Home › Forums › Decaffeinated Coffee › Side Hustle idea for kollel yungerman
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June 23, 2023 11:28 am at 11:28 am #2202656SteveParticipant
Does anyone have an idea for a kollel yungerman. I’m not looking to become rich from a side hustle. I’m just curious if there is another option besides for tutoring that can bring in $1000 a month with limited amount of time invested.
June 23, 2023 3:17 pm at 3:17 pm #2202668DaMosheParticipantYou can drive for Uber or Lyft, although that isn’t limited time invested., and it would require a smartphone.
Take some shifts as a cashier at your local grocery.June 23, 2023 3:17 pm at 3:17 pm #2202677n0mesorahParticipantLakewood? Driving a bus route.
June 23, 2023 3:17 pm at 3:17 pm #2202684ujmParticipantDay trading.
June 23, 2023 5:28 pm at 5:28 pm #2202717SteveParticipantThanks for suggestions. Day trading is very dangerous and usually loses. Bus route is intriguing but only the morning route works with a kollel schedule. Is there a need for uber/lyft in Lakewood?
Anyone else have other ideas?
June 23, 2023 5:28 pm at 5:28 pm #2202718AviraDeArahParticipantI disagree with these suggestions; Uber driving is not always safe, and it’s not very profitable either. Day trading is almost like gambling, and I’ve read stories of people getting addicted.
I’d suggest driving for a Jewish car service; they give generous portions of the fares, largely because there’s so little overhead cost.
Buying and selling things on eBay, Amazon, etc… Can be doable on a small scale.
You could also spend a few hours selling things like business mortgages or other high-yield sales, where one sale pays off significantly; companies like Eastern Union, based in Lakewood, hires people to do this for a few hours a day, not even everyday necessarily.
June 23, 2023 5:28 pm at 5:28 pm #2202720☕️coffee addictParticipantNight mashgiach
June 23, 2023 7:30 pm at 7:30 pm #2202735commonsaychelParticipantPT corrections officer in a private jail, drive a yellow cab, work at call center.
June 23, 2023 7:30 pm at 7:30 pm #2202730Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantWorking as an accountant at $100/hour for 10 hours a month.
June 23, 2023 7:30 pm at 7:30 pm #2202731Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantWorking as Uber driver on most lucrative routes, like nights and airports.
I am not sure how this works, but I think most drivers rush into the next ride. You can sit and learn waiting for a more lucrative, or closer to you, order.
Also, Uber has a benefit – free college tuition for Arizona State U online. That will let you transition smoothly into the $100/hour 1-hour a week role as an accountant or a lawyer, or a software developer.
June 23, 2023 7:30 pm at 7:30 pm #2202732Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantRav Itzele Peterburger preferred to work in his wife’s pub as serving drinks frees your head to ;earn while you are doing that, better than being a Rav according to him. Working at Starbucks might be a better alternative than serving drunks in our time. Starbucks also has Arizona State scholarship like Uber.
June 23, 2023 7:30 pm at 7:30 pm #2202727Yserbius123ParticipantI can tell you what not to do. Day trading hasn’t been profitable since the 00’s. Computer algorithms do so many trades so fast, they put an end to any logical trades for short termed gains. From what I hear, app gigs (Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, etc.) require so much time to be profitable, it’s essentially a full time job.
Absolutely do not fall for any sales job that requires you to put in money upfront (Ambit Energy, Amway, Primerica). These are multi-level marketing companies (MLM for short). They are essentially scams that make money on sellers being forced to pay fees for the products that they are selling and prey on people who are looking for a side hustle. Unfortunately, may kollel yungerlite and their rebbetzins get caught up in it.
If I can make a suggestion, spend time to learn a trade that can be done at home. Coding/programming is good, along with database management. There are always places looking to contract a part time coder to help with their app or something.
June 23, 2023 7:30 pm at 7:30 pm #2202729Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantTeaching your own kids and saving on tuition and gas.
June 24, 2023 11:12 pm at 11:12 pm #2202846Yabia OmerParticipantOr get a regular job and be קובע עתים
June 24, 2023 11:13 pm at 11:13 pm #2202839KuvultParticipantStart a multi level marketing business & harass your relatives, neighbors and friends to join.
June 25, 2023 12:29 am at 12:29 am #2202851Thoughtful ResponseParticipantAmateur photographer for families and children
Armature videography for funerals and speeches or small family events
Book binding
Painting / repairing of furniture. It is typically single color stuff.
Minor handy work like hanging pictures and fixing closet doors.
Sheleping or moving help
Currier / deliveries
Shamus pickup
Grocery store shopper
Call a mechanic shop and offer to pickup or drop off cars for clients who have no time.
Become a voice artist and record books digitally.
Gardening
Become a colorist. Black Magic Davinci Resolve is free to download and you can learn how to use it with a class from LinkedIn learning.
Become a video editor using the same program.
Call companies and offer to file paperwork.
Call companies and offer to straighten out the shop or sort out parts.You said side hustle. The keyword is hustle. You’re not going to get rich (al pi derech hateva) by only being willing to do “rich” work. You gotta “hustle”.
June 25, 2023 12:30 am at 12:30 am #2202850AviraDeArahParticipantYabia, why don’t you quit your job and learn all day?
Maybe because giving major lifestyle advice to someone you don’t know online is rude?
June 25, 2023 1:00 am at 1:00 am #2202854SteveParticipantThank you everyone for the ideas. Please keep them coming!
June 25, 2023 9:07 am at 9:07 am #2202859YSL1234ParticipantAs a Yungerman, I face the same predicament.
What worked for me was part-time teaching in a local frum school,
learning with baalei batim (make sure they know you expect payment upfront) and computer programming.The biggest problem here is that all the above options require time investment where the salary is directly related to the time invested. This is obviously what Kollel guys are trying to avoid, but to find something that actually helps with the bills and does not require selling your time is almost impossible as can be seen from the suggestions given.
Many Yunderlite have this dream to start a business where they can work 3 or 4 hours a day and just watch the money roll in and carry on learning. To date I have not met a single person that managed to start such a business. Most of the people that tried this just landed up closing their startups and getting full time jobs.
Today I work as a programmer and learn as much as possible.
June 25, 2023 9:07 am at 9:07 am #2202858Shimon NodelParticipantMake the best garlic dips out of your kitchen
June 25, 2023 10:28 am at 10:28 am #2202907Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantYSL1234> Today I work as a programmer and learn as much as possible.
congrats. But this is a good question – seemingly not many people can hold middle ground. You either do not work at all, or work “full time”, that in USA means often overtime. What stops, say, a computer programmer to work part-time 20 hours/week? Is it pressure from the employer or contracting house? Or is it internal – hard to stop when you have a lucrative job going. Computer programming is often months-long projects. How about a 3-month full time contract and then 3-month-long learning? anyone tried such “seder”?
June 25, 2023 12:43 pm at 12:43 pm #2202938Ari KnoblerParticipantSteve–
Work is not a hustle. To call it that is an insult to all of us who work for a living and do so proudly. I needn’t remind you of the various occupations held by the חז”ל, and by ראשונים such as Rashi, Rambam and others. Obviously, you are not a vintner or court physician. Nor are you a tanner, sandler, woodcutter or hotelier. But the Torah tells us שֵֽׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד. It is a מצוות עשה to work, and to do so six days out of the week. I know R’ Meir says הוי ממעט בעסק, ועסוק בתורה. Ideally, through a passive income, you can follow both directives (so may it be said of us all).
Very few occupations provide a regular passive income, but there are a few:
You could do day trading. You need not pass the Series 7 exam or have any broker’s license. Just have an account with E*Trade or another online trading platform. Start small. Invest in blue chip stocks that pay a dividend. As you grow in your knowledge of the markets, you can begin buying and selling with greater frequency. But bear some things in mind:
NO PENNY STOCKS.
NO FUTURES OR OPTIONS.
NEVER BUY ANYTHING ON MARGIN (My late father ע”ה bought on margin and lost his proverbial shirt).
DIVERSIFY AND USE COMMON SENSE. Invest in real companies with a history and reputation. IBM, AT&T, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil, Texas Instruments, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Merck, IBM, Con Edison, Dominion, etc.
Of course, there’s always a catch. YOU NEED MONEY TO MAKE MONEY. So, invest what you can without causing yourself any hardship. LEARN SOME PATIENCE (a virtue I take it you need to work on a bit).
Also: Mutual funds are safe. You won’t lose money in the end, but you won’t become King Midas either.
Bonds are extremely safe. Yes, the interest rate (the return you as the investor realize) is quite low at 4.3%, but it is guaranteed.
There’s that. We should all have stock and bond portfolios.
Also, lest I forget: STAY AWAY FROM REAL ESTATE. (If you own real estate, however, KEEP IT. Even if you have to eat out of a can, DON’T SELL. Real estate is just what it says: A real, tangible holding. And real estate will always be highly valued.)
Another idea:
Open a pizza shop. (I’m being quite serious.) You won’t need to invest in over-the-top ambience. The menu is short and straightforward. The ingredients are relatively cheap. You can pool your resources with a group of other Kollel yungeleit and establish a thriving concern. You will have to pay at least a few people to do the menial work. You yourself can serve as the mashgiach (or alternate with your partners). With such a business, you would (conceivably) be able to sit with a ספר all day. I’d stay away from a פֿליישיק restaurant. In fact, I wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. Far too expensive and too many potential kashrus-related issues. Remember: Keep it simple. And also: ALWAYS GO OVER THE BOOKS YOURSELF.
Another idea:
Become a writer. You can write original books on Torah subjects, copyright them, print them and sell them out of your house (or from a distributor). If you make a hit with, say, a Parsha book or some such work, you can make very good money. Are you a gifted writer? Are you a bona fide תלמיד חכם? Do you have your finger on the pulse of the community and know what they would love to read but is not yet available? Then get started! אִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי
I have found that if you daven to Hashem and tell Him that you wish to become wealthy (remember, such an ambition is nothing to be ashamed of!), and that your aim is not only to provide a better life for your wife and children but also to become a בעל צדקה and help the אָרעמע ליַיט, if you are meritorious and have no outstanding debts with Him or with man, He will answer your תפילה. So first, get your house in order. Settle all outstanding obligations. Then daven that prayer with as much כוונה you can muster. After that, embark on one or more of these ideas.
Once the Almighty answers your prayer and things start to happen (slowly at first, but they will happen), show Him that you are not out for גאווה. G-d puts a very special חן on בעלי צדקה who live humbly, don’t flaunt their wealth, and give discreetly.
I wish you much success, my friend.
June 25, 2023 12:43 pm at 12:43 pm #2202936commonsaychelParticipant@YSL1234, what are Yunderlite? people who live over yonder and are lite?
June 25, 2023 1:41 pm at 1:41 pm #2202969YSL1234ParticipantSorry my post was a bit vague. I managed to work part time for quite a few years. started at 2 hours a day and eventually to full time as the need arose.
It works but the problem is that it’s still selling your time.
June 25, 2023 1:42 pm at 1:42 pm #2202968YSL1234ParticipantCommon sachel would dictate that it was a typo.
June 25, 2023 4:20 pm at 4:20 pm #2202974AviraDeArahParticipantPizza shops are risky; they open and close every few years, besides some neighborhood fixtures, like J2 on avenue J, Mendelssohns, amnons, etc…the majority don’t last very long.
Also, “being your own Mashgiach” does not exclude the hefty cost of acquiring a reliable hashgocha, who is a yotzeo venichnas,as a baal habayis is not believed fully without accountability when it’s a business.
A business with more lasting power would probably be Chinese food. They seem to be open for years and years.
June 25, 2023 4:21 pm at 4:21 pm #2202979Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantYSL,
re: part time: congrats, this is greatre: selling your time. Yes, it is an issue. There is a story about some yeshiva bochrim in Radin who could not find a sefer referred to in Mishna Berura in the yeshiva. They figured out Chofetz Chaim himself has it at home, as he quotes it. So, they went to his house. Chofetz Chaim said that someone else has this sefer and he is reachable by train in 30 minutes. Bochrim were surprised that he did not buy the sefer. Chofetz Chaim said – seforim is gelt. Gelt is tzait. Tzait is Toirah.
June 25, 2023 4:22 pm at 4:22 pm #2202980Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantSo, to minimize time spent on work:
1) figure out your own balance between high salary and time required to obtain that salary. Say, your choice is between working for $20/hour at a gas station for, say, 100 hours a month OR working for $100/hour as a software developer, so you spend 20 hours a month working. So, you save yourself 1,000 hours of learning per year. But this requires spending, say, 3 years 1,000 hours a year of studying programming first. So, you break even in 6 years, and you are well ahead, if you look 30 years ahead.2) if you are interested in business ideas, like above, my suggestion – try it quickly so you know if you are good at it, and drop if you are not. I know people who are successful in online selling, but it requires a lot of effort – select products, keep orders coming, making sure that every customer is happy even if they have crazy ideas – otherwise your rating goes down and your product gets off the front page and never gets back.
3) a small store, like pizza above, joint with hevrusos, sounds like a good idea. It worked well in the past, not sure about now. One advantage you have – you can manage your time. A normal storekeeper can not afford keeping a store open when there are not many customers. But you are able to learn while manning the store, you can afford a small store. So, you can both learn and practice what you learnt at the same time. One Rav told me that he stumbled into a tiny store in Bnei Brak, selling only watermelons. So, he bought one to support the guy. The guy took his money and started saying – slowly – you gave me 50 shekalim, you are paying 12 shekalim, I am giving you 38 shekalim back, here is 10, here is 10 …. The custome got annoyed and asked why is he treated like that. The owner explained: there are many foreigners here and they don’t know the currency, and I need to make sure they understand that I am not cheating them. This is Toirah …
June 25, 2023 4:23 pm at 4:23 pm #2202981Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantAnother way not waste time is to mamash do mitzvos, or assist others to do mitzvos, for pay. Be a doctor or a nurse, or any job in medical setting, such as driving an ambulance, working in a medical supply store or a pharmacy. If you live in a Jewish town, then almost any job qualifies. If you sell shoes and make sure everyone has comfortable and affordable shoes, then you are assisting multiple people in their learning.
June 25, 2023 4:23 pm at 4:23 pm #2202984SteveParticipant@Ari thanks for the great ideas. One point: “Work is not a hustle. To call it that is an insult to all of us who work for a living and do so proudly.” I was asking specifically for a side hustle to make $1000 a month, not a full parnasah in an hour a day. I’m just curious if there are other good ideas other then finding the best paying morning and night kollel and tutoring to bring in that $1000 z month.
June 25, 2023 9:44 pm at 9:44 pm #2203006Thoughtful ResponseParticipantYou can start a gutter cleaning business. You can easily charge $60-$100 and it will likely only take you an hour or so per house.
June 25, 2023 11:51 pm at 11:51 pm #2203024DipParticipantMove with a few chaverim to a state that offers tuition vouchers. That would save you 10s of thousands of dollars without having to lift a finger, also the overall cost of living is less un places like South Bend Indiana or Cleveland….It could also start a trend where we work smarter, not harder.
June 26, 2023 1:09 am at 1:09 am #2203036ChicagoBenTorahParticipantNot sure what you mean by a side hustle.
Are you looking to earn a few extra dollars and just get by?
Or are you looking for something with opprotunity for growth that can be developed or be used as a stepping stone to a full time parnasah?In any case, there is also the out of town kollel option.
I do not know how much you are getting in kollel, but out-of-town kollelim usually offer way above in-town standards. Could give you another good few years of full time learning.June 26, 2023 1:09 am at 1:09 am #2203037ujmParticipantMedical billing (done remotely).
June 26, 2023 7:30 am at 7:30 am #2203044YSL1234ParticipantJust to point out a bit of any irony, many Kollel guys are actually in a better financial situations than their working peers.
Kollel families are more likely to get deductions on tuition,camps etc. They often are the beneficiaries of Yomtov bonuses and special deals on clothes and food (sponsored by generous community members).
The irony is that their working peers don’t get any of the above and often find themselves with less money than the Kollel families.
I’m not saying it’s unfair or anything, just pointing out the irony that I experienced first hand. Often Kollel families don’t realise this.
June 26, 2023 11:12 am at 11:12 am #2203125yechiellParticipantHow about going to night school and learning a profession.
For those with poor English skills, go to night school , as our parents did, and learn the language of the country you are in. Believe it or not, it’s not against halacha.June 26, 2023 5:23 pm at 5:23 pm #2203189KuvultParticipantLike many of our ancestors you should become a Shepherd. While the animals are grazing in the field you can sit & learn.
June 26, 2023 5:23 pm at 5:23 pm #2203227AviraDeArahParticipantYechiel; want to know what is against halacha? Going against one’s rebbeim. If they don’t hold of college and say it’s assur, a chosid of theirs is not allowed to go.
Imagine two jews; one is told by his rebbe that going to kosher college is a Mitzvah for him in his situation. Another is told by the same rebbe that it’s assur for him to go. One will gain schar and the other will be punished – for doing the same thing!
June 27, 2023 9:55 am at 9:55 am #2203328Yabia OmerParticipantWhy do we deviate from Judaism 101? Rabbi Yishmael in the Gemara, Rabbi Meir in the Gemara, the Rambam etc. And also isn’t one lying when one says in kesuba “afarnes etc…..”
June 27, 2023 10:31 am at 10:31 am #2203454commonsaychelParticipantSewer cleaner, you can do that pt and huge demand
June 27, 2023 12:47 pm at 12:47 pm #2203469AviraDeArahParticipantYabia, have you ever learned those sugyos, or are you just repeating tired superficial banalities?
Learn the meforshim. Get some education. I’m not going through rhe sugya now because it isn’t the appropriate thread, and it’s been discussed ad nauseam here, but your version of “Judaism 101” is a society of amei haaretz.
June 27, 2023 10:51 pm at 10:51 pm #2203656Always_Ask_QuestionsParticipantYSL > Kollel families are more likely to get deductions on tuition,camps etc.
this is nothing unusual. The whole society suffers this “moral hazard” where it does not “pay” in short term to quit welfare and start working for low salary. After 1990s welfare reform that forced many of recipients into the workforce, they were all better off in long term. Of course, the difference for us is that we understand that “free tuition” comes out of a pocket of another yid, or even taxpayer, and one should avoid being a taker, as R Dessler writes in his essay “givers and takers”.
June 29, 2023 12:11 pm at 12:11 pm #2204022yechiellParticipant‘hustle’ is the wrong word for this.
the dictionary says: ‘hustle’ a fraud or swindle.
as in “the hustles being used to avoid the draft” -
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