Make an extra grand or more a month stringing racquets

## Making Serious Money Stringing Racquets

It isn't exactly a get rich quick scheme, but an extra 10 or 12 grand in a year isn't too shabby, and it is pretty darned achievable. I'll walk you through how I did it. 

First thing was to actually be interested in tennis and stringing racquets. I'm an avid tennis player, and it is pretty expensive to get your sticks strung every few weeks. So, like a lot of us, I went out and bought a stringer. Check out Facebook marketplace for good used models that are in your budget, or pony up for a new machine that fits your budget. After my first portable machine, I ponied up about $800 for a very nice drop weight machine that I can upgrade later. I wasn't interested in the fastest string jobs in the world, and contrary to popular belief, you can get just as good a job done on one of these as the fancy pants models  *my beautiful machine*

Then it is about getting customers. The first batch was pretty easy for me - I offered my services to friends and teammates that I played with regularly. Gave them a bit of a discount to earn their trust and you're off to the races. As an example, I charge my friends and family $20 plus the actual cost of the string. Most of the time that amounts to 25-30 dollars, which is generally less than the pro shop and I'll probably be more careful! They tell their friends, and so on and before you know it, you have a pretty decent stream of clients.

This is also where StringBiz comes in (shameless plug). I wrote this software for this reason. It makes your little business look quite professional. You can tell your customers exactly what you've got in stock right at the courts. You send them automated messages when the job is done, automated invoices, reminders for when to restring, etc. And they get a cool sticker with your logo on it along with a QR code that they can use to see the history of their racquets. It'll set you apart from the other stringers in the area - even the shops.

Another good spot to grab customers is also Facebook marketplace. You can place an ad for your services for free, and I've gotten quite a few customers this way. You might have to do a bit of pickup and dropoff, but it can be worth it. Other options are Craigslist, your own socials, bulletin boards, etc. I know some stringers who print business cards and put them under windshield wipers at courts (cheeky). I'm also planning on adding a 'find a stringer near you' option to StringBiz to help local players find you too.

So anyway, let's do the math. I generally average about 2-3 racquets per day. At weekend matches, I might get a few more than that, and of course, some days you've got none, but let's be conservative and say I average just 2 a day in a given month. I generally charge $25 in labor on each racquet, and I use StringBiz and mark up my actual cost on strings by 10% - super conservative. I usually make about a buck on the strings. I do this more to account for wastage, overhead, etc. I also offer additional add-ons like new grips, adding tape, etc., and I make a dollar for a grip and varying amounts for other services.  *Weight matching some AeroProDrives*

So, averaging 2 racquets per day, $50, plus about $2 in additional revenue, we're at $378/week. That's **over $1500 in one month**. That's an extra 18 grand a year!! Some months will be higher, and some lower, but you've got your machine paid off in no time, and your only other real cost is your time. Oh, and that $5 you spent on your StringBiz Side Hustle plan

Speaking of - when you get really efficient at stringing racquets, it might take you 30 minutes or less to get one finished. Even faster if you have a slick electronic machine. If you watch TV for an hour or two in the evening, that's your money making time.

The nice thing is that if life gets busy, or you no longer enjoy stringing, once you've recouped your machine cost, the resale value is generally quite high, and it isn't a big loss, or you can just jump back into it when you're ready.

Happy Stringing!!