My Not-So-Side Hustle (+ your own side hustle just in time for XMAS)

GM, SideNerds. 

Long time. 

Where’ve you been? JK, it’s me - not you. 

Excited to share with y’all what SideNerds has been up to since our last newsletter. Let’s dig in!

My Not-So-Side Hustle: Bettershot

🛠️ Niche: AI Photo Generator
🚀 Opportunity Size: $972,000/YR
💰 Initial Cost: $8,000
💰 Additional Costs: $1,000 in Software Development Work
🧩 Difficulty: Medium (sprinkle in an emotional rollercoaster 🎢)
🏆 Competition: Medium/Low

Why I Chose To Quit My Full-Time Job For This Side Hustle

We all have friends or colleagues guilty of using bathroom selfies or oddly cropped group photos as their professional profile picture. Think, LinkedIn and Slack.   

A less-than-professional profile pic was more common than even we thought, and there seems to be a reason behind it—getting a professional headshot can be pricey. Lots of us cling on to the same profile picture for years because of this. 

That's why when my co-founder and I stumbled upon Bettershot AI on Tiny Acquisitions two months ago, we couldn't help but see the potential. Fast forward 60 days, and we've learned that AI is both terrific and weird. 

To get 120 headshots for just $29, go to: https://bettershot.ai/. Use the code SideNerds to get $4 off at checkout!

What We Got Ourselves Into

We saw that the demand for AI-generated photos was blowing up — with over 66,790 monthly searches for related keywords. 

We invested $8,000 to enter this niche with a ready-to-market product and a talented development team.

Other competitors have grown their traffic 10X in just 10 months, indicating a significant market need. To break even on our initial $8,000 investment with a product priced at $29, we’d need approximately 276 in sales. Doable, right? Kind of.

There are a ton of hidden costs that come with buying a tech product, mainly all of the additional development work required. Fortunately we inherited a dev team overseas with very affordable rates (happy to refer them to anyone who’s interested!)

A Look Back at the Last 60 Days

So back in October, I first shared that I quit my job for this side hustle. At that time it’d only be 30 days since we sealed the deal. 

Fast forward 60 days, and here’s what it’s been like:

• I flew to Denver to meet my co-founder in person, both of us having left our corporate jobs to pursue our side hustle full-time.

• We decided to ditch the ‘stuffy’ corporate nature of most brands to build our brand around comedy, you can see this on our TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn feeds. Follow us as we drop exciting content next week for our official launch!

• We partnered with a bunch of comedic influencers to help us with the launch 

• We made over $500 from just two LinkedIn posts this week

• We've generated over 20,000 headshots for friends and family, showcasing the potential of our AI headshot generator.

• Our product went from generating the weirdest headshots to headshots people actually started paying for (see below, before & after examples)
  
  

  
  

  (Top: before; Bottom: after)

  
  

  (Top: before; Bottom: after)

Looking For Your Next Side Hustle?

Before we share Bettershot with the world, we invite you to try Bettershot for yourself.

Treat yourself to a new set of professional headshots by using the code "SideNerds" for an extra $4 off at checkout. Sign up here: Bettershot AI.

We’re offering a 40% revenue share with anyone who refers Bettershot to their network. We’ve already kicked back a few hundred bucks for folks. This could be a great way to earn some extra cash before the holidays!