Way off topic but I'm hoping this demographic can point me to some good info. I'm currently a field technician repairing large printing equipment in a 3 hour radius from my home. Some weeks I work 40 hours while some I literally don't leave the house. I average 20 hours per week hands on machines. I'd really like to supplement my income by working from the house.
Are there any super-busy industries where companies ship small machines to technicians for repair (instead of spending 5 figures to replace them)? A former co-worker at another job repaired construction laser levels from home and only came by the office to pick up and drop off machines. I'm really just trying to brainstorm with as many brains as will play along.
Automotive would be great. Maybe not transmissions but specialized assemblies too pricey just to throw away. Anything with lots of parts and exploded diagrams. A few hours to a few days for a few hundred dollars is what's sounding good. Do you know of any industries needing this work?
Wish I did, but it seems like a skill that would be in need.
rebuilding NLA ferrari electronic boards. if you are an EE, this might be a good way to make stay at home bank. Trouble would be building a name and reputation for yourself.
Seriously, we are talking 90's PCB's that go for 8-15 grand.
You may have to freestyle this. IE, buy cheap, yet valuable broken equipment with a market, repair it, and sell it as refurbished. plan to lose money the 1st year building a rep as a reliable person to buy reman stuff from. once you have a customer base, a few small biz's on your docket, then you can make some real world money.
my cousin does this full time with musical instruments. Turned it from a bench in the corner on weekends to his FT gig, with a 4000 sq ft shop and 60-80 hours a week of work.
-J0N
jmthunderbirdturbo said:
You may have to freestyle this. IE, buy cheap, yet valuable broken equipment with a market, repair it, and sell it as refurbished. plan to lose money the 1st year building a rep as a reliable person to buy reman stuff from. once you have a customer base, a few small biz's on your docket, then you can make some real world money.
my cousin does this full time with musical instruments. Turned it from a bench in the corner on weekends to his FT gig, with a 4000 sq ft shop and 60-80 hours a week of work.
-J0N
Have a friend who was doing this on the side while he was in grad school with instruments. Repaired a lot of instruments that I cant remember the names of, but it was heavy duty (lab) chemestry equipment. He could buy it inoperable for pennies on the dollar and sell it pretty reasonably once fixed. Many of these get sold off cheap when they stop working because the companies charge a LOT to fly a technician out and even do basic stuff.
That said, like with anything, he lost his shirt on a few deals.
A guy I went to school with apparently flips rare electric guitars for a living. He knows his stuff. He makes videos of him playing the guitar (he's good), what the guitar is, why it is special, and what it costs. I'm guessing he keeps a decent cash reserve so he can snatch up deals on the spot, then spends a little time prepping each one for sale. Easy to transport, easy to store, no legal paperwork.
My buddy used to make Mustang parts in his garage for NPD. Those "fire stopper" metal plates you put behind the rear seat in a first gen Mustang? Yeah, my buddy hand cut most of those in his garage. He also made seat belts with licensed car logos...in his garage. It wasn't a ton of money, but it made things easier.
Apexcarver said:
rebuilding NLA ferrari electronic boards. if you are an EE, this might be a good way to make stay at home bank. Trouble would be building a name and reputation for yourself.
Seriously, we are talking 90's PCB's that go for 8-15 grand.
How would one know which boards are needed? Good grief is that a lot of money...
