Side Hustle Sprint: free game to start a side business

What is Side Hustle Sprint?

Later's hand-printed frog tote bags are a hit with friends. In 30 days and four chapters, work out what one tote really costs and when the one-off screen is paid back, set a price that covers the marketplace fee and your time, pick where to sell and how to list, then choose the right postage and add up the month's real profit. The numbers change every run.

Side Hustle Sprint is a free small business game with Later, who finally stops saying "later" and starts selling hand-printed tote bags. In 30 days and four chapters, you work out what one tote costs from packs of blanks, ink and mailer bags, and how many sales pay back the one-off screen and frame.

Then you price it on Makerly, a made-up craft marketplace that takes a percentage plus a fixed fee per order, check the margin and what you earn per hour, choose between a market stall, the marketplace and your own posts, write a listing, pick the cheapest postage the parcel fits, and add up the month's real profit. Numbers change every run, and every answer shows the full sum.

At a glance

Category

Adventure

Difficulty

Hard

Play time

5–8 min

Price

Free, in your browser, sign-up optional

How to play

Cost per item

Divide every pack by how many totes it makes. One-off tools aren't part of the cost per item: they're paid back over sales.

Price with fees

The marketplace takes a percentage plus a fixed fee per order. Margin is profit ÷ price.

Sell and ship

Compare channels by profit, not by sales, and pick the cheapest postage the parcel actually fits.

Score

100 points per right answer, 50 for one that works but isn't the best. A wrong answer costs one of 3 lives. Finish for 50 points per life left.

Scoring

Ten decisions over 30 days. A right answer scores 100 points, an answer that works but isn't the best scores 50, and a wrong one costs one of 3 lives.

Finish the sprint and every life left adds 50 points. The numbers change every run, and every answer is explained with the full sum. Your best score is kept in this browser.

What it trains

Unit economics

Cost per item from bulk packs, and the break-even point for one-off tools.

Pricing

Platform fees, margin and what your time earns per hour.

Selling and shipping

Comparing channels by profit, writing a listing buyers trust, picking postage the parcel fits and adding up a month's real profit.

Strategy and tips

Divide every pack

A $24 ink tin that prints 48 totes costs 50¢ a tote. Divide by what the pack makes, not by 10.

Keep one-off costs apart

Tools you buy once aren't part of the cost per item. Work out how many sales pay them back: your break-even point.

Fees apply to shipping too

Many marketplaces take their percentage on everything the buyer pays. The shipping charge pays the postage, it isn't profit.

Compare profit, not sales

A stall that sells more can still earn less once the pitch fee is paid. Do the sum for each channel.

Weigh before you post

Two items can tip a parcel over a weight limit. The cheapest service is the cheapest one it actually fits.

Why play Side Hustle Sprint?

Starting a side business goes wrong on small numbers: a cost per item that forgets the packaging, a price that ignores the platform's fee, postage that eats the margin, a first month that looks like a loss because of one-off tools. Side Hustle Sprint practises the sums behind a first sale, cost per item, break-even, margin, pay per hour and real profit, along with habits that sell: clear photos, searchable titles and honest descriptions.

Frequently asked questions