Welcome to Issue 39 of the Retirement Side Hustle Newsletter.
This month’s update is a bit different — part financial report, part gear test, and part existential musing on why side hustles are so hard.
First up, I’ve bought an Insta360 X5 camera — yes, it cost a lot — but buying it is part of my attempt to update my equipment and hopefully also speed up the video-making process. This video was shot using the Insta360 X5 camera and an Insta360 Mic Air. (I like to learn by doing. So, if this video feels a bit experimental (with wind noise, weird camera angles, etc.), that’s why. It’s hands-on testing in “real-world” conditions.)
Financial Report – Year 2 Begins
After 13 months of running various side hustles:
YouTube Science: A YouTube channel about cell biology, biomedical sciences and a little bit of chemistry.
YouTube Travel: A channel dedicated to a long-form video format (20 - 30 minute videos) about my travel adventures on a narrowboat.
Blogs: A science blog on Blogger and a travel blog hosted on Ghost.
Substacks: The Pension Newsletter, the Wandering Newsletter's and this newsletter — the one you are reading.
Ebooks & Ads: No sales (Maths Refresher for Bioscientists; Biosciences Glossary; Gumroad Store), and AdSense.
Things are looking interesting and challenging, and you will have to watch the video to find out why!
However, I will say, that from sitting down and recording the video, I have identified some key areas of concerns and things I need to change/improve:
Time is my biggest constraint — I need to find a way to spend more time on my side hustles.
Automation and streamlining are my next goals — the aim here is to free up time.
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