Side hustle ideas from people who actually run them

651 side hustles, each one described by the person running it, in a podcast, a YouTube interview or a Hacker News thread. Every idea links to its source. Filter by what it costs to start, how much time it takes, and how it earns.

All Digital products 67 Software and apps 205 Content and media 105 Physical products 105 Services and freelancing 103 Rentals and assets 36 Directories and marketplaces 11 Teaching and coaching 19

84 ideas, page 1 of 2

Stylish diaper bag brand
A diaper bag brand designed to look less bulky than traditional bags, manufactured through Alibaba. Preorders and organic TikTok content helped fund inventory.
Physical productsOver $10k
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Modern laundromat with commercial laundry
A large laundromat with a commercial laundry operation and remote management technology, now offered as a franchise.
Services and freelancingOver $10k
The Koerner Office, 2026
Automated utility trailer rentals
Renting out utility trailers with an almost fully automated booking process, alongside a full-time job. Customers come from Google and Facebook Marketplace.
Rentals and assetsOver $10k
The Koerner Office, 2026
AI rendering tool for architects and designers
An AI tool that lets architects and designers generate realistic home renders in seconds. Revenue stayed flat for years until a single product pivot changed the business.
Software and apps
Starter Story, 2026
Kids party equipment rentals
Renting 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.
Rentals and assetsPart-time
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Mobile espresso bike for events
An espresso setup mounted on an electric-assist cargo trike that serves coffee at events without the overhead of a shop. The founder also builds and sells units to other entrepreneurs.
Over $10k
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Buying and running a landscaping company
Acquiring an existing landscaping company in South Florida instead of starting from scratch. The episode covers rebuilding after losing most of the team and clients, and using simple AI tools to save admin time.
Services and freelancingOver $10kNear full-time
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Mobile knife sharpening van
Runs a mobile knife sharpening service from a van, charging per inch of blade, mostly at farmers markets.
Services and freelancingOver $10k
Hacker News, 2026
Private music lessons and live gigs
Teaches private music lessons and plays jazz gigs.
Hacker News, 2026
Sell goat milk to a zoo nursery
Sold unprocessed goat milk to a zoo's exotic animal nursery, used to feed young animals.
Physical products
Hacker News, 2026
Analytics software sold to agencies
An analytics SaaS built specifically for agencies as the customer, a niche most builders overlook.
Software and apps
Starter Story, 2026
Live selling golf gear on Whatnot
Selling golf equipment through live shows on the Whatnot app, built on top of a brick-and-mortar golf shop and its brand relationships.
Physical productsOver $10k
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Improved small pet products brand
A 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.
Physical productsOver $10k
Side Hustle Nation, 2026
Imported perfume vending machines
The 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.
Rentals and assetsOver $10k
The Koerner Office, 2025
Pet cremation service sold through vet clinics
A local service handles cremation for pets and takes referrals from veterinary clinics. Clinics are the recurring business customers.
Services and freelancingOver $10k
The Koerner Office, 2025
RV and mobile home park ownership
The 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.
Rentals and assetsOver $10k
Diary of a CEO, 2025
Resale store for popular regional snacks
A shop buys a famous roadside chain's snacks and resells them to customers elsewhere. Revenue comes from retail sales of the resold goods.
Physical products
The Hustle, 2024
Mobile order-taking app for field sales
Built an app for creating orders and invoices on the road, syncing with local accounting software. A partner handles sales.
Software and apps
Hacker News, 2024
Continuous web app security scanning service
Offers automated recurring security scans of web apps with reports sent to team tools like Slack.
Software and apps
Hacker News, 2024
Grounded charger adapters for MacBooks
Worked with a factory to make grounded power adapters that stop case buzzing, sold on Amazon.
Physical productsHands-off
Hacker News, 2024
Shipping data model for options trading
Built an algorithm using maritime trade data to trade options on shipping firms, also selling subscriptions to friends.
Software and apps
Hacker News, 2024
Build and run an escape room
Built an escape room game with colleagues in a rented warehouse after trying local ones.
Over $10k
Hacker News, 2022
Backtesting service for options traders
Runs a simulation service that lets traders backtest advanced options strategies, built from a background in processor simulation.
Software and appsOver $10k
Hacker News, 2022
Email marketing tool for creators
Grew from blogging and a self-published book into building an email marketing tool for bloggers and creators.
Software and apps
Hacker News, 2022
Game server and compute hosting
Began hosting game servers for friends, grew into renting servers including scientific computing to universities.
Over $10kHands-off
Hacker News, 2022
Niche credit card processing business
Started a niche credit card processor that has made money for many years.
Hacker News, 2022
Portfolio of rental properties
Owns a number of rental properties across the US that produce monthly income after mortgages and expenses.
Rentals and assetsOver $10k
Hacker News, 2022
Flip collectibles and collector cars
Buys and resells collectibles, cars and sometimes collectible cars.
Physical products
Hacker News, 2021
Hardware security keys with partners
Launched hardware security keys with partners, working on it part time at first.
Physical productsOver $10k
Hacker News, 2021
Customizable GPS scavenger hunt platform
Built a platform for scavenger hunts played on phones. Sells it to team-building event companies and also to individuals for birthdays and parties.
Software and apps
Hacker News, 2019
Remote logging tool for mobile app developers
Turned an internal debugging and remote logging tool for iOS and Android into a subscription product for customers of all sizes.
Software and apps
Hacker News, 2019
Rental units plus property management app
Rents 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.
Rentals and assetsOver $10k
Hacker News, 2019
Men's skincare product line
Launched a men's skincare line as a first physical product business, handling ads, customer service and fulfillment.
Physical productsOver $10k
Hacker News, 2019
Own a hair salon franchise run by a manager
Owns a franchise hair salon that is managed day to day by someone else.
Services and freelancingOver $10kHands-off
Hacker News, 2019
Own a pawn shop run by a manager
Owns a pawn shop that someone else manages day to day.
Over $10kHands-off
Hacker News, 2019
Rent out a residential unit
Earns semi-passive rental income from one property unit and plans to buy more.
Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
Hacker News, 2019
Startup-themed escape room
A physical escape room that parodies startup life, run day-to-day by a manager. Revenue is ticket sales.
Over $10k
Hacker News, 2019
Buy and rent out property
Owns rental property, which needs little ongoing effort once it is running.
Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
Hacker News, 2019
Buy iPhones in low-tax state, resell abroad
Travels to the US regularly, buys phones where there is no sales tax, and resells them locally in a country where import taxes make them much more expensive.
Physical productsOver $10k
Hacker News, 2019
Buy, renovate and sell a foreclosed condo
Bought a foreclosed condo, redid the kitchen and bathroom in spare time, and sold it for a profit later.
Over $10kHands-off
Hacker News, 2019
Export baby milk powder to Chinese buyers
Sells baby milk powder from Germany to mothers in China.
Physical products
Hacker News, 2019
Resell tested bulk disk drives
Bought rejected disk drives in bulk at auction from PC makers, tested them, and sold the working ones to shops and individuals.
Physical products
Hacker News, 2019
Design and build high-quality ceiling lights
Designed and built ceiling lights with high brightness and color quality, working with manufacturers and selling to real-world customers.
Physical products
Hacker News, 2019
Mindfulness, breathwork and bodywork private practice
Runs a private practice teaching mindfulness and breathwork, guiding self-exploration and providing healing touch and bodywork.
Part-time
Hacker News, 2019
Payment processing reseller and gateway
Sells payment processing services, runs a white-label payment gateway, and builds custom apps for payment terminals, alongside a do-it-yourself website builder.
Services and freelancing
Hacker News, 2019
Audio mixing and mastering services
Runs an audio engineering business, mixing and mastering music across many genres for new and experienced artists.
Services and freelancingOver $10kPart-time
Hacker News, 2019
Buy, renovate and sell small houses
Buys older small houses, renovates them on weekends and holidays, and sells them for a profit. Hires out only specialist work like electrical.
Over $10kPart-time
Hacker News, 2019
Buy, repair and resell used cars
Buys older luxury crossovers and hybrids, does the repairs and detailing in spare time, and sells them mainly to older buyers.
Physical productsOver $10kPart-time
Hacker News, 2019