The Most Unusual Ways People Have Made Money

With technology there are nearly limitless ways to make money. “Secret Millionaires” have been around for years as people with seemingly mundane jobs make it a point to save and invest. However, people have become more creative in earning their fortunes.

This week we go through 5 examples lucrative businesses outside of well-known avenues (Wall Street, Cryptocurrency, Stock Investing, Technology Companies, etc)

Renting Goats

You read that right- with the rise of sustainable land management practices and effective weed control methods, the demand for goat rentals has been steadily increasing. Goats are natural weed eaters, and they have the ability to control weeds and invasive plants without harming the environment. Goat rentals are particularly popular among homeowners, farmers, and local governments who are looking for eco-friendly land management practices.

How much are people making from renting goats? It costs between $400 to $1,000 per acre to rent a goat. For farms with large amounts of land, this can add up quickly.

Not everyone has the capacity to raise goats in a commercial manner, however hiregoats.com has an entire directory of goat renting services nearby. Most of the businesses that rent goats either are already existing farmers or have access to suitable pastures to raise the goats. That being said, it is quickly becoming one of the more profitable verticals of the agriculture industry.

Junk Removal

Everyone has too much trash these days. Getting rid of clutter has become trendy, especially during the pandemic with Marie Kondo’s method of tidying up. However, some have taken this to the next level and created a business out of it.

For example, Slam Dunkin Junk, based out of St. Louis, has created a 7 a figure business just from cleaning up people’s old trash and clutter. Starting a junk removal business is actually easier than anticipated- most of the difficulty comes from getting your name out and marketing.

Services for junk removal are wide ranging- from hot tub and pool removals from construction and miscellaneous items.

The business is not as capital intensive as you might think, either. Junk removal does require a large truck and dumpster to haul away trash and junk, however this could be leased or rented at the beginning of your business. Once you begin to get traction in a market, you are able to add more trucks and advertising. Junk Removal Authority recommends that you add a new truck every $18k-$20k in revenue.

As the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

Dog Walking

Dog walking has long been popularized as a side hustle that young kids run in their neighborhood. However, since the pandemic many are turning dog walking into an extremely profitable business.

In New York City, there was an explosion of pet adoptions from the pandemic. Since return to office is rising among employers, many are looking for pet care. Apps like Rover have enabled people to get their puppy fix on the side- however some are turning it into their full-time job.

Some dog walkers are earning more than $100,000 from dog walking and boarding. Whistle & Wag, based in the West Village of NYC, started as a side hustle but is now a full-on small business.

While it is labor intensive, dog walking is a profitable alternative to owning your own pet. After securing a number of recurring clients, it offers a reliable source of income. With enough clients, it is possible to scale the business to hire others to do the dog walking for you, so you can continue to work on developing new business relationships.

Royalties Investing

While it is difficult to earn a full-time salary from this, investing in music royalties is becoming increasingly popular thanks to websites like Royalty Exchange. We covered the basics of royalties investing on Money Armada, and it is easier than ever to start building a portfolio of music royalties to become a mini-music agency.

This way of building wealth does have a relatively large monetary barrier to entry. That being said, it is not completely out of reach for the retail investor with some cash to burn. Also, unlike methods of making money, this can be done entirely from home at the computer.

Selling Future YouTube Revenue

If you currently run a YouTube channel that has a large catalog of videos generating ad revenue, you may be interested in Spotter. Spotter is a new investing company that buys YouTubers future ad revenue streams for money today. Essentially YouTubers are able to capture their future earnings much earlier by selling to a company like Spotter.

For YouTubers trying to scale their business quickly, this offers a good option to get an advance on future earnings of an existing catalog of videos. One downside of this, however, is that it is very possible that future earnings of the videos may outpace the one time payment. That being said, many creators such as MrBeast, Airrack, and Deestroying have used Spotter to get a head start of their videos’ earnings.

The Future

This list is far from a comprehensive one as far regarding new money making hustles. Everyday people are getting creative with the tools at their disposal to build wealth. If you have time, money, or both, there is an opportunity to start elevating your income.