Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them
Real side businesses, described by their owners. Filter by cost, time and how they earn.
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- 651 ideas
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- 14 publications and shows
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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 data16 ideas
- Services and freelancingThe operator audits the landing pages of established trades companies, offers AI-built funnels and booked-job systems, and wins clients through a free case-study build, mail and local meetups.Part-timeOnlineThe Startup Ideas Podcast, 2026
- Teaching and coachingTeaching hands-on shop class projects to kids, with customers found through homeschool groups and word of mouth. It can stay a weekend side hustle or grow larger.In personThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Services and freelancingThe operator sets up one AI agent as an administrative helper for a small business, hosts and monitors it, and coaches the owner on working with it. The coaching proved necessary after infrastructure-only setups did not stick with clients.OnlineBuild With AI, 2026
- Services and freelancingTrains custom image generation models for customers on request using an automated pipeline, charging per commission.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- 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
- Services and freelancingBuilds and schedules automations for small businesses, using knowledge gained in a day job about common business pain points.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- 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
- Services and freelancingDoes adult webcam work with an established base of private clients, using it as flexible fallback income between jobs.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTeaches several licensed group fitness class formats a few mornings per week and gets paid per class.In personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingGives bike tours of a home city, earning cash from guests plus a small payment from the bike shop the tours start from.In personHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTaught fitness classes on the side alongside a day job.Part-timeIn personHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsBuilt a machine learning system that solves captchas, paid per captcha, so income continues after the build.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Software and appsRuns a text messaging service with low per-message pricing. Earns from message volume.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingDid site-to-WordPress theme conversions for clients, finding them through targeted AdWords ads.$100 to $1kPart-timeOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingOffers a service that helps startups write short, clear descriptions of their product for sites and their own pages.OnlineHacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingThe operator began by selling tote shelves and expanded into general handyman work for local customers. Income is per-job fees.In personThe Koerner Office