Nick Loper’s Side Hustle Nation Review: Online Side Hustles and Business Alternatives

Side Hustle Nation is a legit community and resource for anyone looking for extra income part-time. Created by Nick Loper, it is popular with small part-time entrepreneurs who are looking for the next new investment opportunities. You can use Side Hustle Nation’s various resources, from Facebook community to podcast, to find a side hustle that fits you perfectly. Side Hustle Nation also offers paid services like the strategy session, private mentorship, and a traffic course.
In my 10+ years of experience making money online, online side hustles are like London Underground trains during rush hour where every minute feels compressed, and even small delays ripple through the day. Just as commuters are crushed by constant movement and tight schedules, side hustlers juggle overlapping tasks until their time feels overbooked and their energy depleted. The inconsistent income is like Dow Jones during volatile trading days where sudden peaks spark excitement, then dips erase progress just as fast. Inconsistent client work or algorithm shifts makes monthly income feel like riding market swings instead of building steady growth.
In this Side Hustle Nation review, we’ll break down everything you get from the community, from Nick Loper’s coaching to his paid courses. We’ll also compare it to a more consistent and scalable local lead generation business model, which I consider the ultimate side hustle for true financial independence.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Side Hustle Nation?
Pros
- Joining the community and accessing resources is completely free.
- You will find tons of side hustle ideas on the website.
- Nick has a very positive reputation with the entrepreneurial communities.
Cons
- They make quitting your job to focus on your side gig too easy. Do your due diligence before making such moves.
Price: There are no membership or subscription fees to access the newsletters, blogs, and Facebook group. Services costs $99 to $997.
Refund Policy: 100% money-back guarantee for the services.
Origin: 2013
Reputation: Positive
What Is Side Hustle Nation?
Side Hustle Nation is a popular resource for learning about any type of side hustles. Side Hustle Nation’s main source of information is its main website. The active Side Hustle Nation Facebook community is also regarded as a useful source to get information on side hustles. It is estimated that over 2.2 million people a year visits the website. Side Hustle Nation is a 2-time winner of the Best Entrepreneurship Blog from Plutus Foundation, which is a non-profit financial literacy organization.
What Is Inside Side Hustle Nation?
Inside the Side Hustle Nation website you will find links to articles on various side hustle ideas from online businesses to freelancing. On the homepage, you’ll find a short Side Hustle Nation quiz which will give you suggestions on what type of side hustle works best for you based on your answers. You’ll also see links to their blogs, services, Facebook group, email subscription, and to the Side Hustle Show podcast.

What Is Side Hustle Nation Blog?
On the regularly updated Side Hustle Nation blog posts, they cover topics ranging from online business, freelancing, ecommerce, investing, and more. You’ll also find articles and interviews with people who found success with their side hustles, that it became their main source of income.
What Is the Side Hustle Nation Email Subscription?
The Side Hustle Nation email subscription delivers newsletters and promotions regularly. Signing up is as easy as entering your email in the prompt on the main website. The emails could be very useful or even just appear as spam depending on your interests and needs.
What Are the Side Hustle Nation Services?
Side Hustle Nation offers services for those who wish to take their side hustle to the next level. Nick Loper has 3 “work with me” plans that you can take up. The plan that’s best for you depends on your needs and goals.
What Is the Side Hustle Strategy Session?
Side Hustle Strategy Session is a 30-minute one-on-one business consultation with Nick Loper for $99. This is great for those who have no ongoing commitment who want to get a clear picture of what they want to achieve. Nick will help you gain more ideas and figure out the best next steps. This plan comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.
What Is the Inner Circle Mastermind?
Inner Circle Mastermind is Side Hustle Nation’s mentorship program. You get weekly strategy sessions with Nick Loper and a free website audit. Also included is unlimited email support and membership to the exclusive private mastermind group. The mastermind is only for 3-month commitments and is priced at $97 a month. The Inner Circle Mastermind is currently unavailable as it is undergoing restructuring.
What Is the Side Hustle Private Coaching?
Side Hustle Private Coaching is a private mentorship for those who want to commit to taking their side hustle to the next level. You get 2 one-on-one 1 hour coaching sessions per month. You also get unlimited email support and free website audit. After a 15-minute discovery call to see if this is for you, the private coaching costs $997 for a 3-month commitment.

What Is the Side Hustle Nation Facebook Group?
The Side Hustle Nation Facebook group is a free-to-join community of small-time entrepreneurs and side hustlers. This is a group where you can network, ask questions, and get side hustle ideas and advice from. Arguably a very effective tool, the Facebook group has over 58,000 members.

What Is the Side Hustle Show?
The Side Hustle Show is Nick Loper’s podcast, where he presents business ideas and side hustle opportunities every week. The podcast regularly features entrepreneurs who made success with their side hustle. It is estimated that 30,000 listeners tune into The Side Hustle Show each week.

What Is the Side Hustle Nation Traffic Course?
The Side Hustle Nation Traffic Course is a quick-study SEO course to help your site generate traffic fast. This is for anyone who wants to create a website that will earn from affiliate marketing links. The 6-module course costs $129 and comes with a 30-day refund guarantee.
- How to Make Google Love You—Or At Least Stop Ignoring Your Texts
You’ll learn how Google sees websites and how to use it to your advantage. Having strong foundations and a good understanding of how Google works will be very helpful in the long run. - The Hidden Traffic Opportunities Right Under Your Nose It’s not always about having a lot of content, it’s about maximizing your content. You’ll learn the many methods of optimization that a lot of SEO content creators miss.
- Link Building 101
Even in 2025, backlinks are still important in building domain authority. Nick teaches the 3 ways of how he does it. - The “Unsung” Search Engines You Might Be Overlooking
You will learn how to treat YouTube, Amazon, Facebook, and Pinterest as search engines that will help drive more traffic to your business. - How to Create New Content That’s a Hit–Without Wasting Time
Learn Nick’s own process for finding keywords to rank for. You will get a step-by-step lesson on optimizing your content before you even start writing. - Student Site Audits
Observe the over-the-shoulder audits of 4 of Nick’s students’ websites. Nick will point out opportunities and what can be improved in order to generate more traffic.
What Are the Benefits of Side Hustle Nation?
- Get new side hustle ideas - By reading through Side Hustle Nation’s blog and newsletter, listening to the podcast, or even checking out the posts and comments on their Facebook group, you can get side hustle ideas you probably would never have heard of.
- Network with other side hustlers and entrepreneurs - You can find many other like-minded side hustlers and entrepreneurs that you can work with in the Facebook group.
- Find support for your side hustle - If you have problems or questions about the side hustle that you are in, you can find support by posting or commenting on the Facebook group. You may even find help by looking through the blog posts and podcast episodes.
- Deals and discounts - You will find plenty of affiliate links to useful tools and products related to the side hustles. These will usually be discounted and will save you money and earn Nick a commission so he can keep Side Hustle Nation going.
You can also purchase the Start My Side Hustle Workbook for only $9 that is a 21-page step-by-step guide on finding and starting a side hustle. The workbook also includes proven marketing strategies for you to get immediate traffic for you online side hustle. You also get fill-in-the-blank templates and worksheets and other resources and bonuses.
What Do People Say About Side Hustle Nation?
People say good things about Side Hustle Nation all over the internet. I haven’t found any complaints with any of the paid programs. Nick appears to deliver on his services or at least honors the money back policy. He is featured in many interviews, podcasts, and news publications.


Who Is Nick Loper?

Nick Loper is an online marketer and entrepreneur and creator of Side Hustle Nation from Issaquah, Washington. He mentioned in an interview that he earns about $420,000 a year from Side Hustle Nation through lead generation deals with companies, display ads, and featured listings. Nick has a degree in business administration, marketing, and information systems from the University of Washington - Michael G. Foster School of Business and authored 13 books on a variety of topics.
Nick started his journey into online business in 2004 when he created ShoeSniper.com. This was a site that compared shoes sold online and made money through affiliate commissions. Eventually, he started hiring virtual assistants to help grow and manage his website. Based on his experiences with VAs, he created Virtual Assistant Assistant in 2011. The site was a directory and review platform for virtual assistant companies and outsourcing agencies. After over 9 years, he sold the website in 2020 for a big profit.
In 2013, Nick created the Side Hustle Nation blog and podcast. It wasn’t until 2014 that he monetized it through selling his paid mastermind. He has created several courses throughout the years, some of which are still available on Udemy. Nick also bought several websites from Empire Flippers to generate more income. Most of those sites no longer bring income because of the loss of ranking after constant Google updates.

What Are Nick Loper’s Claims?
Nick Loper claims that by using Side Hustle Nation and its resources, you can find the perfect side hustle for you and grow it to where you no longer need to keep your 9-5. The question is, how likely are you to replace your job with your side hustle successfully? Is it as easy as it seems or is it extremely risky?
How Side Hustles Can Create Financial Freedom
In 2021, over 47 million Americans quit their jobs to lean into their side hustles in what experts were calling “The Great Resignation.” This is a global trend that has seen workers leaving their 9-5 to be their own boss. The pandemic exposed the truth that life is too short to be underpaid and underappreciated, with 1 in 3 adults having a part-time job just to make ends meet.
There are many examples of people quitting their job to focus on the side hustle that they’re passionate about and found financial success. Many of these successful entrepreneurs are featured on articles and interview on the Side Hustle Nation blog and podcast. It is very possible to create financial freedom by focusing on your side hustle, but it isn’t as easy as you may think. It takes a lot of time and effort to achieve this.
Why Is Having a Side Hustle Worth It?
Having a side hustle is not only a great way to earn extra money, it is also a way to work on something you’re passionate about. If you find your side hustle to be lucrative enough, you can even eventually quit your job and do it full time. There are many types of side hustles from freelancing to forex trading. Having a side hustle business is great if you want to build something you’re passionate about without worrying too much about having a regular income.
You should remember to track your side hustle income to see how profitable it is. You can track your side hustle income by using Excel or a Google spreadsheet, personal finance softwares, or by simply taking down notes. This can be useful to determine if this side hustle is worth it.
What Are the Common Side Hustles?
- Local lead generation is the number 1 side hustle that creates predictable passive income. You can make as much as $2,000 monthly from a single lead generation website. It takes only a day or two of working on creating and optimizing a website for Google search. It can take as short as a few days to as long as 6 months for Google to rank your site. By renting it out to local businesses for the leads it generates, you earn passively every month.
- Freelancing is the most common side hustle. It isn’t hard to find freelance work that doesn’t require any skills and expertise or that matches your own. You can make as much as $16-23 an hour from working a side hustle job. The average person with a side hustle earns an extra $810 a month. Professionals spend an average of 11-16 hours a week on side hustles. Those who have a passive income type of side hustle business spend an average of 4 to 5 hours per week.
- Social media can also be a good side hustle. The side hustle jobs on TikTok are real. However, they aren’t as easy to make money with as they are. You can earn real money on Facebook by monetizing your reels. You can also do this alongside YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. The influencer company Ubiquitous pays you to watch TikTok videos. They pay $100 per hour for a 10-hour TikTok watching session. However, this is only for a selected few, so it is unlikely you’ll be able to do this. Alternatively, you can also start your own social media marketing agency .
- Money making apps are another popular type of side hustle. There are many legit money making apps for side hustlers like Swagbucks, Acorns, DoorDash and Uber. The jobs range from answering surveys to giving people transportation. Swagbucks is one of the best side hustle apps that gives you money quickly. Most members earn $50-$200 a month using Swagbucks.
- Teaching people is one of the best side hustles to date. You can have a side hustle as a teacher by creating a course and selling it on platforms like Udemy and Teachable. This is a great way to monetize any skills you have.
- Ecommerce can be a lucrative side hustle for anyone who will take the risks. Ecommerce business models can range from low cost and low profits to high cost and high profits. You can sell your own stuff 2nd hand, buy wholesale and resell at a profit, or even do dropshipping . Each type has their own pros and cons.
- Virtual Assistant Business can be lucrative for anyone who wants to start working from home and who doesn’t mind working on projects for other businesses.
Final Verdict: Is Side Hustle Nation Worth It?
Side Hustle Nation is worth it if you’re exploring ideas, but it won’t help you build stable, scalable income on its own. The community, podcast, and blog offer excellent inspiration, but most featured hustles involve active work, trading hours for dollars, or inconsistent earnings. It’s a solid launchpad—but turning a hustle into a business takes more than ideas.
How Do Side Hustles Compare to Local Lead Generation?
Side hustles require ongoing effort, task-switching, and time-for-money trade-offs, while local lead generation builds predictable income through ranked digital assets.
Comparing online side hustles to local lead generation is like Garmin’s GPS constantly recalculating versus the Monarch butterfly migration. Garmin’s constant reroutes, live traffic alerts, and demand for input mirror many online hustles where you’re forever reacting, working, and pouring time and money into short-lived detours. The Monarch butterfly migration is an upfront route and habitat is established, the journey unfolds steadily with little daily adjustments. Local lead generation works the same way in that it is a straightforward process: build and rank sites which generate leads passively with little daily effort, creating steady income rather than nonstop chasing of fleeting attention.
Side Hustle Nation is a great discovery tool for part-time business ideas, but most paths still depend on freelancing, client work, or gig platforms. Local lead generation turns your time investment into compounding monthly revenue without daily hustle.
Why Is Local Lead Generation the Best Side Hustle?
Local lead generation is the best side hustle because it creates consistent, passive income from assets you control, without trading your time for every dollar. Unlike gig-based or freelance hustles that require constant effort, lead gen websites rank once and earn monthly from the leads they generate. No need to juggle clients, log hours, or worry about algorithm shifts—just steady cash flow from businesses eager for exclusive leads.

A client of mine is Long Beach Elite Drywall, 4202 E Carson St Long Beach, CA 90846, 562-278-0020, https://longbeachelitedrywall.com/. When 3 of my leads closed for $32,625 in 1 month, I earned $3,262 from 10% commissions.
If you want a side hustle that becomes a business you own, not a job you manage, local lead generation is the clearest path forward.

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