Call out to Hustlers.

[Qlip]

For all the hustlers out there, tell me your side gig, your project, your idea that'll break you through. Tell me about the time your scheme worked. It doesn't always have to be about the $$$, maybe you're running a long game around somebody standing in the way of you getting to know that special person, or trying to get the bartender to finally throw you some free drinks.

 

[Obfuscate]

the best way i know of (least investment and effort total) is to find out what drug your bartender likes and kick them some... not that i would ever condone such an activity, but it is quite effective and cost efficient... this is in regards to obtaining free drinks, of course...

 

[Qlip]

the best way i know of (least investment and effort total) is to find out what drug your bartender likes and kick them some... not that i would ever condone such an activity, but it is quite effective and cost efficient... this is in regards to obtaining free drinks, of course...

I did that once, but it turns out that my bartender was addicted to vinyl. Kicked him a spare record player I didn't have any use for, it kept me in good graces for a long time.

 

[Yuurei]

For all the hustlers out there, tell me your side gig, your project, your idea that'll break you through. Tell me about the time your scheme worked. It doesn't always have to be about the $$$, maybe you're running a long game around somebody standing in the way of you getting to know that special person, or trying to get the bartender to finally throw you some free drinks.

I don't have the attention span for a long-con but my short game is the stuff of legend.

- One such moment, that I am quite proud of was dealing with the finance lady at my dentist's office. This woman clearly did not like me and I didn't have insurance. I could tell women was giving me poor advice, trying to gouge me.

I observed two things about her; she like country music and any stupid thing on TV. I don't watch much to TV and I hate country music but I do like the show Leverage. Bingo.

I don't remember how I steered the conversation but it allowed me to say something to the effect of " Christian Kane. AmIrite?" She dropped what doing and stared at m e. ' Oh my GOD YES!"
She gushed about him for a few minutes and then immediately changed her tone and suddenly " remembered" a current deal for new patients.


- I had a thing for a friend of a roommate. I knew he didn't like me at all. How could he? He only spent time with me around his roommates friends who were insufferable and brought out the worst in me.
At some point he learned that I was into the same sort of games as he was and decided to run a table-top game for me. It went really well-though he was at least tipsy most of the time because Yeah, one of those adult men who couldn't handle being around women.

Our last game session was a Fri after Thanksgiving and I knew it'd be my last chance. I had to think quick; which is my specialty. I asked the roommate if I could stay the night and he agreed. While we were sitting on the couch ( the roommate, not the target) he noticed i had a headache, I got them often from a sore neck. Knowing full well that I had feelings for the other guy ( who is also a trained masseuse) he grinned saying " Maybe he can work on it for you * wink, wink* Little did he know that was exactly my plan.

And so when everyone else had gone to bed it was just and my target. I asked him for a neck massage. he explained that "everything is connected." and that to fix my neck he'd have to work on my shoulders, then back, ect.
At one point he got a little too into it and kissed me without asking. he felt horrible and pulled apologizing profusely. I grabbed him and pulled him back down and well, you don't need to know the details but he's now my husband of nearly 7 yrs.


While many of my stories are about trivial gains, they have gotten me through life. They are how I can end up in the middle of nowhere, no cash, no phone, no buss pass and get home before anyone notices I'm gone.

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

Done a lot of hustling in my life, all legal (lol).

As a minor who couldn't find work, I sold origami creations at art fairs and eventually expanded to washi egg art (taught to me by a kindly older lady in my neighborhood who'd lived in Japan; husband was stationed there). I taught piano to young kids in my neighborhood (the only kids in my neighborhood) and a couple adults.

Sold some Avon/mark product, but never got too deep in the pyramid scheme hustle. I knew/currently know people who do Herbalife, Cutco, Lularoe, Mary Kay, etc. It's profitable if you're in the right market, but I couldn't make a sustainable living off it and eventually quit.

The past 5-6 years, I've picked up some paid modeling work as an unsigned, independent model. The work is extremely unpredictable; I can go months without booking any gigs. The shoots have, in the past, largely come from Model Mayhem. The thing with MM, however, is that if you're not willing to get buck naked (often in spread-eagle fashion with your crotch being the focus), your earning potential on there is severely limited (and some of the photographers on there are, as you might expect, bonafide creeps). It's become like a gateway to the adult industry. Wish I was kidding... But that's another story altogether.

I got a few articles published in a local magazine (as a freelancer - wasn't a staff writer). I only wrote three articles for them before getting ghosted by the newly-hired (at the time) editor, but the pay was decent when you consider how short the articles had to be.

Now, I'm trying to market myself as a freelance graphic designer. When I can get my Javascript skills up to scratch I'd like to code websites for small businesses and the like.

Honestly, given the profound lack of companies in my area, I've had to do all these things and more, merely to put clothes on my back and gas in the tank. For example, I often "hustle" whilst working 1-2 part-time jobs - it's all I know. I'm not hating, just trying to say that it's not a lifestyle choice in so much as my reality. I've done this for so long now, I honestly don't know how I'd adapt to being a part of a company or corporate culture. It would feel strange to me, I guess.

 

[Bush]

Career-wise, my terminal degree. And then I got it and didn't really know what to set my sights on from there.. because ever since I was 18 that had been my "YOU'RE THERE" -- my sole measure of success, my touchdown, the credential, the "if only I had...", the one thing that surely would establish my self-worth. I busted all sorts of ass to get it, though.

I've set some other goals since, but they're looser because I've chilled out in general. My main hustle has been adding bullets to the resume, having it in the holster -- coupled with an itchy trigger finger -- for new opportunities that come along. The endgame is to be as independent as possible: early retirement and/or consulting.

I've got some other side gigs, but they're not really in service of a goal.

 

[SJMM]

Trying to be a writer. Gotten articles published in New Republic, Current Affairs, Baffler, elsewhere, but it takes so much rejection. Just constantly feeling inadequate. But seems to be gaining traction. Now to finish this god damn phd