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
Browse by category
- 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 data201 ideas, page 1 of 5
- Physical productsA diaper bag brand designed to look less bulky than traditional bags, manufactured through Alibaba. Preorders and organic TikTok content helped fund inventory.Over $10kOnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Content and mediaA YouTube channel of personal finance reviews and tutorials built on search traffic. Income comes from affiliate commissions on products like budgeting apps and savings accounts.OnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Services and freelancingThe operator sets up chatbots and voice receptionists for local businesses on a marketing platform, with a setup fee and a monthly plan. A free trial and a personalized demo are used to win clients.OnlineThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Services and freelancingA solo consultant advises teams of five to two hundred people on AI, starting with a paid inbox audit that is credited toward a longer retainer.OnlineThe Side Hustle Show, 2026
- Services and freelancingThe operator audits the landing pages of established trades companies, offers AI-built funnels and booked-job systems, and wins clients through a free case-study build, mail and local meetups.Part-timeOnlineThe Startup Ideas Podcast, 2026
- Services and freelancingOffering AI assessments that show businesses what they can automate, then building the solutions with tools like Claude. The founders started by texting people they knew.Under $100OnlineThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Services and freelancingWriting and editing articles for companies that pay for human experience and voice, with AI tools used as helpers. Clients come from Upwork and cold outreach.Under $100Part-timeOnlineThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Physical productsAn online store dropshipping high-ticket camper van and motorhome accessories in the UK, with the niche chosen from search and competitor data. Sales come through Google Shopping ads as an authorized reseller.OnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Services and freelancingWriting jingles for plumbers, roofers and pest control companies, then running them as skippable YouTube ads in the client's area. AI music and voice tools now replace the studio.OnlineThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Services and freelancingThe operator gathers one client's documents, structures them, and loads them into a custom GPT or Claude project so a specific audience can ask it questions instead of the owner. The example was a business broker whose buyers queried the assistant about a listing.Under $100Hands-offOnlineCorey Ganim (YouTube), 2026
- Services and freelancingThe operator replaces a repeated manual process with an automation built on off-the-shelf tools such as Zapier, Make or Asana, usually after a short diagnostic. It is charged as a one-off project, with a walkthrough video and a how-to-fix document handed over.OnlineCorey Ganim (YouTube), 2026
- Services and freelancingThe operator sets up one AI agent as an administrative helper for a small business, hosts and monitors it, and coaches the owner on working with it. The coaching proved necessary after infrastructure-only setups did not stick with clients.OnlineBuild With AI, 2026
- Services and freelancingThe consultant interviews the owner of one business process, documents how it runs, cuts the wasted steps, and hands over current and future process maps. Automating the redesigned process is sold as a separate follow-on.Under $100Part-timeCorey Ganim (YouTube), 2026
- Services and freelancingThe operator organizes a client's promises, decisions, projects and preferences into a set of linked markdown notes that AI tools can read, then keeps it current with ingest and review routines. It is sold as the first engagement because later automations depend on it.Under $100OnlineBuild With AI, 2026
- Content and mediaDocuments government processes for immigrants and earns commissions on services they need, such as banking, insurance and translations, plus some consulting.Hacker News, 2026
- Content and mediaAn intentionally boring bedtime story podcast that helps grown-ups fall asleep. Income comes from a premium membership, books and other streams around the free show.OnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Services and freelancingWrites technical documentation and grant proposals, matching funding sources to institutions.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2026
- Physical productsAn anti-inflammatory coffee brand made with turmeric, produced by a local manufacturing partner. Sales come from subscriptions, bundles and influencer-driven social proof, run alongside a full-time job.$1k to $10kOnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Physical productsSelling golf equipment through live shows on the Whatnot app, built on top of a brick-and-mortar golf shop and its brand relationships.Over $10kSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Physical productsBuying goods from government and retail liquidation auctions and reselling them. The method relies on researching before bidding and having a solid selling system.Part-timeSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Physical productsA pet products company that reworked the hamster ball, an item unchanged for decades, started by a college student. It sells on Amazon and through a big-box retail deal.Over $10kOnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Services and freelancingThe agency helps software firms get recommended by AI chat tools by cleaning up a source-of-truth site and getting listed on the pages those tools cite. Clients are mid-size SaaS companies.OnlineThe Side Hustle Show, 2026
- Services and freelancingAn agency generates customer leads for local businesses and charges a monthly fee. It was dropped later for opportunity cost.OnlineThe Koerner Office, 2025
- Content and mediaA free newsletter grows an audience and sells sponsor placements to advertisers. Subscriber growth is helped by paid ads and referral tools.OnlineThe Koerner Office, 2025
- Software and appsA members-only group charges a recurring or lifetime fee for access to a niche audience and its resources. The host promotes it from an existing audience.OnlineThe Koerner Office, 2025
- Content and mediaA paid membership that delivers private podcast episodes mixing public domain radio shows with cleaning routines and prompts. Members pay a monthly or quarterly fee.OnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2025
- Content and mediaPosting engaging content, much of it screenshots of other people's posts, to a Facebook page enrolled in Facebook's content monetization program. Facebook shares ad revenue with the creator.Under $100A few hours a weekOnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2025
- Physical productsA dropshipping store selling high-ticket outdoor products for ponds and water features. Sales come from Google ads aimed at ready-to-buy shoppers, with supplier relationships in place of inventory.OnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2025
- Physical productsA handmade e-commerce brand selling Disney-inspired running skirts to a niche community of runners. It grew through ambassadors and social media and was later sold through Flippa.OnlineSide Hustle Nation, 2025
- Digital productsWrites a newsletter of real-world projects for learning programming, and sells paid courses.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Digital productsMade a course on spreadsheet functions and formulas hosted on a small course platform, earning a commission share.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2024
- Digital productsA template for a note-taking app with a user guide and video course based on the owner's personal system, sold to customers.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2024
- Digital productsCreated an online course teaching DevOps to small companies and self-hosters, which keeps selling even against bigger instructors.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2024
- Services and freelancingGets income to support open source maintenance from Patreon, private consulting and a company sponsorship.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Physical productsWorked with a factory to make grounded power adapters that stop case buzzing, sold on Amazon.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2024
- Content and mediaPublishes personal notes from nonfiction books on a site and earns some money from it.OnlineHacker News, 2024
- Digital productsWrites and self-publishes science fiction romance books on the side.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Physical productsOperates a small 3D print farm that sells custom clips and connectors for workshop equipment.$1k to $10kHacker News, 2022
- Content and mediaRuns a newsletter that profiles the home workspaces of makers and creators, earning recurring revenue.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Physical productsBuilt an online resource for learning CAD with a supporting community, aimed at people who want to design and sell products.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Digital productsWrote and sells a technical book on deployment that shows the steps without higher-level tools.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2022
- Physical productsPut cartoon T-shirt designs about software error messages on craft sites.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2022
- Content and mediaPosts videos on tech and photography and earns from the channel.$1k to $10kOnlineHacker News, 2022
- Content and mediaRuns a small blog about cash flow that earns a modest monthly income.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Digital productsSelf-publishes fiction and is growing a backlist and an email newsletter to increase sales.OnlineHacker News, 2022
- Digital productsSells a curated list of places to promote side projects, for makers wanting traffic, directly through Gumroad.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2021
- Content and mediaPosts weekly programming problem tutorials on YouTube and earns from ad revenue.OnlineHacker News, 2021
- Content and mediaA product review blog that earns from affiliate commissions.OnlineHacker News, 2021