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Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

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Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#211

Post by piazz »

Making almost exactly $500/mo on an Anki extension that embeds AI / text to speech / image gen deeply into the app, allowing you to generate example sentences, audio, explanations, etc, for whatever you’re studying, in bulk.

https://smart-notes.xyz

Still holding off on the show HN post for now; have a few more features and QoL things I’d like to add first.

It’s been an enormously gratifying project and I hear from users all around the world who have feature requests for their specific use cases. Easily the most fun I’ve had working on a project.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#212

Post by Fiveplus »

skwee357 wrote: post #145

I run a dead-simple, one-time, online fax service called JustFax Online[0]. While I don't have a recurring revenue as I operate one one-time payment, for the past months I have been consistently grossing over €500/mo. This also brings tears to my eyes, as I remember[1] browsing these threads and being amazed (still am) by all the people who make side projects and make money from them, and at the same time thinking th…

This is the coolest thing I've seen on this thread. Single purpose and a very nice, crystal clear homepage.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#213

Post by pjc50 »

zandert wrote: post #155
skwee357 wrote: post #145

I run a dead-simple, one-time, online fax service called JustFax Online[0]. While I don't have a recurring revenue as I operate one one-time payment, for the past months I have been consistently grossing over €500/mo. This also brings tears to my eyes, as I remember[1] browsing these threads and being amazed (still am) by all the people who make side projects and make money from them, and at the same time thinking th…

That's super cool, how do you run it? Are you using some other service under the hood, and just abstract their annoying pricing model?

It used to be possible to do this with a faxmodem; these days telephony is over IP, so there might be telco APIs for it. But, because it's a telco, that will be annoying and hidden.

UK: OFCOM are phasing out the fax support requirement https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/telecoms-infra...

(I slightly balked at the $5 initial price, but then realized: this is a desperation fee and I think for a lot of the users a clear fee for a clear one off service is the best deal. Anyone who wants to send 1,000 faxes will (a) be in the top 1% of fax users in their country if it's not Japan and (b) make their own arrangements. Also patio11's "charge more")

Software wise, if you have a PBX line (which the telco will change for) you can run Asterix and then https://www.asterisk.org/products/add-ons/fax-for-asterisk/ to send as many faxes as you like to the other person in your country with a fax machine.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#214

Post by Keats »

kaesve wrote: post #6

My wife's Etsy shop ( https://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleLanternShop ) is starting to pick up. She is leaning into creating digital sewing patterns for decorative felt crafts. We have had Etsy success before with 3d printed products, but managing printers and fulfilling orders can be stressful and time consuming, and she was hoping to build up a more passive income stream. She made over $1000 in the past month, which be…

Any tips on that? My wife is starting her Etsy shop (https://www.etsy.com/shop/BravinaPrints) but she is not really getting any visits and still trying to figure out what kind of stuff she wants to draw.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#215

Post by pjc50 »

laurentiurad wrote: post #160
laurentiurad wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did you do it? The minimum package is $8. If you did this in the past, why didn't you reach out for support? I get more than 100 customers per day and rarely have issues.

ah now I see you generated your pics 8 minutes ago. You can now see them on your account page. I have a clear disclaimer that says it can take up to 30 mins to generate the photos and that you will get an email once the photos are ready.

Thirty minutes? Polaroid film could do it in five.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#216

Post by laurentiurad »

pjc50 wrote: post #215
laurentiurad wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ah now I see you generated your pics 8 minutes ago. You can now see them on your account page. I have a clear disclaimer that says it can take up to 30 mins to generate the photos and that you will get an email once the photos are ready.

Thirty minutes? Polaroid film could do it in five.

30 pictures? I doubt that

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#217

Post by tbensky »

https://www.youhere.org: "Want to know who showed up?" is the tag line. It's an app-based attendance service for teachers/coaches/band directors/conference organizers, etc. I'm a teacher and it scratches an itch I had (students not showing up to class). Been hitting the $500/month more and more often now (even after server fees).

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#218

Post by lucasqueiroz »

tikotus wrote: post #120

https://cluesbysam.com I started making a daily logic puzzle called Clues by Sam in May and it's been stadily growing since. The number one thing people were asking for was more puzzles, so I started selling puzzle packs instead of monetizing with ads. The reception has been great, and the revenue has been enough for me to decline some consulting gigs and instead focus on improving the game.

I love the puzzles, I played once and already got the Pack #1, it's a great game! As soon as I finish #1, I will for sure get #2!

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#219

Post by vintagedave »

laurentiurad wrote: post #135

I built and run several SaaS platforms: - https://dave-bot.com -> a full-stack AI platform where you can generate videos, images, music, code, 3d objects with frontier Gen AI models. - https://headsnap.io -> a platform that you can generate images of yourself based on 4 selfies. - https://quantiq.live -> a service providing financial and historical data for stocks, as well as government trades. - https://aivestor.tec…

Do you delete the uploaded photos after you've finished processing? The privacy policy does not make this clear.

https://headsnap.io/privacy

Alternately that their presence doesn't grant any rights for other use would be a good clause which I didn't spot.

Re: Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2025 – Show and tell

#220

Post by navaed01 »

crobertsbmw wrote: post #19

I’m still selling Computer Engineering for Babies. And I just launched a new book called Simple Machines Made Simple on Kickstarter a month or two ago. Both books are basically just simple interactive demos for kids and adults. https://hackylabs.com

I have this book for my kid and love it!
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