The Side Hustle Series 3 - Use other people's Ringgit

As discussed in the previous posts, it does not take money to make money. What it actually means here is that you don't need to use your own Ringgit to make more Ringgit for yourself. Don't get me wrong here, I am not asking you to steal other people's Ringgit. It is another method of doing business.

For some business idea, it is possible to use someone else Ringgit to makes Ringgit for yourself. I don't mean it in any way that is deemed illegal, such as robbing the bank or cheat someone off their lifetime savings. I am not asking you to go and take a loan from the bank or loan sharks. Those are technically suicide for your side hustle and yourself. So, please don't... It is not worth it.

Rather, I am referring to get part of the Ringgit from your customers first. Let me share an example.

Makcik Kiah is starting a homemade nasi lemak business. It is a make upon order business to make sure that the nasi lemak will be freshly cooked. When an order of 100 packed of nasi lemak comes in, Makcik Kiah might not have the Ringgit to buy for the required ingredients. It is unwise to borrow from others. What do you think is the best option for Makcik Kiah?

The best thing that she can do is to take a deposit from the customer. Maybe around 50% upon confirmation. That way, Makcik Kiah will have enough Ringgit to pay for the ingredients.

Another advantage of this is actually to get the commitment from the customer. Imagine if Makcik Kiah pay for the ingredients and once the nasi lemak are made, the customer have a change of heart. He didn't honour his part of the deal. When this happened, Makcik Kiah will have 100 packs of nasi lemak that no one wants. She can still sell it somewhere but it needs to be cheap so that people will buy. The unsold nasi lemak will be considered a loss in the business.

With the advance payment, the chance of default by the customer will be much lower. Even when the customer defaulted, Makcik Kiah still has the advance payment to cover for the ingredients.

It is also very important for us to keep our end of the deal. Else, the customer may make a police report, and we will land into a bad situation.

If you have not read the rest of the Side Hustle Series, you can check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.