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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- 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 data88 ideas, page 2 of 2
- 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
- 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 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
- Services and freelancingWorks as a hypnotist, getting most clients through word of mouth and a website.Hacker 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
- 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
- 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
- Services and freelancingHelps organize small music shows and festivals and records local indie bands, mostly for friends and acquaintances.In personHacker 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
- 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
- Services and freelancingDoes software consulting for a previous workplace after leaving it, adjusting the rate each year for inflation.Under $100Part-timeOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingCleans messy Excel data for companies and sometimes builds simple web apps to replace the spreadsheets. Bills per row, flat fee or hourly depending on the project.Under $100Part-timeOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingWrites and performs stand-up comedy, earning a modest income from paid gigs each month after several years of building up.Under $100In personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingOffers business strategy consulting to startups using topographical business maps. Aims to help avoid costly mistakes and support fundraising.Part-timeOnlineHacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTaught fitness classes on the side alongside a day job.Part-timeIn personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingHelps people fix broken technology, a paid skill since youth.Under $100Hacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingBuilt web pages for local wineries and was paid in goods such as wine rather than cash.Under $100Hacker News, 2019
- Teaching and coachingTaught Linux courses on weekends to students eager to learn. Paid per course.Under $100In personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingWorks as a firefighter and medic, adding contract wildland fire deployments. Takes a few hours a week plus one deployment a year.A few hours a weekIn personHacker News, 2019
- Services and freelancingBuilt an automated system for deploying webshops for a web agency owner, in exchange for a fee on each shop deployed. The income ended when the client retired.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2016
- Services and freelancingA retail shop that fixes broken phones for walk-in customers, grown from one location to several. The owner later sold the business.Over $10kIn personTop Founders, 2016
- Services and freelancingBought an existing cleaning company and is running it with a business manager, so it needs little weekly attention.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingDoes enterprise software consulting in the evenings.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingDoes social media and blog content for a jewelry company from home and subcontracts the work to a lower-cost writer.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingRuns a blog that has brought a steady flow of consulting opportunities.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingEarns on the side from DJ gigs and personal training, both of which are also personal hobbies.Hacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a machine learning system that solves captchas, paid per captcha, so income continues after the build.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Software and appsRuns a text messaging service with low per-message pricing. Earns from message volume.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingDid site-to-WordPress theme conversions for clients, finding them through targeted AdWords ads.$100 to $1kPart-timeOnlineHacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingA photography business started with a spouse that grew enough for the spouse to quit a day job.Hacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingOffers a service that helps startups write short, clear descriptions of their product for sites and their own pages.OnlineHacker News, 2011
- Services and freelancingThe operator started by repairing brick mailboxes and grew into masonry work for homeowner associations, using crews for the labor. Income is per-job fees.Part-timeIn personThe Koerner Office
- Services and freelancingA seasonal service installs holiday lights for homeowners and businesses, with multi-year contracts to repeat the work. It was started by a teacher on the side.In personThe Koerner Office
- Services and freelancingThe operator began by selling tote shelves and expanded into general handyman work for local customers. Income is per-job fees.In personThe Koerner Office
- Teaching and coachingThe operator runs a team training or build-together session inside one company and listens for the process employees want automated. That process then becomes a separately priced build, often a shared context layer across the company's tools.Build With AI
- Services and freelancingA solo consultant interviews a small business owner about daily pain points, runs the recording through AI to match problems to existing software, and delivers a short written report plus a walkthrough call. It is sold as a fixed-price diagnosis, and the buyer can then hire the consultant for the follow-up work.Under $100Part-timeOnlineThe Startup Ideas Podcast
- Teaching and coachingThe host books a room, lists a half-day workshop on Eventbrite for one industry such as realtors or roofers, and teaches attendees to set up Claude and build one skill. The ticket revenue is minor; the point is meeting buyers who then ask for private help.Build With AI