Hey all, I'm new to this forum, but I have been in aviation for 2 years now. I'm working on my commercial with plans to CFI after. I want to invest in a small business that can supplament the low starting salaries working as a CFI or regional. An extra 1000 or so per month is what my goal is now. I was thinking investing in a few vending machines and see how that goes. Another Idea I had, was to buy a small cargo van and hire a driver to work for it. Thoughts?

Concentrate on flying. Put all your time and effort into flying. Find more ways to make money by flying or doing aviation related activities. Then you'll be more likely to get the rewards that come with being a professional in your field.



Typhoonpilot

Typhoon makes an excellent point, however.....

A friend has a paper route. Not the kid on a bike, but he delivers to major stores and racks. He subs out 4 nights a week to another guy and still makes pretty good money for himself. I don't know how he handles the hours - Sundays are a b***ch, 2am-8am - but he'll still meet me at the golf course at 9.

I'm not sure how much he makes a month, but I was surprised. He's been doing this for many years and held a 8-5 job during most of that time.

Good Luck!

Small businesses have a horrendous failure rate, especially if they are new and don't have a lot of start-up capital. That's the last thing a subsistence-level pilot needs. A second job that fits your flying schedule is OK, and may be necessary, but don't invest your scarce cash in it.

From what I read on these forums, it takes a while before you can make a good living working at a regional airline. That is why I'm trying to get ready for those times. I'm only 23, and single, still living with my parents. I want to have another source of income that's outside of aviation just incase things go bad.

My dad use to do that to pay the holiday bills. Puts extra wear and tear on the car and is not worth the pay or time.

First off, rule out anything that requires much capital at all to start. Like Tom said, you can't afford to self fund a small business when the odds are stacked so high against you. We also don't know what your skill set and education level is. Perhaps you have a degree in finance and like to analyze corporate SEC filings, or maybe you have some web development skills you could put to use. If nothing else, maybe you could start an online retail business and do product reviews on youtube. Go with something that interests you, but that won't detract from your growth at your current chosen career field... that should be your real goal for the next few years.

As a couple others have said, concentrate on aviation. Don't go into instructing with the intent of getting hours and moving on. Go into it with the desire to learn and be the best. The instructors that don't make money are the ones who ***** themselves out just to get the hours and move on. Sure you want the hours, but become a knowledgeable, respected instructor while you're at it. If you don't get a job at a pilot mill you may be able to pull in a respectable wage. I was able to make 35-45k per year as an instructor which actually allowed me to save up for the lean years when I got my "real" flying job. And, I got a lot more from instruction than just hours in my logbook.
Just something to consider. Everyone's experience is different.

I agree with Typhoon and Tom, but offer this perspective, one from someone who put the safety of the law aside to open a small business. Several things gave me confidence - my husband continued to work so we always had a good income; we had enough money to purchase the real property in which to operate the business; I did not have to hire a lawyer, real estate agent, accountant, bookkeeper, barista or janitor since I performed all those roles myself; and we had a healthy bank balance so that if the coffee shop failed, we were not going to be penniless.

You appear to be the complete opposite of me. I would echo Tom's advice that starting and running a small business is very risky, very stressful, very time consuming, and very emotionally draining. Over 50% of new businesses fail so your chances of failing is rather high especially if you should be spending most of your time pursuing your aviation goals. If you wanted to run even a small drive through espresso stand, I know the start up costs will run you about $3000 for the stand only and $10,000 for all the equipment, with the espresso machine being the most expensive. Then you have to hire your bikini baristas because nobody would patronize your place if they saw a starving wannabe pilot making their caramel latte.

However, I re-read your post and took notice of your idea of vending machines. This is a low cost way of making some extra money. The cost of the machines themselves is not prohibitive. You would need to find good locations and have to make time to service the machines, probably daily. Not a bad idea really.

Have you considered getting a pizza franchise (in a good neighborhood)? Pizzas are incredibly cheap to make... I think it was something like $0.35 food cost per pizza. From what I heard while there, much cheaper food cost per product than other fast food restaurants.
Just a though from someone who spent over a year in that business.
Alternatively, deliver pizzas in a good neighborhood. I made enough on that working somewhere between part and full time to pay for an apartment and bills. There were a few nights I walked away making more than the manager did that day. XD I wouldn't be a $1000/mo income figure, though.