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.
73 ideas, page 1 of 2
- Renting 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.Rentals and assetsThe Koerner Office, 2026
- Teaching hands-on shop class projects to kids, with customers found through homeschool groups and word of mouth. It can stay a weekend side hustle or grow larger.Teaching and coachingThe Koerner Office, 2026
- A large laundromat with a commercial laundry operation and remote management technology, now offered as a franchise.Services and freelancingOver $10kThe Koerner Office, 2026
- 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 $10kSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms such as oyster, lion's mane and reishi, starting in a very small space. It grew into a farm operation alongside a growing club.Physical products$100 to $1kSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- 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-timeSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- Visiting homes under construction to photograph and verify progress for lenders before loan draws are released. Jobs come through inspection marketplaces, with almost no startup costs and no special license.Services and freelancingUnder $100Side Hustle Nation, 2026
- Runs a mobile knife sharpening service from a van, charging per inch of blade, mostly at farmers markets.Services and freelancingOver $10kHacker News, 2026
- Teaches private music lessons and plays jazz gigs.Hacker News, 2026
- Rents out tables to vendors at local comic conventions.Rentals and assetsHacker News, 2026
- Sold unprocessed goat milk to a zoo's exotic animal nursery, used to feed young animals.Physical productsHacker News, 2026
- Sold pesticide-free produce foraged from leased land and roadsides at farmers markets.Physical productsHacker News, 2026
- Setting up themed tents and bedding for kids' slumber parties as a weekend rental service. A married couple runs it as a side hustle alongside full-time jobs.Side Hustle Nation, 2026
- A laundry service that picks up, washes, folds and returns customers' clothes. It started solo with a van and now runs on a large network of contractors.Services and freelancingSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- A recurring dog poop cleanup service for homeowners, started with almost no money as a side project. The founder also teaches the model to others through a paid community.Services and freelancingPart-timeSide Hustle Nation, 2026
- 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 $10kThe Koerner Office, 2025
- A local service handles cremation for pets and takes referrals from veterinary clinics. Clinics are the recurring business customers.Services and freelancingOver $10kThe Koerner Office, 2025
- A local crew business that trims and removes trees for homeowners. Income comes from per-job fees.Services and freelancingPart-timeThe Koerner Office, 2025
- 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 $10kDiary of a CEO, 2025
- Taking aura portraits at events and partner businesses, charging per short session. The operator runs it while keeping a full-time job.Services and freelancingSide Hustle Nation, 2025
- 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 productsThe Hustle, 2024
- Built an escape room game with colleagues in a rented warehouse after trying local ones.Over $10kHacker News, 2022
- Owns a number of rental properties across the US that produce monthly income after mortgages and expenses.Rentals and assetsOver $10kHacker News, 2022
- Builds dinghies, canoes, catamarans and other small boats in spare time, selling some and taking commissions from friends.Physical products$1k to $10kPart-timeHacker News, 2021
- Owns a franchise hair salon that is managed day to day by someone else.Services and freelancingOver $10kHands-offHacker News, 2019
- Owns a pawn shop that someone else manages day to day.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2019
- Earns semi-passive rental income from one property unit and plans to buy more.Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-offHacker News, 2019
- A physical escape room that parodies startup life, run day-to-day by a manager. Revenue is ticket sales.Over $10kHacker News, 2019
- Plays drums in a band hired for weddings.Services and freelancingHacker News, 2019
- DJs at nightclubs on Friday and Saturday nights, built up from a university hobby into a steady side income.Services and freelancing$1k to $10kHacker News, 2019
- Bought a foreclosed condo, redid the kitchen and bathroom in spare time, and sold it for a profit later.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2019
- Plays medieval and Renaissance music at castles, festivals, battle reenactments and museums.Services and freelancingPart-timeHacker News, 2019
- Teaches English and prepares students for standardized exams. Some students paid in food and drinks.Teaching and coachingUnder $100Part-timeHacker News, 2019
- Works as a DJ in addition to software work, paid per night.Services and freelancing$1k to $10kHacker News, 2019
- Builds furniture using only hand tools and takes the occasional paid project.Physical productsHacker News, 2019
- Runs a private practice teaching mindfulness and breathwork, guiding self-exploration and providing healing touch and bodywork.Part-timeHacker News, 2019
- Played music for pay for decades, including after retiring from a programming career.Services and freelancingHacker News, 2019
- Sells folk music CDs and handmade items at science fiction and fantasy conventions.Physical products$100 to $1kHacker News, 2019
- Keeps chickens and sells the eggs, which covers little more than feed costs.Physical productsA few hours a weekHacker News, 2019
- Keeps bees and sells the honey, which brings in a few thousand a year.Physical productsHacker News, 2019
- 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-timeHacker News, 2019
- Ran a coffee kiosk with branding and promotions designed to make customers return daily. Profitable but demanding on time and staff.Physical productsOver $10kNear full-timeHacker News, 2019
- Offers 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.Services and freelancingPart-timeHacker News, 2019
- Cuts 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.Physical productsOver $10kHacker News, 2019
- Builds custom wood pieces for people who asked after seeing earlier work. Charges mainly to cover materials and some labor.Hacker News, 2019
- Teaches several licensed group fitness class formats a few mornings per week and gets paid per class.Teaching and coachingHacker News, 2019
- Leads sea kayak expeditions and teaches instruction for a local outfitter, earning enough to pay for gear.Part-timeHacker News, 2019
- Gives bike tours of a home city, earning cash from guests plus a small payment from the bike shop the tours start from.Services and freelancingHacker News, 2019