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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- Files sold online: templates, printables, ebooks, stock photos, fonts, presets, plugins, recorded courses
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- 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
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Matching ideas
About the data30 ideas
- Rentals and assetsRenting out a former church space in a strip mall for parties and events, run alongside a full-time job. Renting the space to churches covers the monthly rent.In personThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Rentals and assetsRenting out utility trailers with an almost fully automated booking process, alongside a full-time job. Customers come from Google and Facebook Marketplace.Over $10kOnline and in personThe Koerner Office, 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
- Rentals and assetsRents out tables to vendors at local comic conventions.In personHacker News, 2026
- Rentals and assetsBuying ATMs and placing them in local businesses, earning income from transaction fees with about an hour of work a week. The hardest step is finding and pitching good locations.Hands-offOnline and in personSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Rentals and assetsThe operator holds stakes in RV and mobile home parks and collects rent from the lot and site tenants. Parks can also be bought and resold.Over $10kIn personDiary of a CEO, 2025
- Rentals and assetsOwns a number of rental properties across the US that produce monthly income after mortgages and expenses.Over $10kHacker News, 2022
- Rentals and assetsRents out a couple of cheap units and built an app to manage rental administration, contracts and invoices, with the aim to offer it to others.Over $10kOnline and in personHacker News, 2019
- Rentals and assetsEarns semi-passive rental income from one property unit and plans to buy more.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2019
- Rentals and assetsOwns rental property, which needs little ongoing effort once it is running.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2019
- Rentals and assetsRents out spare bedrooms to short-term guests through Airbnb.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Rentals and assetsOwns a small rental property that covers its mortgage plus a little extra each month.Over $10kHacker News, 2019
- Rentals and assetsRents out inherited properties, uses a management company for maintenance and screens tenants personally. Income is monthly rent.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2019
- 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
- Rentals and assetsRents out the downstairs unit of a multifamily house bought with an owner-occupant loan, collecting monthly rent with little work.Over $10kHands-offIn personHacker News, 2018
- Rentals and assetsBought a VR headset and set up a site where people could rent it. Ranked well on Google for rental searches, then shut it down.Hacker News, 2016
- Rentals and assetsBought a commercial property with a fixed rate mortgage and leases it out. Takes little time each month and pays rental income after tax.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2016
- Rentals and assetsBought several apartments in a new building while it was still under construction at a good price, then rented them out unfurnished to tenants.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2016
- Rentals and assetsRents a property out by the night and has automated guest notifications, door code programming and cleaner scheduling to keep the work low.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2016
- Rentals and assetsOwns several low-priced rental homes, using a property manager to keep it hands-off.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsPut an idle motorcycle up for rent on a quickly built site, earning from renters.Online and in personHacker News, 2014
- Over $10kHands-offIn personHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsBought a house with an existing tenant and collects rent with very little work.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsRents out spare rooms and then whole properties previously lived in, so rent covers the mortgages.Over $10kHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsBought a vacation rental that earns nightly rental income.Over $10kHacker News, 2014
- $1k to $10kHands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsRents out a spare room for up to a week each month, needing little work beyond laundry.Under $100Hands-offHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsBought discounted condos, fixed them up and rents them out through a property manager, keeping most of the rent after fees and taxes.Over $10kHands-offIn personHacker News, 2014
- 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
- Rentals and assetsThe operator rents washers and dryers to tenants and finds customers through Facebook Marketplace. Income is monthly rental fees.Over $10kOnline and in personThe Koerner Office