Sadly not $500/mo, but I do get a few sales on https://dailychinesestories.com each month. It's as simple as it sounds - a story in Chinese at your HSK level for your preferred themes once a day.
AI?
Yes
Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
491–500 of 575 posts
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#492Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I read your first comment, I immediately thought that the audiobooks are voiced by AI. I'm really surprised to learn the opposite. So you take existing recordings created before 1929 and remaster them? Are recordings (of books published pre-1929) which were created after 1929 in public domain too? I don't even want to ask about producing and voice actors.. Really nice idea and realization!
There's a really awesome site called Librivox [1], where volunteers narrate books that are in the public domain. Those recordings are also in the public domain as well (this is just part of the Librivox thing). The quality of those recordings (both the narration, and the actual recording quality) varies quite a bit and most of them aren't at a quality I'd expect people to pay for and thus aren't useable for me. I've…
Thank you for describing the process and best of luck with soundreads!
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#493I was hesitant to add my own but I think you might find it interesting as we make money not from clients but from grants. We have IronCalc[1]. We don't make money from customers as we don't have a finalized product yet. But we have an ongoing grant from the NLnet[2]. You can have a look at the kind of projects they are granting money. It's always a source of inspiration. That being said IronCalc takes a lot of time f…
This is very cool indeed. Is there anything similar for ppt presentations that you know of?
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#494I built a timesheet / activity report management app years ago.
In the French freelancing market, there’s a specific administrative hurdle: the Compte Rendu d’Activité (CRA). It’s a signed activity report that acts as the "source of truth" for billing. Most people use messy Excel sheets. I built Timizer to solve my own frustration with this workflow. What started as a side project for my friends eventually caught the eye of larger agencies. It’s now a nice $1k/month SaaS.
I recently translated the app in English so I can address larger markets, but I have no idea if this activity report is even a thing in foreign markets, like US, UK,...And if somebody has the answer here I would love to talk about it :)
My website is here : https://timizer.io
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#495https://dbpro.app I’m building DB Pro, a modern desktop database client for developers who want a fast, local-first workflow. I started in October 2025, launched v1 at the end of November, and just crossed $1k MRR. I also post devlogs of life building and marketing DB Pro and am about to post devlog #4. The latest one is here if anyone’s curious: https://youtu.be/-T4GcJuV1rM Still very early, but it’s been fun seeing…
How do you enforce licensing? Did you build your own solution?
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#496Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a great project! I'm thinking about doing something similar. Do you have any bad experiences, things you would have done different, or are thinking about improving now?
Honestly, I can’t think of anything I would have done differently. Each stage of our growth came with some challenges and lessons. I think we did a pretty good job of internalizing and adapting. We definitely made some mistakes along the way, but nothing I regret doing and wouldn’t do again. Every mistake and lesson taught us something. Feel free to email me if you run into any challenges. We might have already been…
great to hear! I'm getting a bit worried about possible legal issues - although that is because I might not be involved in every meeting so I'm worried about possible risks.
I sent you an email, my email handler is alanmeira. If you are too busy and can't waste time on this there is no problem tho, your post was quite motivating already.
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#497I sell laser cut decorative maps TheMapsGuy.com
Very cool! Also very high value! Suspect you could raise prices.
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#498[dead]
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#499Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I read your first comment, I immediately thought that the audiobooks are voiced by AI. I'm really surprised to learn the opposite. So you take existing recordings created before 1929 and remaster them? Are recordings (of books published pre-1929) which were created after 1929 in public domain too? I don't even want to ask about producing and voice actors.. Really nice idea and realization!
There's a really awesome site called Librivox [1], where volunteers narrate books that are in the public domain. Those recordings are also in the public domain as well (this is just part of the Librivox thing). The quality of those recordings (both the narration, and the actual recording quality) varies quite a bit and most of them aren't at a quality I'd expect people to pay for and thus aren't useable for me. I've…
So it's kind of like what Standard Ebooks is to Project Gutenberg.
Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell
#500Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly, I can’t think of anything I would have done differently. Each stage of our growth came with some challenges and lessons. I think we did a pretty good job of internalizing and adapting. We definitely made some mistakes along the way, but nothing I regret doing and wouldn’t do again. Every mistake and lesson taught us something. Feel free to email me if you run into any challenges. We might have already been…
great to hear! I'm getting a bit worried about possible legal issues - although that is because I might not be involved in every meeting so I'm worried about possible risks. I sent you an email, my email handler is alanmeira. If you are too busy and can't waste time on this there is no problem tho, your post was quite motivating already.
I’m a little behind on email, I’ll reply later today.
I’ll answer some of the legal right now. First, we are at every event. Not sure how much it matters legally, but we are there as hosts and to drive the feeling of community. Without us, I don’t think the community has the same feel.
We also have an unbelievably respectful and mature community. After over 70 seatings we’ve never had an incident. We also have a code of conduct document we send all new members.
Second, we setup an LLC to shield us personally from legal liability.
Third, not to say that it shields us, but the restaurants also have insurance and are a better target for a lawsuit.
We are in the US, and at the end of the day anyone can sue anyone for anything. It’s just the reality and risk of the times. It hasn’t been a problem for us yet.