03/09/2026
**When My Mortgage Business Slowed Down, I Started a $200 Side Hustle From My Apartment… and People Still Contact Me About It Today.**
A few years ago my mortgage business hit a serious slowdown and I needed to make money quickly.
While looking around for ideas, I kept seeing ads for companies that convert old VHS tapes into digital files. It reminded me that years earlier I had done this with some family tapes just to preserve them.
So I started researching.
What surprised me was how cheap it was to start. For under $200 I could buy the equipment needed to begin converting VHS tapes to digital files.
I decided to try it.
I created a simple page and started posting in local Facebook groups offering VHS-to-digital transfers.
Something interesting happened.
People started contacting me almost immediately.
The reason was trust. Many of the tapes people wanted transferred were **irreplaceable family memories**—weddings, family events, and moments that only existed on that one tape.
One project really stayed with me. A woman brought me the last video she had of her husband before he passed away. There was no backup. That tape was priceless to her.
That’s why many people don’t feel comfortable mailing their tapes to a big company and waiting **6–8 weeks** hoping they come back safely.
Because I was local, I could offer **quick turnaround and personal handling**, and people were happy to pay around **$20 per tape**.
Another thing I discovered is that once a tape is running through the transfer process, it doesn’t require constant attention. I could let transfers run in the background at my apartment while I worked on other things.
Before long there was **no shortage of customers**.
Even now, a year after I stopped marketing the service because law school has taken over my schedule, I still get emails and phone calls asking if I can take on projects.
Unfortunately I’ve had to turn people down because I simply don’t have the time.
But it made me realize something.
There may still be a real opportunity here for someone who wants a **simple local side business preserving family memories**.
I’m thinking about putting together a short training showing exactly how this works, including:
• the equipment needed
• how I found customers using Facebook
• how to price transfers
• how the workflow actually works
Curious — would anyone here actually be interested in learning how to start something like this?
