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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- 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 data25 ideas
- Physical productsBuying poorly listed couches, negotiating the price down and reselling them with better photos, including AI-generated backgrounds. The operator is a teenager working in spare time.Online and in personThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Physical productsSold unprocessed goat milk to a zoo's exotic animal nursery, used to feed young animals.In personHacker News, 2026
- Rentals and assetsThe operator imports vending machines that dispense perfume and places them in venues. Sales come from customers buying from the machines. The owner dropped it as too much hassle.Over $10kIn personThe Koerner Office, 2025
- Digital productsWrites a newsletter of real-world projects for learning programming, and sells paid courses.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Physical productsMakes and sells notebooks with music staff paper for musicians.OnlineHacker News, 2021
- Physical productsMakes and ships a gadget for a small niche market from home, with no software in the product, and also plays music part-time.Hacker News, 2021
- Rentals and assetsTakes preorders for expiring domains and tries to catch them when they drop, and also holds a portfolio of domains for later development.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSells products as a third-party seller on Amazon, treated as a semi-passive side business.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsDry ages meat in specialized fridges and bags in a place where it is hard to find, then resells it online and over messaging apps at a large markup.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsMakes wooden items with a laser cutter based on video games and shows, and sells them on Etsy. Covers materials and machine time.$1k to $10kA few hours a weekHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSells folk music CDs and handmade items at science fiction and fantasy conventions.$100 to $1kIn personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsKeeps chickens and sells the eggs, which covers little more than feed costs.A few hours a weekHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsKeeps bees and sells the honey, which brings in a few thousand a year.Hacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSells phosphorescent cosmetic modifications for synthesizers, a niche hardware accessory product.$100 to $1kOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsDyes small batches of yarn with traditional methods for a small group of weavers who want specific colors.$100 to $1kOnline and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsMakes jelly by hand from berries grown in the garden and sells it through word of mouth.Hacker News, 2019
- Physical productsDesigns outlines for cases cut on a maker space laser machine and sells them on eBay. Local materials make it possible to undercut imports on price.$100 to $1kOnline and in personHacker 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
- 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
- Physical productsResells items found at home, thrift stores and clearance sales through online marketplaces, and is looking at retail arbitrage on Amazon.Under $100Hacker News, 2017
- Physical productsDesigns and builds adapters that turn surplus server power supplies into general purpose 12 volt supplies. Sold as a physical hardware product.Hacker News, 2016
- Digital productsOpens new credit cards regularly for sign-up bonuses and redeems them for travel, and plans a course teaching the method.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Physical productsDesigned a London map in a historic style and sells it as a physical product online.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsWrote a book about payments with Stripe for Rails developers, backed by related blog posts and content.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Physical productsSells grafting tools made by a relative's family company through an online store, after testing demand on eBay.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2011