Side Hustles are "GOLD"en

You see these nuggets? I made those. And I sell them. And people are HAPPY to get them.

Before I go much further, I should tell you that I live to learn new things. And making those nuggets have required that I learn ALOT about a lot.

I had to study and learn about metallurgy, smelting, forge maintenance, gas pressure and a host of other things. Along the way I met some great people.

This journey started with videos on YOUTUBE. I can't remember how but one day I stumbled upon a video of some dude melting aluminum in his yard. From there I went to guys who melted brass, copper and other metals. They took scrap metals and turned them into ingots, coins and other cool stuff.

Maybe it was my inner caveman but, the forging and smelting videos appealed to me. After all what adult male doesn’t like playing with fire.

After a few months of studying and salivating I decided “I can do that.” It also occurred to me that no one was making nuggets. And although I hadn't seen anyone do it it didn’t stop me.

One of my mottos in life is:

Ignorance is the Mother of Adventure.

Once I made the decision to try this, I made a list of all the materials I would need. I then got on Craigslist and went shopping.

I started with the forge, and I’ll admit I hid it in the garage for about six months. Sometimes spouses are such a buzzkill. Need I say more?

Last year, about this time, things were a little slow at work. On about the coldest day of the year I drove my truck a corner of my property. I set up the forge, hooked up the propane, dug out an assortment of scrap metal and filled a bucket with snow.

By the end of the day, I had about 10 lbs of ingots, and 10 lbs of junk. But I had TONS of knowledge. I was hooked.

Over the next few months much of my free time was spent at the forge. The learning curve was STEEP, STEEP, and even STEEPER. But I kept at it. I experimented with different gas pressures, different mixes of scrap, the amount of quench water, and a handful of other things. My goal was to get golden nuggets that looked like something plucked form a creek in the Klondike. Eventually I got it and was happy with the result.

NOW WHAT?

Now I needed to know if anyone else was happy with the result. So, I then had to learn a new skill and set up an online sales site.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PcockFarm

This was major undertaking for me. When it comes to tech stuff, I’m like a a monkey doing math. But since I live to learn things, I knew I could do this. And I did.

It’s not the greatest site and I should do more with it but it’s mine. And it has help me pay for my “hobby”. I provide people with a product they can't find anywhere else, and they return the favor, in the form of currency. I now have customers and friends, in the UK, France, Canada and across the US.

So, what have I learned from this adventure? Remember the old adage?

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

People are rewarding me for my endeavor, energy and knowledge.

I didn’t write this article for the sake of bragging. On the contrary. This article is an illustration that we live in an incredible time. We have a tool that previous generations did not have access to and that is the internet.

We can do research like never before. We can share ideas, information and products with almost anyone on the globe.

If you have an idea for something new, then borrow the Nike slogan.

JUST DO IT!