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
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- 14 publications and shows
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- 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 data67 ideas, page 2 of 2
- Services and freelancingFixed up a used CNC mill and does quick prototypes and small production runs for local customers, found by referral.Part-timeIn personHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingWorked as a scuba instructor on the side, which kept the owner supplied with dive gear, though the stress of the service work eventually led to burnout.Part-timeIn 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
- Services and freelancingPurchased a website that sells custom YouTube intro videos at a low price per order, and aims to grow it and hand off tasks.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsPublishes in-depth long-term stock analyses for German-speaking investors. Revenue comes from monthly subscriptions.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsPays writers to produce books, then lists and markets them on Amazon, releasing roughly one title a month.OnlineHacker News, 2017
- Software and appsA tool that started as a way to create your own Hacker News style site and grew into software for creating, managing and growing online communities.OnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsA jQuery plugin and backend service that adds a shared whiteboard to websites, sold by subscription.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingEarns on the side from DJ gigs and personal training, both of which are also personal hobbies.Hacker News, 2014
- Software and appsLaunched a membership offering premium WordPress plugins with support.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsRuns a web service for sending press releases to media, used by customers promoting books and events, with a free tier for anonymous whistleblowers.$1k to $10kOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilding a web service that helps designers create client proposals.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingA photography business started with a spouse that grew enough for the spouse to quit a day job.Hacker News, 2011
- Directories and marketplacesA penny auction site for a local market, relying on manual bank transfers for payment since cards are rare, with plans to white-label it.Part-timeOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Software and appsBuilt a Twitter app that helps users share more links without flooding followers. Offers a free plan and paid monthly plans.OnlineHacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingThe operator started by repairing brick mailboxes and grew into masonry work for homeowner associations, using crews for the labor. Income is per-job fees.Part-timeIn personThe Koerner Office
- Services and freelancingA seasonal service installs holiday lights for homeowners and businesses, with multi-year contracts to repeat the work. It was started by a teacher on the side.In personThe Koerner Office
- Rentals and assetsThe operator leases large trailers and sub-rents them to customers who need storage or transport space, earning the difference. It was run mostly from a phone.$1k to $10kOnlineThe Koerner Office