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 data501 ideas, page 5 of 11
- Physical productsA website where customers tailor a writing pad to their handwriting style, sold as a physical product.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingWrites articles for other people, often on topics outside the writer's own expertise, as one of several side gigs.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSells phosphorescent cosmetic modifications for synthesizers, a niche hardware accessory product.$100 to $1kOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Content and mediaA site publishing original long-form non-fiction in article and podcast form, funded by donations, a published book and content licensing instead of advertising.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingA solo lawyer takes referral clients for small legal jobs like setting up LLCs, winding down or selling a business, and reviewing NDAs, charging less than larger firms.Under $100Hacker News, 2019
- Content and mediaRuns a website reviewing music equipment, especially MIDI keyboards, and earns commissions through Amazon affiliate links.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTaught guitar, theory and recording part-time, and now teaches small groups online and consults with bands on production and composition.Hacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSelf-taught circuit board design, then sold a few products to a niche market with no marketing. Sales faded as cheap copies appeared.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsRuns an online store focused on keto and nutrition products in Canada.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsWrites nonfiction books on science and curiosity topics, landing book deals with publishers based on the success of an earlier title.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsDesigns t-shirts with jokes for machine learning and data science fans and sells them through a print-on-demand storefront.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSells genuine Intel processors on a local classifieds site in a country where import costs make online marketplaces hard to use, earning a margin on each sale.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2019
- 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
- Teaching and coachingMakes screencasts that teach the Elixir language and sells access to them.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 freelancingDoes software consulting for a previous workplace after leaving it, adjusting the rate each year for inflation.Under $100Part-timeOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingCleans messy Excel data for companies and sometimes builds simple web apps to replace the spreadsheets. Bills per row, flat fee or hourly depending on the project.Under $100Part-timeOnlineHacker 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
- Teaching and coachingTeaches people to build projects without code, earning from memberships and from companies that pay to be listed and to have educational content made.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Digital productsA site selling themes for static site generators that has started making sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker 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
- Physical productsSells high-quality pet toys, treats and collars, and started with dog-themed T-shirts printed and shipped by a supplier. Holds pet inventory at home and ships orders.OnlineHacker 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
- Software and appsA platform for learning to write alongside others, built around habits and streaks.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker 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
- Software and appsA few games the owner published that continue to sell a little each year without any input.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Software and appsPublishes in-depth long-term stock analyses for German-speaking investors. Revenue comes from monthly subscriptions.OnlineHacker 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
- Physical productsDesigns and sells sketchpads for mobile and browser wireframes through a Shopify store, reordering inventory in larger batches as it sells out.$100 to $1kOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Software and appsPublishes a few small utility apps on the App Store and keeps improving them. Income comes from app sales.$100 to $1kOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Content and mediaAn information site about a specific skin condition that earns from display ads and Amazon affiliate links and is mostly left on autopilot.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Rentals and assetsOwns apartments rented to students and managed entirely by an agency that finds tenants and handles upkeep, paying a fixed guaranteed income.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2018
- Software and appsBuilt a stock trading model for personal use, then published it on a platform where subscribers pay to follow it. Subscribers take responsibility for any trades.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- 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
- Software and appsBuilt a service that keeps software dependencies up to date and supports multiple programming languages. It started as a passive project and became a full-time company.OnlineHacker News, 2018
- Digital productsWrote and self-published an e-book about CSS that has kept selling a year after launch.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Content and mediaRuns a curated list of Hacker News recommendations and products. Earns small amounts from affiliate links.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Software and appsBuilt a documentation product that earned its first revenue with little maintenance, and is planning a second version.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
- Software and appsProduces long, project-based video lessons on the Elixir language, with free videos on YouTube and premium content for paying subscribers.OnlineHacker 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
- Digital productsSells online courses on algorithmic trading through its own site and Udemy. Maintenance is mostly answering student emails.OnlineHacker News, 2018
- Digital productsCreated video courses on Udemy that keep earning money after the initial work.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018
- Digital productsLists virtual machines on major cloud marketplaces that come set up for Ethereum development, with video tutorials. Revenue comes from VM sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2018