Teja Graff
She/Her
Junior
Side Hustle: Re-selling Used Clothing
Where do you sell clothes?
I sell clothes at my parents’ vintage malls. They have a small space at Stars On Sellwood, Hollywood Vintage and Antique Alley … I also have used Poshmark and Depop.
What are Poshmark and Depop?
Depop and Poshmark are both clothing selling apps … and Poshmark … (has) more brand-name things … (and) Depop is definitely more thrift and vintage.
Why did you choose to start buying and selling clothes?
I just really like looking at clothes for myself. I don’t know, just fashion is so cool to me because it’s forever changing … I definitely want a normal job eventually … But for now, this is so much better because I don’t have the anxiety of having to go to work at a certain time … It can be really laid-back.
How consistent is your income?
I would say really inconsistent because I could just give up on it so fast. I don’t have to go to the space and put in new clothes if I don’t want to for four months, and then the same clothes will just sit there … and I wouldn’t make any money. But if I am just very into it, I can make … a couple hundred or something in a month … Also, people’s spending habits change so much. Like during Christmas, it’s so much more than … just a random time of the year with no holidays.
What is your favorite thing about your side hustle?
This happened twice at school, but I saw somebody wearing the clothes that I sold at the Hollywood Vintage space … and I thought it was really weird, but cool, because I was like, ‘Oh that’s actually mine … they’re actually wearing it, and that’s nice to know.’
What do you love about fashion?
I love it because you can just express yourself so easily … It’s like art … on your body… And if you’re feeling a certain way one day, you can just dress according to that, or you can dress like … certain celebrities … You can dress up like anything you want … it’s just such an easy way to express yourself, and I just love that … there’s just so many things you could wear, (there are) endless possibilities.
Alder Whiteford
He/Him
Senior
Side Hustle: Re-selling Shoes
How do you look for shoes that will profit?
The best place is probably going to be Instagram where you’re going to see influencers posting the shoe … just kind of hyping them up. On top of that, they’re going to post stock numbers, for example, which is going to be like … 30 or 40 thousand for a limited pair, but sometimes it can get down to like 10 thousand. And so if something is going to be that limited, then that immediately is going to be more hyped — people are going to want it more.
What is most challenging about your side hustle?
How early these releases are … just getting up in the morning is horrible. I mean because you don’t even actually sleep … I’ll stay up all the way till 12:00 a.m. I’ll try to (buy shoes at) that (website) … and then there is one at 3:00 a.m., so I’ll usually go to bed for two hours, wake up at 2:30, go for the one at 3:00, go to bed for an hour and a half, go for the one at 5:00 a.m., stay up all the way until 8:00 am and then I’ll go back to bed because there’s sites that release (shoes) at 12:00, 3:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00 p.m.
How much do you usually make for one pair of shoes?
I mean, it depends. Sometimes … on a pair of shoes that’s not going to do that well, you can probably make like 25 to 50 (dollars), but I usually make around 100.
How do bots and programs help you with the process of buying shoes?
So they’re gonna, they’re going to automate the process as well as allow you to get multiples … instead of just running on one page on your own, your, its running 50 different requests at once.
Can you tell me about the shoes you are holding right now?
I still have roughly eight pairs. (I have) three Jordan 1 Travis Scotts which are one of the biggest shoes of the year, probably the number one shoe of the year. They have awards for this, which is really funny. Yeah, that’s probably the craziest thing that I have, they go for roughly 1,200 (dollars) apiece.
What is the best thing about your side hustle?
So, for me, it was meeting people through a site (called) Discord. So, I was just kind of chatting. So, you can create servers, and you actually get to meet people, chat with them about the shoes and just kind of figure out how to buy them. And so I’ve met … a group of 12, 13 people from around the U.S. and some … actually live abroad.
Allison Parker
She/Her
Junior
Side Hustle: Busking
What is your side hustle?
My side hustle is playing violin at little festivals or farmer markets around Portland … which is called busking.
Why did you choose to take on this side hustle instead of a regular job?
Playing the violin on the street … or doing something on the street … tends to make more money, although it isn’t a reliable income. But it makes more money than say, babysitting or working at McDonald’s.
What is most challenging about your side hustle?
After a while, I get tired. Sometimes it’s really hot out, sometimes it’s cold out. It has to be a good temperature for my fingers to not hurt. And, after a while … my shoulder gets really tight. So it can have some like negative physical effects on my body. But aside from that, there are some … people who don’t really like what I’m doing.
Why do some people not like what you are doing? 
A lot of the time it is actually other buskers who don’t like the competition … or I took their spot or something like that.
What is your favorite thing about your side hustle?
My favorite thing is that I’m … shooting two birds with one stone … I’m practicing my violin while also making money, so it’s a two for two kind of thing. Because you know, I … get better while also getting money… and I meet really good people.
Who are these people that you meet?
I meet people who stay and listen for a while. And I’ve met a variety of very interesting people and people who want me to be in a band with them or record with them … It gives me all these opportunities, which is really cool.
How does busking work for your lifestyle?
What I love to do is travel, and so I can make money to go travel and do service projects that are really fun.
Can you tell me about these service projects?
When I went to Thailand (last summer), we worked at an elephant sanctuary for the first week and then the second week we worked with children and taught them English, and that was really fun … so then I decided to go again, and this year, I’m going to Ghana, and for the entirety of the two weeks, I’m working with children and helping build schools.
