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 data651 ideas, page 11 of 14
- Content and mediaHosts a forum and website for a nonprofit, in exchange for placing ads that cover the hosting costs.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaBuilt a content website covering a niche in a non-US market, with a lot of long-tail search traffic monetized by AdSense.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Physical productsSells a powder that turns into fake snow when water is added, promoted with a TV spot and search ads.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsPorted an older game to iPad, free to download with one in-app purchase unlocking the full version.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaBuilt a credit card validation plugin with a demo site that earns small ad revenue.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a blog that lists a jQuery plugin each day and earns from advertising.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a glockenspiel app for a friend's daughter, released a free version and a paid version with extra features.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns blogs on local sports and politics, with posts built from repackaged government data, earning from AdSense.Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaA logo design gallery where designers submit work, earning from ads and ad network placements.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Directories and marketplacesA marketplace connecting boat owners and dock spaces, grown by posting in boating groups and forums.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Physical productsWrites and sells math textbooks as print and PDF, built around curating expert knowledge.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Under $100OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilds iPhone apps for groups like skydivers and beer fans, earning from sales and Apple affiliate links.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsSells WordPress themes for specific niches, with a small ad budget and a little customer support.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsSells online courses, with income varying by how much promotion is done each month.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA free web tool that compresses and combines JavaScript files, earning from AdSense.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Directories and marketplacesA niche marketplace where garden centers sell plants nationwide, with the owner taking a share of each sale.$1k to $10kOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a website where people pay in Bitcoin per character to post a message.$100 to $1kHands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaA website that helps users assemble PCs, earning from affiliate links and ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsPut an idle motorcycle up for rent on a quickly built site, earning from renters.Online and in personHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsSells personalized kids books through an iPad app and is splitting it into individual book apps.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt an iPad piano app that stays in music charts and sells without marketing.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsSells software for creating bingo cards, needing little support.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsA website selling cupcake wrapper designs, with new designs needed to keep sales up.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaHosts a friend's political writings on a site and splits the advertising revenue.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Over $10kHands-offIn personHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsBought a house with an existing tenant and collects rent with very little work.Over $10kHands-offHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsRents out spare rooms and then whole properties previously lived in, so rent covers the mortgages.Over $10kHacker News, 2014
- Services and freelancingAdministers rented servers, handling updates and small fixes for tenants who pay monthly fees after covering hosting costs.Over $10kHands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsMade an online role-playing game for young children that earns a modest monthly amount.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsWrote and self-published an ebook about running profitable side projects.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaEarns affiliate commissions by referring people to Shopify.Under $100Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsHas a simple app in the Mac App Store that sells with no ongoing support.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt a small ERP system sold to businesses on monthly fees.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaA studio builds quick websites that solve small problems, getting traffic from blogs and earning from AdSense.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsRuns a social game with a developer partner that earns steadily with little ongoing time.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsBuilt an add-on that lets customers get SSL installed quickly. Reselling certificates required upfront cash.Over $10kHands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsA calculator tool for a tabletop game that was picked up by a gaming site and earns from an ad on it.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Directories and marketplacesA marketplace for themes for a blogging platform.OnlineHacker News, 2014
- Rentals and assetsBought a vacation rental that earns nightly rental income.Over $10kHacker News, 2014
- Software and appsRuns subscription services for tracking website traffic and ad conversions, solo and mostly hands-off.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns three white label dating sites that earn with little maintenance.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsDesigned a child theme for the Genesis WordPress framework in a few days, and it keeps earning monthly sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsTurned a portfolio site into a WordPress theme sold on ThemeForest, plus answering support emails.A few hours a weekOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Digital productsPublishes several nonfiction Kindle books on Amazon and markets them for ongoing sales.Hands-offOnlineHacker 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
- Content and mediaEvolved a failed school-focused social network into a directory site that earns from ads with little maintenance.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014
- Content and mediaRuns a simple blog on solar power, linked from a YouTube video, that earns from AdSense ads.Hands-offOnlineHacker News, 2014