Nick Loper

Nick Loper is a side hustle expert who loves helping people earn more money and start businesses they care about. He hosts the award-winning Side Hustle Show, where he's interviewed over 500 successful entrepreneurs, and is the bestselling author of Buy Buttons, The Side Hustle, and $1,000 100 Ways. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Forbes, TIME, Newsweek, Business Insider, MSN, Yahoo Finance, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Hubspot, Ahrefs, Shopify, Investopedia, VICE, Vox, Mashable, ChooseFI, The Penny Hoarder, GoBankingRates, and more.

7 Proven Ways to Come Up with New Business Ideas – With Real Life Examples

January 9, 2025January 9, 2025

Aspiring entrepreneurs often get stuck in the business idea phase — that is, they’re confident they could run a killer business, make a ton of money, and live the good life — if they could only come up with the right idea.

And if you fall in that camp, I’ve got good news for you: coming up with new business ideas is actually pretty easy.

Let’s go through some of the proven methods you can use to come up with your first (or next) business idea.

14 Real Ways to Get Paid for Your Data: Up to $500 a Year

January 16, 2025January 6, 2025

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One of the easiest side hustles to get started with is getting paid to share your data.

Big data is big business, generating an estimated $270 billion by 2026.

And as individuals, we create a lot of data every day. For decades, we’ve freely given that data away to big companies like Google and Facebook. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value.

Here are some legit ways to turn that data into dollars in your pocket.

From Side Hustle to $1M in Sales

March 25, 2025January 2, 2025

Mike Ettenberg spent 10 years as a firefighter, but was constantly losing or breaking his sunglasses on calls.

Frustrated, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Frontline Optics makes durable sunglasses for first responders with a no-questions-asked replacement policy.

Despite having “no business experience,” the Side Hustle Show listener took Frontline from side hustle to full-time venture, selling over $1M worth of sunglasses along the way.

The Side Hustle Snowball: How to “Erase” Your Expenses with Extra Income Streams

July 2, 2025December 30, 2024

Here’s how The Side Hustle Snowball works:

You itemize out your expenses and then aim to come up with side hustle income to cover them, starting with the smallest and working your way up.

Once you reach the bottom of your list, you don’t need your job anymore!

KashKick Review: A Legit Way to Get Paid to Play Games and Redeem Offers?

March 7, 2025December 27, 2024

Is KashKick legit?

“Get paid to have fun,” the ads claim. But does the platform deliver?

Here’s what we found: Yes, you can make money with KashKick, but not all their earning options are created equal.

Our Top 10 Side Hustles of 2024

October 31, 2025December 26, 2024

The end of the year is upon us, which means it’s time to reflect back on the side hustles that stood out — the ones that got people talking and that I was most excited to share.

How to Start an Online Directory as a Side Hustle

November 10, 2025December 19, 2024

Why should your first online business be a directory? This is one of the most overlooked yet potentially lucrative side hustles out there.

I’ve got a little bit of experience in this space (I actually built a virtual assistant directory years before), so this is something close to me.

But John Rush is a master at quickly building and marketing these little side projects.

He has launched 30 directories in just the past year, managed to monetize 10 of them, and even sold one (AllGPTs.co) for a sweet five-figure exit.

The 9 Buyers: The Key to Stronger Connections and Easier Sales

December 16, 2024December 16, 2024

If you create content online, sell anything—whether it’s in person, over the phone, or on a website—and want to make stronger connections, reach more people, and ultimately grow your income, here’s something to help you learn how to do it by speaking directly to the 9 types of buyers.

To help us is Melanie Warren, a professional copywriter and the author of The 9 Buyers System.

She has helped sell millions of dollars worth of products and services, and she has graciously agreed to stop by and give us the goods for free today.

Let’s break it down, starting with a closer look at these nine buyers and how you can tailor your content to meet them where they’re at.

The $60k/mo Remote Cleaning Side Hustle

August 29, 2025December 12, 2024

Building a remote cleaning side hustle from scratch. How crazy unique is that?

Skyler helps homeowners get the help they need while also helping on-the-ground professional cleaners get the work they want — and still makes a margin in the middle.

And the most interesting part is he’s running this $60k/month operation in less than two years — all while keeping his day job.

Side Hustle Showdown: Buying a Business vs. Investing in Real Estate

July 3, 2025December 5, 2024

If you’re looking to add some time-leveraged cash flow to your bottom line, two of the best options are investing in rental real estate and buying small businesses.

Both are viable options, and to help you figure out if either or both of these investment options are right for you, it’s time for another Side Hustle Showdown.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social