mark here · before you cut
What you're paid isn't what you keep. Count the waste rock first.
Quarry Slate is a small reference for people adding a second, smaller income to a full-time job. We don't sell courses, tools or coaching. Quarry workers know that most of a hillside never leaves as usable slate. Side income works the same way: fees, costs, tax and unpaid hours all come off before anything reaches you. We show where the cuts fall.
the block
Split the block before you judge the job.
Take the full amount a client or buyer pays and think of it as a slab of slate. Each cost splits off a layer. Platforms take a commission. Payment services take a smaller cut. Materials, packaging, fuel or postage come off next. Then a part should be put aside for tax, because side income is usually taxable.
What's left is the block you keep. Divide it by all the hours the job took, including the unpaid ones: messages, quotes, travel, revisions, trips to the post office. That figure, not the price on the listing, tells you whether the work is worth your evenings.
yield sheet
Where the waste rock comes from.
This sheet lists common kinds of side work by the costs that come off and the unpaid hours they bring. We don't list pay: rates vary too much by country, platform and experience to print a number honestly.
| Work | Costs that come off | Unpaid hours | Where they go |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reselling secondhand items | Marketplace fees, packaging, postage | high | Photos, listings, buyer questions, post office trips, returns |
| Delivery through an app | Fuel, maintenance, mobile data, insurance | medium | Waiting between orders, travel back from drop-offs |
| Freelance graphic design | Software subscriptions, platform commission | medium | Proposals, revisions, invoicing, chasing payment |
| Tutoring through a platform | Platform commission | low | Preparing lessons, rescheduling |
| Selling handmade goods at markets | Stall fees, materials, transport | very high | Making stock, setting up and packing down the stall |
| Remote data tasks | Few direct costs | low | Qualification tests, waiting for tasks to appear |
fault lines
Where the stone tends to break.
None of these are reasons to stay out of the quarry. They're what readers wish they had marked before the first cut.
- FEES
Small cuts add up.
Commission, payout fees and currency conversion each look minor. Add them together before setting a price.
- TAX
Put the tax layer aside first.
Side income is usually taxable. Setting aside a share of each payment avoids a hard surprise. Your tax authority explains the rules.
- FATIGUE
Tired hands make more waste.
Work done exhausted takes longer and needs redoing. Count that time too.
- CONTRACT
Check who owns the quarry.
Your employment contract may limit outside work or competing activity. Read it and ask HR about anything unclear.
- FRAUD
Nobody honest charges you to dig.
Anyone asking for a fee, a kit purchase, or help moving money is not offering work. Walk away and report it.
site office
Write to the site office.
Corrections, questions and costs we've missed go to [email protected]. A person reads every message and replies within a few working days.
Quarry Slate is educational. It isn't financial, tax or legal advice and doesn't promise any result. Read the disclaimer.