A FORMER tech company representative has claimed he achieved massive side hustle success after quitting his 9-to-5 job while at least $30,000 in debt.
Ben Christie, 28, left the corporate world far behind after raking in $70,000 in just one month by turning his passion for exotic livestock into a successful social media career.
Instagram/theurbanrescueranchBen Christie is a 28-year-old entrepreneur who quit his corporate 9-to-5 job to take on his side hustle full time[/caption] Instagram/theurbanrescueranchThe young entrepreneur purchased a 2.8-acre property in Waco, Texas, equipped with a crack house to start his wildlife rescue ranch[/caption] Instagram/theurbanrescueranchWhile thousands of dollars in debt, the former sales rep decided to turn his passion for exotic animals into a successful content-creating career[/caption]Christie, known as “Uncle Ben” to his millions of fans, is the face of his beloved wildlife rehabilitation center in central Texas called The Urban Rescue Ranch.
It is the only certified wildlife rehab facility and farm sanctuary between Dallas and Austin for hunted livestock that takes in every species of native wildlife.
The center is home to hundreds of injured and orphaned animals, including a wide range of species such as kangaroos, owls, possums, raccoons, cougars, bunnies, emus, squirrels, and more.
Since quitting his sales job at computer tech company Oracle in 2021, Christie and his animals have amassed more than 4.2 million TikTok followers, over 3.2 million YouTube subscribers, and nearly 750,000 Instagram followers.
His success on social media, however, was not easily achieved and came after a series of tough decisions, Christie exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
TRADING TECH FOR TAILS
Christie started out on his journey rescuing wild animals during his undergraduate years at Baylor University in Waco, Texas – roughly 90 miles north of Austin.
Originally a psychology and neuroscience student, he later switched to sales after being approached at a job fair – a decision he said ultimately allowed him to take on content creation full-time.
“If it wasn’t for me switching that major and then having all the free time I had, I would not have had the free time during senior year to goof around and start raising chickens and ducks in my backyard,” the entrepreneur told The U.S. Sun.
Christie explained that he first ventured into the wildlife space during his senior year in 2019, raising chicks and ducklings that he and his roommates had bought from Tractor Supply.
They would sell the eggs on campus, and eventually students would reach out to him, offering up animals that they had found around campus.
“Next thing you know, people would be calling, saying, ‘Hey, do you guys want a pigeon?’ And people just started giving me baby squirrels and other animals, and I just fell in love with it,” said Christie.
Once he graduated from Baylor, he moved to Austin to start his first full-time job as a sales representative at Oracle.
Although he liked working at the tech company, forced social distancing during the Covid pandemic stripped his job of the culture and people that made it enjoyable.
“I prayed every day when I was working at Oracle that God would provide a way out,” said the content creator.
Christie noted that he was overprepared for his job, so at the end of the quarter, when he had hit his numbers, he would rescue animals and make TikToks from his small apartment in the city.
The content creator would rake in millions of views, with some videos of him interacting with kangaroos bringing in around 50 million views.
Christie had built up a loyal following of roughly two million TikTok followers by the start of 2021, debating quitting his corporate gig to purchase a property in Waco and take on wildlife rehab full time.
However, he was hesitant because he did not have a solid financial foundation to do so.
At most, Christie made $2,000 per month from his TikTok videos, admitting that he was at least $30,000 in debt at the time.
When the Winter Storm Uri freeze hit in mid-February 2021, he recounted hearing a divine message outlining his next steps during the several days he spent without power or water.
“I felt like God said, ‘Quit your job and trust me for income,'” said the content creator.
“I felt like I could hear God’s voice super clearly because it was three days of no electronics, no distractions – literally just praying and taking care of my animals. I felt like He was saying very clearly, ‘Buy the crappy property of only 2.8 acres.'”
Christie described the property as a “junkyard” and chop shop featuring a 600-square-foot crack house filled with squatters and tons of tires everywhere.
Christie ultimately decided to purchase the less than ideal Waco property for $190,000 to start up his wildlife rehab center, using the meager profit he made from selling his home back in Austin.
The content creator sold his car and began living in a bus as he worked to fix the former drug den in Waco and progress his social media career, ultimately quitting his 9-to-5 sales job at Oracle on April 15, 2021.
In an unexpected turn of events, Christie claims he woke up the next morning to text messages from his friends informing him that his fate had changed.
A VIRAL WAKE-UP CALL
The next morning, Christie woke up to a flood of messages from high school friends saying that his YouTube videos were on the trending page – a shock to the content creator because he had never seen success before on that platform.
A video he posted three weeks prior was trending next to videos from MrBeast and Drake after a fan shared it on Reddit.
Going viral on YouTube had made him roughly $70,000 by the end of that month – a full year’s salary at Oracle in just a few days.
The following month, Christie’s wildlife rehab videos on YouTube had pulled in roughly $40,000.
Side hustles and tax implications
Extra income you make from side hustles may need to be reported to the IRS.
If you receive more than $600 in gross payouts from a selling platform like eBay, the site will issue you a Form 1099-K to use in your tax return.
Individuals should calculate their adjusted gross income, taxable earnings, and deductions for the year.
Once they have that, they can use the 1040-ES form to calculate estimated taxes.
Although his monthly income has since leveled out to less staggering numbers, his love for caring for orphaned and injured wildlife has remained steady.
Christie shared that his wildlife ranch took in roughly 800 animals last year and helped introduce many of them back into the wild.
His ranch, a non-profit organization, costs a good amount of money to upkeep and is funded from money earned through YouTube ad revenue, merchandise sales, and donations.
The entrepreneur attributed his thriving YouTube presence to his authenticity, a quality he prioritized alongside his faith.
“If you are just being yourself and you’re not worried about what someone is going to think about the video you are making and you’re just enjoying what you make – people see that and they like it,” he said.
“I have a lot of friends that have millions and millions of subscribers, and they’re just not happy because they don’t like the content they make. I would say make something that you see yourself in ten years still enjoying making, or five years even.”
In the future, the 28-year-old hopes to start a wildlife rescue in Indonesia and collaborate with a zoo to help develop its hospital program – a path inspired by the late Steve Irwin, who followed a similar mission.
Many other entrepreneurs have seen great success with their side hustles.
For example, one professor makes up to $196,000 a year with his pizza side hustle – it only takes weekends and it’s a passion.
Plus, a mom spent her son’s $60,000 college fund on her side hustle and lost it all – but a savvy move means it’s now worth $100 million.
Support The Urban Rescue Ranch
The Urban Rescue Ranch, created by entrepreneur Ben Christie, is a certified wildlife rehab facility and farm sanctuary for exotic wildlife in central Texas. Follow along the journey:
YouTube: @TheUrbanRescueRanch TikTok: @ostrichplug Instagram: @TheUrbanRescueRanch Website: UrbanRescueRanch.com Non-Profit: WacoWildlifeRescue.org Instagram/theurbanrescueranchThe Urban Rescue Ranch founder started rescuing wild animals while pursuing his undergraduate degree in sales at Baylor University[/caption] Instagram/theurbanrescueranchBen Christie’s rehabilitation center is home to a range of wild animals, including owls, kangaroos, emus, squirrels, and raccoons[/caption] Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( I quit my 9 to 5 while $30,000 in debt – within days my ‘exotic’ side hustle brought in my old $70k salary in a month )
Also on site :