100 Side Hustles: Ideas for Making Extra Money by Chris Guillebeau

100 Side Hustles: Ideas for Making Extra Money Reviews

• 
  Victoria

  The thing I remember best about successful people I’ve met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they’re doing and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they’re doing and they love it in front of others. Fred Rogers
  
  This book is not about the gig economy or start ups, this is about people with passion, creativity and a desire to turn an idea into a side business. Or in some cases, a new career path.
  
  Guillebeau gathers some of his favorite hustles from his highly-rated podcast and groups them into 15 sections in a polished, clean format. I’m a little crazy about the design of everything and this book is beautifully laid out with just the right amount of information and more than a few strategies and summaries.
  
  For each hustle, the author includes a fun fact, a critical factor and, where warranted, an action plan. The hustles range from the ‘I wish I’d thought of that’ (too many great ideas to count) to ‘not in a million years would I have thought there was a market for this,’ (saddles for chickens). He also includes a Side Hustle Lab after each section providing insights and advice.
  
  I first listened to this book on audio read by the author and his delivery is just perfect for his dorky puns. However, I wanted to go back and delve a little deeper into a few of the entrepreneurs’ ideas so I borrowed a copy from the library. Little did I know that Rona would gift me uninterrupted months to re-read the whole book, but it was worth it (not Rona, the re-read) and I would have gladly paid for it.
  
  Highly recommended for inspiration and a celebration of entrepreneurship and gusto. If you’ve dreamt of starting your own business or maybe just want a little side hustle that feeds your soul, this is a great place to start.
  
• 
  Eddie Kristan

  All inspiration... no explanation or instruction. Most of the examples are from skilled and talented individuals who SHOULD be making money with their craft full time but are forced to work other jobs because of benefits and financial concerns in our world of late-stage capitalism. The gig economy is broken and this book is largely fantasy.
  
  If you are actually looking for ways to make money (side jobs or beer money) look elsewhere. This is for feel good stories of unique entrepreneurship that is very "lightening-in-a-bottle." If you ALREADY have a business plan in mind, this might encourage you to try it, but it's not really much of a help otherwise.
• 
  Marcus Kusi

  100 Side Hustles is the best side hustle ideas book for anyone who wants to start a side hustle without quitting their job.
  
  What l loved the most are the inspiring and practical ideas Chris shared, with real-life examples of people doing them successfully.
  
  After reading this book, you will find at least one profitable side hustle idea that you can start right away.
  
  I found more than one idea and highly recommend you get this book today. Even better, pair it with this book "Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days" to make the perfect combo for your side hustle.
• 
  Nopadol Rompho

  If you want to read a book that shows you the examples of weekend entrepreneur, who create their own businesses part time, this is the book for you.
• 
  FlyingBulgarian Svetli H.

  Wonderfully written - engaging and to the point.
  
  Made me wonder if I should be starting a side hustle!
• 
  Brooke

  I LOVED this book. I've never felt so empowered of being able to start my own business before and Chris Guillebeau delivers a roadmap on how to do it while keeping it fascinating. Hearing each side hustle start from a small idea and grow into a profitable business was inspiring. Not only that, but this book should really be called "How to start a business 101." It covers many types of businesses and essentially teaches you how to test your idea within a market on a small scale, without going all in; all from the viewpoint of each entrepreneur.
  I enjoyed hearing the pitfalls from business owners so it gives a sense of reality that it's not easy- it's a learning process. Also helpful, were the how-to steps for specific industries and learning how different business models functioned. I only wish I learned these lessons earlier in life, but I hear it's never too late to start now :)
  I highly recommend this book, it teaches a lot of valuable lessons that less qualified people online charge exorbitant amounts over. I personally listened to the audio version and enjoyed hearing Chris Guillebeau narrate it. If you haven't already, check out his podcast Side Hustle School.
• 
  Miguel

  Very inspirational and recommended for anyone who is looking for some push to get started on a side hustle. There are small stories, big stories, and everything in between. If you don't think you can do it, you should read this book. Also, I love the big pictures. Goes very well with the goal of trying to inspire you
• 
  Mark

  As the title suggests, this is an collection of 100 stories of people who have developed side business while maintaining their “day jobs.” Many ultimately became their primary source of income. Interesting read.
• 
  Craig Carignan

  For what it was it was very good and more than I expected. It got me motivated to get going on my own set of Side Hustles.
• 
  Christina Pilkington

  I'm always fascinated by how people earn money, so this book was right in my wheelhouse.
  
  I'd highly recommend this book if you are looking for ways to make extra money on the side. I found a lot of great resources and ideas about unusual ways to earn money. And props to the photographer for the great photos!
• 
  Kirk Hanley

  This book is an extension of the Side Hustle School podcast. It takes 100 of the stories and expands on them a bit with pictures. Realistically, you're not going to learn enough to start any one of these side hustles, but the book provides inspiration and is a great jumping off point for starting one of your own.
• 
  Jennifer

  Very inspiring read with vignettes of the many ways that people generate extra income. Well produced book with lots of colorful images.
• 
  Alexander Rivas

  I believe everyone should read this book because everyone is capable of having a "side hustle." There is a saying that goes "Facts tell, stories sell" and this book sells you on the idea of opening your mind to recognize and pursue a side hustle. There are stories of services like resume writing, food side hustles like baking goods, educational services like online courses, and much more. After reading this book I am now looking at opportunities around me that can be a side hustle. I enjoyed how there are stories of small success like enough to a pay monthly bill to buying a new home and more.
  
  This makes me think of MLM's approach of just doing it on the side and inticing you be asking if an extra $100-$200 a month would help. Just that amount of money brings a small relief and it is more probable to do it by starting a side hustle rather than a distributor of an MLM company. There is nothing wrong with being an MLM distributor but your probability of success is higher when your side hustle is something you love to do anyway. Lastly, I love that all the stories are of people around the world with different backgrounds to inspire you to start a side hustle because as the saying goes "If they can do it then I can do it too."
  
• 
  Rachelle

  100 Side Hustles... blending various industries of products and services, the book provides a glimpse into lucrative side hustles to get ideas flowing for readers who desire to hustle. Enjoyed the variety and humor with each personal success story, but all the ideas here can be located online.
• 
  Mark Kater

  While some of the stories are interesting and inspirational, the overload on puns in this book are terrible. It seemed that every other paragraph had one of these: "The bee keeper's idea had everyone buzzing". Come on man...
  Second, probably would've made for a better book with a smaller number of stories that went more in-depth. I get it, these are from a collection of blog posts, but having a 100 short stories is a lot and as I got progressively annoyed with the puns, I stopped reading after the first 20 or so.
• 
  Anna Sabino

  How can you get new ideas and inspiration in business? By studying successful businesses and processes. When you follow someone's business journey, even if it's unrelated to your area, it can spark unexpected inspiration and motivation. The book 100 Side Hustles is just that - garden of ideas and inspiration.
  
  Read about the curated bunch of businesses and entrepreneurs who made Chris Guillebeau's pick. Get this book, study the processes and let the inspiration flow... What a treat.
• 
  Joshua C Liston

  Only got minutes into the Audiobook before I had to turn it off. It’s one of the worst sounding dialogue recordings I’ve ever heard, and I couldn’t keep listening.
  
  The material may be solid, but knowing the author put such little effort/money into the audio version, leaves me skeptical of the work as a whole.
• 
  LaShel

  This was an impulse read for me (on the "new arrivals" shelf at my library). It is just a series of spotlights on different start up businesses. A fun reminder to think creatively but I don't think this would be very useful for someone actually trying to start a successful side hustle.
• 
  Bob Lewis

  If you have a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit and you're looking for a shot of inspiration, this is perhaps exactly the book you need. Though presented as an "idea book," it's not really about the business ideas. If you have even a single entrepreneurial bone in your body, you probably already have some good ideas. What this book is about is the stories of people who've actually made it happen. Beginning with often (though not always) negligible startup costs, these 100 people have found success in their "side hustles," sometimes generating a bit of extra seasonal income and sometimes becoming replacing their full time careers.
  
  While I've never been short on ideas, reading about these other people's stories even generated a few new ideas for me. One of the things you'll notice after reading this book is that everything in your life starts to look like a potential business opportunity. That's great, but it comes with a certain danger which is not very well addressed in this book. The danger, quite simply, is that identifying a market and coming up with some idea to sell to that market (the primary foci of this book) is only the very beginning of the process. Though some of the stories do include mentions of the businesses' various false starts, little attention is paid to the nuts and bolts of actually turning an idea into a business.
  
  Of course, this isn't meant to be a how-to book, and I'm not arguing that the inspirational stories should have been replaced with lengthy step-by-step instructions for navigating legal processes, but it would have been nice if some of the stories had been fleshed out with just a bit more information on the practical side of the matter. For instance, many of the people in the book found their success marketing food products, but consideration of the regulatory challenges such businesses face is relegated to only a single-page word of warning. I didn't expect a legal guidebook, but I did want to know more about how the particular people featured in the stories managed to navigate these sometimes-complicated processes.
  
  Where the book really shines, on the other hand, is in its presentation. Besides being accompanied with numerous full-color photographs, each case study is presented with a quick note regarding the startup costs and profit generated by the business, along with some "fun facts" and a note on the "critical factor" that led to each business being successful where others may have failed. Even if reading the book doesn't directly help you generate even a single actionable item, careful study of these factors will help you learn to identify potential opportunities in your own day-to-day interactions.
  
  I recommend this book, but it's best accompanied by other books that pay more attention to the practical side of starting a business.
• 
  emyrose8

  3.75- Think of this as a brainstorming book. The focus is to share stories of people who turned their ideas into side-hustles. There isn't much info on how to do it yourself. I did take some notes of things I want to look up, and there are a bunch of referrals to Chris's website, sidehustleschool.com, for more information about how to do something. It will be most helpful to people who are already business-minded.
  
  The stories are sorted into 15 categories based on the type of hustle it is... crafty, using current skills, teaching, traveling, apps, etc. The individual stories read a bit like a newspaper, "Woman on Food Stamps Earns $178,000 Teaching People to Bake Bread" or "Law Student Creates Morning Routine Journal." Each story says the name of the person, location, startup costs, income, and website. I must say, I found many things I'd like to spend my money on! Very cool products/services.
  
  A lot of the ideas were successful because the people who did them had a background in business or marketing. I don't. Bummer. Some of the ideas seemed like they worked for the person because they were at the right place/right time and no one else was doing it. Someone attempting to do that idea now would face a lot of competition. Shucks. Another thing that wasn't super helpful for me is that the ideas work better in cities. Rural people, sorry, look elsewhere or apply your ideas online.
  
  But, the central theme of the book keeps going back to two questions: what are you good at? and how could you connect your skills to fill a space in society?
• 
  Daniel

  I am giving 100 side hustles a 5 because I find it so interesting to read about side hustles people start. You will find reselling, dropshipping, leather making, 1/6 scale figure making, food side hustles and more.
  
  One of my favorite side hustles to read about was Mammoth bars. They did a lot of taste testing of their bar so they could get a bar that people liked the taste of. In the profile it talked about some companies making a food product but, never bothering to find out if people liked how it tasted.
  
  Personally I would have never thought of making a food product and then having people taste test it. But, it does not matter if I like the taste of something. It only matters if a lot of other people like the taste of what I am selling.
  
  If you like reading about side hustles I think that you will agree that 100 side hustles will be worth your while to read.
  
  
• 
  Tavon Gatling

  I bought this on a whim, but was a bit disappointed it was pretty much just "testimonials." Then, bored on New Year's Eve, I decided to read through the first few of them... and I couldn't really put the book down. Not all of the stories are interesting, but they're not meant to be. Certain ones I have bookmarked; they fit my life and circumstances, and inspire me. The book essentially helped fan some flames inside, and I feel good about trying to pursue a side hustle sometime in the future. I'd be interested in getting this as a coffee table book now, just to flip through for random inspiration.
• 
  Marc

  Listened to this on audible. Seemingly every example was some weird, quirky, eccentric crafts project that the person then started selling. It's like the author gets off on how weird, obscure, and hipster the business can be. How about some practical, repeatable ideas for the typical American? Completely unrelated and uninspiring for me. The corny jokes mixed in throughout the book almost made it unlistenable. I gutted through it though. Unfortunately, I'm not taking really anything away from it other than people make extra cash in some really weird ass ways (one episode of Shark Tank could have told you that).