Being a stay-at-home mom is no easy feat. When you’re juggling household responsibilities while caring for your little ones, the days can fly by at lightning speed.
Luckily, making money as a stay-at-home mom is easier than it once was with more opportunities for flexible, online work. It's possible to make money when you have a few extra moments, like when the kids are off at school, napping or hanging with other caregivers.
Flexible freelance or independent employment is expanding in most sectors of the economy. The number of self-employed workers in the U.S. is projected to grow by nearly 8% by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Whether you're looking to make some extra pocket change or in need of a steady source of income, here's how you can put your skills and resources to work.
Side hustle ideas for stay-at-home moms
If you’re looking to start a side hustle and generate extra income without much pressure, there are plenty of ways to market your time and talents on your own terms.
1. Sell or resell items
If you have a knack for finding great deals at thrift stores and yard sales, here’s a fun way to put your gift to work. eBay can be a great tool for starting your own resale business from home. Set up a seller page and create a listing on eBay; then hawk your vintage finds (try shopping local flea markets or even your own attic) for a profit.
After that, you’ll communicate online with buyers and ship items out. Individual resale websites are another option. You can sell your used books via BookScouter, used clothing (including baby and kids’ clothes) via Poshmark or thredUP, or old electronic devices on Gazelle.
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2. Get crafty
If you have an artistic side, why not make extra money making something you love? Jewelry, aprons, candles, baby blankets ... you name it. If it’s homemade, there’s a place for it on Etsy, an online marketplace where you can put your craftiness on display.
Etsy charges a small fee for each item you list and another small fee for each item you sell. You’ll set up an online merchant account to receive payments via PayPal. The site boasts almost 91 million active buyers, so it may be the perfect way to help you build a following for your craft.
3. Rent your car or home
The "sharing economy" is all about renting or borrowing goods and services. For stay-at-home moms, it’s another income generation tool you can try.
If you’re out of town (or lucky enough to have a spare bedroom), you can turn your home into a short-term rental or bed and breakfast using Airbnb or VRBO. This is an especially lucrative option if you live in a major tourist destination. If you can spare a car periodically, try renting it out via TURO.
4. Pet sit
If you love spending time with furry companions, dog walking or pet sitting might be the right move for you. Become verified to walk dogs, watch dogs in your home or house sit dogs in someone else’s house through Rover. You can even set the size and age preferences that work best for you.
More of a feline fan? You can offer cat-sitting services through Meowtel.
5. Help out with chores
There’s always someone out there who can use a hand. Get paid to do random chores — running errands, assembling furniture or picking up clutter, for instance — for people on TaskRabbit. Or tackle their grocery list by becoming a shopper for Instacart or Mercato.
6. Start a blog
Do you have a story to tell? Do you love to share recipes, DIY ideas, gardening tips or parenting experiences? Blogging can be a good avenue if you have expertise in sewing, knitting, cooking, baking, traveling, gardening, budgeting or parenting, to name a few.
With so many blogs and websites looking for content, those with a passion and some grammatical know-how can find a place for their ideas online.
It helps to understand how to post on publishing platforms such as WordPress. Sites like Freelance Writing Jobs and ProBlogger Jobs can help you find gigs. Ask questions to make sure that all jobs are legitimate.
Blogger rates vary dramatically depending on the experience level, website and genre. You may have to build your portfolio by working for free at first.
Keep in mind that, while you could also start your own blog, successful bloggers often work for years before being able to monetize them. Today, most personal blogs make money through affiliate marketing or paid placement of products and brands on their sites.
7. Become a digital marketer
Put your marketing know-how to work. Small businesses are often looking for better ways to promote themselves, and they may not have the budget to hire a big marketing firm.
Whether it’s updating websites, writing newsletters or handling social media campaigns, freelance marketing can be another way to make money from home. You can do as much or as little work as you have time to do, scaling up or down as your schedule allows.
Sites like Upwork can connect you with potential clients. You can also market yourself to small businesses in your area. Rates typically depend on experience, the size of the project and the scope of the work.
8. Try virtual assisting
Are you a natural-born organizer? Virtual administrative assistants are employed in a range of fields including law, real estate, accounting, entertainment and IT. And often, the work is performed on a contract or part-time basis that allows assistants to maintain flexible schedules.
Depending on the field, you may do tasks like type and review documents, conduct research, assemble reports, field phone calls or emails, or manage an employer's schedule or travel arrangements. Find listings on sites like LinkedIn and Upwork.
9. Tutor
Whether you have a formal background in education or just have a passion for a certain subject, tutoring can be a rewarding way to earn extra money while connecting with others. (Prior teaching experience is a plus, but usually not necessary if you can show expertise in a specific area.)
While it’s possible to build your business independently, snagging a position with a third-party tutoring company means you won’t have to dedicate time spent to marketing yourself or tracking down clients. And you can still have a flexible schedule and, in some cases, even tutor virtually.
10. Write as a freelancer
Wordsmiths, unite! Freelance writers pen articles for a range of outlets — from magazines and websites, to alumni and trade magazines, to health care providers and hospitals. Brands, digital marketers and advertisers often employ freelancers to develop promotional materials, newsletters and other types of copy.
Building up a roster of reliable clients can take time (and plenty of networking), but once you develop a niche in a specific area or industry, freelance writing can become a full-time business.
How to work a side hustle from home as a stay-at-home mom
Working from home certainly has its perks, but finding the right work-life balance can also prove difficult. Before you dive back in, use these tips to make working from home a much more pleasurable experience:
Set up a workspace
Not everyone has the room, but if you can spare the space, it helps to have a designated spot for working in your home.
Another good option: Store all your work stuff in a dedicated bin or backpack so you can easily transport and set up your supplies as needed (to the kitchen counter or another location when the kids are away).
Set a schedule
Your hours certainly don't need to fit the conventional nine-to-ive timeframe, but it’s worth having some kind of predictable split between work and, well, everything else.
Having a schedule with a set number of hours makes it easier to estimate how much you can actually get done and minimizes the chance that you end up scrambling to finish tasks after your little one’s bedtime, when you’re already exhausted.
Strategize your workload
Some work can be done in short spurts while your baby or toddler is playing independently (still with supervision, of course!). Other tasks require longer chunks of concentration that you might only get when your little one is napping or with another caregiver.
To maximize your productivity, be honest about which items on your to-do list belong in which category and plan accordingly.
Don’t sweat the small stuff
When you’re working from home, you often have to use naptime to knock out some work.
That means those dishes stacking up in the sink will have to wait, as will the load of laundry that’s sitting on top of the dryer. Don’t stress over perfection; just do the best you can.
Ask for help if you need it
If you have an important deadline or call coming up, and you’re not sure how you’re going to fit it all in, don’t hesitate to bring in reinforcements like a grandparent, sitter or friend.
Depending on how much time you're planning to devote to your new gig and if you can swing it, consider hiring some help for at least part of the day to make it easier to get work done.
Expect the unexpected
Even if you’re highly organized, things happen. Sometimes a tot will refuse to nap, a sitter will get sick or it’s a perfect-weather day that demands dropping everything and taking your little one to the park to soak up the sunshine. To avoid getting backed up, build breathing room into your schedule and try to work ahead when you can, if possible.
No matter what you decide to do, know that you're in good company if you're a stay-at-home mom who wants to earn money from home. With all the opportunities out there in terms of work you can do out of the house, you're sure to find something that fits your lifestyle and interests. Good luck and have fun!
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