Eight realistic side hustles that are perfect for stay at home parents
Being a stay-at-home parent is a full-time job in itself. On top of juggling the responsibilities of your kids, raising a family can be expensive.
In today’s economy, families living on just one paycheck can be a stretch. If you’re looking for a way to bring in some extra income for the household, pay off debt, boost your savings, or even keep busy all without sacrificing family time, a profitable side hustle may be your best solution.
With a side hustle, you can enjoy an extremely flexible work-life balance by working in your own free time. Many provide the opportunity to earn cash while your children are at school, asleep, or even while they’re home learning virtually. A side hustle that’s realistic for you and your family is out there, so turn your passion into a profit today.
What side hustle is right for you as a stay-at-home parent?
Before you browse any job forum online, there are some factors to take into consideration. A side hustle should be something that fits your interest, lifestyle, career goals, and current skill set.
Think about your current schedule, how much time you’ll put into the job, how much you’ll need to invest any money upfront, and how much money you want to make. Do you want something that supports more of a hobby? It’s best to ensure you’re an expert in that specific space. Or do you want something that helps you grow in your long-term career?
You’ll want to ensure you develop a desirable resume for the current remote work industry as there is a lot of growing competition.
Whichever it may be, you’ll want to make sure you’re prepared beforehand to set yourself up for success. It may take some trial and error to figure out what’s right for you and will meet your financial goals for the family, but don’t give up.
What you need to succeed in your side hustle
Thankfully, many side hustles don’t require much previous experience if any at all. Whether you decide to work for fun or climb the career ladder, it’s necessary to keep a strong foundation at all times. Think about these aspects of your side hustle to succeed.
Self-discipline, focus, and organization
Working a side hustle often means you are your own boss. You’re responsible for working at what you need to succeed and make a profit. Qualities like these are crucial to have every day and can greatly impact your work performance. If you’re feeling lost, it may be inspiring to hire a personal coach who can help you succeed in your day-to-day life and career.
A bankable idea
When you have a bankable idea, you know you have acquired skills others are willing to pay for. If you’re gifted with technology or marketing savvy, you can provide website development or social media management. If you’re strong with numbers, small businesses could use your financial services. Even if you’re skilled in the kitchen, you can sell baked goods or meals.
The right components
With the right components to fund your side hustle might come a little investing. However, a little bit can truly go a long way. There’s no reason to buy the latest technology, a property to fit your business, and expensive businesswear. You can easily upgrade your technology over time, renovate a space in your home for your office, and wear casual business attire.
“Just because it’s a side hustle doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set yourself up with the right tools and present yourself as professionally as possible. Making small changes such as wearing a presentable outfit can make you feel like the confident boss you are.
Get yourself set up with comfortable button-downs, nice clean shoes, and learn about types of glasses to suit your fashion and work environment. An appearance of both style and comfortability can make a world of difference when it comes to productivity.
A passion to grow your skill set
Even in the world of side hustles, there’s still competition. It’s best to choose a job that naturally interests you. This way, you can enhance your skill set much faster. Be sure it doesn’t take up too much of your free time as this can lead to feeling burnt out and less motivated to grow.
Sorted papers
Having multiple streams of income may lead to tax implications. If you need to pay tax is one of the top Googled questions about starting a side hustle. Check the requirements in your area as they may vary and consider consulting a tax professional beforehand so you know what to expect.
Eight realistic side hustles for a stay-at-home parent
With all this considered, let’s take a look at eight realistic side hustles you can succeed in as a stay-at-home parent.
1) Start your own etsy shop
Etsy is the perfect online marketplace for finding countless one-of-a-kind items. This is a suitable choice if you’re crafty and need a place to sell homemade items to a worldwide audience. Your Etsy shop can include anything from custom T-shirts, artwork, photography prints, jewelry, candles, pet products, crochet, graphic design, and so much more.
Make sure you answer all questions from customers, price your items fairly, upload eye-catching photos, and write compelling descriptions of your goodies. Gather your ideas, set up your own storefront, and start selling today.
2) Work with children
If you love being around kids and have plenty of patience, consider being a tutor or providing daycare services. While tutoring is sometimes done virtually, you can create an environment in your home to facilitate a daycare and tutoring center all at the same time.
From guiding their learning at a young age to helping them complete their homework with confidence, this could be your second-nature side hustle on evenings or weekends. Plus, many parents love in-home daycares because they are competitively priced. Research the requirements for your area to secure the right licensing and insurance.
3) Start a profitable blog
For people who have a passion for writing, starting a blog may be your calling. Although they won’t help you get rich quickly, blogs require lots of patience and dedication over several months and even years to really pay off.
But writing consistently can get you monetized blogging opportunities with sponsored advertisers, affiliate commissions, featuring ads, and choosing products to promote. The possibilities for topics are endless whether you want to write about food, pets, parenting, fashion, home DIYs; there’s something for everyone. If it becomes viral, you could be paying off your rent and more.
4) Go freelance
If you love writing but maybe aren’t looking to start your own blog, become a freelancer and write for others. This can be through blogs, magazines, or even as a ghostwriter. If you’re good with grammar and pay close attention to detail, put your skills towards writing articles, blog posts for websites, or simply proofreading and editing.
Fiverr is a great website that connects freelancers and businesses who need content written. There are plenty of other types of freelance services as well for interior designers, graphic designers, marketers, photographers, video editors, and more.
5) Pet sit or walk dogs
Animal lovers can also get into pet house-sitting, pet boarding, and dog walking while their owners are on vacation or at work.
Apps like Rover make pet-sitting and dog walking easy since you can choose your area, availability, and the pets and breeds you’re comfortable caring for. Even better, you can sell baked homemade dog treats to your clients. Pet parents love healthier alternatives to dog treats sold in stores with unhealthy fillers. This demand is high and continuing to grow, plus it’s a sure way to gain repeat customers.
6) Deliver food
More consumers are relying on delivery services every day. If you don’t mind doing a little extra grocery shopping, you can shop for other people! If you’re already out grocery shopping with your family or running errands, you can easily turn those trips into cash.
With signing up with a company like Instacart, they pay you to shop for orders in-store, deliver orders, or both. You can even pick up takeout orders from restaurants and deliver them. A bonus with delivering is that you can earn tips on top of your base rate.
7) Become a reseller
Do you like browsing flea markets, thrift stores, or garage sales? In doing so, you can turn other people’s trash into treasure. Keep your eyes open for finding items at a discounted price or even for free, then flip them to make a profit from their original value.
From furniture, vintage items, dirty brand-name clothing, and broken toys; you never know what someone will be looking for. Consider fixing up old items you own that you may not need any more as well. With a little handy work you can turn something beautiful again, then resell items on Facebook, eBay, Craigslist, and more.
8) Work as a virtual assistant
The main role of a virtual assistant is to provide administrative support to a company, another individual, or a team. Virtual assistants need many skills, as you’re given a variety of responsibilities. This could include handling emails, social media, maintaining calendars, arranging meetings and travel, researching, planning events, data entry, and bookkeeping.
If you’re working towards a job like this, it’s good to spruce up your skill set in a way that makes you stand out from others in the job market. Even including additional services like graphic design and content creation can result in more companies wanting to hire you since you offer more.
Have an entrepreneurial mindset
When it comes down to it, you should still treat your side hustle like a regular 9-5 professional job. Think like a successful entrepreneur; allow yourself time to adjust and the profits to grow over time as you gain more experience. Try balancing a few side hustles that are worth your time to see what you enjoy the most. Also, don’t forget to spend your money wisely as you may need to cover business expenses and cover taxes.
These are just some of the many options for side hustles for stay-at-home parents. People are working from home now more than ever before, so it may be easier than you think to bring in some extra cash. If you’re really motivated with your side hustle while balancing a family, you can earn a full-time income. Never be afraid to get creative with it and inspire yourself to start a business of your own.
Photo by Alex Nemo Hanse
