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
Browse by category
- 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 data41 ideas
- Physical productsA home micro bakery selling sourdough, cinnamon rolls, cookies and bagels from a front porch on Saturday mornings. Customers preorder and items sell out to lines of local buyers.$100 to $1kThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Content and mediaShort product review videos uploaded through the Amazon Influencer Program, which appear on product listings and earn commissions. The approach relies on filming high volumes of products found close to home.Online and in personSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Services and freelancingSelling whole-home water filtration systems to homeowners through Facebook ads that show the price upfront, with licensed plumbers doing the installs. The channel notes that this model can require a plumbing license, for example in North Carolina.$100 to $1kOnline and in personThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Teaching and coachingA media business teaching people to raise goats, with a podcast, YouTube channel, online courses and a paid membership. It also runs paid goat farm tours.Online and in personSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Rentals and assetsRenting kid-sized tables and chairs, ball pits, bounce houses and party stations for children's events. It started from a basement and an Instagram page and runs alongside a full-time job.Part-timeSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Services and freelancingRunning online estate auctions that clear out homes for families without buying any inventory. The operator photographs, catalogs and lists the items and keeps a cut of the sale.Online and in personSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Services and freelancingAn experienced operator sits in leadership meetings for companies without a technology chief, finds where AI helps, and builds or teaches the team to build it. It is billed as a monthly retainer, and a paid training day often leads into it.Part-timeOnline and in personRyan Doser, 2026
- Physical productsBuying underpriced lawnmowers, fixing common problems and reselling them. The operator ran it while in college.Online and in personSide Hustle Nation, 2025
- Services and freelancingHandles IT, administration, purchasing and research for a partner's art business, which sells commissions and freelance work and direct to customers.Hacker News, 2021
- Physical productsBuys and resells collectibles, cars and sometimes collectible cars.Online and in personHacker News, 2021
- Physical productsMakes zines and artwork about fandom and adult themes, printing them at home and selling them.$100 to $1kHacker News, 2021
- Teaching and coachingTutors middle and high school students in math and CS for an hourly rate.Under $100Hacker News, 2021
- Teaching and coachingTeaches online webinars and in-person tutorials on the basics of data science and machine learning with Python.Part-timeOnline and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSold used but valuable computer chips in a local market, delivering in person to bakeries or by post, until import tax changes ended the margins.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBuys and sells collectible trading cards such as Pokemon and Magic, managing an online store and in-person sales.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTeaches and mentors beginners in web development for companies and bootcamps, in evening sessions.Under $100Part-timeHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsTravels to the US regularly, buys phones where there is no sales tax, and resells them locally in a country where import taxes make them much more expensive.Over $10kHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsRuns a cookie bakery with mostly local delivery and some nationwide shipping, run alongside a career.Part-timeOnline and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBought rejected disk drives in bulk at auction from PC makers, tested them, and sold the working ones to shops and individuals.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingA brokerage that represents home buyers in residential purchases and rebates part of its commission back to them.Hacker News, 2019
- Physical productsDesigned and built ceiling lights with high brightness and color quality, working with manufacturers and selling to real-world customers.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingWorks as a professional fine artist and illustrator on the side, in a shared studio space.Hacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBuys old and mid-century furniture from thrift shops and garage sales, fixes it up and resells it on Craigslist.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsWith a friend, bought off-warranty corporate laptops, upgraded memory and storage or fixed keyboards, and resold them on eBay.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBuys broken old computers, restores them and sells them on eBay.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsRan a hot sauce business with real sales until it started eating all spare time, then dropped it.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Content and mediaDocuments fixing up an old sports car on YouTube. Income comes from ads and Patreon support.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingDesigns and 3D prints props and cosplay pieces for clients who come by referral, charging per commission.$1k to $10kPart-timeHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBuys older luxury crossovers and hybrids, does the repairs and detailing in spare time, and sells them mainly to older buyers.Over $10kPart-timeHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBuys and restores vintage furniture, then sells it online or to local stores as a picker.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingPlays regularly with a jazz band, gives occasional guitar lessons at home, and earns a little from fan support on Patreon for performance videos.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingWorks as a hypnotist, getting most clients through word of mouth and a website.Hacker News, 2019
- Physical productsMakes pull-up bars for home fitness in a small craft business that also gives side-job work to a few people. Most customers buy only once.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsMakes yogurt from organic milk bought from a local dairy farmer and sells it.Hacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSells women's clothing through a direct-sales company, with help from a spouse on back office, shipping and sales, part-time assistants, and local networking for marketing.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTurned expertise in CSS layout into an online course and in-person workshops. Development teams buy licenses for the course, and the income funds standards work.Online and in personHacker News, 2016
- Services and freelancingA photography business started with a spouse that grew enough for the spouse to quit a day job.Hacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingThe operator connects contractors who can pass work to each other and charges for each introduction or a larger referral package. It runs mainly by phone and text.Under $100The Koerner Office
- Physical productsA subscription sends customers a story in physical letters on a regular schedule. Revenue is recurring subscription fees, with fulfillment handled by mail.The Koerner Office
- Teaching and coachingThe operator runs a team training or build-together session inside one company and listens for the process employees want automated. That process then becomes a separately priced build, often a shared context layer across the company's tools.Build With AI
- Teaching and coachingThe host books a room, lists a half-day workshop on Eventbrite for one industry such as realtors or roofers, and teaches attendees to set up Claude and build one skill. The ticket revenue is minor; the point is meeting buyers who then ask for private help.Build With AI