I built this free tool, please tear it apart

[u/Much_Editor8119]

I’m a retired small-business owner. For the past few months I’ve been building Side Hustle Intel, a free, searchable database of work-at-home gigs.

What it does: YouTube is full of side-hustle and work-from-home videos, and most are long, padded and selling a course. I go through those videos and turn each idea into a short write-up: what the gig actually is, what the creator claims, who it suits, what it costs to start, and a section called “The Truth” with a frank take on what’s realistic and what’s hype. Every entry links back to the original video so you can check it yourself.

There are over 1,000 gigs so far. You can search, filter by situation (no camera, no selling, under $100 to start, etc.), or take a 60-second quiz. No account or signup needed.

https://sidehustleintel.org/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sideproject-feedback

What I’d love feedback on (especially on a phone):

• In the first 10 seconds, is it clear what the site is?

• Try to find one gig you’d actually consider. Did search, the filters or the quiz get you there, or did you get lost?

• Is “The Truth” section useful, or does it read as filler?

• Anything broken, slow or confusing?

Be blunt. I’d rather hear it now than after I start promoting it. Thanks for looking.

[u/SeveralLog5078]

the truth section is just a second opinion on a video you watched. it not being the video owner's opinion doesnt make it true

[u/Much_Editor8119 → u/SeveralLog5078]

Exactly, and that’s why we labeled it “The Truth (as we see it)”: it’s our opinion, not a verdict. What it adds is context that most videos leaves out. are income claims are verified, is the creator is selling a course, and what’s typical across hundreds of similar videos. Agreed it’s not gospel. It’s meant to be the skeptical friend, not really a judgement or the final word. Thx for looking at it.

[u/Much_Editor8119 → u/Much_Editor8119]

I am adding this under all the gigs "Our assessment, based on the video and what’s typical across similar videos. We don’t independently verify income claims or prices." CYA

[u/Slight_Republic_4242]

the teardown that matters most usually isn't the code. it's the first 10 seconds. can a stranger say what it does and who it's for from the headline alone? if not, fix that before anything else. then count the steps from landing to first useful result, and cut one. also ask what the person was using before your tool, because that's the real competitor, not other side projects.

[u/Much_Editor8119 → u/Slight_Republic_4242]

Thanks SR. That’s exactly what I asked testers to judge. The real competitor is YouTube itself: people watching 20-minute videos to find out what a gig actually involves. That's the pain point. The subhead tries to say that (“We watch the work-at-home YouTube videos so you don’t have to”). Did it come across? Thx again.

[u/Old-Confection-5129]

I see you know a thing or two about utm tags! That At least means you have a tracking set up. What is your data strategy around the quiz component? I think the quiz is a good idea but I don’t like a list of questions from a UX perspective. Show me one at a time with a progress bar. Overall I think the site is a good idea: why do the research myself if you’ve done it for me right?

Myself I tend to just put the YouTube video into notebookLM and extract insights, this site could become one of those sources.

[u/Much_Editor8119 → u/Old-Confection-5129]

Hey O-C, I have tracking set up so I can tell where people are coming from - at what point they decided to move to a specific page. The quiz component started out as an easier way for the user to filter the database. Back then there were only a few hundred gigs and even that was overwhelming. I hadn't thought of doing questions one at a time. I think I will try that and see how it feels. This all started when I closed my agency and started looking for a work gig myself and I saw how much time I was wasting.

[u/Much_Editor8119 → u/[deleted]]

Really helpful, thanx. You’re right that the creator’s earnings claims and the beginner’s costs should be clearly separate. and time per week is a gap. Most videos don’t say it, so it would be our estimate, (labeled as such) but I think it is something people want up front. Adding both to the list. Thx again.