Today, we’re digging into a stack of side hustle examples and brainstorming ways you could put your own spin on it.
To help me out, I invited Deacon Hayes back on the show. Deacon is the founder of WellKeptWallet.com(opens in new tab) and the author of You Can Retire Early(opens in new tab).
He’s a serial entrepreneur whose latest project is actually a rap album(opens in new tab)!
Tune in to Episode 760 of the Side Hustle Show to learn:
- how a single-function website built in 2014 still pulls in an estimated $100,000+ a month
- how niche, in-person “experience economy” businesses like line dancing lessons and pet birthday parties are cashing in
- how Deacon turned Facebook content into $3,000 to $4,000 a month using a simple content system
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The $5-6 Million Word Unscrambler Site
Wordunscrambler.me(opens in new tab) is a simple tool where you type in letters and it shows you what words you can make.
Built in 2014 by Ramesh Jha(opens in new tab) in India, some estimates(opens in new tab) put its traffic at 8 million visitors a month and its revenue as high as $5-6 million a year, monetized mostly through ads.
Ramesh’s broader portfolio, which includes a port checker site(opens in new tab) and a syllable counter(opens in new tab), pulls in around 17 million monthly visitors combined. He uses part of the income to fund a nonprofit and run a free public library in his village.
This kind of single-function calculator site is easy to build with AI today. I even built my own side hustle quarterly tax estimator as an experiment.
I also found an intermittent fasting calculator(opens in new tab) reportedly(opens in new tab) making $400 a month, clearly AI-built.
Other ideas floated included:
- a paint coverage calculator
- a concrete yardage calculator
- a sod calculator for yard renovations
- a reading-level checker for text
- a calorie deficit calculator
- a will-it-fit-in-my-garage calculator for cars
How a Car Reviewer in Quebec Makes $500+ a Day
A guy running the TikTok account Parlons Auto(opens in new tab) (with under 6,000 followers) gets hired directly by car dealerships to film honest, short-form video reviews of their vehicles(opens in new tab).
@parlonsautoquebec Aujourd’hui, on est chez Lexus. On va faire le tour de la gamme : les UX, NX, RX, le gros GX, le luxueux LX, et peut-être quelques surprises. Lexus, c’est Toyota… mais avec le cuir, le silence, le confort, et surtout un prix qui grimpe assez vite. Alors aujourd’hui, on va voir si ça vaut vraiment la différence : est-ce qu’on paie pour du vrai luxe, ou juste pour le logo? Comme d’habitude, on va regarder ça simplement : les modèles qui valent la peine, ceux qui sont trop chers, et les pièges à éviter avant de signer. Bienvenue chez Lexus. On commence ça maintenant. #Lexus #ParlonsAuto #AutoQuebec #VoitureDeLuxe #ConseilsAuto
He’s paid around $750 Canadian (roughly $500-550 USD) per day.
His edge isn’t follower count; it’s honesty. He tells dealerships upfront he’ll show the good, bad, and ugly, which builds trust with viewers in a way an in-house salesperson’s content couldn’t replicate.
That honesty is also his competitive moat against dealerships just doing it themselves.
I suggested the same formula could work for other big, infrequent purchases like RVs(opens in new tab), boats, motorcycles, or construction equipment.
Deacon raised the idea of a lower-cost version, around $250, for individual sellers rather than dealerships, and even floated restaurant reviews using the same “pay me to feature you” pitch.
Megan Collier (Episode 666)(opens in new tab), who does UGC video work for brands without needing to be an influencer herself, is charging $100 to $300+ an hour as she leveled up her skills.
And Kelly Stumpy, “The Car Mom”(opens in new tab) at thecarmomofficial.com(opens in new tab), reviews family SUVs with a car-seat-safety angle, using dealership connections from her past as a car salesperson to get vehicle access.
The $30,000/Year Cheese Fortune Teller
Jennifer Billock(opens in new tab), a Chicago-based journalist, runs a side hustle called the Cheese Oracle(opens i