Service Businesses

Many freelancers in Side Hustle Nation eventually grow their business into an agency that no longer ties their time to their income. What that looks like in practice is often bringing in other team members to deliver the work.

The business ideas and case studies featured in these archives are generally a little “bigger” than a traditional freelance business, even if the actual work offered is the same.

What separates a service business from a freelance business is a matter of scale. No longer are your hours directly tied to your income, and you may not even be directly responsible for doing the work; that’s what your team is for.

The 6-Figure Side Hustle Cleaning Up Parking Lots

April 26, 2024July 21, 2022

This week’s guest started his side hustle with the goal of earning an extra $1,000 a month – fast forward four summers later and it’s now a 6-figure business.

Blademir Hernandez of LitterFreeLots.nyc is a long-time listener of the Side Hustle Show who was inspired by Brian Winch’s story in episode 266 to start his business.

Brian built a $650k a year operation picking up litter and cleaning parking lots, something Blademir told me he knew he could also do.

How to Start an Offline Agency: From Idea to Multi 6-Figures

June 9, 2025June 30, 2022

This week’s guest took a pain point she was experiencing – finding a nanny for her 3-month-old – and turned it into a multi 6-figure full-time business with 500 nannies across 5 states.

Kristy Bickmeyer started TwinkleToesNanny.com back in 2011 in response to not being able to find a nanny herself.

At least not without going through the “traditional” agency model of paying $1,500-3,000 upfront and with few guarantees it will work out long-term.

Reselling Software: Don’t Start a SaaS — White Label Someone Else’s Instead

November 27, 2023April 14, 2022

Reselling software gives you many of the benefits of a software business, without the upfront development cost.

That means you can enjoy recurring revenue, selling one product to multiple customers, and strong profit margins by white labeling a software tool that already exists.

These benefits are what attract many people to starting a SaaS, or software as a service, but you may not need to go through the trouble.

After all, there may already be a tool that solves the same problem. Could you become a software reseller instead of a software creator?

How to Start a Sleep Consulting Business: $10k a Month Helping Babies and Toddlers Sleep

June 4, 2025March 31, 2022

From being a “bored stay at home mom” to running a multi 6-figure business in just a few short years.

That’s the story for this week’s guest, Jayne Havens of TheSnoozeFest.com who decided to take a sleep certification course “on a whim.”

This is a 2-for-1 episode where we’re going to learn about starting a service business from scratch — in Jayne’s case that’s coaching parents how to help their babies and toddlers sleep through the night.

How to Start a Consignment Business w/ Popup Events, Online Sales, or a Storefront

July 27, 2023March 3, 2022

How does risk-free profit sound?

That’s the promise and the premise of the consignment business — getting paid to sell other people’s stuff.

To help school me on how it all works I’ve invited Megan Church from PineappleConsignment.com onto this week’s show.

Turning a Service Business into a Passive Income Stream – Part 3

May 24, 2023February 17, 2022

Today’s guest, Matt Bochnak of HowToMotorcycleRepair.com, is one of my favorite examples of how you can dedicate part of your week to generating time-leveraged income.

This is Matt’s third time on The Side Hustle Show, and everytime we speak he’s made huge leaps forward with his business.

Matt first appeared on the show back in 2016 when he was making around $1,000 a month recording himself performing motorcycle repairs in his garage and selling digital products.

Pandemic Pivots: 6-Figures in 12 Months from a New Productized Service

February 11, 2022February 10, 2022

When the pandemic hit, Timmy Bauer from DinosaurHouse.com pivoted his business from being a traveling children’s book author to running a children’s book production company.

Timmy was enjoying working as a traveling children’s book author, but he was forced to change directions when schools started locking down and not allowing guests.

His story is the perfect example that you don’t always need to make a complete 180 if your business hits a wall.

How to Start a Photobooth Company: 6-Figures in 18 Months

August 25, 2023November 18, 2021

From hating photo booths to seeing an opportunity in the market and taking her photo booth side hustle to 6-figures in 18 months…

That’s the story of today’s guest, Cat Bloch.

Cat told me you would never “catch me dead” using a photo booth at a party.

That was until she came across a modern photo booth, and it completely changed how she looked at this popular wedding venue and Gala attraction.

Online Drop Servicing: Building a $10k/mo Niche Productized Service Agency

December 15, 2023October 14, 2021

Where there’s pain, there might also be profit…

That was the case for today’s guest, Pete Mockaitis. Pete was seeing some traction with his podcast, the HowToBeAwesomeAtYourJob Podcast, but was struggling to keep up all the off-air tasks — the show notes, the editing, the social media.

For Pete Mockaitis, that pain turned into AwesomePros.co, a niche drop-servicing company that he co-founded with Brian Kearny and is now doing $10k a month in recurring revenue.

How to Start a Charcuterie Board Business: $100k in Sales in 9 Months

April 25, 2024March 4, 2021

Last May, Monisha Misra reluctantly accepted her first customer. Nine months later, she’d eclipsed $100k in total sales — all on the side from her day job.

BoardsByMo.com is a charcuterie board prep company, and the early success and attention in that arena has spun off other revenue streams including virtual live charcuterie board building classes.

Usually Hustling, Occasionally Social