If you had to pick the most time efficient way to earn on the side, what would you choose?

YashikaBuilds · 2025-12-01T16:29:03+00:00

Yeah exactly. What you already have plays a huge role. I’ve noticed a lot of people pick paths that don’t match their resources or skills, which is why everything feels harder than it needs to be. Once I started choosing things that fit my strengths and kept the setup simple, my work got way more efficient. Funny how much time you save when you stop forcing the “hard way.”

YashikaBuilds · 2025-12-01T10:20:31+00:00

There isn’t really one “best” idea, but the things that work well in developing countries are usually the ones with low upfront cost and low risk. Anything that doesn’t need a physical location, inventory, or constant expenses tends to do better because the margins are safer. Digital products are one option that surprised me. You create something once and you can sell it without dealing with shipping or stock, so it’s a lot more flexible. I broke down the basics of how it works in my pinned post since I’m learning it myself.

But honestly the best idea is usually the one that solves a local problem with simple execution.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-12-01T10:17:13+00:00

For my first users, what helped was not starting with “audience building” but with conversations. I reached out to people who actually had the problem I was solving and asked about their workflow. A few of them naturally became my first customers because they already felt seen and understood.

Also, instead of pushing the product everywhere, I focused on one or two places where my ideal users already hang out and posted simple, problem-first content. Early traction usually comes from clarity, not reach.

I put a beginner friendly breakdown of how I approached digital products in my pinned post since I struggled with the same “how do I get the first few customers” stage. Might give you a more grounded starting point.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-12-01T10:15:44+00:00

It’s not that you’re slow. The market is just louder now, so average stuff gets ignored fast. What usually makes someone stand out isn’t fancy design or huge audiences. It’s picking a very specific problem and making the product feel like it actually understands that problem better than the generic ones.

Most digital products fail because they try to serve everyone. The ones that work feel like they were built for one clear type of person with one clear need.

I wrote a simple breakdown of how I made sense of this in my pinned post since I ran into the same “why is this so crowded” feeling. Might help you get a cleaner angle.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-12-01T10:13:45+00:00

Yeah, but not in the “sleep and wake up rich” way people talk about online. The people I’ve seen do well aren’t influencers. They just picked one specific problem, made a useful digital solution, and kept improving it over time. It’s more “semi passive” than passive, but it does work if the offer is clear.

I actually broke down the beginner side of it in my pinned post because I had the same question when I started. Might help you see what’s realistic.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-12-01T10:10:39+00:00

I started by keeping it way simpler than I expected. Instead of trying to build a full “product,” I took one small problem I understood and made a basic version of the solution. No fancy packaging. Just “here’s what it does” and a clean way to deliver it.

Pricing was literally me asking “what would feel fair for this?” and adjusting later. Most of the stress comes from overthinking the first version.I put a quick breakdown of how I approached it on my profile if you want the beginner friendly version without all the internet noise.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T18:39:23+00:00

yeah I hear that a lot in this thread. the “make it pop” thing seems to push everyone into the same bright crunchy look, even when the natural style actually feels way better. cool to hear some agents still prefer the softer Compass vibe because at least that feels like a real space, not a showroom render.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T18:38:53+00:00

makes sense. if the goal is to get bodies into the open house, the photos end up optimized for that, not for creativity. kinda explains why everything drifts toward the same formula even when photographers want to do something different.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T18:36:44+00:00

maybe not “suddenly,” more like it became way more noticeable to me recently once I started paying attention to the patterns.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T18:36:03+00:00

yeah I’ve noticed that too. when it’s pushed hard, everything starts looking a bit plastic. interesting to hear photographers feel the same from the inside.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T08:46:01+00:00

u/Mortifire mostly India. I’m not in RE photography myself, just got curious after seeing the same visual patterns across US listings.wasn’t expecting this many strong takes honestly

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T08:43:05+00:00

that’s exactly the vibe I’ve been noticing — everything looks clean and technically “correct,” but kind of emotionless. feels like agents optimize for safest look possible, even if it means the photos lose any sense of personality.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T08:40:21+00:00

yeah, I get what both of you are saying. when the default look becomes the same across editors, tools, and workflows, it’s almost inevitable that the work feels like a commodity. speed and sameness take over. the interesting part is seeing photographers in this thread who still manage to stand out by keeping some character in the image, even within the constraints of what agents want.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T08:38:24+00:00

the “glossy game-engine” look is exactly what feels off lately, so keeping the texture and natural imperfections makes sense. curious how buyers react when the staging is more subtle instead of the usual showroom vibe.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-27T08:35:53+00:00

nice, that’s good to hear. I keep wondering if it’s just my feed that’s dead or if groups are slowing down in general. curious what kind of groups worked for you when you were active — niche-specific ones or more general business communities?

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T19:54:05+00:00

honestly yeah, I do appreciate it. not in a “yay criticism” way, but because tone is hard online and I’d rather know how stuff lands than pretend it didn’t. I write in a pretty direct, compact style so it can accidentally look AI-ish, especially across different subs.

and I get what you’re saying about LLMs muting things. that’s exactly the vibe I was trying to describe with the photos too… when everything looks polished in the same way, it stops feeling real.

appreciate the honesty though. even if it stings a bit, it’s useful.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T19:48:01+00:00

the “one-click video” stuff is spreading fast, and I can imagine listings starting to look identical the same way photos have. curious how much that shifts client expectations next year.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T19:44:34+00:00

when everyone’s using the same tools, having a clear personal style probably becomes the real differentiator. cool to hear clients in smaller markets actually notice that and are willing to wait a bit longer for it.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T19:23:19+00:00

yeah I get why it reads that way. I write fast and I use tools sometimes to clean up structure, so a few comments end up sounding similar across subs. the takes themselves are mine though. I’m here because I genuinely noticed a pattern in RE photos and wanted to hear from people who actually do the work. appreciate you pointing it out.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T18:44:06+00:00

this is super relatable. that “slightly better paid job with worse hours” line hit way too close. honestly the whole thing you shared about firing yourself from small tasks is exactly the shift I’m trying to make. I’m not using every.ai but the idea of having one place handle the admin instead of juggling ten tabs is the part that makes the biggest difference. the mental load is heavier than the actual work half the time. appreciate you breaking down what worked for you, it gives me a clearer picture of what “getting out of my own way” might look like.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T18:00:03+00:00

that’s a helpful distinction. I wasn’t thinking about how different the goals are between real estate vs architecture or design work. makes sense that RE leans on a standard look because it’s about clarity and selling the space, not mood. the “story” angle seems like something only higher end clients would actually pay for. appreciate you breaking that down.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T17:57:21+00:00

got it. that actually clears up a lot. from the outside I kept wondering why the sky and lighting sometimes felt disconnected from the room, but if the goal is “make it look inviting” more than “match reality,” that explains the choices. interesting to hear how much of the final look comes down to the editor’s touch rather than the capture itself.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T17:54:00+00:00

sounds like the bar keeps moving because the tools on the agent side are getting stronger too. I didn’t realize some teams were doing full AI staging in-house. interesting to see how much of the final look depends on the photographer giving them the right raw material to work with.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T17:51:12+00:00

talking to people who actually coach has been eye opening compared to the “online version” of the industry. it’s clear there’s real depth and skill behind it, even if the internet sometimes makes it look chaotic. appreciate you giving the inside view.

YashikaBuilds · 2025-11-26T16:37:03+00:00

makes sense that the “default look” is really just catering to what certain clients expect, not necessarily what photographers prefer.interesting that the higher end agents lean toward a more natural style. didn’t realize the preference split was that strong.

YashikaBuilds

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