yourself of responsibility.

 

[Schonox]

I'd consider selling that rental property. Based on the numbers you provided, you're likely earning about 4% on that long-term, and you could generate about 50% return by selling. I don't know what taxes look like in your country, but I imagine it still may be a better move to sell at this point.

Just something to consider...

Had that advice before and have given that option a lot of thought as well. My preference would be to sell my own house though, since there's still a large mortgage on it and a lot of work to do.
On the other hand I love where i live. So that's kind of difficult. I also don't like to sell property because I'm not experienced enough i feel to know for sure I'll get a better deal?
And her contract's still on for 1,5 years so i can't currently. I'm sure i will think more about that as the end date draws close/economic circumstances worsen.
I thought I'd be at about 7-8%? Can you please explain how you come to the 4% please? I am currently doing a nightshift so i probably can't brain so well haha ;-)

 

[Schonox]

Where's the coercion?

When your story says coerce, to me it says you are absolving yourself of responsibility.

Which is in part true, I wasn't fully with her on that on both decisions, but thought i might as well as other then that she is really smart and i trust her in almost everything.
In the end it's my fault anyway. I know.

 

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[Tourmaline]

I think I'm just being a stickler. I was kinda hoping she was withholding sex until you quit your job

But it's better that she wasn't!

Have you read MJ's books btw?

 

[Schonox]

I think I'm just being a stickler. I was kinda hoping she was withholding sex until you quit your job

But it's better that she wasn't!

Have you read MJ's books btw?

Hey there are rooms available here for you, so
####blocked by the job eh... You'd guess theyd withold UNTIL youd get a job haha

Well I read Unscripted first and am now on page 252 of TML 'How to spot open roads'.
Think I like TML just a tad better. They're both exceptionally good though.

 

[Schonox]

Ahhh... Did pay in cash indeed! I get the figures now, but for now the costs concerning vacancy (0) , maintenance (0), utilities (negligible, most to pay for by tennant, only municipal taxes etc) are really reasonable, luckily. Over here it's also so that the first tennant organises the garden for the next tennants, which she did very well i must say. Nothing to complain there!
The only thing I plan on doing in the upcoming years is replacing 2 front windows, which should set me back a few thousand €. Delaying that as long as possible though. They are fine currently but a bit worn. They'll suffice for now.
I think I'll look at it like a car, whenever the costs are starting to pile up I'd probably as well consider selling. But until then? Rent on! Love the continuous income. For me that's something new and something i'd love to expand on if possible!

#EDIT# I am however kind of afraid of the effect on my taxable income/property taxes etc

 

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[Schonox]

But, you plan to hold the property for a while, right?

Do you think that there will be no vacancy, ever? No maintenance, ever? If there's a vacancy, will you have to pay the utilities until the next tenant comes in? Will you ever have to replace the roof? The heating/air conditioning? Will you ever have to repaint or replace the flooring?

This is why I said, "you're likely earning about 4% on that long-term."

What happens in the years that you have to spend thousands of dollars replacing the roof? Or thousands of dollars replacing the HVAC system? Your return in those years will likely be negative. And what happens in the years when a tenant moves out, you need to do a bunch of cosmetic upgrades and you have a two month vacancy? In those years, you may break even.

When you average those negative years, those break even years and those "good" years when you're getting 7-8%, you'll find that your average return is probably somewhere in the 4% range.

I bet if we have a follow-up discussion about this property in 5 years, you'll agree with me... ;-)

One more thing: You are managing the property yourself. But, your time is worth something, isn't it? So, you should be thinking about that time that you spend managing the property as an expense, not as extra profit.

First off let me thank you again for the great feedback you are giving me and the chance to discuss this!

I feel like renting out a home is somewhat different in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen compared to renting out in some parts of the States ;-)
The property doesn't have HVAC or Airco, it does have HR+++ glazing and good isolation though, as well as a new bathroom, kitchen and central heating system.
The rental market here is extremely tight. I put up the ad and in 2 hours i had 40+ applications.
People renting out homes usually ask double the standard price because there aren't many rental properties available for tennants and local multinationals like DOW and Doel nuclear plant have a lot of temporary personnel to house and are willing to pay a lot for them. I didn't do what people advised me and asked a very standard rate which allows normal, local people to live there.
So vacancy i'm not worried about atm, never say never but a lot would have to happen to change that.
I do agree somewhat on the upkeep, be it the roof may need to be repaired/replaced at a later point in time.
Rental laws in the netherlands state that a tennant is responsible for small repairs and upkeep, and that the owner does the larger costs. However, contracts also always stipulate that objects should be returned as they were - or risk losing their warranty.

Time is indeed invaluable. Currently I spend about an hour every two to three months asking whether everything is ok and such. It is a liability, however it's still much cheaper to do it myself currently then to have a bureau do it for me ofc, wouldn't do that until i have at least 6 or 7 rental properties.

It all depends you know... Cousin of my father had A LOT of real estate, hundreds of apartments and studios, whole appartment buildings,... His type of real estate differed as well, as did his clientele. He targeted students partly for example. Those guys changed each year or so and indeed from what i know he had his hands full.
Perhaps it's also a question of city life vs. suburban life. Or even rural life. As Zeeuws-Vlaanderen where i am located is very sparsely populated compared to the rest of the netherlands or belgium.

 

[Schonox]

So I guess it's time for another update! What a rollercoaster these two years have been.
Still, in the end not a lot has changed. It feels like I shift into gear just to get stuck in the muck having to restart again and again,... Reading 'The Compound Effect' now which I find very inspirational. hope to adhere to it.
Anyway, what's the situation now?The end of 2019 saw me losing a lot of money. One day I lost 105,000 euros through overleveraged trading. I had quite a few kicks in the balls those days and I kind of struggled to get back up again.
The Covid thing started and it changed my life dramatically. I didn't like the situation then and dislike it even more so nowadays. I didn't get the 'procedure' nor will I. It bothers me a lot in my everyday life though and I have gotten into a lot of arguements about it with friends, people at shops, at the nursing home, etc.
I feel socially very isolated and my circle has become virtually extinct.
I'd like to meet new (if possible likeminded) people but I don't know where to start. To me 'class' is irrelevant, but I'd like to connect to people who are on the same intellectual playing field, you know... Problem is that nowadays I think of myself as being an unlikable person (although I'd do everything for someone I like), turning away and mocking people whom I consider 'less intelligent' and me being 'not intelligent enough' to talk to people whom I'd like to connect with. I feel inferior to my peers so to speak.
A real estate connection I know constantly has new project, through which I got to know him. At the time I invested in one of his projects. He was mentioned last year as an up-and-comer in 'Quote' magazine in The Netherlands.
I never met him irl and only sent some messages back and forth, that is my only connection with him, and the only outreach i have had worth mentioning really. The other times I reached out it turned out the feelings weren't mutual, that is - I'd like a relation to be mutual, not one-sided. A lot of people take 0 initiative and leave it up to others, which is a shame I think...
I got deplatformed multiple times. Whilst I find it a hinderance and I blamed myself for this, nowadays I blame the political correctness and the fact that the narrative has to be followed or your just don't belong. It hurts my ambitions but I wouldn't like to be someone else then who I really am?
Social Media is so fake, so so fake...
So what else is new. Got solar panels, electric car etc which helps in the cashflow. Have two rental properties now, no more caravan. Cashflow is positive but not much. Trading goes ok but only because I take small risks. Mom got into another nursing home which is way better than before and way less expensive, so she has a very good positive cashflow now as well.
We now have a 30k bathroom renovation ahead of us. Money's there but if it were up to me alone I'd invest and wait a bit more. But it's time to have a good bathroom finally. I'd like to earn some more cashflow but other than letting money work (of which I don't have enough right now), I am not sure what to do...
Wanted to start a sticker business. Had some original art etc, had a lot made... But the margins are too low from my pov and i dislike the fact that i don't own the production. Even though I could. Just don't find the inspiration. Reading this thread again though, I might follow up on a few ideas mentioned above. I need to do something productive that will bring in some money.
Thank you if you managed to read this brainfart up to here. I'd be grateful for any advice you might have for me.

 

[Schonox]

[Edited]

You sound like the proven, logical, boring smart moves are displeasing and even triggering to you. You need to risk screwing things up again and again by adding a clever twist or overthinking every endeavor.
This could all because, as it sounds here, you have a poverty mindset.

I found out btw what is 'wrong' with me in a sense. Both my children have been diagnosed with AD(H)D. They both take medication for it. I started reading up on the subject and soon all everything fell into place. My enormous trouble concentrating etc.
I haven't been diagnosed myself but i am sure i have it. My half brother has been diagnosed as such as well now.

 

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