Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them
Real side businesses, described by their owners. Filter by cost, time and how they earn.
- Ideas
- 651 ideas
- Publications
- 14 publications and shows
- Categories
- 8 categories
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- Files sold online: templates, printables, ebooks, stock photos, fonts, presets, plugins, recorded courses
- A web app, SaaS, mobile app, browser extension, bot or API that people pay for or that earns from ads
- A blog, niche website, newsletter, YouTube channel, podcast or social account that earns from ads, affiliate links or sponsors
- Making, printing or reselling physical goods, online or in person
- Doing work for clients for a fee: freelance, consulting, done-for-you services, repairs, local services
- Earning from something you own: renting property, rooms, equipment, vehicles, parking, vending machines, domains
- A job board, listings site, directory or marketplace that connects buyers and sellers
- Live tutoring, lessons, workshops, coaching or cohort classes
Matching ideas
About the data111 ideas, page 2 of 3
- Content and mediaRuns a weekly newsletter that satirizes the tech industry. Revenue is from advertising to the subscriber base, with live events being considered.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Digital productsSells a harmonica instruction book and science fiction short story collections on Amazon, and also sells stories to magazines.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Digital productsWrites travel and lifestyle books and sells them as ebooks and print on demand on Amazon and Apple. Little ongoing work after publishing.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingWrites and performs stand-up comedy, earning a modest income from paid gigs each month after several years of building up.Under $100In personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingOffers business strategy consulting to startups using topographical business maps. Aims to help avoid costly mistakes and support fundraising.Part-timeOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingHelps people fix broken technology, a paid skill since youth.Under $100Hacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTaught Linux courses on weekends to students eager to learn. Paid per course.Under $100In personHacker News, 2019
- Content and mediaA niche blog about getting a professional engineering license, carrying affiliate links to a prep package seller. Earns passively from affiliate commissions.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Content and mediaA video published years ago that YouTube keeps recommending, paying out ad revenue with no promotion by the owner.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Content and mediaA morning briefing about the technology industry that readers pay for, with sponsorships that avoid ad-style promotion.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsRuns an online clothing store where ordering and fulfillment are automated. Sells meme shirts and promotes through social media only.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Digital productsTranslates well-regarded public domain works into English and sells them as ebooks. Finding niche topics is the key.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Digital productsWrote and self-published an e-book about CSS that has kept selling a year after launch.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Digital productsWrote an ebook on starting and growing a subscription box business, drawn from running one. Sold through Gumroad, Amazon and iBooks, and still sells a little each month.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Digital productsWrites and publishes erotic stories as Kindle ebooks and earns from sales.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2018
- Digital productsA small shop selling pre-production, storyboard and film treatment templates through an online marketplace.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Content and mediaA football tipping website built on WordPress that earns from paid memberships and sponsored posts.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Content and mediaA blog about earning a professional engineering license in a niche with little coverage. Income comes from an affiliate deal with a company selling licensing prep packages.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Content and mediaRuns a blog about watch straps featuring photography from brands and custom leather makers plus interviews. Income comes from affiliate links.OnlineHacker News, 2018
- Physical productsCreates sports-themed apparel designs sold through a print-on-demand marketplace, starting with a niche. Fulfillment times and prices have been the main obstacle.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2017
- Physical productsResells items found at home, thrift stores and clearance sales through online marketplaces, and is looking at retail arbitrage on Amazon.Under $100Hacker News, 2017
- Digital productsDesigned responsive device mockups and sells them on a graphics marketplace. Sales were strong early on and have tapered off since.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Physical productsDesigned a printed upgrade for a worn part in a popular coffee grinder and sells it through a print-on-demand marketplace. Traffic comes from a repair guide on a fix-it site.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaWrote a blog about the process of getting a professional engineering licence, which draws search traffic. Earns from ads and affiliate referrals to a seller of exam prep materials.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Digital productsWrote and published an e-book on Amazon about saving money so you can work less and pursue goals.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Digital productsWrote an ebook aimed at bootcamp graduates looking for their first developer job. It sells directly and through partnerships with a couple of online bootcamps.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Physical productsUploaded humorous fan designs to a print-on-demand merchandise site and earns small royalties when items sell.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaWrote a how-to guide for bypassing an ISP's required modem and router, and recommends a tested router through an Amazon affiliate link. Costs almost nothing to host.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Digital productsWrites and sells a technical book about the Redux library through Leanpub, sharing the sales with a friend.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaBlogs about travel and working remotely from an RV. Money comes from Amazon affiliate links placed in posts.OnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaRuns a niche blog about architectural models and earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingDoes enterprise software consulting in the evenings.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a free background picture website with steady search traffic and links from other sites, earning from AdSense.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a blog that lists a jQuery plugin each day and earns from advertising.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns blogs on local sports and politics, with posts built from repackaged government data, earning from AdSense.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaHosts a friend's political writings on a site and splits the advertising revenue.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsWrote and self-published an ebook about running profitable side projects.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaEarns affiliate commissions by referring people to Shopify.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsPublishes several nonfiction Kindle books on Amazon and markets them for ongoing sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingDoes social media and blog content for a jewelry company from home and subcontracts the work to a lower-cost writer.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a simple blog on solar power, linked from a YouTube video, that earns from AdSense ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns cat and dog GIF websites supported by advertising.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaA hobby blog about architectural models that earns from ads and Amazon affiliate links.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaWrites blog articles and earns from affiliate marketing.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingRuns a blog that has brought a steady flow of consulting opportunities.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsOpens new credit cards regularly for sign-up bonuses and redeems them for travel, and plans a course teaching the method.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaPhotographed top brand stores in London and published a directory blog that earns from ads.Under $100Hands-offHacker News, 2014