A stress-free eBay side hustle: how free inventory from my grandmother and an old card collection turned into $3,676 in profit.

Every logbook needs a first stamp. This one is mine.

Before Hustle Trials existed, before I had a name for any of this, I was a college student down in Santa Barbara looking for extra cash. Airbnb had just rolled out a new program called Experiences, letting hosts run activities instead of just renting rooms. I jumped on it almost immediately.

I already knew how to surf. I did not have a business, a brand, or a plan. What I had was $1,200, two of my own boards, and the kind of naive confidence that only shows up once, right before you actually try something for the first time.

This post is not really about the Airbnb listing. It is about how that $1,200 decision quietly became the origin point for everything I have built since, including this blog. If you read Hustle Trials for the current experiments, consider this the prequel.

I Spent 5 Years Building a Boutique Marketing Agency for Nonprofits, One iPhone Video at a Time

Location: Monterey Peninsula, CA Dates run: 5+ years, started during Covid, still active in a reduced form Starting budget: $500

Not every hustle starts with a single big swing. This one started with a phone I already owned, a problem I noticed everywhere during Covid, and a willingness to keep showing up for five straight years.

While Log #001 was a fast, high volume operation with a clean 2.5 year arc, this one is the opposite kind of story. It is slow, contract based, and built almost entirely on trust and referrals. It is also the direct ancestor of what is now Best Moves Marketing.