best side hustles for stay at home moms

40 Side Hustles For Moms To Earn Money From Home

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Have you always wondered what kind of side hustles there are for moms?

I literally never even thought of it until I was 36 weeks pregnant with my daughter and wondering what I could to to bring in some extra income- especially since I had no intention of returning to work!

You’ve heard (and probably seen!) about moms earning money from home while staying home with their kiddos, but when you try to come up with a side hustle idea you just can’t think of anything you’d like to start.

The good news is, yes, starting a side hustle as a stay at home mom is both possible and lucrative.

The second piece of good news is that there are endless side hustle ideas for stay at home moms – which means you can find the perfect work from home opportunity that fits your family’s routine and lifestyle.

Not sure how to pick a side hustle?

Make sure to check out my how to pick a side hustle for moms tutorial at the bottom of the post after the list of side hustle ideas. 🙂

Let’s check out the top 41 side hustle ideas for stay at home moms who want to earn money from home.

Please pin this post for later!

Are you currently pregnant? Then you need to read my post about Starting a Side Hustle While Pregnant 🙂

Let’s be mom boss friends! 🙂 Let’s chat everything mom boss and designing life as we want it, shall we? Plus, I’ll send you over the Side Hustle Worksheet for Moms to get you started, sound good?

how to figure out what kind of side hustle to start

40 Side Hustles For Stay At Home Moms

ideas for stay at home moms to make money

1. Start A Cleaning Business

If you’re looking for flexible hours and a low startup cost, then you should consider starting a cleaning business.

Post about your new cleaning business side hustle on local websites like Craigslist and Facebook and attend local events to hand out flyers.

Knock on businesses during the day to get some corporate accounts.

Start a Facebook page and invite your friends to share it.

The possibilities are endless!

You could offer eco-friendly cleaning services to really make people want to hire you!

RELATED READ: The Ultimate Guide to Work at Home Business Ideas

2. Make Printables To Sell On Etsy

If you have an eye for design then you should consider making printables to sell on Etsy.

These could be simple quotes that people can use as wall art to organizational printables to help a busy mom run the household to baby or wedding shower games.

People love printables!

You can use PicMonkey or Photoshop or any other photo editor to create your printables.

Once you master printables creation you can set up your own Etsy shop and sell them for profit!

3. Become A Pinterest Virtual Assistant

I’m pretty passionate about moms working from home and if one of these side hustles for stay at home moms has me REALLY excited it has to be learning to become a Pinterest virtual assistant!

Talk about a high demand business that isn’t going to go anywhere.

And, did I mention you can set your own working hours to suit your needs?

Bloggers need Pinterest and there’s never been a better time to start your very own Pinterest virtual assistant business.

I write about this side hustle for moms in-depth in this post: Work from Home Mom: Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant.

Ready to jump in head first?  Sign up for this awesome Pinterest VA course waiting list.

4. Dog Walking

real ways to make money from home

If you have a love for dogs, then I’m willing to bet there are people in your neighborhood who are willing to pay you to walk their dog.

Especially if they’re commuting to work and are therefore gone for several hours during the day.

Attend local events and hand out flyers.

Start a Facebook page and get your friends and family to share it.

This side hustle for stay at home moms is perfect because you can bring your kids with you to help!

5. Become A Freelance Writer

If you enjoy writing then you can get paid to write.

It’s called freelance writing and it’s one of the best side hustles for stay at home moms because you can set your own hours, rates and take on as many clients as you want.

This is exactly how I got started in the online business work. It’s what allowed me stay at home with my daughter this year when my husband lost his job!

It took about a year to establish myself with references and get paid my goal rate, but it was all worth it!

CHECK OUT MY POST: Work from Home Mom: Become a Freelance Writer

I go into how to become a freelance writer in further detail and give you a quick start 5 step plan to get this side hustle off the ground.

6. Cut Lawns

Cutting grass is perfect for the stay at home mom who loves to be outside and get some exercise!

Before you think you can’t make money, check out this article – done correctly, you can earn at least $5000 mowing other people’s lawns!

The key to starting this side hustle as a stay at home mom is to offer competitive rates to gain new customers.

7. Drive A School Bus

If you can’t find time to work a side hustle because you can’t bring your kids then driving a school bus might just be the perfect gig.

It just takes a few hours of your day and your kids can ride on the bus with you.

School bus companies are always hiring – which makes this one of those side hustles for stay at home moms dependable and always there for some quick cash.

8. Bartend Or Waitress

You may think of waitressing or bartending as a college job, but there’s great money to be made and the hours are often very flexible.

You can find part-time work and still bring in a few hundred dollars a week.

Plus, you get a little extra adult socialization time 🙂

9. Become A Ghostwriter

Similar to freelance writing, ghostwriting is when you write articles for someone else who is named as the author.

For example, a blogger may hire a ghostwriter to write some posts because they are away or can’t otherwise write themselves.

Check out this article to learn more about becoming a ghostwriter.

So, if you love writing becoming a ghostwriter might be another way to make money with your freelance writing business. 🙂

10. Home Daycare

side hustles for stay at home moms

Taking care of a couple kids part-time or full-time is a great side hustle for stay at home moms who need to keep their kids with them.

You can potentially charge $35-$50 per hour depending on what the going rate is in the area you live.

Take some time to do some research into rates and see if this a perfect side hustle for you!

You should also look into any licenses you may be required to have in order to run a home daycare out of your house.

11. Sell Crafts On Etsy

Are you known as a crafter by your friends and family?

If you love making crafts then setting up your own Etsy shop is a perfect idea!

People who shop on Etsy are looking for one of a kind pieces to purchase.

And it very well may be from your new craft store on Etsy!

CHECK OUT MY POST: Work from Home Mom: Set Up Your Very Own Etsy Shop

I go into more detail about how exactly to set up your own Etsy shop 🙂

12. Become A Virtual Assistant

Becoming a Virtual Assistant is a great side hustle if you like doing executive tasks for companies.

Or, better still, you can help bloggers who are looking to offload some of their work -which can mean a nice variety of tasks to keep your days interesting.

No matter what, entrepreneurs need virtual assistants.

You can work from home and generally set your own hours.

The key is to attract the right clients!

I though very seriously about going this route before deciding writing was a better choice for me.

I realized the right path for me after doing a few free webinars with The Free Mama Movement.

CHECK OUT MY POST: Work from Home Mom: Become a Virtual Assistant

I go into greater detail about the steps you need to take to get your Virtual Assistant business off the ground!

13. Check Out Flexjobs.com

Flexjobs.com is a great place to find legitimate work from home jobs.

These jobs are often part-time which makes them a great side hustle for stay at home moms.

This is a great option if you’re looking for steady dependable part-time income so you can spend more time with your family and still add to the family income from home!

14. Start A Virtual Bookkeeping Business

Are you organized and good with numbers?

If you said yes then why not start a virtual bookkeeping business as a side hustle.

It’s no secret entrepreneurs and business owners alike need help with the day to day financial operations of their businesses and tracking expenses, investments, and beyond.

Check out this article for more info on how to start a virtual bookkeeping business.

15. Drive For Uber

Have you ever thought about driving for Uber?

The hours are flexible – you drive when you have the time.

So, if you love to drive and you know your way around the city you live in, driving for Uber just might be the perfect side hustle for you.

16. Become A Photographer

side hustles perfect for stay at home moms

Do you love to get behind the camera and take photos?

Do you find people love the photos you take of them?

Then why not start a photography business?

The key to making this side hustle a success is setting up a portfolio website to showcase your photography talents. 🙂

Then share your website on photography websites, business directories, and social media.

You can even sell your photos on a website or Etsy.

17. Become A Dog Sitter

If you don’t mind having dogs in your house then what about starting a dog sitting business?

The average rate per day is $37 according to this article.

That can start adding up quickly!

18. Graphic Design

If you have an eye for design then why not take your graphic design services and sell them on websites like Fiverr.com?

You could design things like:

✔Brochures
✔Flyers
✔Invitations
✔Logos
✔Business cards

Graphic design is a great side hustle to be creative and make money doing it!

Want to learn how to make awesome graphics using Photoshop?

I took this course and the instructor was easy to understand – she made Photoshop easy to use and still create beautiful printables!

You can easily branch out from what you learn in the Photoshop course and make any of the items I mentioned above. 🙂

I’m so happy I know Photoshop enough to know how to create beautiful printables that I plan to sell in the future!

Just another side hustle for this stay at home mom turned work from home mom 😉

19. Start A Mom Blog

This is the side hustle I decided to do when my husband and I decided I would stay home with our daughter.

I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit and I love to write and get creative with graphic design.

Starting a mom blog was the side hustle that fit in perfectly with what I want to accomplish in life.

What about you?

Does starting a mom blog like this one sound right up your alley?

CHECK OUT THESE POSTS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:

If you want to jump into some in depth education on starting a blog, so you can get it off the ground quickly.  Check out Start a Mom Blog for tons of great resources.

20. Wedding Planner

Do you love the fine details of planning an event?

Why not help local brides organize and get ready for their big day!

Check out this article for more info on becoming a wedding planner.

21. Start A Baking Business

how to make money as a stay at home mom

Do you love baking? Are you a baker who can bake many different desserts?

Then why not start a baking business?

You can bake for charity events, baby and wedding showers, and other special events.

Think about how many order you’ll have around Christmas time!

Start a Facebook page and feature photos of your baked goods.

Get your friends and family to share your page!

It’s also a good idea to attend local business events to advertise your new found side hustle!

Let’s be mom boss friends! 🙂 Let’s chat everything mom boss and designing life as we want it, shall we? Plus, I’ll send you over the Side Hustle Worksheet for Moms to get you started, sound good?

how to figure out what kind of side hustle to start

22. Offer Music Lessons

If you know how to play a musical instrument then a great side hustle while you stay home with your kids is music lessons.

You can charge an hourly rate and take on as many students as you like!

Offering music lessons has great part-time income potential!

23. Create Paintings

Are you talented at painting?

An awesome side hustle would be to take your paintings and sell them on Etsy or other websites.

You could even start a portfolio site and see where this side hustle takes you!

24. Check Out HireMyMom.com

Since you’re a mom a great place to find legitimate work from home jobs that you can do on your own time is HireMyMom.com.

They cater to offering work from home jobs to stay at home moms who are looking to become work from home moms.

A perfect side hustle for the stay at home mom! 🙂

25. Open An Etsy Shop

I’ve given you a couple of different ways you can start your very own Etsy shop.

If you’re creative and like to make one of a kind pieces, then the Etsy marketplace is waiting for you.

I have friends that make earrings, picture frames, personalized quilts, and more…

My mom used to make baby slings before Etsy was a thing, but if she was still making them I’m sure they’d be a hit!

CHECK OUT MY POST: Work from Home Mom: Set Up Your Very Own Etsy Shop

26. Get Paid to Be Online

There are a variety of ways to make money just by sitting on your phone. For example, you can get paid to play video games, take surveys, watch videos, and more.

There are a lot of different options, so pick one that sounds interesting to you and give it a try. Just don’t get scammed into something asking for money.

27. Become A Social Media Manager

Lots of small businesses are willing to pay someone to manage their social media profiles.

This might be pinning to Pinterest or scheduling engaging content on Facebook.

Entrepreneurs and business owners are always looking for ways to offload some of their work.

Read this article for more information on how to become a social media manager.

According to PayScale.com, the average social media manager makes between $34432 and $56571 per year!

Another great example of side hustles for stay at home moms!

28. Teach Online

Always wanted to teach people?

Do you have a university degree in something that you could teach?

Or maybe teaching English as a second language sounds like a good side hustle for you.

Check out VIPKid for teaching English online.

They supply the lessons and you’ll be teaching Chinese children English!

How cool is that?

You can work during the hours you set and from the comfort of home.

A great side hustle opportunity if you’ve always dreamed of teaching!

(I’m going to be doing this side hustle personally! Stay tuned for a post about my experience!)

29. Tend To Someone’s Gardens

side hustles for moms

Got a green thumb? Is everyone always asking you for gardening advice?

Why not start a business tending gardens.

It’ll give you time to enjoy a passion of yours while making good money!

30. Declutter Your Home

You probably have a lot of money just lying around the house!

Take time to declutter your home and sell it online on sites like VarageSale, Kijiji , Mercari, and LetGo

You’ll be amazed at how much money you can make with this side hustle.

Once you’ve sold all the stuff at your home, you can start browsing thrift stores and re-selling treasures that way too.

31. Refinish Furniture

If you’ve got a knack for refinishing furniture why not turn it into your side hustle?

Get a website up featuring your work and offer to refinish furniture as a business.

You can even find free furniture on Craigslist or Facebook that you can re-purpose and sell.

32. Upcycle And Resell

Closely related to refinishing furniture is upcycling items and reselling them.

Maybe you find an awesome side table at your local flea market and paint it or you reframe a picture and bring it back to life.

You could then turn around and list it for sale for more money on buy and sell websites such as eBay.

This is a side hustle this mama has been thinking about starting!

33. Make And Sell Your Own Clothes

If you’re into fashion and you have sewing skills, then why not make your own clothes and sell them.

Guess where you should consider?

That’s right, Etsy!

The perfect platform for your one of a kind clothing items!

RELATED READ: Work from Home Mom: Set Up Your Very Own Etsy Shop

34. Professional Organizer

Do you love keeping things organized?

There are a lot of people who could use some help in this area!

You could start a side hustle by offering organization services.

Maybe create a package by room or by the number of rooms.

35. Design Event Invitations On Etsy

People will always hold special events that need an invitation.

Use your eye for design and make a collection of invitations for baby showers, wedding, baptisms and more.

You could sell them on your own website using Shopify for a small monthly fee of $9.

36. Healthy Meal Delivery Service

If you’re a health nut and love to creating culinary masterpieces then why not start a healthy meal delivery business?

People want to eat healthier but feel they don’t have the time to cook.

That’s where your new side hustle steps in by creating convenience for your clients!

You can provide families with batch meals that are convenient, healthy, and budget friendly.

37. Data Entry

There are many ways to find legitimate work from home jobs.

You just need to do your homework and research any potential companies you want to apply to.

CHECK OUT MY POST: Work from Home Mom: Legitimate Work from Home Jobs

That’s where I go into detail about finding good legitimate work from home jobs for moms specifically.

38. Write Resumes

If you’re organized and can lay out facts in an aesthetically pleasing way then resume writing might be the perfect side hustle as you stay home with your kids.

Get a resume portfolio together and post it in local job seeker groups to drum up business.

With a little bit of work, this side hustle could be a real money maker.

39. Consider Joining Amazon Flex

You can join Amazon Flex and deliver packages for them. According to their website, drivers make $18-$25 per hour with flexible hours.

A perfect side hustle for stay at home moms!

Make sure to check out if it’s offered in your area.

Amazon Flex is relatively new and isn’t offered in every area just yet.

40. Create An Online Course

side hustles for stay at home moms

If you have a lot of skills in a particular area and you know others would love to learn them as well, then why not create a course online?

If you create a course you can set your own pricing and use affiliate marketing to attract customers.

Nowadays, there are literally courses on everything: dog training, cake baking, mindset, organization, parenting… and on and on.

Brainstorm a list of all the skills you have that people regularly ask you for advice on.

Reach out to bloggers in your niche and ask them to promote you!

41.  Use your computer skills as a freelancer

If you have experience or love doing tasks like website design, designing online ads, or any other technical work- companies could easily outsource their needs to you.

There are so many options for Freelance platforms, our favorites are Fiverr.com and Upwork.com.

They’re both easy to get started and find work TODAY- pretty cool, right?!

Let’s be mom boss friends! 🙂 Let’s chat everything mom boss and designing life as we want it, shall we? Plus, I’ll send you over the Side Hustle Worksheet for Moms to get you started, sound good?

how to figure out what kind of side hustle to start

How To Pick A Side Hustle For Stay At Home Moms

side hustles for stay at home moms

I thought we should go over how to pick a side hustle because it’s nice to want to start one, but it can be hard to know which side hustle will work for your situation. So ask yourself these questions:

Does your husband work shift work or travel a lot?

Do your kids go to part-time daycare or do you have them all the time?

Do you love the idea of starting several side hustles but you just don’t know where to begin?

These questions are important in determining how much time you have to dedicate to your side hustle as a stay at home mom.

It’s also important to figure out the right side hustle so you can bring your goals and dreams to life.

Here are 5 steps you can use to figure out what side hustle works for you as a stay at home mom:

STEP #1 WRITE OUT YOUR AVAILABLE WORKING HOURS 

In other words, how much time will you have to work on your new side hustle as a stay at home mom?

In my own life, my husband works shift work, which sounds like it may be tough to find time to work but it’s actually been a blessing.

When my hubby is on his day shift rotation, I get up early, work during nap time and get a couple more hours in when he comes home.

Whey my hubby is on his afternoon rotation, I still wake up earlier and work until he goes in.

What about in your life?

Where can you find the time to work on your side hustle?

STEP #2 WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING?

This step involves writing out a list of topics you’re passionate about and then seeing if there are any side hustles for stay at home moms.

Do you love to make crafts? Then maybe you should open your own Etsy shop.

Do you love to design things? Then maybe you should sell your services on Fiverr.com.

Narrow down your list as much as possible and then…

STEP #3 CHOOSE YOUR TOP 3 AND RESEARCH THE SIDE HUSTLE FURTHER

Take your top 3 side hustles and research them further to see what you need to do to get it going.

Try to aim for 5 things you can do quickly to get the ball rolling on your new side hustle.

And, most importantly you should research…

STEP #4 HOW MUCH MONEY CAN YOU MAKE?

The whole point of finding a good side hustle is to make money with it, am I right?

Once you have your top 3 side hustles make sure to check out the potential income stream you’ll create with your side hustle.

Where is there money to be made?

For example, if you want to start a mom blog as your side hustle, then you would want to research affiliate marketing and creating your own products in the future.

Or maybe you want to start your own Pinterest virtual assistant business as your side hustle so you should research how to get started and what hourly rate you can charge for your services.

STEP #5 HOW EXCITED ARE YOU ABOUT THE SIDE HUSTLE?

This step is actually the most important – when you think about the side hustle, how excited to you get?

Does the thought of working on your side hustle give you energy?

Make you want to jump out of bed?

Make you want to find time to work on it?

If you answer yes to these questions, you’re probably on the right track to choosing the right side hustle, mama.

You need to be excited about the side hustle opportunity so that you’ll do the work needed to get it off the ground.

That wraps up this post about the top 41 awesome side hustles for stay at home moms.

You’re now armed with numerous side hustle ideas and how to pick the right one for yourself.

The key is to find something that gets you excited and that you enjoy.

If you don’t, you’ll probably put things off or stop wanting to do the work involved in getting a side hustle up and running.

Make sure to choose a side hustle that also fits your lifestyle so that you don’t feel you’re missing out in other areas of your life.

At the end of the day, here is what starting a side hustle can do for your life…(you know, in case you need more motivation, mama!)

✔Continue to stay home with your kids.
✔Use your creativity.
✔Start your own business.
✔Afford that family trip you’ve always wanted to take
✔Pay household expenses easily.
✔Take up a new hobby that you’ve wanted to do but costs too much money.
✔Have adult interaction every single day.
✔Have a side hustle and business you’re proud of!

Which one of these 41 side hustles are you going to try?

Does more than one sound good to you?

Do you have any questions about the side hustles?

Comment and share your thoughts with me below!

Let’s be mom boss friends! 🙂 Let’s chat everything mom boss and designing life as we want it, shall we? Plus, I’ll send you over the Side Hustle Worksheet for Moms to get you started, sound good?

how to figure out what kind of side hustle to start

side hustles for mom who stay home

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21 Comments

    1. I am too! I love finding as many ways to work from home as possible. Stay tuned for more! 🙂
      Thanks for reading!

      Elaine x

  1. I really love the variety in this list and also that you included helpful info and tips for each one! Pinned and going to check out a few for myself. Thanks!

    1. I’m so happy you found the post helpful! I love helping moms with easy to use resources!

      Thanks for reading!

      Elaine x

    1. Being a bus driver is so flexible! Especially if you have to bring your kids with you. 🙂

      Elaine x

  2. Awesome article! I love being able to work from home. I get to set my own hours and work around my kids so I never have to miss anything. It’s well worth it!

    1. I hear you!! I love being able to work from home too 🙂

      Thanks for reading!

      Elaine x

    1. Thank you! My plan is to help as many stay at home moms find good work from home opportunities as I can!

      Thanks for reading!

      Elaine x

  3. I’ve tried a few of these! I turned my side hustle – freelance writing – into a career (almost) but I want to try being a Pinterest VA soon!

    1. Good for you! I tell you, I think becoming a Pinterest VA is a great opportunity for a home based business! I’m interested myself!

      Elaine x

  4. As a teacher, having a side hustle would be helpful. All the ideas are great. I sometimes get the urge to have a side hustle. But, I think I will stick with teaching and my blog. Who knows, I may change my mind later.

    1. Pin this post and check back later! Plus I plan to add more work at home resources in the future! Stay tuned!

      Thanks for reading!

      Elaine x

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