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 data344 ideas, page 4 of 8
- Services and freelancingDesigns and 3D prints props and cosplay pieces for clients who come by referral, charging per commission.$1k to $10kPart-timeHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsDesigned a 3D printed upgrade for a worn part in certain coffee grinders and sells it through a print-on-demand storefront. Traffic comes from repair guides.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingA CTO with hiring experience helps founders figure out who they need to hire and how to approach them, including finding co-founders.Under $100Part-timeOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Rentals and assetsRents out spare bedrooms to short-term guests through Airbnb.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Content and mediaMakes video tutorials on Arduino programming on a personal site. Earns referral commissions when visitors buy parts.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingRuns an audio engineering business, mixing and mastering music across many genres for new and experienced artists.Over $10kPart-timeOnlineHacker 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
- Services and freelancingBuys older small houses, renovates them on weekends and holidays, and sells them for a profit. Hires out only specialist work like electrical.Over $10kPart-timeIn personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBuys older luxury crossovers and hybrids, does the repairs and detailing in spare time, and sells them mainly to older buyers.Over $10kPart-timeHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingRepairs engine and transmission controllers and other electronics for older and rare cars when replacement parts are no longer available, for owners who send them in.Hacker News, 2019
- Digital productsCreated sticker sets for a popular messaging app and earned from their sales.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsRan a coffee kiosk with branding and promotions designed to make customers return daily. Profitable but demanding on time and staff.Over $10kNear full-timeIn personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingOffers immersive consumer research, interviewing people and documenting their homes and daily routines, then analyzing it to give founders insight into customer behavior. Clients come by referral.Part-timeHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsOrdered men's bracelets with a custom logo from an overseas wholesaler and resold them on Etsy and a personal site, until dropshippers hurt the market.OnlineHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsCuts custom tabletops compatible with a popular woodworking tool brand on a CNC router and advertises only on Craigslist. Gets repeat orders from hobbyists and contractors.Over $10kHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingBuilds custom wood pieces for people who asked after seeing earlier work. Charges mainly to cover materials and some labor.In personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsBuys and restores vintage furniture, then sells it online or to local stores as a picker.Online and in personHacker 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
- Teaching and coachingPlays regularly with a jazz band, gives occasional guitar lessons at home, and earns a little from fan support on Patreon for performance videos.Online and in personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsSells phosphorescent cosmetic modifications for synthesizers, a niche hardware accessory product.$100 to $1kOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTeaches several licensed group fitness class formats a few mornings per week and gets paid per class.In personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingLeads sea kayak expeditions and teaches instruction for a local outfitter, earning enough to pay for gear.Part-timeIn personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingGives bike tours of a home city, earning cash from guests plus a small payment from the bike shop the tours start from.In personHacker 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 productsLicensed a home as a winery to make hard cider, selling to local stores and at a summer farmers market.Part-timeIn personHacker News, 2019
- Physical productsMakes jelly by hand from berries grown in the garden and sells it through word of mouth.Hacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingWorks as a hypnotist, getting most clients through word of mouth and a website.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
- Services and freelancingUses a CNC laser cutter to make items for friends and local schools, for a modest monthly income.A few hours a weekHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingShoots high school sports and local races for pay, as a hobby that pairs well with technical interests.$1k to $10kIn personHacker 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
- Rentals and assetsOwns a small rental property that covers its mortgage plus a little extra each month.Over $10kHacker 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
- Physical productsMakes pull-up bars for home fitness in a small craft business that also gives side-job work to a few people. Most customers buy only once.Online and in personHacker 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
- Services and freelancingHelps organize small music shows and festivals and records local indie bands, mostly for friends and acquaintances.In personHacker 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
- Services and freelancingFixed up a used CNC mill and does quick prototypes and small production runs for local customers, found by referral.Part-timeIn 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
- 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 coachingWorked as a scuba instructor on the side, which kept the owner supplied with dive gear, though the stress of the service work eventually led to burnout.Part-timeIn personHacker 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