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 data177 ideas, page 3 of 4
- 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 mediaA small project built for fun that earns a little from display ads and has grown slowly.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
- Software and appsDevelops watch faces for Android Wear and sells them as paid apps on the Play Store.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
- Digital productsDesigned watch faces for a smartwatch and sold them at the lowest price in the store. Sales were strong at first, then copies appeared and they pulled the apps.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaPublished a how-to post on single sign-on between two business platforms on an old blog and added AdSense. Earns small ad revenue from search visitors.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
- Software and appsBuilds small single-purpose mobile apps such as calculators and a flashlight. Some are sold for a fee and others earn from in-app ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Content and mediaMaintains a documentation website for a jQuery plugin and earns a small amount from a single ad placed on it.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsMaintains a free open source gem for running test suites in parallel and sells a paid pro version of it. Revenue comes from pro subscriptions.OnlineHacker News, 2016
- Software and appsBuilds small web tools that solve narrow business problems, often around obscure shipping forms or data formatting chores. Income comes from display ads on the tools that get found.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Digital productsWrote an add-on for the ExpressionEngine CMS and sells it through a marketplace.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsDeveloped an add-on for a popular video game that earns small, usage-driven income.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt an Android app that added features to a popular messaging app, earning from an in-app purchase and ads until it was removed from the store.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- 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 mediaBuilt a credit card validation plugin with a demo site that earns small ad revenue.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a blog that lists a jQuery plugin each day and earns from advertising.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a glockenspiel app for a friend's daughter, released a free version and a paid version with extra features.Hands-offOnlineHacker 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
- Software and appsA free web tool that compresses and combines JavaScript files, earning from AdSense.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker 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
- Content and mediaA studio builds quick websites that solve small problems, getting traffic from blogs and earning from AdSense.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA calculator tool for a tabletop game that was picked up by a gaming site and earns from an ad on it.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsDesigned a child theme for the Genesis WordPress framework in a few days, and it keeps earning monthly sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsTurned a portfolio site into a WordPress theme sold on ThemeForest, plus answering support emails.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker 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 mediaEvolved a failed school-focused social network into a directory site that earns from ads with little maintenance.Hands-offOnlineHacker 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
- Digital productsMade custom maps from OpenStreetMap formatted for Kindle and sells them as ebooks.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsAn Android app showing bus times for the owner's area, earning from optimized in-app ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsPublishes several small Android apps that earn modestly without ongoing work.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns affiliate blogs and a WordPress plugin that tests which call to action gets the most clicks.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt an Android app that roots and fixes problems on an ISP-supplied modem, selling it through the Play Store.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsMade a free Android app with a paid version, earning from ads, in-app purchases and paid downloads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsMakes Android apps earning from ads, with a soundboard app as the main earner.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA simple Android app built to learn the platform that now earns from in-app ads.Under $100Hands-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