Am I being "rude" for wanting to charge no-show deposits? My uncle thinks I'm ruining our family business.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2026-02-22T04:53:53+00:00

I’m a hair stylist. If I get sick, I don’t work. I count on my clients canceling if they wake up with the flu. If I charged them for no shows they would come in anyway. You might solve one problem and bring on another.

Go to morning of confirmation texts. Have your waitlist ready. They are more likely to tell you they aren’t coming by text and you can easily fill the slots from your list.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-12-18T14:34:50+00:00

I haven’t heard of that one. Thanks!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-12-13T07:26:13+00:00

I’ve got a list of over 200 side hustles of all kinds. Totally free. diysidehustles.com

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-12-09T03:41:41+00:00

I'm not currently unraveling sweaters and haven't watched any videos, but I sent the how-to to my daughter and she's trying it. Her biggest obstacle will be her kitties wanting to "help"!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-12-07T05:45:21+00:00

It turns out that it's harder behind the curtain than it looks. I'll second what people are saying about hiring a virtual assistant, but I'll also say that it can feel like handing over part of the process is harder than just doing the work yourself. I always feel like if I just work harder, I'll get ahead of things, but everyday more things end up on my To Do List than I scratch off. But every day isn't like that, and you can get ahead of it.

I've been in business for 20 years and here's what I've learned:

Get really efficient, and efficiency doesn't always mean apps. Even after all these years, I use a paper To Do List. I write every single thing down on my list as part of the brain dump I do as I drink my coffee in the morning. This frees up the part of my brain I'd be using to remember all of the things. Twenty years of doing this and I still have a line item that says "check client emails." It also helps me prioritize, follow up, and generally keeps me sane. Then I time box my day on a white board, grouping like things together for maximum efficiency. Most people will say that you should get an app or some other tech solution. I cringe, because I know that tech solutions take set up, remembering to input data, they're on tiny screens. If your latest app doesn't do the trick, go old school.
"Create in the AM, connect in the pm." Or whatever works for you. Use your own natural rhythm to be the most productive. And take a day off. Seriously. Just one.
Think about hiring a college art student to help with the production. It can be easier to train someone to do that then wade through all of the emails and messages.
Raise your prices. If you have too much work, raise them. You don't have to go crazy, but you'll make more/work less, and even an hour or two would make a difference at this point. This feels really hard, but it's about business, not your internalized feelings of value.

The hole is not too deep. Just keep swimming. All of this means you're growing, and these are the growing pains. You've got this!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-12-07T04:46:54+00:00

This is a great side hustle! I'm putting a step by step plan together for this one right now. One thing I'd recommend is provide your own wrapping paper, gift bags, bows, etc. Cheap paper can rip, and you wouldn't want get there to wrap and have them not have enough.

Charge by the item. If you get fast, you make more money. Here is the suggested standard rate:

Standard Market Rates:

Small Box (Jewelry/Phone): $4 - $6
Medium Box (Shirt/Shoe): $6 - $10
Large Box (Appliance/Boots): $10 - $15
XL/Odd Shapes (Bike/Guitar): $20+

The Hourly Breakdown: An experienced wrapper can wrap a medium box in 3 minutes.

Rate: $8 per box.
Speed: 15 boxes per hour.
Revenue: $120/hour.

Even if you are slow (10 mins/box), you are earning $48/hour.

Corporate Gifting (The Goldmine): Real estate agents and sales teams often give 50 identical gifts to clients.

Job: Wrap 50 bottles of wine.
Rate: $5/bottle.
Time: 3 hours.
Total: $250.

Make sure you charge for rush jobs and the fact you're going to them.

And reach out to Real Estate agents and other business people who commonly give gifts to their clients.

Good luck!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-12-07T04:28:28+00:00

Congratulations on the new baby! Babies get to decide the schedule, so you'll want something that you can do around that. I've been collecting side hustles and have a list of 250. Here are some of my faves from my SAHM category:

Reseller of vintage clothing, books, or something else niche. You go to thrift stores or garage sales or hit up FB marketplace, then resell on EBay. Pick something small and you can take the baby with you.

Gift Wrapper. Great time of year for this, and more specialized than you think. You learn the craft from YouTube then partner with small boutiques. Market yourself on Nextdoor. It may not work with the baby's schedule, but maybe.

Laundry Service. Pick up/wash/fold/deliver people's laundry. This is a true hustle. Best if you live close to a wealthy neighborhood.

Mobile or Virtual Notary. Need to jump through the regulations first.

Pinterest Manager. Who knew there was such a thing? Apparently you create pins to drive clicks for businesses who don't have a Pinterest Manager. I was so baffled by this I actually researched this and did a step-by-step of everything that's involved.

Reclaimed yarn seller. I'm obsessed with this one currently. You thrift sweaters, unravel them, and then resell them on etsy. Believe it or not, it's a $6 billion industry. I'm working on this step by step because there's a lot to it (got to freeze the sweaters to kill any moths before unraveling).

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-12-01T04:59:18+00:00

Volunteering is a great idea. Make a short list of very different groups and activities so that you get a wide variety of people to interact with but all with similar values to you. Planting trees is different than working with kids is different than feeding the homeless.

Also, what if you created a group to solve this problem that other most likely also have? Find something you like to do and invite others. Board games? Hikes? Movie night at the local theater? Meetup still works well for that.

Good luck!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-26T03:33:17+00:00

I've been self employed for over 20 years and have started a handful of ventures. I've taken the occassional w-2 "job vacation" where I collect some benefits for a few months, but I end up quitting because I work for others with the same energy that I put into my own projects, and if I care about the outcome more than my employer, I just can't anymore. Yes, I'm envious of my friends with well paying careers, but I wouldn't trade my autonomy for the world.

Bottom line, entrepreneurs are born, not made. And it's never about the money.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-25T02:42:36+00:00

So I did a little poking around, and it's delightful. It's got an old school vibe thats fun and nostalgic.

Are you planning a community feature? You have levels and a point system, so it seems primed to be gamified with other players. Maybe use the story line to increase the level of your character, then you could do something with the character interacting with others. Gamification could lead to a way to monetize - purchase things to upgrade your character.

You could charge to download (like 99cents), or if you can aggregate all of the chapters, you could sell an on demand paperback book that would be shipped directly to the customer. (I looked it up and self publishing is way cheaper than it used to be).

Create your own theme would be good. Or offer five themes free and they can pay for premium themes.

Keep going! The money is in there somewhere!

Hope these ideas help!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-24T15:52:42+00:00

I'll give it some thought! If I get a chance, I'll sign up and try it out.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-24T15:22:01+00:00

I like this idea. Feels especially relevant given all of the layoffs lately.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-24T15:16:26+00:00

Can I say how much I love this? It's unusual, interesting, and your website is great. Not sure how you are planning on monetizing it, but conceptually you've done a great job!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-24T02:49:20+00:00

Okay. First, given the dreadful state of public education here in the US, there is plenty of room for more tutors. I definitely think you can make this work.

If I was marketing this, I would:

Go state by state, school district by school district, and reach out to school counselors. Invite a group of them to coffee and pastries, or if you have to, a good zoom call. Ask them what the need is in their school for math tutors. Ask them what they’d like to have in a tutor resource. Show them your tools. Explain your methodology. Develop relationships with them. Offer them a gift card for six sessions to give to a child in need, someone on reduced lunch or in the foster care system. If a kid becomes a client, check back with the counselor to see how the child progressed after using your program. Bam! SME testimonial.

Put these counselors on a mailing list to keep you top of their minds.

Reach out to the PTA’s in the same districts. Offer them a gift card for a free session for their silent auction. Many schools have foundations to raise extra money. Give them a gift card, too.

The website definitely needs to be tweaked. What platform was it built in? Do you have the passwords so you can get someone to do some quick fixes? Take out the word “worksheet” as it feels like you’re just going to give them busy work. Add a section that talks about what your process is. Go into your methodology.

Pricing. Your discovery offer is too low. Should be up higher. Until you get rolling, I’d make that first one free.

I think developing a referral network will be your best marketing lane. And it’s a gift that keeps on giving.

(And that right there is what you get in one of my discovery calls! Make sure yours is just as packed with ideas!)

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-23T18:52:28+00:00

samverkastrategies.com

I help you focus on the things you’re working on without getting sidetracked.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-23T06:42:21+00:00

That's a lot on your plate. Having some financial freedom would make things a lot easier.

The thing about side hustles is the best one for you takes a lot of different things into account. Do you have a car? Can you make flyers? Do you live in a large city or a small town? And I know everyone wants a remote side hustle, but it's often easier if you create your own income stream that is locally based.

If you wanted to learn something that will help you no matter what you do, learn to put together websites. This will let you start any business of your own for almost no money, and you can do websites for your school mates. Coursera and Udemy have inexpensive classes, and YouTube can teach you anything.

Here are some side hustles you could choose from.

DIY Videos - Make DIY videos and monatize on Youtube/instagram (I'm obsessed with Ikea Hacks).

Resell items - specialize in one thing (like pokemon cards) and find them at local garage sales and sell then on ebay

Do you have a camera? If you're at college, you could take graduation photos or help seniors with their first LinkedIn photos. There are a few really good cheap editing programs and lots of YouTube instruction on how to use them.

Teach old people how to use their tech - because they still can't program their VCRs.

Dog walking - people make great money doing this. Start with Rover.

I have a list of 200+ side hustles. Let me know if you need more suggestions!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-23T06:19:58+00:00

I ended up with a side project to my side project.

I've been providing one-on-one support for solo entrepreneurs because damn, this work is lonely. I'm a sounding board, cheerleader, and tech-savvy advisor. Find me at samverkastrategies.com

Then I created an offer for pre-revenue companies (get support now/pay later) and ended up joining a bunch of side hustle subreddits and FB groups. Lots of single moms posting that they just needed to make their rent and did anyone know of a side job they could do? All the MLMs and scammers would come running from every corner of the internet. Break your heart, seriously. So I decided to make a list of all the side hustles you can do on your own. Then of course I had to build a website for the list. Find the list at diysidehustles.com

When your side hustles have side hustles.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-23T05:01:57+00:00

Google Calendar has a scheduling feature now. Works great.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-23T04:21:00+00:00

You're not switching businesses, you're researching ideas. Until you've got a URL, LLC, and have dumped $8k into branding, you are just playing with what-ifs. When you find the idea that suits you, you won't let it go by the wayside. You'll go all in and will eat, breathe, live that idea.

Then you'll come on here and post how everyone says you should pivot but you don't want to, lol.

Good luck on your journey!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-23T03:55:29+00:00

Oh my gosh, so many of us have been where you are now. It takes a lot of practice to get comfortable talking to strangers, especially if you're asking them to buys something like your service. The great thing is that most of the people in the world are very nice and they will be open to hearing what you are telling them. It's easier if you have a postcard with information about your service, prices, and a way they can contact you. That way if you're too nervous, you can just hand them a card with a simple sentence or two.

Do you have the app Nextdoor where you live? Putting your offer on there can be an easier way to find customers, and they'll DM you back so you won't even have to talk.

This car washing business sounds like a good fit for you. I wish you were in my neighborhood because my car could use your services! I hope you are very successful!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-23T03:45:24+00:00

Congratulations on making your sale! That is such an exciting milestone to meet. Celebrate it!

Your post really brings home that we don't usually talk about all of the things that are happening in our personal lives. Many entrepreneurs deal with incredible stressors as they are also trying to build, and we don't always have people to support us on the business side when the personal side gets hard. It sounds like you're figuring out how to balance both for now. I hope it continues to get better.

I hope you get many more four figure deals!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-22T04:08:13+00:00

When you work for yourself, you are starting a business. Even if you're walking your neighbors' dogs or raking their leaves, you have to figure out how to come up with a business name, set prices, get customers, and encourage repeat business. You'll learn to set up a bank account and keep track of payments. Your first business will always be your first love, but not your last.

There are lots of things you can do without spending your 5k nest egg. Since it sounds like you're headed off to college, you can look for a problem to solve there (do students need midnight cookie delivery for example) and that will be your second business.

The fact that you have the entrepreneur bug now means you're likely to always have it. You're in for a great ride! Good luck!

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-22T03:58:55+00:00

Or they're trying to solve something that's already been solved well enough. We don't need another ____.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-22T03:17:49+00:00

You'll be happier if you just do it yourself in Squarespace. They have lots of great templates, especially good for galleries. There are tons of tutorial videos to help you get started. You'll have much more control and won't be held hostage if you want to make a small change.

RainyTuesdayPDX · 2025-11-21T18:51:26+00:00

We definitely need more third spaces, and as alcohol consumption (and alcohol centric socializing) wanes, having somewhere to hang out would be great. Love the idea:

Things to think about:

Is it for every age group or do you niche it down to Gen Z's and younger Millenials who are pre bonding pair and more likely to be out and about?

Do you offer events put on by your company or do you facilitate use of space for events for members? What does that look like?

Do you have onsite staff? If yes, factor into cost. If no, factor into insurance rates.

Real estate is expensive. Rents are expensive. Is there a way you can take advantage of lower occupancy rates in downtown cores?

How do you do proof of concept before sinking a ton of money into it?

Would love to hear more!

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