BiggerPockets Money Podcast

Episode: The Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Ideal Side Hustle

Release Date: February 10, 2026
Hosts: Mindy Jensen, Scott Trench
Guest: Nick Loper (Side Hustle Nation)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the practical mechanics and mindset of launching a successful side hustle, especially for those on the path to Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE). Hosts Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench chat with Nick Loper from Side Hustle Nation, focusing on how to realistically find, vet, and scale a side hustle that matches your skills, goals, and lifestyle—whether you want simple extra income or dream of something entrepreneurial.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding the Purpose of a Side Hustle

• Not Just Extra Income: Side hustles aren't just about making a few spare bucks; they can serve as stepping stones to long-term financial freedom, skill growth, and personal fulfillment.
• Start with Self-Awareness: Know your time, energy, and skill availability before jumping into any side gig.
  • Nick Loper [05:12]: “Taking an honest inventory of, well, what hours do I realistically have today to dedicate to this?... We all have the same number of hours in a week, but it looks different for everybody.”

2. The First Steps: Time Audit & Milestones

• Self-Inventory: Start by tracking your available time and clarifying what a "win" would look like (e.g., covering a car payment, cell phone bill).
  • Nick Loper [06:00]: “Be honest, first of all, like, what time do I have to dedicate to this? And then second, like, what is my dream scenario side hustle goal?”
• Small Victories: Set milestones for early progress to stay motivated, especially in slow growth phases.

3. Tiers & Evolution of Side Hustles

• The “Ladder of Wealth Creation” (Nathan Barry’s framework):
  • Tier 1: Trade time for money (e.g., Uber, dog walking)—easy entry, but income ceiling.
  • Tier 2: Freelance or app-driven gigs—start marketing your skill, limited but higher pay.
  • Tier 3: Productized or agency services—set packages, scalable team, higher earning potential.
  • Tier 4: Systems/software/marketplaces—most scalable but also most complex and risky.
  • Nick Loper [24:22]: “You can skip some ladders, but you can’t skip learning the skills along the way.”

4. Brainstorming and Vetting Side Hustle Ideas

• Skill Inventory: List what you've done, what people ask you for, and your hobbies/interests.
  • Track “pains and problems” in daily life—both yours and others'—for hidden business opportunities.
    • Nick Loper [13:02]: “What sucks Notes app … taking inventory of what other people are complaining to me about … is there a match here where there could be a business idea?”
• Don’t Wait for the Perfect Idea: Take action on good-enough ideas to prevent analysis paralysis.
  • Nick Loper [11:00]: “The perfect idea is the one that you're, like, inspired enough, excited enough to take action on.”

5. Examples of Side Hustles at Different Levels (With Real Cases)

• Entry-Level/Plug-and-Play: Rideshare, dog walking, gig apps—instant start, ceilinged earnings.
• Business-in-a-Box:
  • Vending machines, mobility scooter rentals, parking lot cleaning—find demands and plug in a proven system.
  • The “pooper scooper” business (pet waste removal) as a case study: low barrier, grows with simple improvements, high recurring revenue.
  • Memorable Moment [15:03]:
    Scott, on pet waste removal: “I think it's a great concept and the pooper scooper business is obviously along those lines.”
• Service to Affluent Clients:
  • House management, family assistants, night nannying, specialty meal prep.
  • Aim for higher-paying, less price-sensitive clients.
  • Nick Loper [39:19]: “We had a woman last year, that was her business. It was a virtual house management service… intentionally position[ed] this as house manager for busy parents, you know, busy affluent parents.”
• Emergent and Niche Ideas:
  • Sharetown (reverse logistics for mattress/exercise equipment returns): $150–$250 per "flip”
  • AI data training (like Remotasks, Outlier AI): fully remote, $15–$45/hr depending on skill
  • Overnight babysitting/night nurse: $100–$600 per night, depending on location and qualifications

6. Tools, Frameworks, and AI for Side Hustle Discovery

• Nick’s AI-Assisted Brainstorming Worksheet: Fill in your skills, experiences, and time constraints, and get personalized side hustle ideas from AI instead of generic blog lists.
  [Get it at sidehustlenation.com/bpmoney]
• Live Demo [41:22—51:35]: Mindy, Scott, and Nick role-played creating a prompt for a fictional persona (Nancy/Barb—a long-time stay-at-home mom re-entering the workforce) to show how the worksheet helps tailor suggestions.
  • Standout ideas generated live:
    • Household manager for busy/affluent families
    • Senior appointment/care coordinator
    • Meal planning for food restrictions
    • Overnight babysitting
    • Selling knitting patterns or goods on Etsy

7. How to Stand Out & Scale

• Focus on Service Quality: You often only need to be slightly better or more reliable than the competition.
  • Mindy Jensen [21:21]: “Just walk around your house and be like what annoys me today? ... It’s not that hard to be better than somebody else.”
• Referral Networks: In-person trust jobs (childcare, house management) grow fastest via word-of-mouth from delighted clients.
  • Scott Trench [52:26]: “Would you mind sharing, you know, your review with me in your neighborhood's Facebook group ... you're gonna get more business over time...”
• Experimentation Is Key: Try small, calibrate, repeat. Success builds with skills, not luck.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• Nick Loper, on starting small
  [11:00] “The perfect idea is the one that you're, like, inspired enough, excited enough to take action on ... your first move in a game of chess. Like, I'm just putting my pawn out into the world. I'm gonna see what kind of reaction it gets.”

• Scott Trench, on experimentation
  [09:06] "The obvious response to [failure rates] is not to not try businesses, but to start 10 businesses… and then one of them should succeed."

• Nick Loper, on opportunity
  [21:59] "It's not even necessarily about conquesting market share ... the pie continues to get bigger as elderly homeowners, millennial homeowners who are really busy ... just want to outsource."

• Mindy Jensen, on affluent clients
  [20:34] “One thing you want is rich clients. ... Guarantee you they are dealing with somebody right now in some capacity that is not delivering.”

• Nick Loper, on limiting beliefs
  [15:27] “If you've existed on the planet for any length of time, you probably have some skills and some might be worth paying for … the curse of knowledge.”

• Nick Loper, on the evolution of a side hustle journey
  [26:43] “[Sharetown] ... 150, $250 per flip ... higher earning power than a lot of your typical side hustle apps.”

• Nick Loper, on the AI worksheet output
  [47:54] “Okay, so that's suggestion number one [house manager]. ... This could be easily worth 250 to $400 per month. And now it's like, okay, now I just need to get four clients ... and I'm at my goal.”

• Scott Trench, on referrals in trust-based jobs
  [52:26] “Would you mind sharing your review with me in your neighborhood's Facebook group? ... you ask that every time. You're gonna get more business over time ...”

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [05:12] – Nick explains the importance of time audit and realistic goal-setting
• [09:06] – [11:00] – Discussion on iterating, failing forward, and the “just start” mentality
• [13:02] – Using daily frustrations as inspiration (pet waste removal example)
• [15:27] – The “curse of knowledge” and giving yourself credit for existing skills
• [24:22] – Introducing the ladders of wealth creation
• [26:43] – Case study: Sharetown and other scalable service-side gigs
• [29:17] – Fully remote side hustles (AI/data labeling)
• [31:48 – 34:26] – High-value, low-physical-labor gigs for those willing to sacrifice time, not body
• [41:22 – 51:35] – Live demonstration of Nick’s AI worksheet and tailored results for a typical “returning” mom persona
• [54:38] – Nick shares how to access the brainstorming worksheet: sidehustlenation.com/bpmoney

Actionable Next Steps

1. Audit Your Available Time – Be ruthlessly honest about your schedule and capacity.
2. List Your Marketable Skills – Use Nick’s AI worksheet to generate a personalized list of side hustle ideas.
3. Pick a “Starter” Side Hustle – Begin with low-barrier gigs if experience or time is tight, then iterate upwards.
4. Focus on Affluent/Underserved Clients – Prioritize pain points for those with money but not time—household management, specialized care, local logistics, etc.
5. Leverage Networking and Referrals – Service businesses grow fastest through satisfied client recommendations.
6. Keep Iterating – Reflect frequently and "ladder up" your hustle for greater satisfaction and earnings.

Resources Mentioned

• Nick Loper’s AI Side Hustle Worksheet: sidehustlenation.com/bpmoney
• Side Hustle Show Podcast (over 720 episodes)
• Sharetown, Remotasks, Outlier AI – examples of specialized gig platforms

Episode Takeaway

You don’t need a revolutionary idea or an entrepreneur’s risk tolerance to launch and grow a meaningful side hustle. The blend of honest self-inventory, identifying urgent/unmet needs (especially among clients who value their time), and willingness to experiment—and leveraging tools like AI to personalize your approach—can help almost anyone level up their income and move closer to FIRE.

As Mindy said [58:55], “There’s lots of different options available for side hustling. I love his AI-assisted side hustle brainstorm worksheet...Download that for free. It is a great starting point.”