This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Metal detectorist gets paid for finding lost jewelry. Hey friends, welcome to Side Hustle School. This is a fun story I've got for you today. A full-time data developer starts a detective agency with his kids. It goes on to help people recover over $100,000 worth of jewelry in a casual side hustle.
Did you know you can make $100,000 in a casual side hustle? Well, you can. We've featured all kinds of stories over the years of people operating at that level and beyond. He's having fun with his kids. He's helping people recover something of value, and he's getting paid.
All good things, of course. This is part of a remix series. We first broadcast a version of this story back in 2018. We are re-recording it for you now. And this reminds me of one of my favorite shows that was out around this time.
I think it was back in 2018. A show called The Detectorists, hilarious TV series. I forget which network it's on. But these British guys who are into metal detecting, and they insist on being called detectorists, not detectives. So there's a whole running joke there, but it is a great show.
Just a quick unofficial recommendation for you before we start the story. I wanna give a shout out to our sponsor, and then Metal Detectorist gets paid for finding lost jewelry. The story's coming up. [Music]
Dan Rocha was vacationing on a Florida beach. Cool breeze ran through his hair.
His kids were playing close to the water. But sadly, it was now time to pack up and head out. He walked down to where they were and gave them the sad news. Little did he know, the fun of that day was not over. As they were walking back up the beach, they saw a man walking around with a metal detector.
They watched him search up and down the beach for a few minutes, and as he approached, they asked him if he had found anything. In fact, he had, in one of his hands was a necklace with a dozen rings hanging on it, all jewelry that tourists had lost on the beach. The man explained that finding the jewelry was only half the fun, finding the owners was also exhilarating. Shortly after Dan and his family returned to their home in Wisconsin, his son approached him and asked if they could get one of those treasure finders. It seemed like a fun hobby, so Dan agreed.
Now at first, they had a cheap hobby grade metal detector. They would take it around the school playground for a while each weekend and come out a few dollars richer. Dan's son loved it. A couple weeks after buying that initial gear, Dan saw a Craigslist ad offering a reward for a lost ring. Dan, equipped with his basic tool, replied.
The next day, after showing up in less than an hour of searching, Dan found the ring and gave it to the friend who would mail it back to the original owner. That was rewarding, and the $200 check that arrived in the mail the next week was also nice. Fired up, Dan quickly sold his entry-level detector and used that $200 to buy a nicer, more powerful one. He knew he was onto something. Over the next couple years, Dan and kids found more and more lost rings, phones, and keys across the state.
He usually charged some sort of reward, but it wasn't ever that much. Somewhere along the way, Dan realized he needed to make his business more official. So Dan formed Lost and Found Ring LLC and created a WordPress site to go along with it. With his stronger metal detector, a handful of accessories, that website, his total startup costs were just over $1,000. He set up the site himself and started blogging about findings over the years.
As his site began generating Google traffic, most of the searches that led his way were along the lines of where to rent a metal detector or how to find my lost ring. Dan would then attempt to convince visitors that they shouldn't try to rent a cheap detector themselves. They should hire a metal detecting veteran. He also demonstrated his authority and skill with finding jewelry, posting photos, and including testimonials. And it worked.
Dan's feel-good stories started getting picked up by newspapers, the tales of long-lost family heirlooms being rescued from loneliness on some beach or in a random pasture seemed to multiply, and Dan began getting more inquiries. A lot of his jobs happen during the summer when folks are more active outside. Rings come off while throwing a ball at the park, sunscreen causes them to get thrown off fingers, but physical activity isn't the only cause. Folks who lose weight quickly tend to lose their rings pretty easily. And there are also a number of toss jobs, which is what Dan calls them, where heated fights end up with a ring lost somewhere in the yard.
As the business grew, Dan began exploring a different market, insurance companies. He discovered that rather than just pay out the insurance claim on lost jewelry, companies would rather hire someone to try to find it one last time. He's done a bunch of those gigs already and hopes they'll grow as a source for bigger, more profitable contracts. But hey, whatever happens, Dan and the kids hobby is paying out. They have a 65% success rate.
They're putting an extra few hundred dollars in the bank account each time they go out. And for Dan, the thrill of finding items isn't as satisfying as seeing the faces of people who are having important possessions returned. He loves helping them resolve the guilt of losing the item in the first place, especially when it's something irreplaceable. This metal detecting family, who are now equipped with multiple detectors, will keep searching for treasure. [Music]
If you wanna check out Dan's site, you can get some basic info on the business of detecting.
He says it really is a pretty simple business. Anyone just needs a standard metal detector. You can always upgrade later like he did. Maybe some patients on websites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to find people who are searching for lost items. And of course, the willingness to go out and search for a couple hours 'cause sometimes it does take time.
Sometimes you get lucky. Other times you have patience. You can learn more on his site, lostandfoundring.com. Also, as I said, check out that show, "The Detectorists." Made me wanna go and look it up and I'm wondering if there might be a new season, so I will check it out. But for now, I wish you well.
Inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. Thanks for being out there. Thanks for listening to the podcast. New episodes drop every single day. The Complete Archive, available for free at sidehustleschool.com.
My name's Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
